News

What do potatoes, pigs and pollinators have in common?They’re all vital in feeding the growing human population – but modern intensive farming has created huge problems we can no longer ignore. “We're taking more out of the environment than the environment can sustain. If you consider nature as capital, it’s like liquidating your assets,” says Lyn…

A major analysis led by the University of Cambridge has found that many REDD+ projects achieved meaningful reductions in forest loss – offering real environmental benefits.This is despite the study confirming that almost eleven times more carbon credits were issued from the REDD+ (Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation) voluntary carb…

From PhD in Plant Sciences to a dynamic career in biotech – Holly Astley shares how her time at Cambridge shaped her path from laboratory scientist to increasingly multifaceted project focused roles.Studying Plant Sciences at Cambridge can open up a wealth of career opportunities. In this series, we hear from Plant Sciences alumni about their exper…

Congratulations to Professor Uta Paszkowski whose election to the US National Academy of Sciences (NAS) was formally recognised at the NAS signing ceremony on 24 April 2026, marking her official induction as an International Member of one of the world’s most prestigious scientific institutions.During the ceremony members elected in 2025 are introdu…

Thea Kongsted completed her PhD in Plant Sciences in 2024, studying at Jesus College, Cambridge and working with Beverley Glover in the Evolution and Development group at the Department of Plant Sciences.Here she talks about how she benefitted from the Tom ap Rees fund whilst studying in Cambridge, and what she has gone on to do since.To find out m…

Natural Sciences students reflect on this year’s Evolutionary Biology field course which took place in Pembrokeshire in April 2026. Twenty-five first-year Evolutionary Biology students spent a week in south-west Wales learning about plants, animals and fossils in the windswept and beautiful surroundings of the Dale Fort Field Centre over the Easter…

More than a spring spectacle, bluebells reveal a mix of chemistry, ecology and conservation beneath their familiar blue.Every April, Britain’s woodlands are transformed by one of spring’s most anticipated spectacles: the beautiful British bluebell (Hyacinthoides non-scripta). Behind this cultural icon lies a plant with a fascinating biology.In reco…

Cambridge researchers have identified a minimal toolkit of genes that controls how plants grow, revealing a biological system that has remained virtually unchanged for over 450 million years. By studying the liverwort Marchantia polymorpha, a team from the Haseloff group in the Department of Plant Sciences has provided a new framework for understan…

A study from the University of Cambridge Department of Plant Sciences sheds new light on how one of the world’s oldest land plants, the liverwort Marchantia polymorpha, builds and fills its specialised chemical storage units. The research advances our understanding of how the plant produces and stores valuable natural compounds and could transform …

We are devastated to share the news that former Part II student, friend and collaborator Professor Philippa Borrill died over the Easter weekend following a rare immune system disorder (HLH). Philippa graduated in Plant Sciences in 2010 before moving directly to the John Innes Centre for her PhD.  She was a fantastic scientist, collaborator and men…

An international cohort of data scientists, plant researchers, and engineers gathered at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in Accra, Ghana, in March for an international hackathon aimed at securing the future of food. The five-day event from 9 to 13 March 2026, was co-led by the University of Cambridge and challenged interd…

From Plant Sciences Part II to painting the road verges of Britain – award-winning botanical painter Nessie Ramm shares how her time at Cambridge has inspired her art and community work. Studying Plant Sciences at Cambridge can open up a wealth of career opportunities. In this series, we hear from Plant Sciences alumni about their experiences of st…

Malcolm Barrett Wilkins (1933–2025), renowned plant physiologist and former Regius Professor of Botany at Glasgow, died in September 2025.Dr Jennifer Deegan, a volunteer researcher at the Department of Plant Sciences, shares a tribute in celebration of his life and the scientific achievements he made. Dr Deegan specialises in the photography of gam…

From a Cambridge PhD on hippo grazing to a life in tropical ecology - 1963 Cambridge Botany graduate and distinguished botanist, Mike Lock, shares his varied career in the natural sciences.Studying Plant Sciences at Cambridge can open up a wealth of career opportunities. In this series, we hear from Plant Sciences alumni about their experiences of …

We are delighted to share that Professor John Carr, Head of the Virology and Molecular Plant Pathology group at the Department of Plant Sciences, has been awarded a prestigious University of Cambridge Pilkington Prize.The award recognises Professor Carr’s exceptional contribution to teaching, practical training and public engagement during over 30 …