Life Sciences & Biology

  Galapagos Conservation Trust (GCT) is the only UK registered charity to focus exclusively on the conservation and sustainability of the Galapagos Archipelago. Launched in 1995 at the Royal Society, GCT has supported a vast array of projects in Galapagos...

Dr Scott Carver and his team at the University of Tasmania use a multidisciplinary approach to study the spread of disease within and among wild animals, their domestic counterparts, and humans. ‘No man is an island,’ says the poem, ‘entire of himself.’ It was...

Mycologist and Environmental Engineer Dr Irina Druzhinina and her colleagues at the Biochemical Technology Research Division of the Institute of Chemical, Environmental and Biological Engineering, TU Wien in Vienna, Austria, are looking for a compound to use in the...

Ecotoxicologist Professor Reinhard Dallinger and his colleagues at the University of Innsbruck in Austria look for ways to locate and measure environmental metal fluxes and pollution in non-model invertebrate and indicator organisms, like worms and shellfish. Looking...

Dr Diliana D. Simeonova and her colleagues at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Microbiology in Sofia, Bulgaria perform research at the interface between geochemistry and microbiology – or simply geomicrobiology. Dr Simeonova and her colleagues are...

Professor Stephen Goff of Columbia University studies transmissible cancer in shellfish. His interest in viruses and their role in cancer led him to initially research a potential viral cause for leukaemia that is present in shellfish. The cancer did not have a viral...

Professor Arthur DeVries of the University of Illinois is the discoverer of anti-freeze proteins in polar fishes, which enable them to survive and thrive in polar environments, where they would otherwise freeze to death. This unique adaptation forms a cornerstone of...

The size of fish catches from rivers has reduced to alarming levels in many countries. Professor Helmut Segner of the University of Bern in Switzerland is studying the reasons why fish stocks might be dwindling. His research focusses primarily on the effect of sex...

Climate change and anthropic interactions with the oceans are making marine habitats increasingly unsuitable for marine animal life. This is why researchers like Professor Gordon Taylor at Stony Brook University are working to understand the complex dynamics governing...

Dr Craig Albertson and his colleagues at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst conduct research in evolutionary developmental (evo-devo) biology. The team’s research focus is at the intersection of genes, development and evolution, using the craniofacial skeleton...

Dr Bettina Sonntag investigates ciliates – microscopic organisms living in freshwater lakes. As a senior scientist at the Research Institute for Limnology in Mondsee, Austria, Dr Sonntag leads a research team exploring how these single-celled protists interact with...

Aquaculture – growing fish or other aquatic species in captivity – is an important strategy for meeting the increasing demand for seafood from a growing human population, while also preserving wild fish stocks. However, aquaculture can also have negative environmental...

Professor Daniel J. Jackson and his team at the University of Göttingen use snails and sponges as models to study how animals make biominerals, and to gain insight into how this ability first evolved. The cellular and molecular mechanisms that allow an animal to make...

As high temperatures continue to set records around the globe, aquatic organisms are facing new environmental extremes. Freshwater and marine animals will either adapt to resulting changes in salinity, temperature and oxygen, or face mortality and possible extinction....