"The #BiofilmAware campaign will illustrate the issues and benefits that different biofilms impart on society and how research in the area presents new opportunities to manage detrimental or better utilise beneficial biofilms." The James Hutton Institute is pleased to support the National Biofilms Innovation Centre's #BiofilmAware campaign, which aims to raise awareness of biofilms and their importance for our everyday lives. More information from: Bernardo Rodriguez-Salcedo, Media Manager, Tel: +44 (0)1224 395089 (direct line), +44 (0)344 928 5428 (switchboard) or +44 (0)7791 193918 (mobile)
"Having a good work life balance was seen as a choice farmers make and involves skills in time management that they can develop, but there are also factors outside farmers’ control that can make a good work-life balance difficult to achieve" The Irish dairy sector has undergone a period of growth since milk quotas were removed in 2015. However, while dairy farmers have favourable views about expansion and grass-based systems, some farmers felt that volatile milk prices and increasing costs meant they have little choice but to expand. More information from: Bernardo Rodriguez-Salcedo, Media
“Currently there is a knowledge gap in the management of blackleg, and we wish to address it by characterising the identity and distribution of free-living nematodes but also microbial communities, and the ways in which they associate and interact with the blackleg pathogen through changes in factors such as irrigation and use of cover crops” Scientists at the James Hutton Institute and partner organisations are working to understand the interactions between pathogen Pectobacterium atrosepticum and an array of soil-microbe-crop interactions in the development of blackleg, one of the most
“This work shows why it is important to continue with the existing presumption against planting trees in deep peat areas, but that additional incentives or constraints may be needed to achieve the overall rates of emission mitigation that policy commitments imply” Tree planting and woodland expansion are often touted as desirable ways to soak up atmospheric carbon and help stem climate change. They are a frequent feature of climate change mitigation policies, but these policies often assume that all new trees are good for carbon storage, which isn’t necessarily true in all circumstance. More