© Amphon Jindawatthana/Shutterstock.com
We live in the Anthropocene where humans are changing Earth’s natural systems and biodiversity. We are facing a planetary emergency.
Our expertise in taxonomy, systematics and mineralogy drives our research in securing the future of our food, health and natural materials.
Our projects
Designing sustainable food systems
Future food
Mapping the distribution of wild species of food plants and the insects associated with them to help plant breeders prepare crops for the future.
EXCALIBUR: soil biodiversity in horticulture
Understanding soil biodiversity and dynamics.
Understanding disease biology and improving health outcomes for nature and people
Neglected tropical diseases
Relieving the suffering of some of the 1.4 billion people infected with a neglected tropical disease.
Schistosomiasis research group
Understanding and controlling this neglected tropical disease.
Resourcing the green economy
Critical elements research
Working to ensure the sustainable supply of raw materials for future generations.
Mining a sustainable future
Creating a cleaner, greener future at the Royal Society Summer Science exhibition 2021.
Other sustainability projects
Plastic in the Thames
Finding a large volume of unseen submerged plastic flowing into the marine environment.
FAME and fortune
Working to ensure the sustainable supply of raw materials for future generations in a major new European Commission-funded project.
Li4UK: Securing a domestic lithium supply chain for the UK
Demonstrating the feasibility of producing battery-quality lithium compounds from lithium found in UK rocks and geothermal waters.
Image credit: Hand holding soil © Shutterstock/bluedog studio
News and information about the Anthropocene
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NewsA quarter of all freshwater species are at risk of extinction
New research reveals that damage to these environments is pushing freshwater animals to the edge of extinction.
13 January 2025 -
AnthropocenePassenger pigeon: How the world’s most common bird went extinct
The passenger pigeon was once the most numerous bird in the world, but in just half a century, it had gone extinct.
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Science newsClimate change linked to mass poisoning of hundreds of elephants
The 350 elephants died because of a toxic algal bloom exacerbated by climate change.
29 November 2024 -
NewsWhales in ship strike hotspots could be saved by protecting just 3% more ocean
Protecting a little bit more of the ocean could lead to big changes for whales.
21 November 2024
