Soil is a non-renewable resource which sustains life and delivers countless beneficial ecosystem services that we need and take for granted. The microbial diversity of soil dwarfs above-ground plant diversity, but is intimately linked with it. Whilst macroscopic ecology is a well-developed discipline that supports our efforts to manage and …
For Manchester Science Festival I have been demonstrating an exploration of using 3D printing (additive manufacturing) to support environmental and ecology research and teaching. Apart from the practical benefits I think 3D printing is an important development for open research because it allows us to share hardware more easily than ever before, simply by sharing …
This is a gallery about Lavender bush and contains 4 images.
The 3D printer is already proving useful after just one week in the lab. It’s now so easy to make custom objects I am seeing lots of opportunities to use the printer in the lab instead of cobbling together random odds and ends. In the last few days I have been designing labware …
This is a gallery about Creatures on hop and contains 1 images.
If you use a laptop computer in dual-screen mode with Windows, you might experience the problem of losing access to a window on the external monitor when you leave the office and restore your session without the extra screen. Most programs seem to cope with screen disconnection OK but many …
The Tour de France this week traversed the peak of Holme Moss at 524 m as Stage 2 passed through the peatlands of the Southern Pennines from Yorkshire and into Derbyshire. As Blel Kadri led the other riders over the summit the quality of the soil could not have been further from their minds. …
I normally sign my reviews, see the websites of Bertrand Meyer and Carl Boettiger for some reasoning on this which I agree with. Anonymity in reviewing is a good idea but on balance I think it’s best to be open. Furthermore, some journals have come to a similar conclusion, notably Faculty of 1000. So …
I am aware that my own attempts are not very impressive but I think it’s a nice route that others will enjoy. Starts in the field near Whitehough Head Lane and ends at the top of Eccles Pike somewhere near the topograph, hard to tell exactly. To be sure go …
Am I the only one who uses carrier bags to line the kitchen bin and bag other waste before putting it out? Governments all over the world are falling over themselves to introduce disincentives for using plastic bags to take your shopping home, supposedly for environmental reasons. I am highly …