The Colworth Medal is an esteemed annual award for outstanding research by a young biochemist of any nationality who has carried out the majority of their work in the UK or the Republic of Ireland. Donated in 1963 by Unilever Research Colworth Laboratory, the award is made to an early career scientist who is within 10 years of receiving their highest qualification. Interviews with past winners from 1963 to 2013 were previously published throughout 2013. To celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Colworth Medal, interviews with our latest winners will appear in The Biochemist throughout 2023. In this issue, we will hear from Professor Stephan Uphoff (2020) and Dr Giulia Zanetti (2021).
{"title":"Sixty years of the Colworth Medal","authors":"Lucy Ollett","doi":"10.1042/bio_2023_132","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1042/bio_2023_132","url":null,"abstract":"The Colworth Medal is an esteemed annual award for outstanding research by a young biochemist of any nationality who has carried out the majority of their work in the UK or the Republic of Ireland. Donated in 1963 by Unilever Research Colworth Laboratory, the award is made to an early career scientist who is within 10 years of receiving their highest qualification. Interviews with past winners from 1963 to 2013 were previously published throughout 2013. To celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Colworth Medal, interviews with our latest winners will appear in The Biochemist throughout 2023. In this issue, we will hear from Professor Stephan Uphoff (2020) and Dr Giulia Zanetti (2021).","PeriodicalId":35334,"journal":{"name":"Biochemist","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-08-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45241261","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
With nominations for the 2025 Biochemical Society Awards opening soon, find out all you need to know about the process of nominating from past and present Chairs of the Awards Committee. Your nominations allow us to recognize outstanding achievement and research across all career stages within our community every year.
{"title":"Biochemical Society Awards: what you need to know when making your nomination","authors":"Lucy Ollett, Colin Bingle, Steve Busby","doi":"10.1042/bio_2023_126","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1042/bio_2023_126","url":null,"abstract":"With nominations for the 2025 Biochemical Society Awards opening soon, find out all you need to know about the process of nominating from past and present Chairs of the Awards Committee. Your nominations allow us to recognize outstanding achievement and research across all career stages within our community every year.","PeriodicalId":35334,"journal":{"name":"Biochemist","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-07-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43606710","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The scholarly publishing landscape is undergoing rapid change owing to global events such as the coronavirus pandemic, political statements such as the OSTP Nelson memo in the USA1 and funder moves such as Plan S in Europe2. These combined factors have triggered unprecedented moves towards open access and the broader establishment of open scholarship agendas among publishers, with a view to supporting global scientific research.As an independent society publisher navigating a path to open scholarship, here’s everything you need to know about the Biochemical Society’s future publishing vision and the steps we’re taking to safeguard our support for the molecular bioscience community.Despite a history of curating ‘science’ by creating many of the most impactful journals, independent society publishers are an increasingly rare phenomenon in scholarly publishing. As we navigate new research agendas, the Biochemical Society is choosing to stand behind an equitable and inclusive funding model to cover publishing costs, challenging the more commercial imperatives of open access publishing, which seek to commodify the process of sharing research in pursuit of greater market share.By choosing sustainable business models, we plan to remain independent so that we can continue to make choices in line with our strategy and mission, decide our own priorities and remain at a scale that enables publishing to be an important and integral part of what we bring to the research endeavour – rather than an end in itself. We trust our key communities – researchers, librarians and other stakeholders worldwide – align with these principles and will support us in our on-going journey towards more open research practices.The first choice we’ve made is to remain in control of our own destiny and follow self-determined priorities. The second is to find as many routes as possible to achieve fee-free open access publishing options for all our authors. Ensuring researchers have the chance to be published based on scientific merit has been at the heart of the Society’s publishing ethos and will continue in our open science future.The Society’s governance structure, which sees scientists guiding decisions about our sustainability, sits in contrast to more commercial shareholder interests. Our publishing surpluses are there to support scholars throughout their careers as they pursue interconnected research endeavours, providing forums for researchers to communicate and discuss their discoveries with peers, and to exercise their talents and creativity to advance their discipline.The Society plans to scale up open scholarship ambitions over the next two years. Many of the publishing services we offer authors and customers are ‘bundled in’ to increasingly outdated licence agreements. In future, we will work with our communities to identify and deliver more services and better define service levels so that they may be formalized in new agreements.Increasingly, we will move away from ge
{"title":"Independent society publishers and the path to open scholarship","authors":"Gaynor Redvers-Mutton, John Doddy","doi":"10.1042/bio_2023_117","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1042/bio_2023_117","url":null,"abstract":"The scholarly publishing landscape is undergoing rapid change owing to global events such as the coronavirus pandemic, political statements such as the OSTP Nelson memo in the USA1 and funder moves such as Plan S in Europe2. These combined factors have triggered unprecedented moves towards open access and the broader establishment of open scholarship agendas among publishers, with a view to supporting global scientific research.As an independent society publisher navigating a path to open scholarship, here’s everything you need to know about the Biochemical Society’s future publishing vision and the steps we’re taking to safeguard our support for the molecular bioscience community.Despite a history of curating ‘science’ by creating many of the most impactful journals, independent society publishers are an increasingly rare phenomenon in scholarly publishing. As we navigate new research agendas, the Biochemical Society is choosing to stand behind an equitable and inclusive funding model to cover publishing costs, challenging the more commercial imperatives of open access publishing, which seek to commodify the process of sharing research in pursuit of greater market share.By choosing sustainable business models, we plan to remain independent so that we can continue to make choices in line with our strategy and mission, decide our own priorities and remain at a scale that enables publishing to be an important and integral part of what we bring to the research endeavour – rather than an end in itself. We trust our key communities – researchers, librarians and other stakeholders worldwide – align with these principles and will support us in our on-going journey towards more open research practices.The first choice we’ve made is to remain in control of our own destiny and follow self-determined priorities. The second is to find as many routes as possible to achieve fee-free open access publishing options for all our authors. Ensuring researchers have the chance to be published based on scientific merit has been at the heart of the Society’s publishing ethos and will continue in our open science future.The Society’s governance structure, which sees scientists guiding decisions about our sustainability, sits in contrast to more commercial shareholder interests. Our publishing surpluses are there to support scholars throughout their careers as they pursue interconnected research endeavours, providing forums for researchers to communicate and discuss their discoveries with peers, and to exercise their talents and creativity to advance their discipline.The Society plans to scale up open scholarship ambitions over the next two years. Many of the publishing services we offer authors and customers are ‘bundled in’ to increasingly outdated licence agreements. In future, we will work with our communities to identify and deliver more services and better define service levels so that they may be formalized in new agreements.Increasingly, we will move away from ge","PeriodicalId":35334,"journal":{"name":"Biochemist","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-06-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136178411","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The urgent need to transition to a more sustainable way of life is driving the development of natural and sustainable materials. One such example is mycelium materials, which are partially or solely composed of hyphae, the vegetative life form of filamentous fungi. Mycelium materials offer a sustainable and environmentally friendly alternative to synthetic materials like plastics and to animal leather, by minimizing waste, reducing CO2 emissions and promoting a circular economy. In their natural habitat, fungi play a vital role in maintaining balanced forest ecosystems by decomposing and recycling organic matter. From a material application perspective, the mycelium itself is now being considered as a product that can be easily generated by cultivating the fungus on renewable biomass feedstocks. Mycelium-based composites and pure mycelium materials can be produced through different fermentation techniques, including solid-state (SSF), liquid-state submerged (LSF) and liquid-state surface fermentation (LSSF). Interestingly, the properties of mycelium materials are highly tuneable by altering the growth and post-growth process parameters, the choice of fungal species and the used substrate. Although the link between the biology of a living organism and the emergent material characteristics thereof offers great opportunities for fine-tuning material properties, a current lack of understanding of the underlying scientific principles makes industrial scalability and product reproducibility a challenging step. In this article, we discuss the opportunities and challenges of mycelium materials as a novel class of biomaterials.
{"title":"Growing sustainable materials from filamentous fungi","authors":"E. Peeters, Jara Salueña Martin, Simon Vandelook","doi":"10.1042/bio_2023_120","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1042/bio_2023_120","url":null,"abstract":"The urgent need to transition to a more sustainable way of life is driving the development of natural and sustainable materials. One such example is mycelium materials, which are partially or solely composed of hyphae, the vegetative life form of filamentous fungi. Mycelium materials offer a sustainable and environmentally friendly alternative to synthetic materials like plastics and to animal leather, by minimizing waste, reducing CO2 emissions and promoting a circular economy. In their natural habitat, fungi play a vital role in maintaining balanced forest ecosystems by decomposing and recycling organic matter. From a material application perspective, the mycelium itself is now being considered as a product that can be easily generated by cultivating the fungus on renewable biomass feedstocks. Mycelium-based composites and pure mycelium materials can be produced through different fermentation techniques, including solid-state (SSF), liquid-state submerged (LSF) and liquid-state surface fermentation (LSSF). Interestingly, the properties of mycelium materials are highly tuneable by altering the growth and post-growth process parameters, the choice of fungal species and the used substrate. Although the link between the biology of a living organism and the emergent material characteristics thereof offers great opportunities for fine-tuning material properties, a current lack of understanding of the underlying scientific principles makes industrial scalability and product reproducibility a challenging step. In this article, we discuss the opportunities and challenges of mycelium materials as a novel class of biomaterials.","PeriodicalId":35334,"journal":{"name":"Biochemist","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-06-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49171192","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
A. Watts, Emily Magkourilou, Nathan Howard, Katie J. Field
The intensification of agriculture over the past decades has helped increase crop yields but has also led to various environmental issues, potentially undermining future productivity. One of the options considered for increasing the sustainability of agriculture is the stimulation or enhancement of microorganisms that associate with plants and help them acquire more nutrients from the soil leading to benefits such as increased growth. One key player considered are arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), a group of below-ground fungi that form symbiotic relationships with the vast majority of land plants. However, evidence from lab and field trials suggests that not all plants respond equally to colonization by these fungi, and research is on-going to better understand the context-dependency of the symbiosis. Moreover, introducing AMF to agricultural fields through the application of commercial inoculants that contain fungal spores and hyphae has been inconsistent in their desired effects of boosting crop yield and quality. Recently, a quality framework has been put forward to try and increase the reliability of these inocula so farmers can make better use of them. Although further research on the fundamental and applied aspects of plant–arbuscular mycorrhizal associations is required, agricultural practices that favour these fungi should be encouraged as they are likely to lead to wider benefits and ultimately contribute to a more sustainable agricultural system.
{"title":"Can mycorrhizal fungi fix farming? Benefits and limitations of applying them to agroecosystems","authors":"A. Watts, Emily Magkourilou, Nathan Howard, Katie J. Field","doi":"10.1042/bio_2023_118","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1042/bio_2023_118","url":null,"abstract":"The intensification of agriculture over the past decades has helped increase crop yields but has also led to various environmental issues, potentially undermining future productivity. One of the options considered for increasing the sustainability of agriculture is the stimulation or enhancement of microorganisms that associate with plants and help them acquire more nutrients from the soil leading to benefits such as increased growth. One key player considered are arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), a group of below-ground fungi that form symbiotic relationships with the vast majority of land plants. However, evidence from lab and field trials suggests that not all plants respond equally to colonization by these fungi, and research is on-going to better understand the context-dependency of the symbiosis. Moreover, introducing AMF to agricultural fields through the application of commercial inoculants that contain fungal spores and hyphae has been inconsistent in their desired effects of boosting crop yield and quality. Recently, a quality framework has been put forward to try and increase the reliability of these inocula so farmers can make better use of them. Although further research on the fundamental and applied aspects of plant–arbuscular mycorrhizal associations is required, agricultural practices that favour these fungi should be encouraged as they are likely to lead to wider benefits and ultimately contribute to a more sustainable agricultural system.","PeriodicalId":35334,"journal":{"name":"Biochemist","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-06-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46357925","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Throughout the year, the Biochemical Society offers a programme of grants for all career stages supporting research, attendance at scientific conferences and the sponsorship of events. So far in 2023, we have awarded over £163,000 towards lab visits, seminar series, and the advancement of research. In this article, we are delighted to share a few insights from our community that highlight the variety of projects and opportunities made possible by our funding. For more information about our funding opportunities and the application process, please visit our website.
{"title":"Biochemical Society support in action: experiences from our community","authors":"Lucy Ollett","doi":"10.1042/bio_2023_121","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1042/bio_2023_121","url":null,"abstract":"Throughout the year, the Biochemical Society offers a programme of grants for all career stages supporting research, attendance at scientific conferences and the sponsorship of events. So far in 2023, we have awarded over £163,000 towards lab visits, seminar series, and the advancement of research. In this article, we are delighted to share a few insights from our community that highlight the variety of projects and opportunities made possible by our funding. For more information about our funding opportunities and the application process, please visit our website.","PeriodicalId":35334,"journal":{"name":"Biochemist","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-06-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48973901","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Each year, the Biochemical Society presents a series of prestigious awards that recognize excellence and achievement in both specific and general fields of science. Candidates are nominated by their peers and the winners are agreed by a judging panel of respected scientists from across a range of different scientific backgrounds.
{"title":"Biochemical Society 2024 Award winners","authors":"Lucy Ollett","doi":"10.1042/bio_2023_114","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1042/bio_2023_114","url":null,"abstract":"Each year, the Biochemical Society presents a series of prestigious awards that recognize excellence and achievement in both specific and general fields of science. Candidates are nominated by their peers and the winners are agreed by a judging panel of respected scientists from across a range of different scientific backgrounds.","PeriodicalId":35334,"journal":{"name":"Biochemist","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-05-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46719845","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Professor Peter Quinn (14 May 1941 – 12 February 2023)","authors":"R. Naftalin","doi":"10.1042/bio_2023_113","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1042/bio_2023_113","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":35334,"journal":{"name":"Biochemist","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-05-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44425141","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Colyn Crane-Robinson (20 October 1935–5 March 2023)","authors":"Fiona Myers","doi":"10.1042/bio_2023_119","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1042/bio_2023_119","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":35334,"journal":{"name":"Biochemist","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-05-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41585751","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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