News

Payments that enable landowners to rewild ecologically degraded land - in the form of biodiversity credits bought by investors wishing to offset their impact on nature - could be an effective component of the emerging market for nature recovery, but will not work as a stand-alone approach.A University of Cambridge-led team involving Professor David…

Congratulations to Professor John Carr, Head of the Virology and Molecular Plant Pathology group at the Department of Plant Sciences, who has been elected this year’s new Honorary Member of the British Society of Plant Pathology (BSPP). This award recognises Professor Carr’s significant contributions to plant pathogen research and to the plant path…

On 12-13 February 2026, the Crop Science Centre (CSC) welcomed world-leading researchers and development partners for the inaugural UK-CGIAR Bambara groundnut consortium meeting at St John’s College, Cambridge.The two-day event brought together members of the UK-CGIAR Centre project for the genetic improvement of Bambara groundnut for future nutrit…

Decades of conflict devastated Somalia’s food systems, but scientists like Dr Ahmed Warsame, Head of the Legume Crop Resilience and Quality group at the Department of Plant Sciences, are helping restore them. Marta Millere from the Crop Trust profiles Dr Warsame’s work to revive Somalia’s cowpea diversity.By retrieving seeds collected before the 19…

Dr Emily Servanté from the Cereal Symbiosis group, Department of Plant Sciences, writes about her research into using soil fungi as natural biofertilisers to improve crop performance and reduce environmental impact in rice farming.  It’s an exciting time to be a microbiologist working in rice research. A global push towards the cultivation of water…

An international group of researchers says that biodiversity conservation and scientific research are not benefiting from the vast knowledge about the world’s plants held by botanic gardens, because of fragmented data systems and a lack of standardisation.In a new report led by Professor Samuel Brockington from the Department of Plant Sciences, Cam…

When we think about protecting crops from disease, the spotlight usually falls on high-tech fixes – new pesticides, genetic engineering, advanced fungicides. But there’s a powerful, low-tech ally we often ignore: the landscape itself.Recent theoretical studies carried out by the Epidemiology and Modelling group at the University of Cambridge indica…

A team at the University of Cambridge have developed new tools to predict disease risk in cassava and help protect a vital food security crop in sub-Saharan Africa.Cassava, a staple food grown widely across sub-Saharan Africa, is severely threatened by diseases such as Cassava Mosaic Disease (CMD) and Cassava Brown Streak Disease (CBSD). Whiteflies…

Dr Adriane Esquivel-Muelbert investigates the demise of our rainforests' biggest characters.A giant has fallen.In the depths of the Amazon, a centuries-old tree has crashed to the earth. While its impact and absence are seismic for nearby species, the death is soon absorbed by the immensity of the rainforest. The tree’s precious ecological informat…

Warmest congratulations to Farahnoz Khojayori, the winner of the 2025 Agnes Arber Prize in Comparative Plant Biology - an annual prize supporting the next generation of pioneering botanists, following in the footsteps of Agnes Arber.The inaugural Agnes Arber Prize in Comparative Plant Biology has been awarded to Farahnoz Khojayori, a PhD student at…

Human-driven changes to landscapes worldwide are ‘thinning out’ the ecological services supplied by wild birds, eroding the functions that support stable and resilient ecosystems. A new study co-authored by Professor David Edwards, Head of the Tropical Ecology and Conservation group at the Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge, has …

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 studying here, how it shaped their careers and what they are doing now. If you would like your alumni story featured, please email us at alumni@plantsci.cam.ac.uk.About NielsDr Simon ‘Niels…

Last month 28 students and staff from the Departments of Plant Sciences and Zoology along with 6 Malaysian students from local universities, travelled to the Danum Valley Field Centre in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo for this year’s tropical field course.The course is a great opportunity for students about to start the third year of their undergraduate s…

A new film showcases how the Crop Science Centre (CSC)’s collaboration with partners in the Global South is pioneering sustainable solutions in agriculture to feed the world and improve lives.The film will be premiered at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30) taking place in Belém, Brazil in November 2025.It shows how CSC’s partnersh…

A new tool to fine-tune plant genomes without changing their DNA could offer a fast and precise alternative to GM breeding and play a key role in developing resilient crops in response to climate change.  A study led by members of the Chromatin and Memory group at the University of Cambridge has uncovered a new way to reprogramme plant genomes usin…