biologist-archive - King Edward VII Academy

Transcription

TheBiologist
The society of biology magazine
■
ISSN 0006-3347
■
societyofbiology.org
Vol 59 No 2
■
JUNE 2012
SPECIAL REPORT
wonder
weed
Inside Britain’s only
legal cannabis farm
NATURe
olympics 2012
SCIENCE ON TV
REINTRODUCTIONS
Bringing beavers
back to Britain
GENE DOPING
Towards genetically
altered athletes
REALITY TV
Are TV science
graphics misleading?
TheBiologist
the SOCIETY OF BIOLOGY MAGAZINE
Volume 59 No 2 / June 2012
Contents
8
26
In this issue
8 2012: an Olympic year
for science
How Usain Bolt wins medals
one stride at a time.
9Empowering women
in Africa
How female African scientists
are overcoming a maledominated scientific community
to undertake vital research.
14 Flower power
MAIN COVER IMAGE: ALAMY
An in-depth look at the cannabis
plant at the UK’s only legal
cannabis glasshouse.
19 Reality TV
Professor Brian J Ford asks why
broadcasters spend huge sums
on computer-generated digital
scientific simulations when the
real thing is available on video.
22 Designer athletes
Genetically engineered
athletes may not be part of
this year’s Olympics, but
Dr Cristiana Velloso
investigates the advances in
genotype research
26 Back to life
Scottish Natural Heritage’s
Dr Martin Gaywood looks at
the role of reintroduction
projects as a way to conserve
important species and
restore ecosystems.
30 Sir Stephen Bloom
The distinguished
and recently knighted
endocrinologist talks
to Sue Thorn FSB
about his research
into obesity.
News
4Society news
8Opinion
39 Member news
42Branch news
Regulars
3Nelson’s Column
10Biofeedback
12 Policy update
34Spotlight
36Reviews
47Crossword
48Final Word
19
Vol 59 No 2 / the biologist / 1
THE BIOLOGIST
Vol 59 no 2 • June 12
Contacts
Editorial Board
Editor
Sue Nelson
Assistant Editor
Tom Ireland MSB
[email protected]
Members
J Ian Blenkharn MSB FRSPH
Phil Collier MSc PhD CBiol FSB FLS FHE
Cameron S Crook BSc MPhil CBiol MSB MIEEM FLS
Rajith Dissanayake MSc PhD FZS AMSB
Catherine Duigan BSc PhD FSB FLS
John Heritage BA DPhil CBiol FSB
Sue Howarth BSc PhD CBiol FSB
Allan Jamieson BSc PhD CBiol FSB
Catherine Jopling BSc PhD MSB
Susan Omar BSc PGCE CBiol MSB MRSPH FRGS
Leslie Rose BSc CBiol FSB FICR MAPM
Advisory Panel
Ian Clarke, Horticulture Research International, UK
Clive Cornford, Unitec, Auckland, New Zealand
Sharon Grimster, BioPark, UK
Alan Lansdown, Imperial College London, UK
Walter Leal Filho,
Hamburg University of Applied Sciences, Germany
Marios Kyriazis,
Biogerontologist and anti-ageing physician, UK
Don McManus, Bancroft Centre, Australia
Peter Moore, Kings’ College, London, UK
Brian Osborne, Australia
John Scott, University of Leicester, UK
Robert Spooner-Hart, University of
Western Sydney, Australia
Kathleen Weathers, Institute of
Ecosystem Studies, USA
Steve Wilson, Pfizer Animal Health
A Window on the Life Sciences
The Biologist is a bi-monthly magazine
(published six times per year) that carries the
full richness and diversity of biology. Science is
brought to life with stimulating and authoritative
features, while topical pieces discuss science
policy, new developments or controversial
issues. Aimed at biologists everywhere, its
straightforward style makes it ideal for educators
and students at all levels, as well as the interested
amateur. Submissions of interesting and timely
articles, short opinion pieces and letters are
welcome. Articles should be aimed at a nonspecialist audience and convey your enthusiasm
and expertise. Instructions for authors are
available on the Society of Biology website or on
request from the editorial office.
2 / the biologist / Vol 59 No 2
Staff and contact details
Chief Executive
Dr Mark Downs FSB
Jennifer Crosk, PA to Mark Downs
[email protected]
Membership, Marketing & Communications
For membership enquiries, call 0844 858 9316
[email protected]
Director of Membership, Marketing
& Communications
Jon Kudlick
Marketing Manager
Adam Timmins
Public Engagement and Events Executive
Dr Jenna Stevens-Smith MSB
Marketing Assistant
Zoë Martin AMSB
Press Officer
Dr Rebecca Nesbit MSB
Editorial Assistant
Karen Patel AMSB
Education and Training
[email protected]
Head of Education
Rachel Lambert-Forsyth CBiol MSB
Higher Education Policy Officer
Dr Eva Sharpe MSB
Competitions Co-ordinator
Dr Amanda Hardy
Qualifications and Skills Officer
Natasha Neill AMSB
Science Policy
[email protected]
Head of Science Policy
Dr Laura Bellingan FSB
Senior Science Policy Advisers
Dr Barbara Knowles FSB
Dr Caroline Wallace MSB
Science Policy Officer
Jackie Caine MSB
Project Officer (Natural Capital Initiative)
Daija Angeli
BBSRC Policy Intern
Richard Fautley
Director of Parliamentary Affairs
Stephen Benn
Financial Administrator
Surinder Sohal
[email protected]
Professional registers
Professional Registers Manager
Dr Cliff Collis CBiol FSB
[email protected]
Senior Project Manager (Technicians’ Register)
Dr Mike Trevethick MSB
European Countries Biologists Association (ECBA)
Representative
Dr Tony Allen CBiol FSB
[email protected]
HO Licensee Accreditation Board
Fraser Darling CBiol FSB
[email protected]
Society of Biology
Charles Darwin House,
12 Roger Street,
London WC1N 2JU
Tel: 020 7685 2550
Fax: 020 3514 3204
[email protected]
www.societyofbiology.org
Views expressed in this magazine are
not necessarily those of the Editorial
Board or the Society of Biology.
© 2012 Society of Biology
(Registered charity no. 277981)
The Society permits single copying
of individual articles for private study
or research, irrespective of where
the copying is done. Multiple copying
of individual articles for teaching
purposes is also permitted without
specific permission. For copying or
reproduction or any other purpose,
written permission must be sought from
the Society. Exceptions to the above are
those institutions and non-publishing
organisations that have an agreement or
licence with the UK Copyright Licensing
Agency or the US Copyright Clearance
Centre. Access to articles is available
online; please see the Society’s website
for futher details.
The Biologist is produced on behalf
of the Society of Biology by
Think Publishing Ltd.
124-128 Barlby Road
London W10 6BL
www.thinkpublishing.co.uk
020 8962 3020
Design
Alistair McGown
Sub editors
Cathi Thacker, Indira Mann
Publisher
John Innes
[email protected]
Non-member rates: £116.00
ISSN 0006-3347
Advertising in The Biologist represents
an unparalleled opportunity to reach
a large community of professional
biologists.
For advertising information contact
Rosanna Chambers
[email protected]
020 8962 3026
Nelson’s Column
W
It’s good
to see the
politics
taken out
of potential
therapies
eed, pot, hash,
grass. The names
may differ but they
are all forms of the
same plant.
Cannabis is the UK’s most widely
used illegal drug but disagreement
over its classification or legalisation
has often overshadowed its potential
medical benefits.
As cannabis can reduce nausea, it
has been suggested for easing the side
effects of chemotherapy, while its
relaxation properties are known to
benefit those with multiple sclerosis.
GW Pharmaceuticals grows
cannabis at a secret location in the
UK. The Biologist went to see it and
Dr David Potter shares with us on
page 14 the science and the current
medical applications of the plant,
especially when it comes to pain
relief. It’s good to see the politics
taken out of potential therapies.
Using drugs to enhance mood or
physical performance is nothing new
but the athletes competing in the
2012 London Olympics will be under
particular scrutiny to ensure that
their medals are gained fairly. The
anti-doping authorities have already
voiced concern about the misuse of
gene therapy within athletics,
although there is no evidence that
this has ever happened.
Genetically engineered athletes
may be science fiction at the moment,
but Dr Cristiana Vellosa from King’s
College London, discusses on
page 22 how knowing our genotype
could one day be used to identify
future Olympians.
Incidentally, the Society was close
to having its own potential Olympian
when Jenna Stevens-Smith made
the final 20 under consideration for
Team GB’s volleyball team last year.
A former international volleyball
player, Jenna knows more than most
about how the body behaves during
sporting excellence and she promotes
the importance of science and sport
on page 8.
It will be difficult to avoid the
saturation sports coverage during
the Olympics but I suspect Brian
Ford might be watching science
documentaries instead. He finds
fault with TV’s representation of
microscopic science on page 19 and
I suspect will start an interesting
debate on artistic license in biology.
Finally, when I became Editor two
years ago, it was on condition that I
provided a journalistic overview for
the magazine and the Society looked
after the science. Although I have a
science degree, it is in physics.
Embarrassingly for this publication,
I’ve not studied biology since the age
of 16 – after abandoning A-level
biology due to being constantly on the
verge of fainting during dissections.
To redress the balance – and maybe
as a cure for a weak stomach – I
recently applied for a Logan science
journalism fellowship at the Marine
Biological Laboratory in Cape Cod.
As a result, when The Biologist lands
on your doorsteps, I will be wearing a
white coat doing a hands-on laboratory
course in biomedical science.
I’ll report on my experience in the
next edition of The Biologist, which
will arrive slightly earlier than usual,
in August, as we move to publication
every two months. Wish me well.
Sue Nelson, Editor
Society scheme to
boost graduate skills
Society news
New membership benefits
A
fter increasing the frequency
of The Biologist from four to
six times a year, the Society
is also introducing a suite of new
benefits for members.
The Society has a diverse
membership and, while it is a
challenge to introduce benefits that
are of interest to all members, we
have examined the results of the
recent membership survey (see
page 6) and looked at which grades
of membership need most support.
Our new benefits include a mix
of grants, awards and networking
events, all with one main aim:
to support the professional
development of our members.
of our accredited Animal Licence
courses. The fourth, a travel bursary,
will be aimed at early career
researchers, including PhD students.
Grants
Networking
We are launching four new grant
schemes. The first is the Biology
Undergraduate Research Bursaries
Programme, match-funded by
The Nuffield Foundation for the
first two years. The aim is to give
undergraduates research experience
and to encourage them to consider
a career in scientific research. Two
other grants will help members to
attend CPD accredited courses and
help undergraduates attend one
First International
Degree Programme
Recognised
The Society’s Professor David Coates
FSB, Dr Liz Lakin FSB (right) and
Rachel Lambert-Forsyth CBiol MSB
(left) flew out to the United Arab
Emirates in April to assess the first
degree programme to go through the
process of International Recognition
by the Society. The University of
Sharjah’s BSc Science in Biotechnology
was subsequently recognised for the
academic years 2012-13 to 2017-18.
Competitions and awards
We currently run the Science
Communication Awards, the
Photography Competition (see
page 47) and the Higher Education
Bioscience Teacher Award, which
are open to members and nonmembers. We are introducing five
new membership competitions,
including a book award, a school
essay competition and a school
teacher award. More details will be
announced later in the year.
Networking lunches for Fellows and
members and an annual Fellows’
Dinner will continue. In September,
we are hosting an evening reception
at Charles Darwin House for all
members (AMSB, MSB and FSB),
and we are also planning to organise
two annual networking dinners for
MSBs outside London (see Member
News, page 39).
Jon Kudlick, Director of Marketing,
Membership and Communications
Our new
benefits all
have one
main aim: to
support the
professional
development
of our
members
ONLINE DEVELOPMENTS
The new members’ area of the
website allows you to renew online,
look up other members’ details,
update your profile, browse
The Biologist in an easy to read,
page-turning format, update your
CPD activity, change your address
details and book into events.
REDUCED FEES
We have reduced some of our
membership fees! Student
membership is now £15 and early
career MSBs can pay a lower rate
of £85 for those with up to five
years’ paid employment, and £105
for those with six to 10 years’ paid
employment. Do encourage your
colleagues to join.
Inaugural
‘Biology Week’
T
he Society is pleased to
announce the first ever
Biology Week will be held in
the UK from the 13-19 October 2012.
Plans for the week include practical
experiments in schools,
a ‘citizen science’ mass ecology data
project, awards ceremonies for our
science communication and
photography competitions and
a launch event in Parliament.
Our local branches and Member
Organisations are also planning a
whole range of events during the
week, including lectures, outings
and hands-on demonstrations.
If you have an event which you
would like to include in Biology
Week, or if you would like more
information about ways to get
involved, please see the Society
website or contact Rebecca Nesbit on
[email protected]
or 0207 685 2553.
Radio fun
T
he first universities to achieve
accreditation through the
Society’s Degree Accreditation
pilot scheme were celebrated at an
awards ceremony at the House of
Commons in March.
The Society’s accreditation
programme is progressing well
following the pilot, which tested the
criteria of the scheme between June
2011 and March 2012. The
programme has been developed in
order to ensure that a pipeline of
skilled graduates are available for
research roles in areas of national
importance, in response to skills gaps
highlighted by the bioscience industry.
The first programmes to be
awarded accreditation by the Society
are the University of Birmingham
(MSci in Biochemistry), the
University of Bristol (BSc in
Biochemistry with a Year in
Industry), the University of
Liverpool (MBiolSci Biochemistry)
and the University of Sheffield
(MBiolSci Biochemistry).
Andrew Miller MP and Society
Chief Executive Dr Mark Downs
welcomed over 200 guests at the
ceremony and highlighted the great
The first
programmes
to be awarded
accreditation by
the Society are
(clockwise from
top left) the
University of
Birmingham, the
University of
Bristol, the
University of
Liverpool and the
University of
Sheffield. The
programme
representatives
met Science
Minister David
Willetts.
strides made in the biosciences
recently. Universities and Science
Minister David Willetts also offered
his support and spoke of the “very
serious” absence of bioscience
degree accreditation.
Accreditation will be expanded
under the three main constituent
areas of the biosciences, based upon
the QAA Bioscience Benchmarks:
Molecular Aspects of Biology,
Organisms, and Ecological and
Environmental Biology. Specific
criteria will be based primarily on
the skills required of graduates as
described by industry, academia
and relevant societies.
Throughout the pilot, the Society
has collected feedback as part of an
ongoing evaluation, which is now
available on our website.
The Society is now accepting
formal expressions of interest from
institutions with bioscience
departments interested in gaining
Degree Accreditation, with
additional details available online
or by contacting Natasha Neill,
Qualifications and Skills Officer at the
Society, on natashaneill@
societyofbiology.org or 0207 685 2571.
I
n conjunction with Fun Kids
Radio, the Society has launched a
15-part radio series, Marina
Ventura Inside Biology, to introduce
primary school children to biology
and inspire them to continue their
science education.
Fun Kids is the UK’s only radio
station dedicated to children aged 11
and under and their families and has
over 180,000 listeners tuning in
each week. Each episode focuses on
a different aspect of biology, from
exploring the human body to the
concept of sustainability. Starring
established Fun Kids star Marina
Ventura, and with plenty of humour
and enthusiasm, the series will help
children learn about the wide role
that biology plays in our lives, giving
them the perfect platform for
further learning.
Marina Ventura Inside Biology
began on Monday 16th April, but the
series is now available to
download at
funkidslive.com
and iTunes.
Rachel LambertForsyth CBiol
MSB, Head of
Education
SOCIETY NEWS
MEMBERSHIP SURVEY/BIG BANG FAIR/SOCIETY COMPETITIONS/CPD/NEW PROFESSIONAL REGISTERS
Membership
survey
O
ver 2,800 members took part
in our membership survey
earlier this year, and overall
the response was extremely positive
with 82% of members believing their
membership represents good value
for money.
Members across all grades stated
their main reason for joining the
Society was to gain professional
recognition for their skills and
abilities (41%) and to stay up to date
with what’s happening in the life
sciences (20%) – with a slight
preference for the latter amongst
younger members. Unsurprisingly,
these were also the two benefits of
being a member that respondents
said they valued the most.
Most of our membership services,
such as the Continuing Professional
Development programme, The
Biologist, members’
e-newsletter and
our events were
rated as either
of members believe good or
membership is
excellent.
good value for
Following a
money
range of
suggestions from
the survey, we have launched several
new membership services (see page
4), and more will be announced soon.
We are also encouraged to see
that 79% of those surveyed use
their post nominal letters where
possible. These letters demonstrate
that you are a professional biologist,
well qualified and subject to a
rigorous code of conduct, and by
using them you are helping us to
further raise the profile of the
biological sciences.
When asked if the Society has
improved its public profile over the
last year respondents were split: 42%
said yes, 11% said no and the majority
(48%) were unsure. We still have
more work to do in this area, it
seems. At a policy level, we continue
to increase our influence and the
appointment of Stephen Benn as
our new Director of Parliamentary
Affairs will help us to further raise
our profile in Westminster.
Thank you to all those who
participated in the membership
survey and thank you for your
continued support of the Society.
Adam Timmins,
Marketing Manager
82%
Big Bang in Birmingham
Record-breaking year
for Society competitions
CPD: Make the
most of your
membership
record-breaking number of
students took part in the
Society’s Biology Challenge
and Biology Olympiad competitions
this year.
Over 29,000 students entered the
Society’s Biology Challenge, more
than ever for the curriculum-based
science competition for 14-15 yearolds. Almost 4,000 students from 443
schools took part in the online first
round of the British Biology Olympiad
(BBO) this year, another record for the
Society. BBO is a highly respected and
challenging test of biology knowledge
for students aged 16 and over.
This year’s BBO finalists spent
three days at the University of
Birmingham’s School of Biosciences,
where they took a theory paper
and four practical exams in botany,
cell biology, biochemistry and
zoology set by BBO volunteers and
lecturers from the university.
The four overall BBO winners will
represent the UK and compete
against students from 60 countries
at the International Biology
Olympiad in Singapore next month.
The students representing the UK
are: Freddie Dyke from the Royal
Grammar School, Guildford, Oliver
Adams from Peter Symonds’ College,
new online members’ system
that allows members to easily
update their continuing
professional development (CPD)
activity is now live.
CPD is an important area of
scientific career paths, offering a
way for people to document any work
above and beyond their job role, and
aiding their progression. Almost any
activity that develops your valuable
skills as a life science employee
qualifies for CPD, including training
staff, learning a new practical
technique, presenting at a
conference and self-study in any
area of biological interest.
A
F
or three days in March the NEC
in Birmingham was overrun
with scientists and scienceloving students for the Big Bang Fair
2012. Over 56,000 attendees saw the
wonders of science and engineering
and explored the variety of careers
that studying science can
open up.
Above
Society Chief
Executive Mark
Downs (centre)
with prize winner
James North and
presenter Greg
Foot (left).
Society takes a stand
At the Society of Biology
stand, visitors had the
chance to handle
plastinated hearts, test
their pulse rates, learn
about how the ear works,
make articulated hands
and investigate sports
injuries through models of
joints. The exhibition floor was
packed with young scientists and
engineers presenting their projects
to the judges with the goal of being
crowned young scientist or young
engineer of the year.
Thank you
A live roadshow
from the team of
the BBC science
show Bang Goes
the Theory was
one of the Fair’s
highlights.
Prize winner
The Society of Biology Prize was
awarded to James North from
Formby High School, one of 360
talented school students chosen to
showcase their work to a world-class
panel of judges. James turned heads
with his project on the
interaction of up-regulated
genes in HIV positive
macrophages. As well as
receiving £500, a
certificate and a year’s
membership to the Society
of Biology, James will visit
one of the UK’s leading
biology research centres
and meet the researchers.
The next Big Bang Fair
will be held at Excel in
London on the 14th-16th March
2013, and a range of Big Bang Fair
Near Me events will run around
the UK throughout the summer.
See www.thebigbangfair.co.uk
for more details.
The Society of Biology would like to thank Dr Alan Malcolm, who has stepped down from
The Biologist’s Editorial Board after many years. Alan was Chief Executive of the Institute
of Biology from 1998 until 2009, when he successfully led its merger with the Biosciences
Federation to form the Society of Biology. He is now Director of the Oxford International
Biomedical Centre and editor of Science in Parliament.
Points system
Our four British
Biology Olympiad
winners this year:
Freddie Dyke,
Oliver Adams,
Robert Starley and
Joshua Hodgson.
Winchester, Robert Starley from
Reading School and Joshua Hodgson
from Godalming College.
The competitions are organised by
a small group of volunteers chaired
by Dr Andrew Treharne FSB.
Anyone who is interested in
becoming involved, even if just to
submit the occasional question, can
find more information on the website
www.ukbiologycompetitions.org
Dr Amanda Hardy
Competitions Coordinator
New professional recognition
T
he Society of Biology is now
able to offer three new
professional registers to
members: Registered Science
Technician, Registered Scientist and
Chartered Scientist.
All those who are committed to
the biological sciences in academia,
industry, education and research are
eligible to join their appropriate
register. Registered Science
Technician (RSciTech) is available to
all members with a Level 3
qualification in England, Northern
Ireland and Wales or Level 6
qualification in Scotland (i.e. A-level,
BTEC or equivalent) who can also
demonstrate evidence of the
required professional competences
and a commitment to CPD.
All members of the Society can
A
also apply for Registered Scientist
(RSci). It is suited to those working at
a Level 5 qualification in England,
Northern Ireland and Wales or
Level 8 qualification in Scotland
(Foundation degrees, HNDs etc)
who can also demonstrate the
required competences.
Chartered status is a hallmark of
excellence in both the UK and the
European Union, open to members
(MSB) and Fellows (FSB) of the
Society with a Masters level
qualification or equivalent.
Guidance documents and further
details for all our registers and our
CPD scheme can be found on our
website. If you would like any more
information please contact Mike
Trevethick at miketrevethick@
societyofbiology.org or 0207 685 2568.
Completed CPD years can start
exciting new stages of members’
professional careers, helping them
to progress from RSciTech to RSci
to Chartered Status.
We ask that members attain 50
CPD points throughout the year,
with between one and three points
allocated per hour, depending on
the activity. The Society also helps
members’ annual progression by
approving suitable events. These
Approved Events are worth more
points, and by attending, you’ll be
able to meet your CPD requirements
more quickly.
Online portal
Using the new online portal, below,
members can now register for and
begin their CPD. Members can add
activities as frequently as they wish.
If you have any questions or would
like any further information on CPD
or Chartered Status, please visit the
Society website or contact Natasha
Neill at 0207 685 2571 or at
[email protected]
Chartered
status is a
hallmark of
excellence
in both the
UK and EU
OPINION
SPORT SCIENCE AND THE OLYMPICS/AFRICAN research
THELEFTY/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
Many will ask what
makes Usain Bolt
the world’s fastest
man this summer.
2012: An olympic
year for science
Dr Jenna StevensSmith MSB explains
how this year’s London
2012 games will be a
celebration of science
as well as sport
In this Olympic year there are a
number of initiatives promoting
the science of sport
In the Zone
A project from the Wellcome Trust
including an interactive touring
exhibition and schools kits which
have been sent to all schools
across the UK.
http://www.getinthezone.org.uk
W
hile 2012 may be the year of
the London Olympics,
science and sport don’t
naturally gravitate together for
everyone. Yet for me, as a trained
scientist and a former international
volleyball player, they have always
been closely linked.
When Jonathan Edwards broke
the triple jump record, by jumping
the equivalent length of a double
decker bus, we were all amazed.
When Usain Bolt smashed the 100m
sprint world record to 9.58 seconds,
the world was speechless. But what
interests me is: how did they do it?
Anatomically, Bolt’s recordbreaking sprints have raised a
number of questions in the scientific
world as to what makes him so fast.
Scientists examined his muscle fibre
ratio, his long stride and lung
capacity. His stride length, on
average 2.44m, sets him apart from
Blue Peter’s Big Olympic Tour
The Society of Biology is on tour
with the Blue Peter team for three of
these events with hands-on biology
of sport activities.
■ Saffron Walden 7 July
■ West Ham
21 July
Dr Jenna StevensSmith MSB is the
Society’s Public
Engagement and
Events Executive
and plays
volleyball for
England.
Research Councils UK Cutting Edge:
The Research Behind Sport
RCUK researchers talk about the
science behind different sports, so
far covering athletics, basketball,
triathlon and sailing.
■ Cutting Edge 2012: Behind diving
Thursday 5 July 2012
7pm – 8.30pm
Plymouth Life Centre, Plymouth
■ Cutting Edge 2012: Behind cycling
Thursday 19 July 2012
7pm – 8.30pm
Scottish Exhibition and
Conference Centre, Glasgow
his competitors who take on average
four more strides over 100m.
Although height was previously
thought to act against fast
acceleration, Bolt’s body is perfectly
designed for long strides and fast
movement. His total leg length,
relative to his total body height, is
long, as is his femur, which acts as a
lever to create huge strides.
Combined with a high strength-tobody weight ratio, he is able to propel
his legs faster.
The fastest sprinters, such as Bolt,
have up to 90% fast-twitch muscle
fibres – slow-twitch fibres are more
efficient at continuous, extended
contractions over time, while fasttwitch help generate a lot of force
quickly. Most of us have a genetically
determined mix of roughly 50% of
each, and the ratio cannot be altered.
So can he go faster? A recent study
published in Significance, the
magazine of the Royal Statistical
Society and the American Statistical
Association, considered Bolt’s
potential to run faster from a
mathematical perspective. Taking
into account his reaction time and
other external factors, such as
altitude and wind conditions, the
author predicts Bolt is capable of
shaving a further 0.13s off his time1.
Professor Steve Haake, a sports
engineer at Sheffield Hallam
University, looked into ‘the Bolt
effect’: how chasing Bolt has made
the world run faster. By analysing
the average speeds for the 100m
sprint by the top 25 athletes over the
past century, he found a sudden and
consistent improvement in
performance over the past four
years: since Bolt came onto the
blocks the top 25 sprinters have
improved by nearly 1%.
In addition to the individuals
who will be vying for Olympic glory
in London this summer, the teams
behind the competitors must not
be forgotten. Athletes from all
sports, depending on the funding,
have a whole team of scientists and
experts around them: when I played
volleyball for Great Britain, our
support team included a
physiotherapist, sports masseuse,
nutritionist, sports psychologist,
strength and conditioning coaches,
lifestyle advisors, biomechanicists,
technical coaches and even a
sports optician on one occasion.
(1) www.telegraph.co.uk/science/
science-news/9194096/How-UsainBolt-could-run-even-faster.html
Empowering women in Africa
Professor Sheila Okoth FSB explains how female scientists in Africa are overcoming the
challenges of a male dominated scientific community to undertake lifesaving research
W
omen produce, process
and market the majority
of Africa’s food. But only
one in four African agricultural
researchers are women and only
14% hold leadership positions in
agricultural research institutions.
There are many contributing
factors as to why. Female secondary
school students often drop science
subjects, which are perceived to be
difficult, and societal expectations
that African women remain at home
make travelling abroad for further
scientific studies challenging.
Also, most government decisionmaking positions are occupied
by men. Women miss out on key
opportunities, including training
and participation in prioritising
institutional and national
development issues.
I faced such problems as a female
researcher in Kenya, but my life
changed when I won a two-year
career-development fellowship from
African Women in Agricultural
Research and Development
(AWARD) in 2008. Launched with
support from the Bill & Melinda
Gates Foundation and the United
States Agency for International
Development, the mentoring
programme helped me to design
a career ‘road map’ to achieving
my professional goals. A proposalwriting course and sponsorship
for advanced science training at
the University of Stellenbosch
enabled me to perfect my research,
write winning, collaborative
research proposals and publish in
international journals.
The skills obtained from the
fellowship’s leadership and
management course for women
enhanced my capacity to overcome
obstacles in the male-dominated
scientific community. Today, I
am sharing my knowledge and
skills with others. In addition to
mentoring university students
and local farmers, I established
the university’s first mycotoxin
laboratory to answer farmers’
questions, train postgraduates and
transfer skills to scientists through
annual national courses. These
Successful Women, Successful Science
achievements helped earn my
Women produce
the majority of
promotion to Associate Professor
Africa’s food but
in February 2011.
only one in four
In Kenya, lethal outbreaks of
African
aflatoxicosis (poisoning by aflatoxin)
agricultural
have been reported yearly since 1981
researchers
are female.
and the effects of chronic exposure
cannot be ignored. Aflatoxin is a
naturally occurring carcinogenic
by-product of the fungi that colonise
certain crops, including maize, the
main dietary staple of Kenyans. My
research focuses on understanding
Poultry disease research in Nairobi.
the distribution of toxigenic fungi
AWARD Fellow Sheila Ommeh, a poultry researcher at the International Livestock Research Institute, Nairobi,
AWARD
offers
two-year
fellowships
in soil and susceptible plants, and
Kenya, hopes to introduce a disease-resistant
chicken that
can be easily
produced by women
farmers.
focused on fostering mentoring
humans’ exposure levels to the toxins
of African
women
scientists
partnerships,
building
science
through food and feed. Working with Fast-tracking the careers
delivering pro-poorskills
agricultural
research
and developing
leadership
smallholder farmers in two agrocapacity.
African
women
working
ecological zones, I have determined
AWARD is a professional development program
that
PROGRAM
HISTORY
strengthens the research and leadership skills of African
inthem
agricultural
research
foris a project of the Gender
toxigenic and atoxigenic strains of
Established
in 2008, AWARD
women in agricultural science, empowering
to
& Diversity Program of the Consultative Group on
contribute more effectively to poverty alleviation and food
development
fromAgricultural
Ethiopia,
Ghana,
Aspergillus and Fusarium isolates
International
Research
(CGIAR). It was
security in sub-Saharan Africa.
launched following a successful three-year pilot program in
Kenya, Liberia,
Malawi,
Mozambique,
from soil and maize kernels, and
AWARD Fellows benefit from two-year fellowships focused
East Africa, with support from the Rockefeller Foundation
establishing mentoring partnerships, building
scienceRwanda,
from 2005-2008.
Nigeria,
Tanzania, Uganda
established their distribution patterns on
skills, and developing leadership capacity.
Zambia,
who
haveofcompleted
to determine appropriate intervention Following a highly competitive process, theand
The majority
those who produce,
fellowships
process,
and market
Africa’s food
are awarded on the basis of intellectual merit,
leadership
a bachelor’s,
master’s
or doctoral
methods acceptable to farmers.
capacity, and the potential of the scientist’s research to
are women, but only one in four
degree
disciplines,
African women farmers and
improve the daily lives of smallholder farmers,
especiallyin selected
agricultural
researchers is are
female.
women. Between 2008 and 2011, AWARD received
agricultural scientists are already
applications from 2,200 women for a totaleligible.
of 250 availableSelection criteria include
(AWARD/ASTI 2009)
fellowships. On average, only the top nine percent of
intellectual merit, leadership
making essential contributions to
applicants are selected each year.
capacity and the potential of the
agriculture and we can do much
scientist’s research to improve the
more to help solve hunger – but we
daily lives of smallholder farmers,
must be fully engaged.
especially women. More than
2,000 female scientists from 450
Sheila Okoth FSB is an Associate
institutions have applied for one of
Professor of Botany at the
the 250 fellowships offered to date.
University of Nairobi’s School
of Biological Sciences.
LETTERS
HOMEOPATHY, POLITICS & SCIENCE, THE MICROBE HUNTERS
THe biologisT •The socieTy of biology magazine • Vol 59 No 1 • MARCH 2012
TheBiologist
THe soCieTy of biology MAgAziNe
■
issN 0006-3347
■
soCieTyofbiology.oRg
Vol 59 No 1
■
MARCH 2012
SPECIAL REPORT
homeopathy | children & nature | science media centre | kary mullis | stroke research | paul de kruif
TESTING
THE wATER
former homeopathist
edzard ernst on the
diluted science of
homeopathy
FEATURE
MEDIA
BIOGRAPHY
CHILDREN & NATURE
how to engage kids
with the outdoors
GET THE MESSAGE
ten years of the
science media centre
PAUL DE KRUIF
turning science
into an adventure
00_BIO_59_1_COVER.indd 1
01/03/2012 16:03
Biofeedback
Letters, news and views from our members
Office Ltd, London; 22 February
2010; pp 37–43
Muddying the water?
Send your
comments to
Biofeedback,
Society of Biology,
Charles Darwin
House, 12 Roger
Street, London
WC1N 2JU
or email
biologist@
The Biologist
reserves the right
to edit letters
where appropriate.
In his article, ‘Testing the water’
(The Biologist, Vol 59 (1) p18-21),
Professor Ernst presents what
might seem a cogent scientific
and ethical argument against the
use of homeopathic treatment.
Leaving aside the pedantic
issues with which he begins his
commentary, I (as a scientist and
non-homeopath) respond briefly to
Ernst’s arguments that homeopathy
is nothing but placebo medicine
and that homeopaths ‘cherry-pick
positive studies out of a bag of
mostly negative evidence’ in flagrant
disregard for quality issues.
It is important to clarify that a
homeopathic practitioner typically
focuses treatment on a patient as
an individual with personalised
symptoms. The prescribed medicine
often retains material quantities of
original ingredient. Clinical trials to
date have not necessarily reflected
those and other key idiosyncrasies of
homeopathy, and so any view of ‘the
totality’ of the research evidence is
simplistic and potentially misleading.
As a starting point, and prior
to an appraisal of intrinsic quality
of the original research, we have
concentrated our attention on
the medical conditions for which
homeopathy has been researched
in randomised trials (controlled by
placebo or otherwise). There are
37 medical conditions for which
replicated research in homeopathy
has been reported in the peerreviewed literature: 16 of those
conditions have benefitted from
systematic review and/or metaanalysis1. Positive conclusions have
been reached for several conditions
to date, though with significant
caveats in some cases. The remaining
research is mainly non-conclusive.
This is a reasonable overview
of a highly complex research
literature, and is more relevant
than Ernst’s analysis of only the
Cochrane evidence, some of
which is focused on nonindividualised homeopathy.
Ernst’s superficial approach is
aggravated by ill-judged statements
about homeopaths ‘telling lies to
patients’ despite ‘[knowing that
the remedy] contains nothing’
and that the ‘trials are not
positive’. The above provides a
plain and accurate summary of the
true situation.
Robert T Mathie PhD, Research
Development Adviser, British
Homeopathic Association
(1) House of Commons Science and
Technology Committee. Evidence
Check 2: Homeopathy. Fourth Report
of Session 2009–10. The Stationery
Author’s response: So, pointing out
that the axioms of homeopathy fly in
the face of science is ‘pedantic’? Most
scientists would disagree with this
bizarre notion.
Dr. Mathie also accuses me of
‘flagrant disregard for quality issues’
and claims that ‘positive conclusions
have been reached for several
conditions’. In support, he cites the
‘House of Commons Science and
Technology Committee Evidence
Check 2: Homeopathy’. This report
criticises the misleading fashion in
which lobbyists for homeopathy tend
to present the evidence and concludes
‘…the systematic reviews and metaanalyses conclusively demonstrate
that homeopathic products perform
no better than placebo’.
Edzard Ernst, Professor of
Complementary Medicine,
Peninsula Medical School, Exeter
Why does homoeopathy refuse to die?
In general anything and everything
that is perceived to be nonsensical
eventually does fade away, yet
homeopathy still persists. Professor
Ernst (The Biologist, Vol 59 (1) p18-21)
is right to draw this subject out in
the open, for homeopathy is no more
than a placebo by another name.
One reason as to why it won’t go
away may be because it has become
a ‘meme’ to use Professor Richard
Dawkins’ idea of a ‘social gene.’
Another reason may be because it
has become a multi-billion dollar
industry and so many people have
a vested interest to promote such
bunkum even though it flies in the
face of empirical science or, for that
matter, common sense.
A third reason may be because
some people might have an innate
inability to respond to modern
medicine – for example if a patient
displays ‘x’ symptoms they probably
will not respond to any medicine
let alone respond to a placebo;
even if they do, this would only be
temporary as psychosomatically the
symptoms will invariably return.
It is highly probable that they will
recover from the placebo effect of
homeopathy as that is their perceived
choice of cure.
Moreover, homeopathy has
become a part of the national fabric
of healthcare systems of most
countries, including developed
nations – for instance, at the
Royal Homeopathic Hospital,
London, England.
Will homeopathy ever lose its
‘mojo’? Probably not, as it is too
established in the psyche of most
nations to be cast aside.
Dr Sohan Jheeta CBiol MSB MInstP
FRAS, Space Scientist
Politics and science
Les Rose (The Biologist, Vol 59
(1) p10) is right to be concerned
about the scientific illiteracy among
politicians. The problem is reiterated
in the article on the Science Media
Centre (‘Get your facts straight’) in
the same issue.
Very few MPs have a science
degree and hardly any have been
working scientists. We live in a
scientific and technological world,
and managers (in the broadest sense)
need to have some understanding of
the nature of scientific evidence.
I think the problem is mainly a
result of our education system in
which people have to choose
between ‘arts’ and ‘science’ if they
wish to progress beyond GCSEs.
There are two other educational
routes which are worth consideration.
The Baccalaureate ensures students
have a more rounded education after
GCSEs and, at its best, the American
Liberal Arts College ensures that all
graduates have studied some science
with laboratory work at, or beyond,
A‑level standard. For the majority
of graduates, this route provides a
better all-round education than a
specialist degree.
One drawback is that those who
go on to specialise need, first, to take
more advanced courses.
No doubt, the debate will continue
as to which system is better. We need
an informed discussion.
Brian Hopkins MSB
I read with interest and a sense
of foreboding Les Rose’s article
‘Politics: An unscientific business?’ in
the March issue (The Biologist, Vol
59 (1) p10). I share many of Mr Rose’s
concerns and I would like to address
his question, ‘Do arts and humanities
graduates have any grasp of objective
evidence?’ from a perspective that
many readers of The Biologist may
not have.
I have three science degrees and
worked for five years in academic
research, and for the last 25
years, in industry. In December
2011 I was proud to be awarded a
First in Humanities by the Open
University so I straddle both broad
disciplines. In my first two years,
before specialising in philosophy and
religious studies, I studied history,
art history, literature, philosophy,
religious studies, classics and music. As a scientist beginning an arts
degree I, too, believed that arts and
humanities were short on rigour
and evidential support, and I was
wrong. One of the factors that unify
all these disciplines is the mandatory
requirement to support all arguments
with evidence from academic
research and/or observation. My
science training stood me in excellent
stead as I automatically did this in
my essays, almost without thought,
while my fellow students had to learn
to do this.
I would suggest that the real
question to be asked is: what is
it about the political milieu that
makes highly trained graduates of
the arts and humanities forget their
training? Could it be a function of
so few politicians having had a job
outside politics? Does this mean
that as they progress up the ‘greasy
pole’ they begin to believe their own
propaganda and that of their parties?
J David Hull MSB
Stranger than fiction
I read with great interest the
excellent article by Dr H V Wyatt
FSB about Paul de Kruif (The
Biologist, Vol 59 (1) p36-38).
Imagine my surprise when later
reading Double Cross – the true story
What is it
about the
political
milieu that
makes
highly
trained
graduates of
the arts and
humanities
forget their
training and
its need for
academic
evidence?
of the D-Day spies by Ben Macintyre I
came across the following description
of an encounter in Madrid between
double agent Lily Sergeyev and her
German handler Major Kliemann,
‘Kliemann, usually so lethargic,
was all business. He planned to
provide her with a radio set hidden
inside a gramophone, with operating
instructions written on a microdot
concealed in the case. In order to
read it, she would need to buy a small
microscope. She should pretend to
be interested in microbes. Indeed,
she should carry a book with her as
cover: he recommended The Microbe
Hunters by Paul de Kruif. Lily
declined to say that she thought
this was a ridiculously
overcomplicated plan.’
How fascinating to think that
The Microbe Hunters might have
figured in some small but possibly
significant way in the context of
Second World War espionage. It
didn’t, because Major Kliemann
failed to provide said gramophone
to Lily Sergeyev.
Paul F Faupel CBiol MSB
MIRM CFIOSH
Apologies
Unfortunately the current position
and details of the author of ‘Who
was Paul de Kruif?’ were omitted
from this article. Dr H V Wyatt is
Honorary Lecturer in Philosophy,
University of Leeds. To find out more
about his work see http://sites.google.
com/site/vivianwyatt/ or
email [email protected]
Branch news blackout
Our sincere apologies to the
Northern, Northern Ireland and
Kent, Sussex and Surrey branches.
The replacement of our assistant
editor at the beginning of the year
resulted in the loss of their event
reports from October and November
– these included a fungal foray, an
AGM and a talk on the marine
fishing industry. Do please keep
sending us your reports as we
enjoy hearing from our branch
members and seeing what they
are up to.
TI
MPE
CO
Policy update
TI
ON
Enter our
Science
The sexes and science Communication
competition
T
The ‘perfect
storm’
summarises
the food,
water and
energy
scarcities
caused by
increasing
population
and the
effects of
climate
change
UK plant scientists
take on ‘perfect storm’
O
ver 200 plant scientists from
the lab, field, classroom and
industry came together for
the first ever research conference of
the UK Plant Sciences Federation
(PlantSci), at the John Innes Centre
in April.
Speakers covered a range of topics
including plant diversity, plant-soil
interaction, education, genomics,
stress adaptation and carbon
capture – highlighting just
a small portion of the great
expertise we have in research
institutions and industry in the
UK. But it was the Government’s
Chief Scientific Adviser Sir John
Beddington’s keynote speech that
set the tone for the conference.
Sir John stressed the importance
of plant science in the context of
his ‘perfect storm’, a term he first
coined in 2009 to summarise the
food shortages, water scarcity and
insufficient energy supplies that
are being caused by an increasing
population, consumption and the
effects of climate change.
Beyond food security, Professor
George Lomonossoff, John Innes
Centre, shared his experience of
plant-made medicine at a workshop
on commercialising intellectual
property. Professor Alison Smith,
University of Cambridge, presented
the problems and potential
solutions in algal bioenergy, and Dr
Christopher McClellan, University of
Dundee, spoke about techniques for
improving bioethanol content from
waste cellulose.
Food security
Recent food price volatility has
driven an additional 44 million
people into extreme poverty since
2011. Ensuring future food security
poses a suite of challenges:
how to increase food production
with less land, less water and with
less energy, fertiliser and pesticide
while not increasing greenhouse
gas emissions. New knowledge,
technology and practices are
needed at all stages of the food
production process to increase
yield, reduce waste and maximise
resource efficiency.
Some methods include the
diversification of agricultural
systems, addressing soil
management for carbon
sequestration, using new varieties
or breeds of crops and livestock,
and making use of complementary
biological and ecosystem services
that support agriculture.
Over the two-day PlantSci
conference, the vast majority
of speakers looked at how to
respond to the challenges Sir John
posed. Charles Paton, founder
of Seawater Greenhouse, spoke
about water scarcity and the use
of greenhouses in arid regions to
create fresh water from seawater.
Dr Richard Summers, the European
Cereal Breeding Coordinator for
RAGT Seeds, addressed the use of
plant breeding in the sustainable
intensification of wheat. Professor
Iain Donnison, IBERS, University of
Aberystwyth, presented his research
on increasing yield in the biofuel
crop Miscanthus.
Real world implications
While opinion may be divided on
the current focus upon research’s
‘impact’, it’s clear that plant science
has implications in the real world
that go beyond the Research
Excellence Framework and deserve
to be highlighted, celebrated
and supported.
We are now busy planning next
year’s PlantSci conference, and
continuing with the work of the
UK Plant Sciences Federation.
Jackie Caine MSB
Science Policy
Officer.
For more information on the UK
Plant Sciences Federation and our
activities, see www.plantsci.org.uk
he Royal Society
hope that gender equality
of Edinburgh
arrives. But it’s better
published its report
that the Society leads by
Tapping All our Talents
example and sets standards
in April. The framework
that help to change the
aims to increase both
culture of STEM by being a
the proportion of
model of good practice.
women in the science,
The Society is committed
Dr Caroline
technology, engineering
to ensuring that our own
Wallace MSB
and mathematics (STEM)
house is in order and,
Senior Science
workforce, and the number Policy Advisor
over the coming months,
who rise to senior positions Society of Biology - we will formulate our
in universities and research Scotland.
plans to improve the
institutes, government, business and gender balance of our membership,
industry. The report is the result of
the visibility of women in the
a year-long inquiry by a Working
organisation and the discipline,
Group chaired by the distinguished
and ensure that we are analysing
astrophysicist Professor Dame
the necessary data to inform
Jocelyn Bell Burnell, who has not
our strategy.
only survived, but thrived in a maleWe ask that all our members do
dominated scientific arena.
their bit to challenge inequality
As the secretariat to the Working
in science wherever it occurs, and
Group, I was often quizzed by
above all to encourage talented
friends, colleagues and consultees
women to join and participate fully
about my particular interest in this
in the Society.
issue. Their view: there are lots of
women in biology, it’s doing okay.
It is true that females
Dame Jocelyn’s report makes
dominate biology at school and at
a number of recommendations
undergraduate level, with around
to academies and learned and
65% representation. Despite a loss
professional bodies. They include:
of around 15% by postgraduate and
postdoctoral researcher level, there is
■ Publicising a statement
welcoming and encouraging the
still total gender parity at this stage.
full participation of women in the
But fast forward to professorial level,
organisation and its academic
and women account for only 15% in
discipline
biological sciences.
■ Allocating responsibility for
Armed with this information, do
gender issues to a specific
we still think biology is doing okay?
individual reporting to council
In the past 10 years
■ Being more proactive in
the number of
encouraging applications
female professors
from women
in biology has
■ Ensuring balanced and
increased by one
transparent processes for
percentage point
elections and awards
each year. We
■ Ensuring adequate
could just
representation on decisionsit and
making committees or boards
wait
■ Collecting and monitoring
for 35
relevant data on a regular basis.
years
and
■ Are you a bioscience researcher?
■ Do you communicate science
to the public?
If you answer yes to these questions or
know someone who does, then why not
apply for the Society of Biology Science
Communication Awards 2012?
Nominations are now open for the Society of Biology
Communication Awards 2012. The awards are an
opportunity to recognise the outstanding
contributions that bioscience researchers make to
communicating science to the public.
The competition is open to bioscience researchers
from UK universities and institutes and there are two
categories of award:
New Researcher Award (Prize £750)
Established Researcher Award (Prize £1,500)
The New Researcher Award is open to bioscience
researchers currently reading for a Masters/PhD
or in the first year of a post-doctoral position.
The Established Researcher category is open to
bioscience researchers who are beyond the first
stages of their research career, as defined in the
New Researcher category.
The awards will be presented at a ceremony in London
as part of Biology Week, which runs from the 13-19
October 2012.
Download your nomination form from the
Society of Biology website:
www.societyofbiology.org/newsandevents/
scicomm
Applications should be sent to Rebecca Nesbit by
email to [email protected]
The Society of Biology: Celebrating
excellence and recognising the
importance of science communication
PHARMACEUTICAL RESEARCH
BRITAIN’S SECRET CANNABIS FARM
flower power
Cannabis is the most widely used illegal drug in the UK but its medicinal
qualities have been known for thousands of years. GW Pharmaceuticals’
Dr David Potter showed The Biologist around the UK’s only cannabis
research farm and explained how the plant could potentially treat conditions
as diverse as obesity, brain injury, cancer and even psychosis.
T
aking a walk in GW
Pharmaceuticals’ glasshouse is a
memorable and highly sensory
experience. The leaves from thousands
of cannabis plants (Cannabis sativa)
dance in a breeze produced by
constantly humming fans, and the sight
is enhanced by one of the brightest
glasshouse lighting installations in the
UK. The temperature is a steady 25°C
but feels warmer due to the humidity
and radiant energy. Even before
opening the door, there’s a tantalising
smell – the mixture of essential oils that
makes up the characteristic heady
essence of cannabis.
Over 1.5 million cannabis plants
have been grown by GW
Pharmaceuticals at its secret
research glasshouse since 1998 – the
company’s Sativex oromucosal spray
was licensed for the treatment of
multiple sclerosis spasticity in the
UK in 2010. Cannabis is best known
by the public in its various forms as
an illegally grown recreational drug
– either solid cannabis ‘hashish’ resin
made from the collected secretions
of the plant, or herbal cannabis
(grass) – the more potent upper
leaves and flowers of the plant.
Recently, cannabis tastes have
changed: an increasing proportion of
illicit cannabis is made from
unfertilised floral parts of the female
cannabis plant. This intensively grown
form of herbal cannabis is known
internationally as sinsemilla (from the
Spanish ‘sin’ meaning ‘without’ and
‘semilla’ meaning ‘seeds’) or more
colloquially in the UK as skunk.
Origins and early medicinal use
The major areas of outdoor hashish
production are Morocco, Afghanistan
and Central Asia, at between 35°N and
40°N, but the species can survive up to
66°N. No clear evidence exists to
indicate where Cannabis sativa
BIOgraphy
Dr David Potter
CBiol FSB FLS
is Director of
Botanical
Research and
Cultivation at GW
Pharmaceuticals,
having joined as its
first employee in
1998. He gained his
PhD in 2009 at
King’s College
London, having
researched the
pharmacognosy of
Cannabis sativa and
has 23 years’
research
experience as a
horticulturalist and
agronomist. David
advises the police
on cannabis use
and acts as an
expert witness in
court.
originally evolved, although an area of
Central Asia – to the north of India and
just west of westernmost China – is
thought likely. Others suggest western
China itself, where the closely related
hop is thought to have originated.
Archaeological finds indicate that
the earliest human use of cannabis
was possibly as a source of fibre in
China, as long as 6,000 years ago.
Evidence suggests that around 3,000
BCE Cannabis sativa was used as an
Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine. In
Egypt, mention of medicinal uses of
cannabis was written in the Papyrus
Ramesseum III (circa 1700 BCE).
More detailed uses were recorded in
the Ebers Papyrus (circa 1600 BCE),
which describes the use of cannabis
as a decoction in enemas, applications
to the eye and topically in the form of
medicated bandages.
Discoveries in a tomb in China
indicate its medicinal use 2,700 years
ago (Russo et al, 2008). Fig. 1 is a
photomicrograph of a sample from
this ancient find. Observing its
medicinal use in India, including
relief of spasticity caused by tetanus,
Dr William O’Shaunessey introduced
tinctures of cannabis to Britain in
1841. By 1899, the product was listed
in Merck’s Manual as an efficacious
medicine for the treatment of various
forms of pain. Over the following
hundred years, this medicine fell out
of use, but at the end of the century
there was a resurgence of interest.
Growing methods
Until the 1980s almost all of the illicit
cannabis used in Europe was grown
outdoors and imported from other
continents. Now, however, it is
mostly grown indoors (Leggett,
2006) where, in a more easily
controlled environment, cannabis
quality is increasingly guaranteed
(UNODC, 2009).
When cannabis is grown indoors,
high levels of lighting are needed to
recreate the optimal sub-tropical
late-summer irradiance levels. This
light is of course used for
photosynthesis, enabling the plant to
synthesise the primary metabolites
needed for structural growth.
A large proportion of the light
energy will go to produce secondary
metabolites, such as the essential oils
(terpenes) and cannabinoids. These
terpenoids only contain carbon,
hydrogen and, in the latter’s case,
oxygen, and they are energy hungry
secondary metabolites to
biosynthesise (Gershenzon, 1994).
Hence, indoor growers need massive
energy levels to produce potent crops.
Much of this is achieved with stolen
electricity, the value of which has
been estimated at £200 million per
year in the UK alone (BBC, 2012).
Pharmaceutical cultivation
Cannabis grown for pharmaceutical
use by GW Pharmaceuticals in the
UK, and Bedrocan in the
Netherlands, is all grown in
glasshouses. Around the world, over
23,000 plant species are used for
medicinal purposes, but only about
100 of these will be specifically
grown for the pharmaceutical
industry. Cannabis is perhaps the
only species that is grown indoors.
This provides the extra security that
this highly marketable drug requires.
In GW Pharmaceuticals’ case, it
enables the company to provide the
level of control necessary to produce
a botanical medicine like Sativex.
This multi-component medicine
contains a range of secondary
metabolites and by growing the
plants in uniform conditions, this
enables a consistent ratio of these
ingredients. In addition, the
production of a high-quality
Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 1
Ancient Chinese
cannabis specimen.
Fig. 2
Trichomes on the
female flower.
Fig. 3
SEM coloured view
of the cystolythic
trichomes that
help defend the
cannabis plant.
Fig. 4
Glandular stalked
trichome.
16 / the biologist / Vol 59 No2
Fig. 4
pharmaceutical crop requires
attention to detail by trained staff,
and, of course, plant materials with
desirable genetic profiles.
The majority of cultivated
cannabis species are short-day
plants, only starting to flower at the
end of summer. A phytochromebased system, which actually
measures night length, detects when
the ‘critical daylength’ has arrived.
The flowering switch is then thrown.
Growers of indoor cannabis exploit
this fact. For the first weeks of
growth the plants are kept in a long
day length, which prevents flowering
and encourages sturdy vegetative
growth and root development.
The GW Pharmaceuticals’ team
prefers to suppress the plant’s
natural tendency to produce
excessive height during this
vegetative phase. Adapting a trick
from the culinary herb industry,
known as thigmomorphogenesis, the
stems are brushed almost flat on a
daily basis for the first two to three
weeks (Davis, 2010). Responding as
they would as if buffeted by wind, the
plants produce stockier stems better
able to support the coming canopy of
heavy resinous flowers.
Floral development is then rapid,
in favourable conditions. Males are
typically first to flower, and over a
period of weeks they easily shed
copious amounts of wind-dispersed
pollen. These males throw
maximum energy into pollen
production and relatively little into
defence. Once their pollen is shed,
they rapidly expire and the seedbearing pollinated females expand
into the extra space bequeathed
them. If grown in the absence of
males, unnaturally chaste females
(i.e. sinsemilla) continue to produce
new florets within their
inflorescences. Due to the extended
flowering period, and lack of energy
diversion to seed development, these
sinsemilla plants are much more
cannabinoid-rich.
Female plants tend to react to an
unnatural male-free existence after
a few weeks. Production of another
generation to preserve the plant’s
genetics is paramount and, without
males to offer their services, life
finds a way. Females commonly start
to develop their own anthers, thus
enabling a final late phase of
pollination. Unlike the pollen grains
produced by males, which will carry
either female x, or male y sex
chromosomes, pollen from females
will only carry the x form. The
progeny resulting from fertilisation
with this pollen are thus all female,
which is a real advantage to
sinsemilla (skunk) cannabis growers.
Cannabis and THC
Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the
compound that gives recreational
users a high. It is just one of several
closely-related terpenophenolic
compounds called phytocannabinoids
produced in Cannabis sativa, all
unique to this dioecious species.
Evidence suggests these cannabinoids
are entirely synthesised and
sequestered in specialised structures
called glandular trichomes (Fig. 4).
Three different forms of these
trichomes are found on female
cannabis, and a fourth found
exclusively on the anthers. The
largest form is the capitate stalked
trichome, which is exclusively found
on the floral tissues (Potter, 2009).
The female flowers carry more
trichomes than the male, making
female floral tissue the most potent
source of the drug.
These trichomes are formed in vast
numbers and when back illuminated
( Fig. 2), a pubescence of trichomes
on the female flower is seen to
shimmer. While looking simply
exquisite, the glistening trichomes
are more importantly deflecting
infrared and ultra-violet light away
from the delicate reproductive tissue.
The flowers are thus cooled and given
sun protection. The cannabinoid
molecule itself actually absorbs
UV light, adding to the level
of protection.
The cannabinoids are not the only
chemicals synthesised within the
cannabis trichomes. Other important
ingredients include the two bitter
tasting sesquiterpenes – α-humulene
and ß-caryophyllene. These are found
in many species including cloves
(Syzygium aromaticum), black
pepper (Piper nigrum) and, as the
name suggests, the hop Humulus
lupus. The bitterness adds magic to
beer, but when encountered in higher
concentrations in cannabis flowers,
the chemical acts as a repellent to
many herbivores. A whole class of
volatile essential oils – the
monoterpenes – are also found in
cannabis giving its distinctive odour.
Insect entrapment
Looking at these structures under
the microscope, we are better able to
see how they appear to defend the
The Biologist’s
Jon Kudlick (left) and
Tom Ireland tour GWP’s
cannabis farm.
cannabis plant against a range of
predators and environmental
stresses (Fig. 3).
Insects attempting to walk
through this jungle of stalked
trichomes find progress is slow.
Throughout the plant kingdom,
trichomes have evolved to impair
insect movement in this way.
Cannabis defence is further
strengthened by the presence of
sharp cystolythic trichomes on the
leaf surface (Fig. 3). These rigid
structures deter many mammalian
herbivores by piercing the soft
mouthparts.
Trichomes are also seen to trap
insects, with victims prevented from
eating, pupating and spreading
disease. Some species, like the cotton
melon aphid, struggle violently as
soon as a leg becomes trapped, and
the remaining legs are soon
irreversibly glued (Fig. 5). It is
possible that, during this struggle,
the insect emits the same warning
pheromone that it produces when
attacked by its own predators, thus
alerting others in the colony to the
dangers of cannabis. The plant would
thus gain some protection from
further insect attack.
In effect, the glandular trichomes
on cannabis flowers are ampules of
solvent-based adhesive. Once the
trichome resin head’s outer
membrane is ruptured, the fragrant
monoterpenes are liberated. Having
a high surface area to volume ratio,
the trichome’s volatile ingredients
soon turn to vapour, to be lost on the
passing breeze. Prior to the
membrane being ruptured, the solid
cannabinoids and oily
sesquiterpenes are held in a freeflowing solution. However, once the
volatile monoterpenes have gone,
the residue immediately turns
glutinous and near solid.
Many writers have claimed that
THC is a gift from nature, here to
give pleasure. The main raison d’être
for the cannabinoids may purely, and
unromantically, be nothing more
than an ingredient in a simple
solvent-based adhesive.
This stimulation can be a helpful aid
to recovery in patients who, perhaps
The most useful through chemotherapy, AIDS or
disappointing hospital food, are not
cannabinoid
here is CBD, the eating sufficiently.
understated
Cannabis use has been increasingly
and respectable linked to the development of
cannabinoid
psychosis. This is an unfortunate side
selected
effect of excessive consumption of
against by
THC, especially in teenagers
generations of
predisposed to this condition (Royal
recreational
cannabis users College of Psychiatrists, 2012). In
marked contrast, CBD is antipsychotic and gives some protection
to those cannabis users who might be
harmed by THC.
Two allelic genes control the
biosynthesis of both THC and CBD.
Fig. 5
These are co-dominant, so crosses
Aphid entrapped
on trichomes.
between parents carrying opposing
Cannabinoid possibilities
The two main cannabinoids, at least
in landrace (‘wild’) cannabis, are
THC and cannabidiol (CBD). Both
have analgesic, anti-inflammatory
and anti-spasmodic properties, as
well as other virtues, but only the
former is psychoactive. THC is also
an appetite stimulant, users often
finding that their ‘high’ is followed by
hunger – or the so-called ‘munchies’.
REFERENCES
Alvarez, F. J. et al. Neuroprotective
effects of the nonpsychoactive
cannabinoid cannabidiol in hypoxicischemic newborn piglets. Pediatr Res.
64(6), 653-8 (2008). http://www.ncbi.
nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18679164.
BBC News. Cannabis farms’ £200m
stolen electricity cost ‘staggering’.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/
uk-england-tyne-17898587 (accessed
2 May 2012).
Davis, R. Farming in Lincolnshire: Herb
horticulture in Bourne. http://www.
pridemagazines.co.uk/pages/home/
live-edition/food-and-drink/
lincolnshire-herbs.
Gershenzon, J. Metabolic costs of
terpenoid accumulation in higher
plants. J. Chem. Ecol. 20(6), 1281-1328
(1994).
genes do not produce the classic
Mendelian 3:1 ratio. Instead, the
homozygous progeny are either
THC-dominant, or CBD-dominant,
while heterozygous progeny produce
a mixture of both cannabinoids.
The hashish used by William
O’Shaunessey, as well as the resin
circulating today, would have
contained THC and CBD from a
mixed population of the homozygous
and heterozygous genotypes.
Conversely, high potency skunk
cannabis is grown from seeds
repeatedly selected on their ability
to produce the most psychoactive
plants: the gene that switches on
CBD production has been selected
against.
Golden age
Both the THC and CBD genotypes are
important in the pharmaceutical
industry. These have been used to
produce Sativex, which is now
prescribed in the UK, Canada, New
Zealand and Spain, with six additional
European countries soon to follow. It
is also showing great promise against
other medical conditions.
The plant breeding team at GW
Pharmaceuticals have successfully
bred cannabis where the dominant
cannabinoid is delta-9tetrahydrocannabivarin (THCV).
Normally only present in minor
quantities, THCV is structurally
similar to THC. However,
pharmacologically it acts very
differently. Instead of inducing the
munchies, this cannabinoid
suppresses appetite. As a result, it
has shown promise in pre-clinical
studies as a potential treatment for
obesity and associated Type II
diabetes. A range of other
cannabinoid molecules and mixtures
are also undergoing early research.
These include encouraging results
from in-vitro laboratory
experiments with models of epilepsy
(Jones, 2010).
Encouraging in-vivo studies
suggest that, because of its antiinflammatory properties, CBD may
prove to be useful in treating brain
injury, both in accident victims and
newborns experiencing prolonged
hypoxia at birth (Alvarez, 2008).
Early clinical trials, evaluating pain
relief in late-stage cancer treatment,
have also clearly demonstrated a
synergistic activity when Sativex is
mixed with opiate medicines.
Extensive trials are evaluating these
mixtures for pain control at this
especially distressing time. Perhaps
even more profoundly, research
shows that cannabinoids are active
in fighting some forms of cancer
itself. The most useful cannabinoid
here is once again CBD, the
seemingly understated and
respectable cannabinoid selected
against by generations of
recreational cannabis users
(McAllister et al, 2011).
For at least 8,000 years, the
stems of Cannabis sativa have been
a great source of fibre, woven into
industrial and domestic textiles.
However, in recent decades, many
people have regarded the flowers of
this species a threat to the fabric of
society. As profound research with
cannabis comes to fruition, the
golden age of this species may
have arrived.
Gray, R. Cannabis could be used to
control epilepsy. The Daily Telegraph
(2011) http://www.telegraph.co.uk/
science/science-news/8440303/
Cannabis-could-be-used-to-treatepilepsy.html.
Jones, N. A. et al. Cannabidiol displays
anti-epileptiform and anti-seizure
properties in vitro and in vivo. Journal of
Pharmacology and Experimental
Therapeutics 332, 569-577 (2010).
Leggett, T. A review of the world
cannabis situation. Bulletin of Narcotics
58 (1-2), 1-36 (2006).
McAllister et al. Pathways mediating the
effects of cannabidiol on the reduction
of breast cancer cell proliferation,
invasion, and metastasis. Breast Cancer
Res. Treat. 129, 37–47 (2011).
Potter, D. J. The Propagation,
Characterization and Optimization of
Cannabis sativa L as a
Phytopharmaceutical. (PhD thesis.
Kings College London, p47 – 83, 2009).
http://www.gwpharm.com/uploads/
phd_david_potter_jp.pdf.
Royal College of Psychiatrists.
Cannabis and Mental Health (2012).
http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/
mentalhealthinfo/problems/
alcoholanddrugs/cannabis.aspx
(accessed 2 May 2012)
Russo, E. B. et al. Phytochemical and
genetic analyses of ancient cannabis
from Central Asia. J. Exp. Bot. 59(15),
4171-4182 (2008).
United Nations Office on Drugs and
Crime 2009. 2009 World Drug Report
(1.3.2 Why does cannabis potency
matter?) (United Nations Publications,
New York, NY, 2009).
http://www.unodc.org/documents/
wdr/WDR_2009/WDR2009_eng_web.
pdf
(online sources accessed
27-30 March 2012)
Do you have an opinion on this article? Contact us AT [email protected]
Professor Brian J Ford asks why television
broadcasters spend huge sums on computergenerated scientific simulations when the
real thing is so much better
P
olar bears give birth to their
young in only two places on
earth – the Arctic and
in zoos. Confuse the two on
television and you are in trouble:
when the BBC’s Frozen Planet series
included a sequence of newborn
bear cubs captured by cameras
concealed in a cage, in a programme
ostensibly filmed in the Arctic,
there was an outcry.
These programmes, broadcast
in December last year, bore
the hallmarks of integrity and
excellence, and the unacknowledged
switch of location was bound to
raise hackles. I concede a certain
sympathy for the producers; it
may simply be that the script
implied more than it should. The
art of television lies in the skill of
the director and creative licence
is sometimes necessary to tell a
scientific story visually.
Many conventions are accepted
and we understand how they work.
Sequences of fish filmed in the
wild may be intercut with details of
behaviour that can be observed only
in a studio aquarium. Capturing
reality with a camera involves such
conventions all the time. Fruit may
be sprayed with glycerine to add
opinion
SCIENCE ON TELEVISION
an extra lustre, so it gleams as the
public might expect (but as it never
does in life). Cloud formations are
sped up to make them interesting;
collapsing buildings are slowed
down to command our attention.
Some are lesser known.
Beautifully lit images of human
embryos can give the impression
that they have been observed
alive in the womb, when they are
actually aborted specimens in a
tank of preservative on a slab in the
laboratory. Glass marbles may have
been added to pond-water so that
elusive organisms, swimming under
the lens, remain visible rather than
sinking in the liquid and being lost
to sight.
We know these visual sleights of
hand happen, and for most of the
time we accept it. Microscopic life,
by contrast, is subject to far more
brutal and misleading portrayals.
Living cells are rarely seen on
television and programmes can go
to great lengths to avoid mentioning
that they exist. A gardening
programme discusses diseases of
plants, though you never see the
organisms that cause them. Reports
on pollution control claim that
reed-beds can purify water, without
mentioning the microorganisms
that actually process the waste. This
is like reporting an election without
mentioning the candidates.
Crude cartoons
As a result, the public are unfamiliar
with microscopic life and their
Misleading and
unrealistic images
of biological
processes are
commonplace on
our TV screens.
BIOgraphy
Professor Brian J
Ford served on
Council at the
Institute of Biology
and is the author of
over thirty books,
many of them on
the microscope. He
first appeared on
BBC television 50
years ago and has
since presented
several major
series, appearing
in television
programmes
around the world.
understanding of medicine, health,
human biology and cell science is
restricted. The media regularly
screen programmes on nebulae and
the elusive Higgs boson, neither of
which directly influence our lives,
yet the captivating universe that
the microscope alone can disclose
remains unseen.
Programmes that frequently
feature the inner workings of a
cell often use computer generated
imagery (CGI), which has given us a
rich litany of images of chromosomes,
DNA and enzymes. Whenever we see
documentaries on living cells, the CGI
convention spills over and replaces
reality. Soft, succulent cells are
portrayed as hunks of rock; a delicate
living tracery is represented by shiny
plastic cylinders. The subtle exchange
of ions is transmuted into a violent
discharge of electricity. Real cells are
nowhere to be seen.
Television companies spend
huge sums of money on digital
simulations, even when the real
subject is readily available on
video. The BBC television series
Inside the Human Body, presented
by Michael Mosley, contains CGI
sequences purporting to exemplify
the first divisions of a human zygote.
It is wrong from beginning to
end: the sperm cells are modelled
from sputtered scanning electron
microscope images, and look like
rusty nails; the ovum is opaque and
lacks the translucence of human
ova; the TV version looks like a
corroded cannon ball, and the
dividing cells resemble marbles
jostled in a sock. Living human cells
are nothing like that.
What compounds the error
is that micrographs of genuine
living cells are available. Videos
reveal spermatozoa as sleek,
undulating cells with an apparent
sense of purpose and the living
zygote is shown to have a smooth,
limpid surface and a delicate
translucence. We can show how the
dividing zygote convulses as each
asymmetrical cell division takes
place and there is an attractive
juiciness as this meticulously
choreographed sequence sets in
train the development of an embryo.
There is no reason why this should
be substituted by crude cartoons.
Worse, there is nothing in the
commentary that hints at it.
The script exalts the viewer to
accept what is about to be unveiled.
“Hidden deep inside you,” Mosley
intones, “is a wonderful dynamic
world”.
The viewer is presented with
a forest of tapering columns,
upstanding like bristles on an
unshaven chin, and nothing like any
cells in existence. “Tiny movements
trigger immense electrical storms,”
insists the commentary, as hissing
static discharges leap between lurid
metallic rods.
We next encounter “raging
torrents of blood” accompanying
computer graphic images of
discs diving through a duct. They
are roughly the right shape for
erythrocytes, though they lack
the translucence of the real cells.
These versions are portrayed as
rigid biconcave discs, whereas living
erythrocytes are highly flexible and
have the consistency of delicate
balloons of cytoplasm that easily
distort as they squeeze through
constricting capillaries. The CGI
versions in this BBC programme
look more like motor-car wheels,
and are similarly inflexible.
Contrived reality
You might justify broadcasting
an artist’s impression of a planet
that nobody can see, but images
of living cells abound and new
sequences could easily be prepared.
Substituting a CGI version for
reality makes no sense; you might as
well transmit Spitting Image in place
of a party political broadcast.
Life under the microscope is so
appealing, so revealing, and so easy
to observe, that the vogue for CGI
is bizarre. I have been told that the
budget for such computer graphics
probably ran into six figures – yet
we could watch the real thing at a
fraction of the cost.
BBC nature programmes are the
best in the world, and the corporation
proudly proclaims its groundbreaking uniqueness. A recent
documentary examined previous
decades and reminded the viewer
that, not so long ago, there were so
many aspects of life that could not
be captured on film. “Now,” runs
the script, “we can film everything”.
Not so. They cannot effectively film
the microscopic world, which is the
most important aspect of all life
on earth. A tiger may eat you, but
only a living microbe can decimate
your entire nation. Every aspect of
the tiger is familiar to us, from its
mating behaviour and voracious
appetite to its cleansing mud-baths;
yet when did you last see a real living
microorganism on television?
Artificial representations are
widely used in teaching science,
whether it’s a drawing on a board
or a diagram in a textbook. Models
are routinely employed, from plastic
balls to show us the structure of
DNA to scale models that reveal the
proportions of the planets. Not only
are they useful, they are vital. We
know these are models, and they are
the only thing we have to disclose
the crucial information.
The problem with the CGI cells
we see on television is that these are
all we see. The reality is contrived,
and sight of the real cells is nowhere
to be seen. So fashionable has the
electron microscope image become
that it has replaced the reality.
It is curious the most important
aspect of our lives is so crudely
misrepresented by the media. Cells
need a better press and, if they are
unable to say so for themselves, then
I am urging reform on their behalf.
Those polar bear cubs may have
been filmed in a location that the
producers concealed from the viewers,
but they were at least real cubs. Were
the polar bears afforded the same
treatment that producers mete out
to microbes, they’d have used clips of
Winnie the Pooh. Or Paddington Bear.
Life under
the
microscope
is so
appealing,
so revealing,
and so easy
to observe,
that the
vogue for
CGI is bizarre
EVEN BETTER THAN
THE REAL THING?
David Barker, the CGI researcher of
the BBC’s Inside the Human Body,
will be responding to this article in the
next issue of The Biologist. We’d love to
hear your thoughts on the issue too.
The cinema film Look Who’s
Talking was written and
directed by Amy Heckerling
in 1989.
In this vivid fertilisation
scene, although not entirely
accurate, the translucence
of the ovum and the
serpentine movements of the
spermatozoa are exquisitely
well conveyed.
The BBC’s version of a human
blastula used a toad’s egg as
its reference. Unlike human ova,
those of the toad are opaque
and so the result is misleading.
The pitted opaque surface,
which makes the cell seem
rough and textured, does not
exist in reality.
Genuine light microscopy
reveals the early human
blastula as translucent, vital
and alive. Digital imagery is
now so pervasive that images
of living cells are routinely
discarded and replaced with
CGI substitutes.
The subtleties and intricacy
of life are replaced with
simplified digital imagery
that misrepresents reality.
In consequence, the public is
denied a realistic understanding
of the cell.
Some examples of digital
imagery are purely imaginary.
On the BBC’s Inside the Human
Body, the description of cells
stated that “tiny movements
trigger fierce electrical storms.”
It is impossible to imagine
what the BBC producer had
in mind, for nothing like this
exists in nature. The sequence
subsequently showed blue
sparks flashing as they travel
along imaginary columns, like
hair being combed in the dark.
GENETICS
GENE DOPING AND SPORT
DESIGNER ATHLETES
Dr Cristiana Velloso explains how gene therapy or ‘gene doping’
looks set to be the next frontier in performance enhancement
G
ene therapy was first proposed
almost 50 years ago, but the
issues hampering the
technology’s progress are only now
being overcome1. Gene doping, the
misuse of gene therapy in sports, is
already of concern to anti-doping
authorities. Defined by the World
Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) as the
non-therapeutic use of cells, genes,
genetic elements or the modulation of
gene expression having the capacity
to enhance athletic performance, it
has been banned since 2003.
The technical principles behind
gene therapy and gene doping are
similar. Both require efficient
delivery of an exogenous gene, or
transgene, into a sufficient number
of cells, and its efficient expression.
In order for the gene to be read and
expressed, certain elements must be
present. Chief amongst these is
something called the promoter, a
short sequence of nucleotides that
tell the gene expression machinery
of the cell where and when to start
reading a gene as well as how much
RNA to make. Some genes, for
example, are only expressed in
particular organs or at certain times
in the life of an organism, such as in
the embryo. Others change in
abundance depending on a stimulus,
for example producing proteins for
increasing muscle mass following
strength training.
By itself, DNA is not efficiently
taken up by cells, but various
methods can be used for its delivery.
In gene therapy, modified viruses are
the most promising vectors for this
purpose. Viruses infect cells by
introducing their genetic material
into them and then using the
machinery of the infected cell to
express viral genes. Viruses used in
gene therapy are made safe by
removing viral genes involved in
reproduction and replacing them
with therapeutic genes.
Experimental evidence
Currently, there is no evidence that
gene doping has been attempted in
or out of sporting competition. Still,
BIOgraphy
Dr Cristiana
Velloso is a
Research
Associate at the
Centre for Human
and Aerospace
Physiological
Sciences, King’s
College London,
and has a special
interest in skeletal
muscle. She is
currently working
on molecular
mechanisms of
muscle mass
regulation in
humans in health,
disease and
ageing.
research on rodents has shown that
altering expression levels of single
genes in skeletal muscles of
transgenic animals can result in
significant performance gains.
Skeletal muscle is already a target
tissue for performance enhancement
using drugs, since manipulating
muscle mass has direct benefits for
sports disciplines requiring power
(sprinting, weight lifting), whereas
altering muscle metabolism can
bring benefits for endurance events.
These characteristics make it
attractive as a target for genetic
manipulation in humans.
Skeletal muscle cells (myofibres),
like neurons, are post-mitotic (nonproliferating) and long lived, so that
stable long-term gene expression can
be achieved if exogenous nucleic acids
can be successfully introduced into a
cell nucleus. In tissues in which cells
are constantly being replaced such as
skin and blood, the genetic material
can easily be lost if it is not integrated
(physically linked) to that of the host.
Perhaps the most remarkable of
the transgenic animal phenotypes
observed to date is that of the
marathon mouse in which the
enzyme Phosphoenolpyruvate
carboxykinase (PEPCK) is over
expressed in skeletal muscles.
These animals are able to run
virtually non-stop for distances of
5km, compared to an average of
0.2km observed in wild types2.
This impressive running capacity
is accompanied by, among other
traits, increased myofibre
mitochondrial content,
intramuscular fat stores and
aggressiveness. The role of PEPCK in
skeletal muscle is not entirely clear
but it appears, from the phenotype of
the mice, that fuel availability and
utilisation, energy generation and
even ‘personality’ all contribute to
the increased performance.
Another notable animal is the
IGF-I (insulin-like growth factor I)
transgenic mouse, which has greatly
increased muscle mass and has been
the subject of much investigation
over the last ten years3.
Potential limitations
One major difference between the
performance enhancement seen in
these animal models and what could
potentially be achieved in humans is
that in most transgenic animals the
altered gene is introduced in the
fertilised egg. As a result, all
embryonic development and postnatal
growth takes place with altered gene
expression and is probably not
predictive of the effects of genetic
manipulation in an adult organism.
Importantly, researchers at the
University of Pennsylvania showed
that significant gains in skeletal
muscle mass and strength could be
obtained by introducing IGF-I into
muscles of adult rats4 using an
adeno-associated virus, one of the
key vectors in use for gene therapy
approaches. In addition, the
presence of the gene curtailed
muscle loss during a period of
detraining, suggesting a scenario
where gene manipulation might be
used illicitly by athletes to prevent
performance loss during periods of
inactivity or recovery from injury.
One important consideration
when trying to imagine the potential
application of studies performed on
laboratory animals to athletes is the
fact that the animals are usually
sedentary and certainly not selected
for their athletic prowess – there is
likely to be considerable potential for
functional gains, which may not be
present in athletes because these
individuals are already operating at
peak performance.
In large animals such as humans,
another key limitation of gene
therapy is the cost of producing
vectors in sufficient purity to meet
clinical standards and sufficient
quantity to provide adequate dosage.
Others issues encountered in clinical
trials include obtaining efficient and
stable integration, efficient
expression, and minimising immune
reactions both to the viral vectors
and to the protein product of the
gene. Non-viral vectors such as
plasmids, essentially a backbone of
DNA that carries the gene of interest,
Genetically
engineered
athletes are
still a
distant
reality, but
knowledge
of how
genotype is
related to
certain
aspects of
health is
advancing
rapidly
GENETICS
GENE DOPING AND SPORT
can be produced cheaply, in large
amounts and with relatively simple
laboratory set-ups5. The problem is
that delivery and integrations of
these vectors is inefficient – although
delivery can be improved by various
mechanical manipulations, such as
application of ultrasound.
Theoretically, the inefficiency of
delivery or expression might not be
a major issue if the aim of the
procedure is small gains in
performance, as opposed to
achieving therapeutic dosages.
Successful transfection of a few
myofibres could deliver enough
improvement to overcome the very
small differences often seen among
competitors (less than 1% in the case
of 100m sprints, for example).
Gene variants
A potentially bigger problem is the
genetic diversity among the human
population, and the difficulty in
predicting effects of modulating
expression of specific genes in such
diverse backgrounds. Although
some mutations appear to have
penetrance even among different
species, some phenotypes can be lost
when transferring between
individuals of the same species (for
example, among the various mouse
strains that are used in laboratories
worldwide). In humans, many gene
variants (alleles) have been
associated with performance, but
the associations are not consistently
observed in studies performed by
different laboratories with different
populations. One possible
explanation is that this may be due to
the interplay between variants of a
particular gene and of all the others
with which it interacts.
Based on 23 gene variants thought
to influence endurance performance,
it was predicted that the ideal
athletic genotype would only occur
REFERENCES
(1) Kay, M. State-ofthe-art gene-based
therapies: the road
ahead. Nature
Reviews Genetics 12,
316-328 (2011)
(2) Hakimi, P. et al.
Overexpression of
the cytosolic form of
phosphoenolpyruvate
carboxykinase (GTP)
in skeletal muscle
repatterns energy
metabolism in the
mouse. J Biol Chem.
282, 32844-55 (2007).
Hanson, R. W. &
Hakimi, P. Born to
run; the story of
the PEPCK-Cmus
mouse. Biochimie 90,
838-842 (2008).
(3) Musarò, A. et
al Localized Igf-1
transgene expression
sustains hypertrophy
and regeneration in
senescent skeletal
muscle. Nat Genet.
27(2), 195-200 (2001).
(4) Lee, S. et al.
Viral expression of
insulin-like growth
factor-I enhances
muscle hypertrophy
in resistance-trained
rats. J Appl Physiol.
96(3),1097-104
(2004).
(5) Wells, D. J. Genedoping, the hype
and the reality. Br. J
Pharmacology 154(3),
623-31 (2008).
(6) Williams, A. &
Folland, J. P. Similarity
of polygenic profiles
limits the potential for
elite human physical
performance.
J Physiol. 586(1), 113-21
(2008).
(7) Timmons, J. A. et
al. Using molecular
classification to
predict gains in
maximal aerobic
capacity following
endurance exercise
training in humans.
J Appl Physiol 108,
1487–1496 (2010).
(8) Bouchard, C. et al.
Genomic predictors
of the maximal O2
uptake response to
standardized exercise
training programs.
J Appl Physiol 110,
1160–1170 (2011).
(9) Robinson N. et al.
Sottas P-E The Athlete
Biological Passport:
An Effective Tool in the
Fight against Doping.
Clinical Chemistry 57,
830-832 (2011).
Coghlan, A. The
Biological Passport to
Catch Sports Cheats,
New Scientist 2738
(2009).
once in every 20 million individuals6.
This probability should decrease as
the number of genes included in the
calculation increases. It would
therefore seem unlikely that one
ideal genotype could determine elite
athletic performance, and by
extension that one gene would result
in universal performance gains.
Given the above, it is surprising how
few genes have been shown to be
associated with one particular aspect
of adaptation to exercise, namely the
ability to respond to aerobic training
as evidenced by improvements in
physiological measurements such as
resting heart rate.
Using two distinct approaches,
one analysing genotype and the
second looking at expressed mRNAs
in skeletal muscle, researchers have
shown that as few as 20-30 genes can
be used to predict to what extent an
individual will respond to aerobic
training7,8. Participants in the above
studies were not athletes, and it will
be interesting to determine whether
athletes involved in endurance
disciplines, or indeed athletes in
general, have the predictive
genotype/transcriptome of
responders to aerobic exercise. The
studies indicate that even if
modulation of expression of one gene
does not turn out to be universally
beneficial from the perspective of
performance gains, it would
probably be effective on a large
number of individuals given that the
number of genes which influence
function is likely to be limited.
Detection
The question of major concern to the
anti-doping authorities is whether
gene doping would be detectable.
Unlike most drugs, which are
chemical compounds that do not
occur naturally in the body, gene
doping would result in the
production of biological molecules.
If the genetic manipulation results
in some kind of systemic change
which can be measured in blood or
urine, for example the presence of the
particular protein in either of these
body fluids when it is not normally
found there, or abnormally high
levels of it, then this could potentially
be enough evidence for gene doping.
On the other hand, if the
expression and the effect of the
transgene are localised to a site or
tissue that is not easily sampled, then
detection will be more difficult. A
tissue biopsy rather than urine or
blood sample would be required, and
it is difficult to imagine a scenario
where tissue biopsies would be
routinely taken without substantial
supporting evidence obtained by less
invasive means.
The introduction of the transgene
is likely to trigger a cascade of
changes in the expression of several
endogenous genes, a few of which
might be secreted into the blood
stream, even if the expression of the
transgene itself is confined to the site
of injection of the vector (for
example the hamstring muscle of the
right leg). All such indirect effects of
gene doping or indeed drug doping
are not presently known. Large
scale, high throughput analysis of all
urine and blood components will
become technically and
economically feasible in future
allowing detection initially of
abnormal patterns of these
components, leading ultimately to
diagnosis of doping involving either
specific drugs or genes. One such
strategy currently being developed
by WADA is the Athlete Biological
Passport (ABP), where biomarkers
(molecules indicative of a particular
state) for banned practices are
monitored and recorded on an
individual basis9.
The threat of and opportunity for
gene doping are real, but the results,
based on current understanding of
biological processes, are in no way
guaranteed. Neither is safety, despite
the large number of gene therapy
trials and relative paucity of adverse
events reported.
Advancing knowledge
Ultimately, the health of the athlete,
in addition to fairness in competition,
is the goal of anti-doping authorities.
The lack of efficient gene delivery
and expression, and the
unpredictability of gene expression
compared to drugs – which can be
started, stopped and dosed precisely
– suggest that genetically engineered
athletes are still a distant reality.
Yet the knowledge of how genotype is
related to certain aspects of health is
advancing rapidly. The time may not
be far off when genotype could be
used as an additional tool to identify
performance potential, or shape
training, nutrition and drugging
regimens. The counterpoint is that
this advancing knowledge will also
provide new weapons in the fight
against doping, whether genetic
or not.
CONSERVATION
SPECIES REINTRODUCTION
BACK
TO LIFE
Scottish Natural Heritage’s
Dr Martin Gaywood assesses
the role of reintroduction
as a way of conserving species
and restoring ecosystems
D
etermining the most
significant conservation work
in Scotland at the moment
isn’t easy. There are the ambitious,
big-scale projects involving
woodland restoration and marine
site protection. Then there is the
management of our extensive peat
bogs to ensure they remain as vital
long-term carbon sinks, water stores
and habitats for wildlife.
These types of projects have the
potential to make the biggest,
positive impact on biodiversity. Yet,
despite this, it is often speciesfocused projects that spark the
public imagination and generate
most media attention, and none
more so than some of the UK’s
current reintroduction projects.
Two of the most high-profile
examples at the moment are in
Scotland, where sea eagles and
beavers are the subject of complex
reintroduction projects. Perhaps
part of the reason for the interest
these projects generate is that there
is often so much more to a
reintroduction project than just
returning a particular species back
to a particular place.
Why reintroduce species?
Reintroductions are used to
establish species in areas where they
have become extinct that were once
part of their historical range. This is
different to the concept of
introduction, where species are
moved to areas where they are not
native, and can sometimes result in
animals or plants becoming invasive,
such as Japanese knotweed (Fallopia
japonica) in Britain.
Reintroduction is just one part of a
conservationist’s toolkit but in
recent decades it has become an
increasingly well-used method
(EcoText, 2004 and Soorae, 2010). In
some ways this is surprising as the
species-focused approach to wildlife
conservation has fallen a little out of
fashion, with the bigger habitat,
landscape and ecosystem approach
now judged to be the main direction
we should be heading in.
Reintroductions tend to be
complex projects requiring the
consideration of a wide range of
issues such as ecological
requirements, animal husbandry
and plant cultivation, species
legislation, finance and fund raising,
consultation with stakeholders,
education and interpretation, and
public relations. Usually no single
organisation can provide such a
breadth of multi-disciplinary
expertise so projects often require
the development of partnerships.
They also tend to be relatively
expensive compared to other
types of conservation work and
may sometimes be seen as
diverting resources from more
worthwhile causes.
Critics of reintroductions have
raised other concerns, especially in
relation to some of our recent, highprofile projects. Reintroduced
species are perceived as risking
unforeseen or unmanageable
damage to other wildlife or habitats
through competition, predation or
more indirect effects. Some species
may have a direct or indirect effect
on land use, with resulting economic
costs to the land user or public purse.
So why is there such continued
interest in reintroduction? Scottish
Natural Heritage (SNH) believes
some reintroductions can help to
bring about certain environmental,
social and economic benefits in
Scotland if done in the right way.
Firstly, reintroductions are a way
of meeting conservation objectives,
such as restoring the range of a
species that has declined as a result
of human pressure (Hodder and
BIOgraphy
Dr Gaywood is
manager of the
Species Action
Framework at
Scottish Natural
Heritage.
Following his PhD
on snake ecology
and postdoctoral
work at the
University of
Southampton, Dr
Gaywood worked
at CSIRO in
Australia on a
Royal Society
Travelling
Fellowship. On his
return he moved to
Scottish Natural
Heritage in 1994 to
work on species
conservation and
management
issues.
Young whitetailed eagles in
their holding cage
at the east of
Scotland release
site.
Bullock, 1997) or to help restore
healthy ecosystems.
Secondly there is the potential for
increased socio-economic benefits
such as from tourism, education and
interpretation programmes. These
may be supported by cultural links
between the species concerned and
the local area, perhaps based around
history and literature. Scottish
projects also help to establish an
enhanced national image of Scotland
as a leader in conservation and
environmental issues, and a nation
willing to take action to restore
past losses.
Thirdly reintroductions can
provide a focus for raising awareness
of wider environmental issues and
encouraging resources for habitat
restoration programmes. Finally,
carefully-managed reintroductions
can provide positive success stories
with the potential for wide public
interest and support, nationally
or locally.
Best practice
The challenge is to ensure that any
reintroduction proposal has a clear
rationale and that any decision first
involves a careful consideration of
all the relevant factors. If a decision
is made to release a particular
species, then the right sort of
planning and implementation will
maximise the chances of the species
establishing long-term, selfsustaining and viable populations,
and minimise any conflict with
local people.
The International Union for the
Conservation of Nature Guidelines
for Reintroductions (IUCN 1998)
were produced to help guide this
process, “to help ensure that the
reintroductions achieve their
intended conservation benefit, and
do not cause adverse side effects of
greater impact”.
The guidelines summarise the key
activities that should be considered
for any reintroduction project under
the following headings:
1(a) Biological
study and background
research
■ Previous reintroductions
■ Choice of release site and type
■ Evaluation of reintroduction site
■ Availability of suitable release
stock
■ Release of captive stock
1(b)Socio-economic and
legal requirements
2 Planning preparation and
release stages
3 Post-release activities
■ Feasibility
These pragmatic and sensible
guidelines are used by conservation
organisations worldwide and have
been formally adopted by all the
statutory conservation agencies in
the UK (see the policy for
conservation translocation in
Britain produced by the Joint Nature
CONSERVATION
SPECIES REINTRODUCTION
Conservation Committee, 2003).
They can be used for any type of
reintroduction, although their
application might be relatively
straightforward for some projects
(such as reintroducing a rare plant to
a hillside using donor stock from
another population in the same hill
range) but complex for others (such
as reintroducing a top predator).
The way forward
The controversial issues surrounding
certain species reintroductions have
meant that conservation interests
have sometimes come into conflict
with those of local land users. In
Scotland, the Scottish Beaver Trial
and the west and east coast sea eagle
reintroduction projects have
generated a particularly high level
of debate.
Arguments have often been
passionate and intense, with much
of it played out in the media and
both sides sometimes playing loose
with the facts. It became clear that
there had to be a more constructive
way of trying to engage stakeholders
in the decision-making process and
so a ‘National Species
Reintroduction Forum’ has been set
up in Scotland made up of land-use
groups, conservation NGOs and
other public bodies. The forum
provides an opportunity for all sides
to discuss issues important to them,
and to try and develop an agreed
way forward.
By the end of 2012, the Scottish
Biodiversity Strategy will have been
revised to have a far bigger focus on
management at the ecosystem scale.
But does this ‘ecosystem approach’
mean species reintroductions will
become redundant? It’s unlikely,
since there will always be a need
for certain types of targeted species
management, and reintroduction
is likely to remain a useful tool
when other options, such as trying to
encourage species to recolonise
areas naturally, will not work in
the medium or long term.
Reintroductions can also
contribute to the restoration of
healthy and functioning
ecosystems, for example by
returning pollinator or other
‘keystone’ species to places where
they had been lost. People are also
an important element of the
ecosystem concept and
reintroductions, if managed
properly, can provide value to our
social, economic and cultural needs.
REFERENCES
EcoText: Review of
international policy
and practice for
native species
conservation
translocations.
Scottish Natural
Heritage Report No.
034 (ROAME No.
F03NC04B), Scottish
Natural Heritage,
Battleby (2004).
Hodder, K. H. &
Bullock, .J M.
Translocation of
native species in the
UK: Implications for
biodiversity. Journal
of Applied Ecology
34, 547-565 (1997).
IUCN Guidelines for
Re-introductions.
IUCN/SSC
Re-introduction
Specialist Group,
Gland, Switzerland
(1998)
Kemp, P. S. et al
Qualitative and
quantitative effects
of reintroduced
beavers on stream
fish. Fish and
Fisheries (2011).
Pre-publication
version available
online at http://
onlinelibrary.wiley.
com/doi/10.1111/
j.1467-2979.
2011.00421.x/
abstract
McLean, I. F. G. (on
behalf of the Interagency
Translocations
Working Group) A
Policy for
Conservation
Translocations of
Species in Britain,
Joint Nature
Conservation
Committee,
Peterborough (2003).
SNH A Five Year
Species Action
Framework: Making a
Difference for
Scotland’s Species.
Scottish Natural
Heritage, Battleby
(2007). www.snh.gov.
uk/speciesaction
framework
Soorae, P. S. (ed)
Global re-introduction
perspectives:
Additional casestudies from around
the globe. IUCN/SSC
Re-introduction
Specialist Group, Abu
Dhabi, UAE (2010)
Similar concepts
Our changing environment has led
to the development of a similar
concept to reintroduction called
‘conservation introduction’, where
species are moved deliberately. This
involves trying to establish a species,
for the purpose of conservation,
outside its recorded distribution but
within an appropriate habitat or
geographic area. A good example of
this is the transfer of animals or
plants from populations threatened
by the spread of disease to isolated
refuges (e.g. ‘insurance populations’
of Tasmanian devils have been set up
in response to the spread of Devil
Facial Tumour Disease in Tasmania).
Another important example is
‘assisted colonisation’ in response to
climate change, where species with
poor dispersal powers are given a
helping hand to move away from
areas that are becoming climatically
unsuitable. Because of the growing
interest in this type of translocation,
and because it has many similarities
to reintroduction, the IUCN
Guidelines on Reintroduction are
being expanded to include
conservation introduction as well.
Reintroduction is likely to remain
a useful method for conserving
species and restoring ecosystems.
Ideally, restoring habitats and
enhancing the likelihood of species
recolonising areas naturally, should
be the priority. But in situations
where this is unlikely, for example
where species have poor dispersal
abilities or because of the presence
of natural barriers, then
reintroduction remains a
valuable alternative.
Reintroductions are also not just
about the species – the involvement
and support of people is also
important and can be vital in
ensuring eventual success and the
restoration of viable and selfsustaining populations.
Most of the projects listed above have
been done under the umbrella of
Scotland’s Species Action Framework
(SNH 2007) and further
information, including details of the
numerous partners involved, can be
found at www.snh.gov.uk/
speciesactionframework
Monitoring reports and other
scientific publications are available
online via www.snh.gov.uk/
scottishbeavertrial
SEEN AGAIN
T
Eurasian beaver
Beaver dam built at Knapdale
he following examples give an idea
of the range of species
reintroductions that are being
carried out in Scotland and the breadth
of geographic scales that we have been
working at.
Wildlife has no interest in political
boundaries so the term reintroduction can
be used where a species is returned to a
country from which it has been lost (such as
sea eagles to Scotland, and indeed the island
of Great Britain), or it might be to a specific
river catchment, mountain top or some
other form of localised, geographic area.
The examples also demonstrate that
although some high-profile species
reintroductions may be controversial,
many others generate far less heat.
Eurasian beaver trial
Sea eagle
Loch Skeen release
site for vendace
Woolly willow
Freshwater pearl mussel
The Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber) is
currently the subject of the first formal
reintroduction project of a mammal
species to Britain. Although SNH started
feasibility studies on beaver reintroduction
in the mid-1990s, it was not until 2009 that
the Government finally granted a licence
to permit the release of four beaver
families into the wild in Knapdale, Argyll,
as part of the Scottish Beaver Trial.
Public consultations have shown that
the majority of members of the Scottish
public surveyed are in favour of
reintroduction, but some groups have
particular concerns over the potential
effects of beaver engineering and
feeding activities. The same activities
are seen by some supporters as having
potentially important benefits – for
example felled trees can be perceived
as a lost commercial crop to some people,
but the creation of naturally coppiced
woodland as beneficial to wildlife
to others.
The trial approach, together with other
ongoing beaver studies (e.g. on beavers
and migratory fish, Kemp et al., 2011) will
therefore allow these factors to be
examined and presented to the Minister
for Environment and Climate Change in
2015, after which a decision on the future
of beaver reintroduction will be made.
The project continues to receive enormous
amounts of public and media attention.
In the meantime, beavers have also
appeared on Tayside, possibly having
originated as escapees from private
collections or from deliberate releases.
Following much debate, the Government
has recently decided to allow the animals
to return for the time being, and use the
opportunity to collect further information
which will also be reported to the Minister
in 2015.
Sea eagle
The white-tailed or sea eagle (Haliaeetus
albicilla) is the UK’s largest bird of prey. It
became extinct in the early 1900s but was
reintroduced to the west coast of Scotland
from 1975-98 where there are now about
60 occupied territories. More recently a
new and ongoing phase of reintroduction
has focused around Fife in east Scotland,
with 80 birds released since 2007.
The return of the sea eagle has
generated substantial public interest,
and a recent RSPB study on Mull
suggested that sea eagle tourism boosts
the local economy by about £5 million
every year. However some farmers,
crofters and foresters have reservations,
and the reintroduction of a large raptor is
an expensive business. In 2010 Natural
England withdrew from a proposal to
reintroduce them in England largely due
to budget cutbacks.
In Scotland there is a management
scheme that aims to support projects
that may benefit the eagles, spread the
economic benefits arising from their
presence and assist in the positive
management of land and livestock
which reduces the impact of eagle
foraging behaviour.
Vendace
The vendace (Coregonus albula) is a
freshwater fish typically associated with
large, deep, standing waters. Scotland
lost its last population of vendace in the
1960s as its habitat became unsuitable,
so when reintroduction work began in
the 1990s, it was first necessary to identify
lochs where it was believed the conditions
would enable any new population
to survive.
Since then, vendace has been moved
into three Scottish lochs using donor
stock from the remaining UK populations
in the Lake District. In fact, stock from
the Bassenthwaite population in the Lake
District were moved just in time to
Loch Skeen in Scotland: shortly
afterwards the Bassenthwaite population
became extinct as a result of habitat
change, but the genetically distinct and
diverse stock lives on in Scotland.
Woolly willow
Woolly willow (Salix
lanata) is a low shrub that forms part of
sub-arctic, montane scrub habitat which
was once an important ecotone above the
altitudinal limit of forest. However,
changing land management in the Scottish
uplands has meant that montane scrub is
now restricted to a few fragments, many of
them isolated and vulnerable to localised
extinction. Woolly willow cuttings have
been collected and cultivated at the Royal
Botanic Gardens Edinburgh, with young
plants planted out at carefully selected sites
in the Cairngorms and Angus glens.
Freshwater pearl mussel
Scotland is a European stronghold for the
freshwater pearl mussel (Margaritifera
margaritifera) but continuing threats
from illegal pearl fishing, habitat loss,
water pollution and declines in trout and
salmon, which act as larval hosts, have
meant that the population remains under
threat. More recently, attempts have been
made to reintroduce the mussel into rivers
where it once lived, using stock judged to
be most genetically similar to the extinct
populations.
The locations have had to be kept secret
because of the continued threat of pearl
fishing. Animals can be moved as adult
mussels, or as larvae on host salmonid fish.
However, so far the results have been
disappointing, demonstrating how the
subtle and complex ecological
requirements of some species can often
make reintroduction work challenging.
Efforts are being made to work out how
future reintroductions can be improved.
Pine hoverfly
The larvae of the pine hoverfly (Blera
fallax) have particular requirements –
wet rotting heartwood, caused by butt-rot
fungus within the snapped-off stumps of
large pines. Given the lack of large old pines
in Scotland, it is not surprising that several
years ago only a few hundred individuals
were thought to be left at two separate sites
in Strathspey, in the Cairngorms.
A project was therefore launched in
2007 involving research, captive breeding
and the creation of dozens of man-made
breeding sites. The core sites have been
sustained and the three reintroductions
which have been made to historic sites
are already producing new generations
of hoverflies.
INTERVIEW
SIR STEPHEN BLOOM
THE PHILOSOPHY OF FAT
SIR STEPHEN BLOOM FSB
The distinguished and recently knighted endocrinologist
talks to Sue Thorn FSB about his research on obesity
The main drivers of obesity are
willpower, genetics and social class
– what’s the current view about
their relative importance?
Obesity is genetic in that if you
have obese parents you are more
likely to be obese. A Swedish study
demonstrated that if you were a thin
orphan bought up in a fat household
you stayed thin, or if you were a fat
orphan (with fat parents) bought up
in a household of thin people you
actually stayed fat – so there is a very
strong inherited propensity to obesity.
In an obesogenic society, i.e. one
where you don’t need to take any
exercise and you have high calorie
delicious food available at all times,
people with a genetic predisposition
will tend to get obese, and those
who are more resistant won’t. So
it’s an environmental and genetic
thing and that plurality is sometimes
difficult to grasp.
Can we do anything by giving
lifestyle advice? Most sensible people
already understand that eating less
and doing more exercise would be
a help, and on the whole, they’ve
already taken that advice or failed to.
We know that if you send dieticians
into people’s houses, they lose weight.
And as soon as they stop visiting, the
subject’s weight goes back up. So if
you make a superhuman effort, you
can lose weight.
One of the problems with taking
more exercise is that people then eat
more as they feel they’ve earned it,
but people who stay slim do generally
go jogging or whatever. Obesity is
more serious than a lack of exercise –
so if you take a lot of exercise and are
obese you still will have a shorter life.
Do you think the Olympics will make
any difference to people’s attitude
to sport and exercise?
The Olympics is great, it really
stimulates people to sit on a couch
and watch television. And it’s
bound to have quite an impact – on
increasing obesity.
What is the solution, or is there
no solution?
To take it to extremes, one option
is to make food less palatable, force
people to climb stairs and cause
trains to run less frequently and be
overcrowded [laughs]. My favoured
change would be a fat tax – it
wouldn’t be a perfect instrument, but
if high-fat foods were more expensive
and everyone knew that it was to help
with health, then I think it would
encourage people to understand fat
content and may even do some good.
The
Olympics is
great, it
really
stimulates
people to sit
on a couch
and watch
television.
And it’s
bound to
have quite
an impact –
on
increasing
obesity
Where does oxyntomodulin fit in?
We found that some of the gut
hormones, if infused to a physiological
concentration, have an unexpected
effect of reducing appetite. We think
this is the gut saying to the brain: “We
can’t handle the food, please eat less.”
The elevation of satiety hormones is
a feature of chronic gut diseases and
leads to a long-term reduction in
food intake.
One of the hormones that we
worked on was oxyntomodulin,
meaning it modulates the oxyntic
cells and reduces acid secretion
in the stomach, but we noticed it
did two other things – it increases
energy expenditure and decreases
appetite and so led to a reduction in
body weight. When we trialled three
daily injections of oxyntomodulin
in volunteers, after four weeks in
a double-blind trial, they’d lost a
lot of weight. But no one wants to
have injections three times a day, so
our aim was to make a long-lasting
oxyntomodulin, which we did, and
set up a company called Thiakis,
which is now owned by Pfizer.
Oxyntomodulin is about supressing
appetite. I tend to snack – it’s not
that I’m hungry but I eat a chocolate
because I fancy one.
Hedonistic eating, eating for
pleasure, seems to be because we
want to get a taste thrill or it gives
us a satisfaction. This however is
not entirely as it seems. People
who are hungry really enjoy food,
people who aren’t don’t, so one’s
enjoyment is adjusted by what the
body thinks is the need for food. So
you get more pleasure when you are
hungry, and the hunger hormone
ghrelin, when infused, increases
the appreciation of food – you think
things are more delicious. This
brings us to an interesting side
issue, which is that these peripheral
hormones are controlling basic
human drives. So our brain is being
controlled by our gut. Sex hormones
control sex drives, so it’s not an
unusual principle. It tells us that we
are automatic machinery and not as
free-willed as we wish to believe.
What is your lifestyle like?
My BMI is about 27, which is outside
the healthy range but not seriously
overweight. I have trouble controlling
my appetite. I snack on things like
chocolate. So I feel very sympathetic
to the overweight, and it should never
be a case of getting cross with people,
it’s an issue of trying to help with the
physical and social consequences.
That’s why we’re trying to make an
effective, safe obesity therapy.
When we worked together, I
remember you used to lunch on
lettuce leaves.
Yes, between chocolates I eat
lettuce. I still jog every day, 20
minutes’ worth on a treadmill. I
find it very boring and now I have a
treadmill with a television and lots
of recorded programmes.
Why did you decide to specialise in
endocrinology?
I’d always been interested in sex – I
suppose the other option was obs
and gynae but that was… the less
attractive end.
Why science rather than medicine?
Despite being a medic I was
interested in science – when the
INTERVIEW
SIR STEPHEN BLOOM
opportunity came up to do a
research fellowship I volunteered
straight away and never looked back.
Learning clinical medicine was an
enormous help in understanding
how the whole body fits together and
the effects of things going wrong.
You started off presumably as a
classical endocrinologist and now
concentrate on obesity – what path
took you there?
I was a peculiar endocrinologist
because I was interested in diarrhoea
and got into gut hormones, and
unusual regulatory activities of
hormones: neurotransmitter
peptides, neurotransmitters in
the lung and the bladder as well
as the gut. I only came back into
endocrinology rather late in my
career, when we realised that
some of these are neurocrine – i.e.
locally-active hormones or paracrine
– diffusing to act on nearby cells,
and sometimes in the circulation
in classical hormonal fashion as
described by Bayliss and Starling.
The whole body depends on these
signals going from one cell type to
another and the artificial separation
of a field called endocrinology is
exactly that, very artificial.
How have you dealt with stress
during your career?
I seem to be stress resistant. I was
taken on by a physician who had an
unexpected research position, but
he had no idea what research I was
supposed to do. He was far too busy
to oversee me so I was left entirely
to my own devices. And I had to
invent my own areas, think what to
do, read all about it – possibly that
was excellent training. I suppose
I don’t get stressed because I’ve
always felt I had a reasonable degree
of control over what I was doing.
What are your career highlights?
One thing that is a little surprising
is the number of people who are
now professors who trained with
me – I think there is getting on for
30 people who trained with me
and are now heads of department.
That’s very pleasing. It suggests
that at least one hasn’t put people
off from a successful career. My
lab has also tried to provide an
environment that supports
women: we’ve had about 20
researchers who had babies
and none of them have had any
problems with their careers.
BIOgraphy
Professor Sir
Stephen Bloom is
Head of Division
for Diabetes,
Endocrinology and
Metabolism, Chair
of the Section of
Investigative
Medicine at
Imperial College
London and Chief
of Service for
Pathology at
Imperial College
Healthcare NHS
Trust. Among
many other roles
he heads a
40-strong
research team
investigating the
physiology of
regulatory
peptides in CNS
and periphery. He
was knighted in
last year’s New
Year’s Honours list
for his pioneering
work on obesity
and diabetes.
On the gravestone one can
say he contributed such and
such, and in my case it would
be a fresh approach to the
treatment of obesity and maybe
an understanding of the wider
areas that regulation of tissues
encompasses. In other words, wider
endocrinology – trying to stop
endocrinology just being all about
the thyroid, the adrenal and the
pituitary. On my deathbed I think
I’ll say how interestingly random
life was and that I’m glad things fell
out the way they did.
What haven’t you enjoyed?
One particular beef is the
current legislation around drug
development, whereby if I want to
give a peptide to someone to see
if it works, it’s going to cost me a
million pounds doing animal trials.
This means we fail to cure diseases
because of the high administrative
burden. If I want to test 20 peptides,
all slight variations on each other, I
would need over £20 million.
The administrative burden is all
about absolute safety and because
of this there are people dying today,
perhaps millions who we could easily
cure if it wasn’t so expensive and
difficult testing drugs. A particular
irritation is minor changes to drugs
that help their handling – each minor
change has to go through all the drug
development process before you can
test it. It is practically impossible to
test a family of like agents to see which
ones are handled best by the human
body, because every single one of those
has to be an investment of 1, 2 or 3
million pounds before you can test it.
So we’re missing out on opportunities.
When it comes to sending people
to Afghanistan we accept a certain
death rate. When it comes to road
traffic we accept a certain accident
rate. In drug development you
can’t have a single problem and,
as a result, we’re so risk averse in
this area that we’re missing out
on a lot of opportunities to cure
Alzheimer’s, infections and so on.
Would you recommend an
ambitious young clinician today to
enter a research career?
We’ve recently gone through an
unprecedented period of largesse
in research. Despite cutbacks,
doing research is more feasible
now than it’s ever been, which
must be good for UK Ltd in
the long term. The NHS on the
other hand is now going through
a retrenchment and that’s painful.
People going into a medical career
with an interest in research are
finding they’re having to do more
and more on the medical side and
there’s less time to do research.
Nonetheless, there are various
schemes to allow people time off
to do research and, given that the
prospects for a satisfying job in
the NHS are less than they used
to be, with less autonomy and
more management protocols, the
attractiveness of the academic
career has grown greater than
ever. If we think of UK Ltd, the fact
we are developing more academic
physicians is nothing but good.
We’ve got used to the oil industry
making lots of money for the UK,
but in the future I think effective
university-based research is going
to be a major profit centre. Brain
rather than brawn should be the
future of the UK.
What advice would you give
someone wanting to be a clinician
and a scientist?
You have to get used to the idea
you’re going to be a rotten clinician
and a bad scientist because you
won’t have the time to devote
yourself fully to either. Yet you
are valuable because you bring a
holistic understanding of the body
and its disorders to the science field
and this is uniquely advantageous.
This bridging field yields important
outcomes, actual improvements in
mankind’s lot and indeed in the lot
of animals, who also suffer from
endless diseases. I’d say it’s a very
good career and I’d encourage
people to go for it.
How do you feel about being Sir
Stephen Bloom?
The honours system is interesting.
It’s set up to make people jealous
and to have that effect it has to be
totally random – and it gives every
impression of being totally random.
One’s not going to object when one
receives largesse out of the blue, but
I can’t really feel I deserved it.
Nonsense! How did your family react?
The family were impressed because,
of course, the title has an impact, and
then they wanted to know if there
was anything in it for them and of
course there isn’t. At that point, they
lost interest! Actually, my daughters,
in particular, are very proud.
SCIENCE
PHYSIOLOGY
SPOTLIGHT ON
Interview
PHYSIOLOGY
At a glance
the body functions to try to find
cures for diseases, such as
cystic fibrosis and Alzheimer’s.
Neurophysiologists work on brain
function, understanding how we learn
and remember, and why it sometimes
goes wrong. Clinical physiologists
work in hospitals and clinics,
diagnosing and managing disease.
However, not all physiologists
work in a lab. This summer, exercise
physiologists will be applying their
science to help Olympic athletes reach
the peak of their performance, while
others apply their knowledge more
broadly to assess how exercise can
help the general population combat
aging and cardiovascular disease.
What’s the best route into a career in
physiology?
If you have studied biology at any
level, you will have studied physiology.
Most physiologists will have studied a
biomedical science or sports science
degree at university level. Following
university, many will take a postgraduate qualification in the area of
physiology that most interests them.
However, not everyone will continue
to post-graduate level. Many people
choose to go straight into industry
or clinical roles, gaining experience
alongside professional qualifications.
Some go on to study medicine or
dentistry, become teachers and
lawyers, and communicate science to
the public. Due to the breadth of the
subject, physiologists really can be
found in all walks of life.
What is physiology?
Often described as the science of life,
physiology is the science of how the
body works. Cellular and molecular
biology have enabled us to strip the
body down to its constituent parts,
but physiology is about putting those
components back together and
understanding how they interact.
Physiologists study every aspect of
how organisms function, from the
actions of individual proteins within
cells to how organ systems interact in
the body.
Why is it important?
Physiology provides a foundation
for all of the biological and clinical
sciences. Physiologists in the lab use
their understanding of how
Where can I find out more?
The Physiological Society offers
information about diverse areas of
physiology on its website
(www.physoc.org). Here you can find
information on the society’s public
engagement activities, meetings
and training courses. You can also
find back issues of the Society’s
magazine, Physiology News. Further
educational resources and careers
information can be found on
www.understanding-life.org.
Name Professor
Samuele Marcora
Profession
Professor
of Exercise
Physiology
and Director
of Research at
the Centre for
Sports Studies,
University
of Kent
Qualifications
PhD in Exercise
Physiology,
MSc in Human
Performance,
BSc in Physical
Education
Research
Interests
Neurophysiology
of perceived
exertion and
endurance
exercise
performance;
fatigue in clinical
populations
If you can
understand
and
reduce the
perception
of effort, you
may be able
to increase
the number
of people
exercising
What are you working on at the
moment?
My main speciality is the role of
neurophysiology and psychobiology
in people’s perception of effort and
how it is nearly always athletes’
perception of fatigue, not muscle
or cardiovascular fatigue, which
limits performance.
Also, how mental fatigue limits
performance. Every time a football
manager’s team performs badly
you’ll often hear them say they were
mentally tired or under pressure but
there’s very little science on it, while
there is an awful lot of research
about muscle fatigue.
There are two main theories on
how you perceive fatigue: the first
is that perception comes from the
variety of receptors in the muscle/
heart and lungs that are stimulated
by physical changes during exercise.
The receptors send something
called afferent feedback to the brain
that generates a perception of effort.
The other theory, the one I
support, is that how you perceive
effort is actually based on the
brain’s central motor command –
how forcefully the brain activates
the muscle. If you block afferent
feedback by injecting anaesthetic
into the muscles of the legs, when
you move you will not feel any
signals or pain from them but will
still feel a perception of ‘effort’.
What applications do you hope your
research could lead to?
Working with patients affected by
rheumatic diseases, kidney disease
and cancer, which cause muscle
wasting problems, the thing that
limits their quality of life the most
is often chronic fatigue, which
makes even the simplest task seem
like a massive effort. So I became
very interested in their perception
of effort. There is a lot known
about the perceptions like pain and
appetite and their physiology, but
not fatigue.
My mum got an acute blood
disease and had to have a kidney
transplant. Fatigue is one of the
worst ways it has affected her
quality of life so I have a personal
interest in this.
Do you think there is any possibility
your work on the perception of effort
could lead to pain-free exercise,
which could help reduce obesity?
Absolutely. If you can better
understand and reduce the
perception of effort you may be
able to help increase the number of
people taking exercise. Hopefully
we will receive funding for this area
of our research as they have tried
everything else – the fact is people
find exercise too much work
and uncomfortable.
How did you get into physiology?
It started through sport and then
I moved into physiology. When
I was young I was a competitive
athlete – basketball and American
football were my sports. Like
anyone else I was interested in how
you can improve your training, your
performance and your nutrition;
you start to get into the physiology
of it. During my PE degree we had
to study anatomy, biochemistry
and physiology, and so I became
interested in it that way.
Has your work ever led to working
with sporting greats or high-profile
teams?
I’ve been scientific advisor to Mapei,
a professional cycling team that in
the early 2000s was the best in
the world.
What other research does your team
do at the Centre for Sports Studies?
Like most sport science departments,
we have two main research groups. In
our sports performance group we look
at fatigue and endurance in athletes.
The other group concentrates more
on physical health and rehabilitation,
involving both athletes and people like
cardiac patients.
What are the most exciting advances
or areas of research being studied in
physiology generally at the moment?
There are two hot topics based
on how the body responds to
exercise: there was the BBC Horizon
programme on the benefits of very
short bursts of intense exercise
(Michael Mosley’s The Truth About
Exercise). It’s very catchy because it
sounds so convenient, to just do three
minutes of exercise a week instead of
three hours or something. But I think
it needs much more research.
The other is of more industrial
appeal – there are drug companies
looking at exercise as a cheap way
of finding molecular targets for
their drugs. Exercise has a big effect
on conditions like, say, diabetes or
cardiovascular disease, and they
are looking at ways to get the same
effects with a drug instead.
What do you like about sport
physiology and does it suit any
particular type of scientist?
We work with humans, not mice!
I think it is good for people who
like to see the direct application
of science to humans. Much of my
research is picked up by coaches and
athletes and that gives me a lot of
satisfaction knowing it has improved
their lives.
Reviews
Our regular
round-up of books
published in the
fields of biology
and related sciences
Me and the
Biospheres: a
memoir by the
inventor of
Biosphere 2
LIFE’S A GAS
Oxygen and the Evolution of Life
Oxygen and
the Evolution
of Life
“Three
chapters
cover the
biological
role of
oxygen,
notably how
organisms
developed
mechanisms
for coping
with an
oxygen-rich
atmosphere”
Heinz Decker & Kensal E van Holde
Springer Dordrecht, £53.99
All elements are important but some
are more important than others.
Oxygen falls into the latter category,
due to its significance in the
evolution and continuance of life on
Earth, and its penchant for
combining with other elements. This
short introduction provides synopses
of oxygen’s major characteristics.
It opens with oxygen’s chemistry:
its atomic structure, bonding capacity
and roles in ozone, water and carbon
dioxide formation, as well as its
solubility, hydrolysis, dehydration
and redox reactions. The subsequent
chapter begins with cosmic history
and the formation of the solar system,
then focuses on the early Earth
with its carbon dioxide rich
atmosphere, and how that was
transformed over billions of years
into an atmosphere with 21 % oxygen.
The development of photosynthesis
is highlighted as a major biological
and geological force.
The next three chapters cover the
biological role of oxygen, notably how
organisms developed mechanisms for
coping with an oxygen-rich
atmosphere, the physiological benefits
of aerobic conditions and the evolution
of multicellular organisms, plus
oxygen transport systems in animals
involving proteins like haemoglobins.
Chapters six and seven focus on
oxygen-climate relationships, on longterm Earth history with its warm and
cool stages, and real and potential
human impact due to increasing
carbon dioxide emissions since the
1800s. A further chapter examines
oxygen-related medical conditions
such as hypoxia and oxidative stress
and their treatment. The final chapter
speculates on oxygen and life beyond
planet Earth as well as problems with
supplying oxygen to space explorers.
This book adopts an interesting,
indeed risky approach when it comes
to sales. It is relevant to a wide but
scientific audience though the cost is
prohibitive for purchase by individuals.
Dr A M Mannion
John Allen
Synergetic Press, £25.00
Me and The Biospheres is the
autobiography of John Allen,
inventor of the world’s largest
laboratory of global ecology,
Biosphere 2. I’m not surprised
Allen’s book was voted best
autobiography of 2010 by the
Benjamin Franklin Awards for
independent publishing. He is
the most amazing man I know.
I’ve learned even more about him
and his associates from this book
- and what associates: from
Konrad Lorenz and Buckminster
Fuller to William Burroughs,
Sir Ghillean Prance and
Richard Schultes.
Allen started the Biosphere
enterprise at the Synergia Ranch in
Santa Fe having bought and
renovated – by hand – a great stretch
of Australian outback to prepare
specimens. He did this while
building a ship, Heraclitus, setting
up the Vajra hotel in Kathmandu
and the October Gallery in London.
When it became clear Biosphere 2
would need a tropical rainforest, he
bought a patch of Puerto Rican land,
planted hardwood trees and used it
for the source of the rainforest biome
– creating a conservation-focused, as
well as profit-making business. I
can’t begin to detail his many other
enterprises here – buy the book!
The culmination of it all is
Biosphere 2 in the Arizona desert.
This was a completely closed system
in which eight people lived for two
years, with air, water and agriculture
all perfectly recycled, with four
connected-but-independent biomes
including a coral reef, desert and
rainforest. This is a great book for
biologists. Read it to see just how
much can be done during an eclectic
life. Did I mention that the author
is also Johnny Dolphin, the poet
and playwright?
Jack Cohen FSB
Owlet Caterpillars
of Eastern North
America
David L Wagner,
Dale F Schweitzer,
J Bolling Sullivan &
Richard C Reardon
Princeton University Press, £59.00
Over a million insect species are
known to science, with anything
between 3-8 million – perhaps as
many as 13 million – still to go. A lot,
certainly, are mostly described in
the adult stage only. For less than a
third we have knowledge of the early
stages and many, extinct already,
we will simply never know. Happily,
the Lepidoptera are one group
where the larvae are comparatively
well known, at least for the betterstudied regions, although often this
information is scattered and arcane.
This volume, the latest by Wagner
and co-authors, packs an absurd
amount of information about the
larvae of noctuoid moths of eastern
North America into its 576 pages,
with scarcely an inch wasted. After
a concise introduction it launches
straight into the descriptions, genus
by genus, with a large photograph of
the mature larva of each species and
a brief résumé of key features,
habitats, distribution, food plants
and comments, citing from a
bibliography of over 260 references
but with plenty of new, unpublished
and corrected data also.
In many cases there are
photographs of the adult moth in
natural repose or as set specimen,
often both. The photographs are
uniformly excellent, and the
diversity of forms and habits is
staggering – a real eye-opener.
Over 800 species are included.
This book wouldn’t necessarily
catch the attention of European
lepidopterists, but it should – even if
only for the beautiful illustrations.
The fact that many of the genera
share taxa with Europe also gives it
real utility beyond its home range.
David Clements CBiol MSB
Stem Cells – From
Mechanisms to
Technologies
Michal K. Stachowiak
and Emmanual S
Tzanakakis (Eds)
World Scientific, £84.00
Many people have now heard of stem
cells and their remarkable capacity
to differentiate into mature cells
with specific functions, potentially
facilitating the treatment of the
previously untreatable.
They, and indeed some biologists,
will be far less aware of the variety
of problems still to be solved before
stem cells can find a central place in
clinical medicine.
Adopting a systems approach,
this book surveys the requisite
research on both basic physiology
and the technology necessary to
generate these cells in medically
useful quantities. The editors
co-author three of the 12 chapters,
on stem cell bioprocessing for
regenerative medicine, the
triggering of neurogenesis by
endogenous brain stem cells with
DNA nanoplexes, and a common
integrative nuclear signalling
module for stem cell development.
Overall, the book affords a highly
accessible portrait of this nascent
therapy, not only for researchers
directly involved but also for
biologists and medicos in other
areas. Two particularly challenging
chapters are those on the
engineering of bioactive scaffolds
for vascular therapy and the
possible treatment of central
nervous system disorders using
stem cells from the human
umbilical cord.
“Stem cells have an astounding
capability to self-renew or
differentiate under a plethora of
seemingly chaotic external and
internal inductive signals which
may lead to contradicting fate
decisions,” write the editors. This
book will go a long way to clarify the
components of the chaos and to
facilitate progress towards
applications that may, in time,
become crucial components of
routine medical practice.
Bernard Dixon
Reframing Rights:
bioconstitutionalism
in the genetic age
Sheila Jasanoff (Ed)
MIT Press, £17.95
Many lab-based bioscientists
consider that the low level of public
enthusiasm for recent advances in
the life sciences is frustratingly
reactionary. Despite biologists’
widespread acceptance for over 150
years of (neo) Darwinian theory,
which has received indisputable
endorsement from recent advances
in genomics and biotechnology,
public resistance to embracing the
vast potential benefits for medicine,
agriculture and industry is often
viewed, from the laboratory bench,
with incredulity.
But, as Jasanoff stresses in her
opening chapter, these new levels of
understanding and technological
capability have transformed
traditional “notions of race, diversity,
kinship, ethnic and social identity,
normality, deviance, criminality,
justice and human uniqueness”, while
biotechnology has, inter alia, created
“new forms of life, embryos, stem
cells and human-animal chimeras”.
So it is hardly surprising that they
have enormous political, legal and
social implications.
Arguably, most bioethicists’
responses to such developments
have tended to be rooted in
deterministic thinking: for example,
focusing on the (supposedly
inevitable) legal consequences for
safety, privacy, liability, equitable
healthcare provision and
environmental pollution. But, more
radically, the perspective of the
bioconstitutionalism that runs
through this book acknowledges the
‘irreducible contingency of life-law
relationships that aims to restore
normative agency to social factors’.
The 13 chapters address issues
such as cloning, forensic uses of DNA
databases, xenotransplantation,
human population genomics and the
precautionary principle. Except for a
single chapter from the UK, all
authors have strong associations
with one department of government
at Harvard University. Even so, this
important book should be available
in every bioscience library.
Ben Mepham
Dragonflies
and
Damselflies
of the East
“Of interest
to all
dragonfly
enthusiasts
thanks to
its beautiful
and
meticulous
close-up
pictures of
both the
male and
female of
each
species”
Dragonflies and Damselflies
of the East
Dennis Paulson
Princeton University Press, £24.95
A counterpart to Dragonflies and
Damselflies of the West, together
these books provide a complete,
concise and encyclopaedic
reference work covering all
dragonflies and damselflies in
continental USA and Canada.
Dragonflies and Damselflies of the
East includes 336 out of the total of
462 species of the order Odonata
found within the USA and Canada.
The introduction contains details
of the dragonfly’s lifecycle, habitats,
behaviour, and suggested methods
of observation and study. This book
REVIEWS
BOOKS
Statistical
and Data
Handling
Skills in
Biology
“A wellwritten,
clearlyillustrated
and userfriendly
guidebook
that
explains the
mysteries of
biostatistics
without
scaring off
first-year
students
with
complexlooking
equations”
will be of interest to all dragonfly
enthusiasts thanks to its beautiful
and meticulous close-up pictures of
both the male and female of each
species. Anyone able to visit the
USA and spend time looking for
dragonflies will find the notes, full
descriptions and labelled line
diagrams helpful to assist in species
identification.
Information is clearly and
systematically presented with
species grouped by genus. Habitats
are described to assist observations
and locations are identified
diagrammatically as highlighted
areas on a thumbnail map of the
USA. The use of diagrams make it
ideal for taking out on fieldwork;
however it may be better in e-book
or paperback format. In hardback
edition this book feels like a coffee
table book, containing as it does
such a wealth of attractive and
vibrant pictures. A list of dragonfly
societies, websites and a glossary of
all terms used are given as
appendices.
Dr Amanda Hardy
Statistical and Data Handling
Skills in Biology (3rd edition)
Roland Ennos
Pearson, £28.99
For many biology students the
least enjoyable and most feared
part of their university course is
when they have to learn statistics.
Part of this may be due to a general
‘maths phobia’, but I suspect that
the majority of the problems stem
from the inability of professors and
lecturers to clearly explain how
to use statistics or to convey the
excitement and sense of satisfaction
when the data finally yields to your
analysis. This is unfortunate: not
only is a grasp of basic statistics
an integral part of any biologist’s
toolkit, it is also essential for robust
data collection, experimental design
and, at the most basic level, the
generation of hypotheses.
What is required is a well-written,
clearly-illustrated and user-friendly
guidebook that explains the
mysteries of biostatistics without
either oversimplifying or scaring off
first-year students with complexlooking equations. This is exactly
what Roland Ennos has produced in
a well-deserved third edition of his
basic statistics textbook.
The new edition differs from the
former in that equivalent parametric
and non-parametric statistics are
now dealt with in the same chapters,
and the book has been expanded to
include some additional statistical
tests – including logistic regression,
an increasingly important model
in many sub-disciplines of biology.
Moreover, and perhaps most
usefully, there are comprehensive
instructions on how to perform
statistical tests in two of the most
common software packages:
SPSSv19 and MINITABv6.
There are lots of basic statistics
textbooks out there, but this is one
of the best.
Ana Claudia Mendes Malhado
Meat for Mice –
A vet’s diary of
the London
Natural History
Museum 1962
Expedition to
Northern
Rhodesia
Ian Keymer
Romney Publications Ltd, £45.00
In 1962, Ian Keymer set out with
museum staff from the London
Natural History Museum for
Northern Rhodesia (now known as
Zambia) to collect specimens. As a
vet and pathologist, his main job was
to carry out post-mortems on the
animals, checking for zoonoses and
animal diseases communicable to
humans, though at times he also
acted as unofficial doctor to
expedition members and others.
Based on diaries kept by the
author, there is remarkable detail
on the people, dates and places
involved in this expedition, which
was primarily a hunting safari.
The idea of killing animals for
research specimens mostly belongs
to an era long gone, and as attitudes
towards animal welfare have
changed, some of the activities
described are disturbing.
Although the author addresses
issues to do with apartheid in his
introduction, some terminology
used in the book is also controversial
e.g. “piccaninnies”. Nevertheless,
this provides a historical vignette
into how these kinds of expeditions
were once run.
Over 90 photos, sketches and maps
make this a well-illustrated account.
Considering most of the photos were
taken over 50 years ago, their quality
is good, but be warned not all are
pretty pictures: for example, the
puka deer being skinned.
Appendices include a list of the
specimens collected, including
stomach contents and external
parasites, from 516 mammals of at
least 79 different species; the results
of examinations for protozoan and
viral diseases; a list of government
and university departments;
and people mentioned in the text
and a glossary.
Students of tropical medicine
and anyone curious about east
African natural history might find
this of interest.
Sue Howarth FSB
Birds of
Seychelles
Adrian Skerrett
& Tony Disley
Bloomsbury
Publishing,
£24.99
The Seychelles consists of more
than 155 separate islands scattered
over a vast area of the Indian Ocean
and, as such, has a rich diversity of
birdlife, all of which have been
comprehensively covered in this
slim volume.
With around 257 species so far
recorded in the Seychelles, equal
consideration is given to resident
species as well as to migrants and
vagrants, and there is also a small
section on six extinct species.
The text is concise yet informative,
with a great deal of detail about
key identification features, and
there are over 800 extremely
useful colour illustrations.
Included in the text for each species
are relevant facts on habitat,
birdsong, distribution and status.
There is a helpful colour coded
table at the back of the book that
shows when to expect bird species
to be found on the main islands,
although this may prove
cumbersome to use in the field
and distribution maps adjacent
to the text for each species might
have been preferable.
This is an indispensable bird
guide for visitors to the Seychelles,
whether they are visiting birders
or nature-loving tourists. It will fit
neatly into pockets or bags and I can
see this being used effectively in the
field by anyone who wants to identify
the birds they encounter. It is
certainly a book I wish I’d had when
I visited the Seychelles some years
ago – it is superb.
Dr Alan Woollhead
Member news
Our regular round-up all about you, our Society members
Social Notices
Members’ and Fellows’ lunches
Chief Executive Dr Mark Downs FSB
will be holding a series of informal
buffet lunches with small groups of
members and Fellows in a round
table format. Places are on a first
come, first served basis. You must be
a society member (MSB) or Fellow
to attend.
Please contact Zoë Martin on 020
7685 2564 to attend or email
[email protected]
17 July Fellows’ Lunch - London
12:30-14:00, Charles Darwin House
18 September Fellows’ Lunch Birmingham 12:30-14:00,
Ramada Birmingham City
8 November Members’ Lunch –
London 12:30-14:00,
Charles Darwin House
20 November Fellows’ Lunch –
London 12:30-14:00,
Charles Darwin House
Members’ reception
Charles Darwin House, London
13 September 17:30-19:30
We are holding an informal reception
for AMSB, MSB and FSB members of
the Society of Biology here at our HQ in
London. The reception will provide
members with the opportunity to hear
from our Chief Executive, Mark Downs
FSB, discuss current biological issues
and the Society’s overall direction, as
well as to meet Society of Biology
staff and other members.
You must be a member at the
AMSB grade or above to be eligible to
attend. Places are limited to 80 and
are available on a first come, first
served basis. Please contact Zoë
Martin on 020 7685 2564 or email
[email protected]
NEW MEMBER PROFILE
FROM SOIL
TO SAILING
Dr Lucy Gilliam MSB
I am currently working as a
storyteller on a project called New
Dawn Traders, sailing the old trade
routes on a sailboat imagining what
the world will look like beyond
profligate fossil fuel consumption.
Previously I worked in the
International Chemicals and
Nanotechnologies Team at DEFRA.
My role was commissioning R&D and
advising policy makers negotiating
international agreements on the use
of chemicals and nanotechnologies.
I have a First class honours degree
in Biological Sciences from Exeter
University and a PhD in Molecular
Microbial Ecology from Reading
University. My specialism is the use of
molecular diagnostics to study plant
microbe interactions in soil. I then
went on to use molecular diagnostics
to study greenhouse gas emissions
from soil under different land use
management. My PhD and post-doc
were based at Rothamsted Research.
My mother inspired me into
studying biosciences. She is an
incredible biologist and a Chartered
Biologist with the Society so she will
probably see this. My childhood was
spent being dragged up mountains,
along beaches and on country walks
Honorary Fellows
Congratulations to TV entomologist
Dr George McGavin (left) and
biochemist Sir Tom Blundell (right),
who have been elected as Honorary
Fellows by the Society.
George is best known for
presenting television programmes
on insects and is Honorary Research
My mum is
a Chartered
Biologist
with the
Society so
she will
probably
see this
pointing out all the bugs, animals
and plants en route.
I’m really passionate about
biodiversity loss, climate change and
ocean acidification so I thought
studying biosciences would be the best
way to stick up for the things I care
about. I remember being inspired by
the save the whales campaigns when I
was about eight and wanting then to
be an environmental scientist or
environmental lawyer.
I joined the Society for continuing
professional development. I also
think the Society does great work in
promoting science.
In my spare time I’m either on my
bike, on the water sailing or in a
field in a ridiculous outfit at a music
and arts festival.
Associate at Oxford University
Museum of Natural History. Sir Tom
is President of the Science Council
and has held the posts of President of
the Biosciences Federation, the Sir
William Dunn Professor of
Biochemistry and head of the
Biochemistry department at the
University of Cambridge.
MEMBER NEWS
NEW MEMBER PROFILES/NEW MEMBERS LIST
MEMBER PROFILES
APRIL 2012 ELECTION
New, Transfer & Chartered Members
Qualified
Persons
Congratulations to
our new Qualified
Persons – Azhar
Salahudeen MSB
and David Talbot
CBiol, MSB.
Qualified Persons
play an essential
role in assuring
that the medicinal
and veterinary
products made
and released by
the pharmaceutical
industry conform to
the high standards
demanded by
legislation to
ensure their
effectiveness
and safety.
Only individuals
who have
demonstrated, in
a demanding oral
examination, that
they have had the
required training
and experience
to take on the
responsible role
can be entered
onto the Qualified
Persons register.
Biology Week
From the 13-19th
October, the
Society will be
running a range of
activities across
the county as part
of the first ever
Biology Week
(see page 5).
More information
will be available
over the coming
weeks, and our
website will be
kept updated
about events
near you. If you
have an event
which you would
like to include in
Biology Week, or
if you would like
more information
about ways to
get involved,
contact Rebecca
Nesbit on
rebeccanesbit@
societyofbiology.
org or 0207 685
2553
BioNet (14-19 year-olds)
Jessica Appleby, Ayodeji Aregbesola,
James Bapty, Laura Bramwell, Willow
Enis Race, Gagan Grewal, Joshua Harvey,
Jenny Jarman, Jeff Youngseouk Lee,
Amanda Li, Laura Maginley, Harriet
Myers, George Ollis-Brown, Ms Evie
Picton, Honor Pollard, Sophie Rennison,
Sophie Robinson, Danial Shirazi, Katie
Smith, Marianne Smith, Lucy Starbuck,
Soorya Sunil, Andrew Taylor, Laura
Taylor, Ella Wagland, Nathan Waldie,
Natalie Warren, Amber West, Cong Ye.
Georgina Podd AMSB
Shoaib Haroon Khan MSB
Dr Reinhard Stoger FSB
Martin Gregory FSB
I am a biologist and study director
within the department of Aquatic
Ecotoxicology and Biodegradation
for a large contract research
organisation.
I work with a wide range of aquatic
animals and invertebrates to
determine the toxicity of chemicals
in the environment. This year I have
spent a lot of time outdoors
identifying freshwater invertebrates
as part of a large project.
I work for the pharmaceutical
company Recipharm, providing
technical support to various
production areas, which involves
validation, project management and
problem solving.
I am an academic at the School of
Biosciences, University of
Nottingham. Research in my lab
aims to discover and describe how
different cell types and different
organisms interpret their DNA. This
research field – epigenetics – is
relevant for our mechanistic
understanding of development,
health and disease in animals. For
this reason we study a broad range of
organisms, ranging from honey bees
to humans. Currently, our work aims
to answer questions of how
environmental stressors influence
the function of genes and energy
homeostasis. Besides research, I
develop and teach undergraduate
courses that cover topics of cell and
developmental biology, as well as
topics of endocrinology, respiration
and evolution. I’m supervising a
number of BSc, MRes and PhD
research projects.
I qualified as a vet in 1961, but
didn’t really want to be a vet. I
wanted to do biology. I chose the
veterinary course because it offered
applied biology, and a job. I have
never regretted it, but the outcome
was that I became several different
vets in the course of one career.
I always enjoyed studying science
at school and was fortunate
enough to have some inspirational
teachers along the way, studying
biology, chemistry, maths and
computing at A-level. I am fascinated
by how things work, especially living
things, which is why I chose Human
and Applied Biology when I left high
school. Although my degree was
quite different from my career path,
I learnt an amazing range of skills
which I have been able to transfer to
my current role.
I studied human and applied
biology at University Campus
Suffolk/UEA and graduated with
BSc (Hons) in 2008. I worked as a
laboratory technician in a local high
school whilst studying; working with
children was very rewarding.
The Society of Biology was
recommended to me by a colleague
as a means of validating the
experience I have gained since
graduating. The Society is renowned
worldwide and by joining I am also
able to keep abreast of developments
within my area of interest.
In my spare time I spend a lot
of time with my family and
my friends. I like to get outdoors
as much as possible, walking
and cycling.
I have a BSc (Hons) and MSc in
microbiology from the University of
Karachi, Pakistan. After finishing
university, I worked in various
pharmaceutical and medical device
industries including Johnson &
Johnson and now have over nine years’
professional experience. My areas of
specialty include pharmaceutical
microbiology, sterilisation, clean-room
technology and validation. I’m also
passionate about probiotics.
It was always a dream for me to
become a scientist. Although I can’t
remember any specific moment that
inspired me to work in biosciences,
looking back, I think a number of
fictional comic book characters like Dr
Bruce Banner (The Incredible Hulk),
Reed Richards (Fantastic Four) and Dr
Henry Hank (X-Men) inspired me.
I joined the Society because I
wanted to be part of a body that
embraces all members of
biological science and represents
them whatever their individual roles,
and in whatever sectors they work. I
wanted to be a member of a body that
speaks authoritatively on all aspects
of biology, protects and represents
the interest of members and is both
proactive and reactive in promoting
and supporting the role of biology.
I enjoy playing badminton, watching
movies and visiting museums and
exhibitions. Whether I am at work or
home, I participate in several online
pharmaceutical forums to help others
by answering their microbiology and/
or validation queries.
I studied biology, microbiology
and genetics, followed by a PhD at
the University of Vienna, Austria.
Later, I carried out research at
King’s College London, the Fred
Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
and the University of Washington,
Seattle, USA.
At a young age I was allowed to
collect bugs and was encouraged to
do simple experiments like
phototropism with sunflower
seedlings. Motivating teachers, good
books and David Attenborough’s
documentaries did the rest.
I like the spectrum of Society
members, including nonprofessionals and having access to
information, which might benefit
the career prospects of my students.
I expect the Society to be an
influential and sensible voice for life
science policies.
Veterinary practice didn’t really
suit me. I never had time to find out
what was really going on. When the
owner was satisfied, that was that –
on to the next client. I always wanted
to look deeper. And I wanted to travel.
I took a two-year contract in Kenya,
looking after livestock loaned to
African farmers. This changed my
life. I learned not just about animals
and habitats, but about peoples –
African, European and Asian – and
their languages, customs, problems
and prejudices. I then came home the
long way, via Afghanistan, Nepal and
a dozen other countries. In France I
took a course in tropical veterinary
medicine, and then returned to
Kenya. There I taught biology as well
as animal health, and in my spare
time I studied the local hedgehogs.
My hedgehog work helped me to
get the job I wanted – parasitology
research in the Central Veterinary
Laboratory, Weybridge. There I
worked on ovine coccidiosis for 13
fascinating years – pathology, life
cycles and epidemiology.
I then started a new career in
veterinary epidemiology, which
has kept me busy in Yemen, Nepal,
Senegal, Pakistan, Armenia and
Albania.
I still regard myself as a biologist.
If I have any spare time I write and
illustrate children’s stories –
biological stories, of course.
Affiliate
Kathryn Acheson, Michelle Adsett, Islam
Uddin Ahmed, Abrar Alharbi, Eyman
Almohammed, Elizabeth Anderson,
Kavetta Arulanantham, Amy Ashe,
Mohammed Atcha, Nigel Atkinson,
Fiyin Awosoga, Christopher Olanrewaju
Ayanwale, Rehman Baig, Paulina
Bajko, Yahya Bakar, Gowree Balendran,
Andrew Ball, Daniel Barnes, Daniel
Barry, Jasmeet Bhatia, Sezen Bickici,
Sophie Billington, Tom Bishop, Caroline
Black, Sam Blacknell, Lisa Bliss, Richard
Borne, Yavor Bozhilov, Anneka Bracken,
Helen Bradbury, Jillian Britton, Joanne
Brodie, Sarah Bromley, Callum Brown,
William Brown, Aaron Brunt, Alexander
Bryant-Evans, Alison Bullions, Victoria
Bullock, Saskia Burden, James Busby,
Trudi Button, Vedia Can, Caroline
Champion, Holly Cheriton, Sonal
Choudhary, Neelem Choudry, James
Clark, Louise Clark, Adam Clarke, Joel
Clarke, Ashford Clovis, Louise Collard,
Amanda Collier, Matthew Cook, Simon
Cooper, Jason Cortis, Jen Cottingham,
Paulette Courage, Lucy Cull, Trystan
Davey, Helania Davies, Helena Davies,
Isobel Davis, Simon Davis, Alex Day,
Natalie Day, Jaspreet Kaur Dhaliwal,
Angeliki Ditsiou, Kerry Dixon, Abigail
Doe, Conor Eastop, Jessica Edmed,
Yasmin Edwards, Timothy Elton,
Benjamin Evans, Mel Evans, Daniel
Fabbro, Jessica Farrington, Shaun
Fell, Sian Finney, Shaun Samuel
Fletcher, Shona Forge, Oliver Foster,
Alexander James Fotheringham,
Timothy Fountain, Emily Fowler, Beth
Francis, Noelia Garcia, Victoria Gehrke,
Sarah Getgood, Dawn Gibbons, Jethro
Gibbons, Katharina Giebel, Jennifer
Gilchrist, Zoe Gillespie, Nikoletta Gkatza,
Sophie Goodier, Ash Grey, Catherine
Griffin, Marcus D Griffiths, Peter Hacker,
Elliott Hails, Amanda Hardy, Vanina
Harel, William Harrison, Jacinta Harrow,
Naomi Hartopp, Ben Harvey, Amber
Heath, Lisa Hoang, Lorna Holtom,
Katherine Hooton, Ben Hubery, Emma
Hughes, Michael Hunter, Fiona Hynd,
Lucy Jackson, Hussain Jaffery, Joe
James, Matthew Jarman, Alistair Jones,
Lahary Jothinathan, Marina Kamil,
Katherine Karacaoglu, Maria Kelly, Saneil
Kent, Jackie Kerr, Carla Kerstan, Richa
Khatiwada, Nikul Khunti, Daniel Knevitt,
Anchala Kuruppu, Ciaran Laverty, Rachel
Leach, Hayley Leech, Leanne Lipscomb,
Manuel Loeffler, Insiyah Lotia,
Christopher Lucas, Elaine Ma, Grace
MacGregor, Kate MacKenzie, Rabiah
Mahmood , Dmitri Maiski, Tammy Mak,
Joanne Makin, Roshni Mansfield, Crystel
Marcos, Poppy Marriott, Jessica Mason,
Charlotte Maspero, Will Matthews,
Lisa McCrellis, Stewart McEwen,
Dewyme McGarry, Jessica McGugan,
Ella McKnight, Ka an Miah, John Miles,
Rory Miles, Owen Miller, Lucy MinshallPearson, Justyna Mleczko, Rebecca
Molland, Vikki Helen Moran, Tan Morgan,
Christopher Morton, Farya Mubarik,
Lukas Karl Brenton Muller, Gemma
Napaul, Mark Naylor , Andra Necula,
Smeret Negassi, Rebecca Newton,
Ruth Offor, Adedeji Ogunlana, Blaine
Oliver, Timothy Omisanya, James Ord,
Jayne Parker, Rosamond Parker, Hiten
Patel, Serena Patel, Jaimie Paterson,
Jessica Patricot, Soraya Marie Payet,
Emily Payne, Fay Pearson, Georgina
Peate, Jake Pennington, Rachael Penzo,
David Pettiser, Kate Petty, Jennifer
Phillips, Deepa Pindoria, Chris Poonian,
Siobhan Porter, Rachel Postlethwaite,
Jamie Pownall, Giorgio Praulins, Clair
Preece, Lisa Preece, Katherine Price,
Allison Proudlove, Luba Prout, Jaskarn
Rai, Pratima Rai, Nilma Ra under, Zoe
Raynsford, Batool Raza, Jade Reeves,
Melissa Reyes, Christopher Richardson,
Louise Richens, Timothy Robbins, AmyLouise Roberts, Fiona Robins, Janey
Robins, Nicola Robson, Sarah Rowe,
Elizabeth Russell, Natalee Ryan, Raya
Saber, Laurie Salt, Melanie Schneider,
Alicia Scott, Elizabeth Seabourne,
Raghavendra Prasadh Selvam, Misbah
Shafiq, Zermeen Shah, Zoe Shaw, Daniel
Shenton, Thomas Shepherd, Rebecca
Shields, Niyati Shukla, Lynsey Silvestri,
Josie Slade, Chloe Smith, Olivia Smith,
Toby Smith, Rachel Spicer, Charles
Stanley, Evelina Statkute, Coleen
Suckling , Oliver Summers, Hope Swift,
Daniel Taylor, Liam Thomas, Karen
Thompson, Danielle Thorburn, Eleanor
Thornton, Andrew Tindall, Freha Tipu,
Sarah-Jane Turner, Arni Vaughn, Ashley
Vey, Sue Wagland, Rosemary Ward,
Mark Anthony Warrington, Jackie Wells,
Kezia Whatley, Tara Joyce Wheeler,
Robin Wild, Zoe Elizabeth Wilkinson,
Paula Willis, Lucy Inez Witter, Abigail
Wood, Jessica Woods, Tim Wright, Jenny
Wyatt, Jialin Xiao, Christopher Yemm,
Matthew Young, Zachary James Young,
Aristos Zachariades, Ella Zakrzewski,
Maria-Theresa Zarzour, Jiusi Zhang,
Chumin Zhou, Maria Zuckschwert.
Associate (AMSB)
Kyrillos Adesina-Georgiadis, Waseem
Bashirdeen, Sarah Joanne Beesley,
Katy Bell, Natasha Botha, Lucy BrooksMatchant, James Brunel, Nicholas Carey,
Angela Cooper, James Cooper, Sarah
Cotterill, Joanne Amanda Craig, Jason
Fletcher, George Gyamfi-Brobbey,
Zoe Margaret Harris, Jo Harrison,
Matthew Henwood, Emma Johnson,
Matthew Jones, Waheed Mahmood,
George Mahoney, Rachael Emily Susan
Mansbridge, Kim Martin, Lindsay
McKay, Jonathan Milward, Laura Moody,
Amreen Nasim, Mia Kate O’Gorman,
Sarah O’Neill, Mary O’Sullivan, Donna
Page, Lisa Pritchard, Elliott Roberts,
Colin Kenneth Taylor, Samuel Thomas
Vaughan, Matthew Watson,
Rebecca Woodward.
Member (MSB)
Omolola Akintoye, Hani Al-Hallak,
Wilson Andoh, Martin Baker, Eleanor
Barnfield-Jones, Richard Bartlett, Ruth
Bastow, Paul Bolam, Iain Thomas Boyes,
Sally Caveill, Ching-Lung Cheung,
Alexander Corbishley, Steven Thomas
Cornelius, Susan Lilian H Craven, Marion
Isobel Croy, Joanne Catherine Duffy,
Marc-Emmanuel Dumas, Christopher
Eskiw, Stephen John Farrow, Matthew
Field, Ashleigh Filtness, Richard John
Fitzgerald, Adrian Freeman, Adrian
Freeman, Alison Frostick, Paolo R
Gomez-Pereira, Lee Gonzalez, Adrian
Goodman, Marie Goua, Sarah Naomi
Gretton, Peter Griffiths, Laith F Gulli, Alan
Gunn, Steven Guy, Tamryn Hassel, Mary
Hughes, Tom Ireland, Adam Robert
Jones, Harshad Joshi, Shoaib Haroon
Khan, Nga Sze Kwok, Thomas Laws,
Sabina Leonelli, Wai Chin Li, Joanne Li
Suk Yee, Michael Loughlin, Carol Lynch,
Amelia Markey, Tracey Amanda Martin,
Jane Martindale, Douglas McMillan,
Catherine Elizabeth Meadowcroft,
Sanjay Mistry, Andrew Morris, Sterghios
Moschos, Diane Carolyn Munday,
Denise Geraldine Nemitz, Rebecca
Nesbit, Chikere Nkwonta, Ilia
Nouretdinov, Hemraz Palawan, Elizabeth
Parker, Surekha Aruna Pasupuleti, Kinga
Piekarczyk, Shirley Price, Mark Rose,
Jill Runciman, David Skingsley, Adam
Smith, Melanie Stefan, Neil Swainston,
Rachel Taylor, Simon Taylor, My-Linh
Tran, Adrian Watson, Miles Witham,
Jamie Woodhall, Jonathan Wooley,
Joseph Wright, Matt Zeale.
Chartered Member (CBiol MSB)
Duncan Armstrong, Martin Brown,
Rory Canavan, Anne Clements, Amanda
Cooper, Steve Crimes, Tracy Dove,
Alison Foster, Marc Fox, Clare Garner,
Claire Grant, Nicola Griffin, Frida
Gustafsson, Thomas Laws, Geoff Maud,
Hemraz Palawan, Patricia Pimlott,
Sandra Richards.
Fellow (FSB)
David James Adams, Harrison Atagana,
Rosyln Bill, Alan Stewart Bowman,
Jan Joris Brosens, Brian Burlinson,
Steve Byford, Paul Clarke, Christine
Ann Cochrane, Jean E Crabtree, Henry
Terence Donnelly, John Dover, Caroline
Drummond MBE, Mark Edwards,
Tim Elliott, Maurice Richard Elphick,
Jane Endicott, Matthew Evans, John
Fazakerley, Anne Ferguson-Smith,
Ian Forsythe, Stephen Forsythe,
Hani Gabra, Judith Goodship, Angela
Hatton, Paul Hayes, Karl Herholz,
Anthony Craig Hilton, Shirley Hodgson,
Michael Holdsworth, John Hutchinson,
John E Hyde, Munira Kadhim,
Jim Kaufman, David Kelsell, Stephen
Keyse, Asim Khwaja, Eric Wing-Fai Lam,
Nilli Lavie, Tim Lenton, Louise Leong,
Richard John Lewis, Kenneth Linton,
Andrzej Loesch, Ian MacDonald, David
MacEwan, George MacFarlane, Michael
Mendl, James Moreland, David Nutt,
Edward Christien Michael Parsons,
Nathan Pike, David John Potter, Colin
Roberts, Nick Robinson, Adriano Rossi,
Peter Rothwell, Adele Rowley, Ismail
Saadoun, Paul Smith, Olivier Andre
Ettore Sparagano, Norah Spears,
Jane E Taylor, Andrew Taylor-Robinson,
Mike Turner, Charles Tyler,
Mark Ungless, Nicholas James
Watmough, Dominic Wells, William
Wisden, Stephen Woodward, Alimuddin
Ismail Zumla.
Chartered Fellow (CBiol FSB)
Jean-Pierre Valentin.
Branch news
❱ News and reports of events going on in your local area
Beds, Essex & Herts
Devon &
Cornwall
WAR HORSE WALK
9 September 2012
Steven Spielberg, director of
War Horse, said of the
landscape at Dartmoor:
“There’s no place like it in the world.
When I got to Dartmoor I realised I
had a third character that I had to
include in War Horse and that was
the land and sky.”
For those who saw the film, this
event is a must. Ecologist Sue
Goodfellow is our guide, so biology
will not be left out. Some walking
will be over rough open moorlands
but this is a walk that most people
could enjoy.
For more information and to book
a place please contact Chris Fry
[email protected], ring
01395 278556 or contact the Society.
For non-members there is a charge
of £3. Members attend free of
charge. Family and friends welcome.
Meet at 10:00 at Gutter Tor Car
Park (SX 578 674) Sheepstor area,
south of Burrator Reservoir.
UP &
COMING
Members
of the Beds,
Essex &
Herts group
pictured on their
Natural History
Museum tour.
MUSEUM MOLLUSCS
20 March 2012
In March members enjoyed
EVENT
REPORT a guided tour of the Spirit
Collection at the Natural
History Museum in London.
Guide and society member
Alastair Hendry showed us the
‘real’ museum, home to over
70 million specimens.
Alastair’s main interest is in
molluscs and along the way we were
intrigued to see some of the different
forms this phylum takes, including a
cone snail whose appearance belies
its extreme toxicity, a giant squid
caught off the Falkland Islands and a
significant portion of a colossal
squid. We discussed the importance
of reference collections and the
gradual DNA typing of specimens to
augment the anatomical detail.
When touring some of the
cramped spaces it became obvious
why numbers are kept so low – we
may try to arrange another visit if
interest is shown. All of us would like
to extend a warm thank you to
Alastair and the Natural History
Museum for making this a very
enjoyable and informative visit.
Jacky McPherson MSB
BAT WALK
22 June 2012 at 21:30
We have been invited to join
the Beds Bat Group for a bat
walk in Priory Park. During
an interesting evening there last
year, we saw Daubentons, Pipistrelles
and Noctule bats. The branch has a
limit of 10 places so if you would like
to join the walk this time please
contact our chairman Viv Heys by
emailing [email protected]. Venue
details can be found here: www.
priorycountrypark.co.uk
UP &
COMING
NATIONAL SCIENCE &
ENGINEERING WEEK
13 March 2012
A carousel of free interactive
EVENT
REPORT workshops took place at
Plymouth Marine
Laboratory during National Science
Week where students were invited to
be a marine biologist for a day. Primary schools toured the
Seawater Hall, took part in alien
species workshops, and learnt about
‘how fish work’ and the world of
seaweed. Secondary school students
toured behind the scenes at the
Marine Biological Association and
enjoyed a ‘plankton safari’ plus
workshops on killer algae and our
changing seas.
Students were asked to write a
short illustrated poem about their
experience of the day. The Devon &
Cornwall Branch sponsored book
prizes for the winners and
their schools.
The winners were: Daniel
Wintour, Boringdon Primary School;
Annie Macklin, Thomas Hardy
School; Sophie Minns (attended
without her school).
East Anglia
CAMBRIDGE SCIENCE
FESTIVAL
Sedgwick’s Collections Manager,
Dan Pemberton, and his Collections
Assistant, Matthew Riley, guided us
through the galleries and provided
informative commentary and
academic anecdotes while we
meandered, nibbled and sipped.
We learnt that Adam Sedgwick
became Cambridge’s Woodwardian
Professor of Geology in 1818. He
established a major academic school
and continued collecting specimens
until the museum ran out of space. In
1904, King Edward VII opened the
present Sedgwick Museum, built as a
memorial to Adam Sedgwick.
Our evening spanned more than
500 million years of life on Earth,
from bacterial stromatolites over
3,000 million years old, to the
Cambrian and Ordovician explosion
17-18 March 2012
For the fourth year running,
the East Anglia branch
continued its involvement
with the Cambridge Science Festival,
which this year was bigger and
better than ever.
For the first time, we operated on
both Saturday and Sunday and
numbers exceeded our wildest
expectations, with around 1,700
visitors on Saturday and 630 on
Sunday. Activities at our stand
included the ever-popular ‘smells
quiz’ and mirror tracing, which
many families did against the clock
and with many a child beating their
parents, to much excitement. The
biggest crowd-grabber was Barn Owl
pellet dissection – some visitors sat
for hours as they identified whole
skeletons from a range of small
mammals and birds.
Once again, the Science Festival
was a fantastic event and next year
we hope to welcome more Member
Organisations to our stand.
Micha Thomas, 6th form college
student representative
EVENT
REPORT
of life 440–544 million years ago, up
to the swampy Carboniferous with
its lush vegetation.
Dan and Matthew’s enthusiasm
and willingness to share their
knowledge enabled us all to gain so
much more from the galleries’
exhibits. This was an attentiongrabbing visit and a definite must for
scientists across the spectrum.
Krystyna Zielinski-Smith CBiol MSB
LAKENHEATH FEN VISIT
16 June 2012 at 10:00
The RSPB has converted an
area of arable farmland at
Lakenheath Fen into a large
wetland, consisting mainly of reed
beds and grazing marshes, and a
haven for wildlife. The new reed beds
UP &
COMING
SECRETS OF SEDGWICK
2 February 2012
A giant Iguanodon skeleton
EVENT
REPORT greeted us on arrival at the
Sedgwick Museum of Earth
Sciences, University of Cambridge.
The Barn owl
pellet dissection
was a big crowdgrabber at the
Cambridge
Science Festival.
BRANCH NEWS
EAst anglia/EAST MIDLANDS/KENT, SURREY & SUSSEX/NORTH WESTERN/YORKSHIRE
E Anglia (contd) East Midlands
have attracted hundreds of pairs of
reed warblers and sedge warblers, as
well as bearded tits and marsh
harriers. Bitterns have been heard
and seen increasingly in all seasons
of the year, and in early summer
hobbies catch insects high over the
marshes. Golden orioles breed in the
remnant poplar woods on the
reserve, along with blackcaps,
garden warblers and woodpeckers.
The visit will include an
introductory talk followed by a
guided walk. Footwear for ‘soggy
underfoot’ is recommended and
binoculars/telescopes and a bird
guide would be useful.
Further details available at
www.societyofbiology.org/branches/
east-anglia/events
North Western
Professor Aubrey
Manning with
students from
the Manchester
Grammar School
Natural History
Society.
The assembled
winners in all
of the various
age groups.
REGIONAL SCHOOLS
COMPETITION
12 March 2012
During 2012 National
EVENT
REPORT Science and Engineering
Week the East Midlands
Branch hosted another successful
schools event in March. Hosted by
GENIE (Genetics Education
Networking for Innovation and
Excellence), over 100 people
streamed into the University of
Leicester Medical School, with
teachers and parents alongside
pupils from the nine different
schools taking part.
This year’s theme was ‘Our World
in Motion’ with pupils in Years 8-10
producing posters and students from
7 July 2012 at 10:45
UP &
COMING
Years 11-13 writing an essay or
producing a podcast. All of the
posters were impressive but Miriam
Woods won the £50 first prize with
her poster on human development,
entitled ‘The Race From Africa’.
Sarah Parkin and Sophie
Richardson’s entry, ‘The World of
Flight’ came second.
In the senior group, joint first
prize went to Komal Joshi for her
essay on ‘Huntington’s Disease:
Motor Symptoms and Genetics’ and
to Charlotte Hall for her podcast on
prosthetic limbs. Runners-up prizes
of £20 went to Harry BesseySaldanha for his essay entitled ‘How
Do I Get There’ and to Hiba Hasnain
for her podcast ‘Lego Man and the
Sliding Filament Theory’.
7 March 2012
To support National Science
and Engineering Week,
Professor Mark Fielder from
Kingston University visited Sutton
High and delivered a special lecture on
EVENT
REPORT
‘The Immune Response to Infection’.
Aimed at 6th form students
studying biology, the lecture was
engaging and interactive, covering
topics including the basic concepts of
microbiology, the history and
development of diseases, today’s
most prevalent diseases, the
significance of an incomplete course
AUBREY MANNING VISIT
27-28 March 2012
It was our privilege to
welcome Professor Aubrey
Manning OBE FSB for a
two-day visit to Manchester
Grammar School (MGS) and
Blackpool and the Fylde College,
where he shared his passion for the
history of the earth and animal
behaviour with young people and
members of the Society in our region.
After lunch, staff and students
listened attentively to Professor
Manning’s lecture, which followed
the history of the planet: the fossil
evidence of early life, and the impact
of continental drift on the
distribution of species and the
dilemma of exploitation. Thanks
must be expressed to Dr Peter
Bowen-Walker FSB, our host at MGS
who ensured a most successful day.
The following day saw Professor
Manning at the Brick Theatre of the
EVENT
REPORT
university campus of Blackpool and
Fylde College, where he explained
various aspects of animal behaviour.
Students were captivated by the
many examples of intrinsic and
intellectual behaviours.
They were advised not to confuse
intellect with ability: instinct is ‘blind’
but animals do have intellectual
capacity, for example the rook that
dropped stones in a cylinder of water
to raise a buoyant treat. Our attention
was drawn to self-awareness in
chimpanzees, the importance of play,
cross-species interaction and the
interaction of man and other animals.
Professor Manning closed with a
Richard Attenborough quote from
Jurassic Park 2: “These creatures need
our absence to survive not our help.”
The Professor was an inspiration
to the many potential life scientists
he met, and also heartily promoted
the importance of being a member
of the Society.
Jean Wilson FSB
NATURE AND FARMING
1 July 2012 at 10:00 and 14:00
A tour of St Nicholas Fields,
explaining the
transformation of this
former brick pit and landfill site into
a thriving, Community Green Flag
Award winning, 24-acre urban
nature reserve. It is a haven for
wildlife and people alike, located just
one mile from the city centre of York.
Meet at 10:00 at the urban nature
reserve St Nicholas Fields, York
Environment Centre, Rawdon
Avenue, York YO10 3ST. The tour
starts at 10:30 and is free.
At 12:30 we move along the Hull
UP &
COMING
of antibiotics and the challenge of
drug-resistant microbes.
A wide range of diseases were
discussed, from those of historical
significance such as the plague,
cholera and cowpox, to current
issues such as MRSA, E. coli 0157,
swine flu and malaria.
Asma Raheem (Student)
East Anglia
Miss Amanda Burton
[email protected]
East Midlands
Mrs Rosemary Hall
[email protected]
Kent, Surrey & Sussex
Dr David Ware
kentsurreysussex@
LONDON
Miss Mercy Nimako
[email protected]
North Wales
Dr Rosemary Solbé
[email protected]
North Western
Mr Glenn Upton-Fletcher
[email protected]
Northern
Dr Michael Rowell
[email protected]
Northern Ireland
Dr David Roberts
[email protected]
SCOTLAND
Dr Jacqueline Nairn
[email protected]
Yorkshire
Winner Miriam
Woods with her
poster on human
development,
entitled ‘The Race
From Africa’.
lecture: THE IMMUNe
RESPONSE TO INFECTION
Beds, Essex & Herts
Mrs Jacqueline McPherson
[email protected]
Devon & Cornwall
Miss Christine Fry
[email protected]
SAND DUNES AND
SALT MARSHES
We have arranged a summer
visit to the Brancaster
Sand Dunes and Salt
Marshes. Committee members
Amanda Burton and Ian Harvey will
lead a guided walk and talk on how
dunes and salt marshes form, the
wildlife present and the process of
succession so beautifully illustrated
by both habitats. The walk is about
four miles, mostly over soft sand, but
some of it may be a bit soggy
underfoot. Binoculars and a plant
identification guide are useful if you
have them.
After the dunes we’ll visit the
RSPB Titchwell Nature Reserve
three miles down the coast for a bit of
bird-watching – and there are some
nice pubs nearby too.
For more details see our website:
east-anglia/events
Branch
contactS
Road to the Yorkshire Museum of
Farming at Murton. After lunch, at
14:00 there will be an introduction
by the director. The museum is
dedicated to the history of farming
in Yorkshire, with agricultural
exhibits around the 16-acre site and a
range of friendly livestock.
Additionally, the York and District
Beekeepers Society will be holding
an open day at the museum. Further
details at www.murtonpark.co.uk.
Adults: £5.00; children: £4.00;
under 3s: free (family ticket £16.00).
Contact Clive Tiney, 01904760216
[email protected] or see
yorkshire/events for more details.
Thames Valley
Dr Michael Keith-Lucas CBiol FSB
[email protected]
The York and
District
Beekeepers
Society will
be holding an
open day
Wessex
Ms Rachel Wilson
[email protected]
West Midlands
Ms Debbie Dixon
[email protected]
WESTERN
Ms Joan Ashley
[email protected]
YORKSHIRE
Mr Paul Bartlett
[email protected]
BRANCH EVENTS
CALENDAR
Beds, Essex and Herts
See Beds, Essex and Herts section of
Branch News for details.
Infectious Diseases and Director of
the Tuberculosis Research Unit at
the National Heart and Lung
Institute, Imperial College, on
preventing tuberculosis, will follow.
Devon & Cornwall
Sunday 1 July
Friday 22 June at 21:30
Bat Walk
Sunday 9 September
‘War Horse’ Walk
See Devon & Cornwall section of
Branch News for details.
East Anglia
Saturday 16 June at 10:00
Lakenheath Fen Visit
See East Anglia section of Branch
News for more.
Saturday 7 July 10:45-15:00
Brancaster Dunes and Salt Marsh
A guided walk and talk about the
dune and salt marsh ecosystems at
Brancaster beach in North Norfolk.
Only 30 places. Email
[email protected]
Saturday 6 October 10:00-12:30
Fungal Foray
Led by Tony Leech, this event will be
taking place in Lynford Arboretum,
Mundford, Thetford. Details TBC.
East Midlands
Visit to the Pannel Valley
Nature Reserve
Guided tour of the Wetland Trust’s
Pannel Valley nature reserve,
Winchelsea, led by the reserve’s
Conservation Co-ordinator. The
reserve attracts bitterns, avocets,
marsh harriers, water rail and reed
warblers, wetland flora and over 840
species of moths and butterflies.
Contact David Ware david.ware1@
ntlworld.com for further details.
Saturday 21 July 10:30
Visit to Gilbert White Museum
Gilbert White was a pioneering
naturalist who made careful and
detailed notes on the local flora and
fauna. Meet at 10:30 at the Tea
Parlour. Dr June Chatfield will show
us around the grounds. After lunch,
members may tour the house.
Cost: £5.95. More details at
www.societyofbiology.org/
newsandevents/events/view/374
Sunday 28 October
Sunday 5 August 12:00
Held jointly with the Lincolnshire
Wildlife Trust, Jane Ostler explains
the mushrooms and toadstools we
find in Twyford Woods, Colsterworth.
For details contact
[email protected]
The centre at Mallydams near
Hastings is where injured and sick
animals are rehabilitated. Manager
Bel Deerin will lead a tour around
the nature reserve and the centre. To
reduce disturbance they have
requested that we exclude dogs,
though children are welcome.
Peter James Lane, Fairlight, East
Sussex, TN35 4AH.
Fungal foray with Jane Ostler
Saturday 10 November
Visit to Donna Nook, North
Sutton-on-Sea, Lincolnshire
See the seals with their pups and
meet the wardens. This is an all-day
meet and booking will be necessary.
Contact marianneoverton@
biosearch.org.uk for details.
Saturday 23 June 11:00
Guided wild-flower walk
Enjoy a wild-flower walk around
Ranscombe Farm Reserve, led by
Richard Moyse, the Ranscombe
Project Manager. The site is
renowned for its collection of rare
wild plants, especially arable wild
flowers and orchids.
Thursday 28 June 18:00
AGM and lecture on TB
Our AGM will be held at Charles
Darwin House. A lecture by
Professor Agil Lalvani, Chair of
Tour of RSPCA Centre Mallydams
Wednesday 22 August 11:00
Guided tour of Rye Harbour
Nature Reserve
We have a tour of the flora and fauna
of the designated SSSI at Rye
Harbour nature reserve, led by
Dr Barry Yates, the Reserve
Manager. For details
contact Dr David Ware
at david.ware1@
ntlworld.com
London
Sunday 15 July
London Zoo Visit
There will be a morning visit
to London Zoo including an hourlong guided tour and reduced
admission price. Further details at
london/events
Your guide
to upcoming
events at your
local branch.
For more
information
on any event,
email the
contacts
provided in the
regional list on
page 45, unless
otherwise
stated here.
North Wales
Saturday 1 September
Visit to South Stack RSPB reserve
We will meet in the South Stack
Visitor Centre, Holyhead, Anglesey,
LL65 1YH at 11:30 for a guided hourlong walk. There will then be a talk
on the geology of South Stack. Grid
ref SH210818.
Friday 9 November
AGM
We will be holding a second AGM
this year to align ourselves with the
end of the society’s financial year.
Our AGM will be held at The Bod
Erw Hotel, St Asaph, Denbighshire,
and Dr Claire Drew from npower will
be speaking on wind farms.
Thames Valley Branch
Tuesday 9 October
AGM & Lecture
This free lecture is at Harwell
Oxford science park. Colin
Blakemore, Professor of
Neuroscience at the University of
Oxford, will be lecturing on
‘Mad cows and mobile phones:
whose science is it anyway?’
Further details online soon at
www.societyofbiology.org/
newsandevents/events/view/413
West Midlands
Saturday 30 June 10:00-16:30
Wyre Forest Family Day
A family day out in the Wyre Forest
in Worcestershire – free to Society of
Biology members and their guests.
For further details and to book
please contact Pamela Speed (tel:
01384 296292; email: pamela.
[email protected]) or Lesley
Payne (tel: 0121 745 7839; email:
[email protected]).
Yorkshire
Sunday 1 July
Summer Social Event
Tour of St Nicholas Fields nature
reserve and trip to Yorkshire
Museum of Farming. See Yorkshire
section of Branch News for details.
Saturday 10 November
Annual Symposium and AGM
This year’s annual symposium will be
held in collaboration with the MRC
Centre for Developmental and
Biomedical Genetics at the University
of Sheffield. Speakers invited include
Professor Peter Holland, University
of Oxford, Professor Paul Martin,
Professor of Cell Biology, University
of Bristol. Further details will appear
in our next issue.
Theme:
ON
TI
TI
p
Com
PE
M
CO
Enter our 2012 amateur
photography competition
y
grapohn
o
t
o
h
P
etiti
How Biology Can Save the World
Photographer of the Year (over 18)
£1,000 top prize
Young Photographer of the Year
(18 and under)
How
Biology
Can Save
£500 top prize
In association with
Closing date: 31 July 2012
the
World
For more information visit
www.societyofbiology.org/photocomp
Get ideas and tell us yours at societyofbiologyblog.org and using #BiologySaves
Crossword
WIN A
£ 25
BOOK
TOKEN
An Olympian challenge for the mind this month
Across
1
Critic could go so mad to discover banned substances (15)
9
Sadly can cost end of career if
one’s absorbed banned
substances (9)
10/23 Boo plodding around - you can’t
allow that in Olympics (5,6)
11
That’s the way heroic Olympians
win – taking first places (3)
12
Often games set up around what
is attractive (6)
14
I’m bribed to lose first of races and
get taken in (7)
16
Cider, it stimulates us, not allowed
for the Olympics (9)
20
Count, French one upset me
with pace (9)
21
See 15 Down
23
See 10
26
One couldn’t take off medallion
once anthem starts (3)
29
It does have a good sound gold.
I’d be upset getting nothing (5)
30
Last-minute exercising squanders
energy, that’s a no-no for Olympic
athletes (9)
31
I isolated carbon compound that
shouldn’t be found in athletes (8,7)
Down
1
Many have edge over youth picked
to join early Olympians (8)
2
Run over, then I finish off arranging
to take things down (5)
3
Do more running around outside of
event – it’ll clock up the distance (8)
4Exclude one in leaders of Olympic
medal table (4)
5
Make a botch of shot, the result’s
rubbish (4)
1
2
3
4
5
6
9
7
8
10
11
12
13
16
14
15
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
25
29
26
27
24
28
30
31
6
We get drawn into opening of
Olympics BBC broadcast - it’s hard
to escape it (6)
7
It is used in golf or in swimming (4)
8
Some races I’d led having moved
only slowly (6)
13
One acrobatically coming down
from a height requires I have
doctor around (5)
14
One trace of substance use
unfortunately can become the
main topic (5)
15/21ATo wager on bloke throwing race
before the finish – that’s not
allowed (4,7)
17
Taking part in run does loosen
things (4)
18
Lose, true to form not lacking
determination you find (8)
Correction
Apologies to last
issue’s winner
Dr K W G
Shilliam FSB
who is in fact
a Fellow of the
Society rather
than a member.
19
21
22
24
25
27
28
With getting edge somehow
outcome is biased (8)
It is a natural source of energy.
After prohibition one’s not
available (6)
OK upset when boxing I’m found
with no robe (6)
No longer immature I’m wanting
a game (5)
Novel aid to retain energy that’s
a thought (4)
Participating in gymnastics a fizzy
drink is needed (4)
Cut up wrestler does this to
opponent (4)
How to enter
To be in with a chance of winning a
£25 book token please send us your
completed puzzles by 20 July 2012.
Please include your name, address
and membership number with your
entry – an email address would
be handy too. Post your entries to:
Crossword, The Biologist, Society
of Biology, Charles Darwin House,
12 Roger Street, London, WC1N 2JU.
Winners
Thanks for your completed puzzles
and well done to the winners, who
are Margaret Janet McLellan MSB
and Paul Frederick Micklewright.
Book tokens on the way.
Last issue’s
Solution
Vol 59 No1 ➜
Final Word
Dr MARK DOWNS FSB, CHIEF EXECUTIVE, SOCIETY OF BIOLOGY
PRIMARY PASSIONS
A
If specialist
science
skills are
seen as
important
for
secondary
education,
the same
should apply
to primary
ny parent will have
seen how enthusiastic
young children are
about science at
school. If we want to
see more students studying science,
and a greater understanding of the
scientific method in civil society, we
surely need to harness this passion
from the earliest age possible. Sir
David Attenborough Hon FSB made
clear his views at the launch of the
Society in March 2010: collecting
bugs, fossils and basic taxonomy
excites and entrances young
children – and it’s something we
need to build on.
The National Curriculum provides
a good framework for primary
science education but most primary
teachers have not studied science
to any advanced level and often feel
uneasy with the subject. If specialist
science skills are seen as important
for secondary education, the same
should apply to primary. We need to
see more science graduates entering
primary education and better
support for non-scientists. Having at
least one science graduate in every
school could provide support for
peers and help with the increasing
wealth of material that is there to
help science become more accessible.
Learned Societies have a key
role to play here. The Wellcome
Trust does a great deal, producing
educational material for all schools,
but so do the many professional
bodies within the Society of Biology
– our Member Organisations. Our
role is to help bring this together
wherever possible, signpost teachers
to these rich sources of help and to
look at new approaches wherever
possible. One such initiative is
the Gopher Science Lab project,
which we have partnered with the
Biochemical Society.
Gopher Science Lab, with its own
quirky cartoon character, allows
8- to 9-year-olds to spend a morning
in a secondary school science lab
enjoying hands-on, practical science.
When they return to their primary
school, they explain the experience
to their classmates, showing them
what they can do themselves
using cheap and easily available
materials. Feedback from a pilot
at Aylesbury Grammar School has
been fantastic, from both the sixthform demonstrators and the young
children. Local MP and Foreign
Office Minister David Lidington
dropped by to see for himself and
was delighted to see a project like
this starting in his locality.
Once schools are engaged they
are always keen to do more and
teaching resources such as
the Biochemical Society’s
‘Scibermonkey’ (www.scibermonkey.
org) are a good place to start. The
real challenge, however, is reaching
large numbers of primary school
children and their parents, given
the resource implications of trying
to deliver projects such as Gopher
Science Lab on a large scale.
This means working closely with
the media, and the Society recently
teamed up with Fun Kids Radio
and its 180,000 weekly listeners to
develop an Introduction to Biology
series. Fun Kids Radio is the only
station aimed exclusively at children
under 11, and we are delighted with
the Marina Ventura Inside Biology
series of short broadcasts that
went live to air on the 16th April.
Each episode focuses on a different
aspect of biology, with the first
based around how we hear. They are
deliberately short and told through
the adventures of ‘Marina Ventura’
to help maintain attention and
ensure a fun approach. Links are
available on the Society’s website
and are available to download for
free on iTunes.
Supporting primary teachers
and education is a relatively new,
but certainly exciting, area for
the Society. We hope that this
will help children pick up on Sir
David’s passion for recognising
and identifying organisms and
have the courage to try their own
experiments.

biologist-archive - King Edward VII Academy

Transcription

Similar documents

www.VeryImportantPotheads.com JOSS STONE

Karen K. Resendes Westminster College New Wilmington, Pa

10 species of sea anemones

Cannabis: An African Biogeography, 1500-1940

The KiTchen - UptownGrowLab

Ehlers-Danlos and Medical Marijuana

2016mediakit - Culture Magazine

biologist-archive - King Edward VII Academy

pharmacy - Cooper

Lecture 1: Introduction to the class