Prof. Murray Lark delivered statistics research methods module for University of Zimbabwe students
June 12, 2023
I recently read a remarkable book called Victorians and Numbers (Goldman, 2022). This tells the story of how a diverse set of academics, campaigners and politicians in Victorian Britain were enthused by the idea of collecting, analysing and visualising data to identify social problems and injustices and to support policies to address them. Parallel movements in …
Veronica Faith Guwela PhD experience
May 18, 2023
I’d like to share a story of how my love for Agricultural Sciences developed. I was about 12 years old when I accompanied my parents to our family farm to harvest maize. As we were harvesting, I noticed a number of cobs that were affected by maize Smuts. I did not know the name maize …
Is the UK losing its way in transitioning towards a more healthy and sustainable food system?
April 4, 2023
This post is written by Andrew Salter. The Future Food Beacon was launched in 2017 with the aim of ‘working across the food system to explore ways to future proof food security’, with an ambitious strap line of ‘ A world with nutritious food for all’. This was at a time of increasing recognition that at …
Imagining the sustainable supply chains of the future: an interview with Dr Christine Roussat
March 2, 2023
Can we imagine future sustainable supply chains and food systems? Today we talk with Dr Christine Roussat, a visiting researcher with the University of Nottingham Business School. Christine is an Associate Professor in the IUT at the Université Clermont-Auvergne in France. They are interested in the use of fictions in shaping the world of tomorrow, …
Disease susceptibility and genes in wheat
January 24, 2023
Last week we explored the ways scientists are working to diversify wheat genes to combat vulnerabilities to disease. This week, PhD candidate Nicola Walter takes us on a deep dive into gametocidal genes – selfish elements that preferentially transmit themselves to new plants by destroying those chromosomes that don’t have the gene. Gametocidal genes Genetic …
Diversity in wheat and the potential solutions
January 16, 2023
Wheat is one of the most essential crops in modern day diets. Alongside rice and soy, wheat is a staple food for many and a fundamental ingredient in many food stuffs. In this blog post, PhD candidate Nicola Walter outlines how diversity in wheat has been affected by generations of breeding, and the different ways …
Completing a PhD: Dr Chris Chagumaira reflects
December 13, 2022
Dr Christopher Chagumaira successfully defended his PhD thesis in September 2022. He was part of the first cohort of PhDs with the UoN-Rothamsted Graduate Centre for International Agriculture. His thesis focused on understanding and communicating uncertainty in spatial predictions of soil micronutrients for various stakeholders (including policymakers, farmers, and managers). He is now a Research …
The legacy of soil surveys
December 5, 2022
December 5 is World Soil Day. According to the UN, the purpose is to ‘focus attention on the importance of healthy soil and to advocate for the sustainable management of soil resources’. In this post, Prof Murray Lark reflects on the history of soil surveys and how they can aid our understanding and practices of …
Can we improve heat tolerance in rice? An interview with Dr Jordan Robson
November 29, 2022
Jordan Robson works on heat tolerance in rice populations. She is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow with the Palaeobenchmarking Resilient Agricultural Systems project. Prior to this she completed her PhD in Prof Zoe Wilson’s lab in Plant Sciences at UoN. Tell me about your work. What is your research about? My research is based on …
How do we feed the world in the face of global population growth, changing demographics and climate change?
November 21, 2022
This post is written by Prof Andy Salter While the implications of, and solutions to, climate change, were discussed at COP27, two major global demographic landmarks were reached. The global population reached 8 billion and the population of India now matches that of China. These figures highlight the multifactorial challenges we face in ensuring adequate …
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