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Experiments
Alison Woollard
Alison is an Associate Professor in the Biochemistry Department at the University of Oxford where she leads a research team working on the genetics of the nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans. Her current work concerns molecular mechanisms of cell fate determination and morphogenesis during C. elegans development, as well as research on...
Changing plant chloroplasts to improve crop performance
Chloroplasts are tiny protein-filled units within plant cells. As well as being responsible for photosynthesis, they are critical to a plant's ability to respond to its environment (for example, to the intensity of light or the threat of disease). They do this by importing the proteins they need - and getting rid of those they don't need....
How garlicky is your garlic?
When it comes to mass-producing food, it’s important to make sure the taste is consistent, and good! But how can we detect the taste of something without eating it ourselves? Prof Richard Compton and his team in the Department of Chemistry are experts in electrochemical sensors, and in this episode of the Big Questions podcast he tells us all...
Sara Lil Middleton
I was always a curious child growing up, trying to understand the natural world around me through climbing trees, studying and collecting spiders and watching nature documentaries. My love for nature and the environment continued throughout my schooling and higher education. I studied science at A Level (Physics, Biology and Geography), which...
Are video games good for my mental health?
Most of us have probably heard of video games being described as "addictive", but is there evidence of this? Are they damaging to our mental health, or could they actually have a positive impact on our metal wellbeing? In this episode of the Big Questions podcast we're booting up our consoles, and asking Prof Andrew Przybylski, Director of...
Using your science to understand volcanic eruptions
Volcanoes are present across the Earth, from the barren wastes of Antarctica to densely populated regions in Europe, Asia and the Americas, and are both spectacular and deadly. But what makes a volcano erupt, and how deadly might that eruption be? By creating a mini-...
Ignacio (Nacho) Juarez
My name is Nacho and I come from Avila, a little town up the mountains in central Spain. For my undergrad, I did biology and Biochemistry in Madrid but I decided my thing was to be in the field and not in the lab. My main interest is conservation science and research although I have been involved in several conservation practice projects mostly...
Andy Segerdahl
I first became interested in neuroscience as an undergraduate student. I discovered a lecture called “Introduction to Neurophysiology” and was completely swept away. The lecturer was a huge advocate for hands-on, lab-based tutorials which meant that I was learning how to do electrophysiology recordings from actual neurons in the first week of...
