Researchers at the University’s internationally recognised Warwick Crop Centre are reflecting on a new government report, ‘A blueprint to grow the UK fruit and vegetable sector’, which details plans to support the fresh fruit and vegetable sector.

Press Release (23 May 2024)

At the recent Medilink Midlands Business Awards 2024, Cytecom won the Delivering Innovation into Health and Care award and the £5,000 prize as the ‘winner of winners’. Cytecom is an SLS spin out company developing a rapid diagnostic test using its cutting-edge optical electrophysiology technology to reduce the time for targeted antibiotic selection from days to seconds.
Press Release (13 May 2024)

Professor Eric Holub has been selected by The British Science Association (BSA) as one of its Scientific Section Presidents for 2024. The Scientific Section Presidents are science professionals who play a crucial role in shaping the British Science Festival programme each year. Eric was nominated for making a significant contribution in the Agriculture and Food section for his work with Eat wise, cook with MAGIC.

Press Release (16 May 2024).

Our new Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research Building (IBRB) has been awarded the West Midlands Building of the Year award from the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).

Press Release (10 May 2024)

Led by Professor Robin Allaby, a new expedition is set to delve into Europe’s pivotal Mesolithic Stone Age site, Bouldnor Cliff. The expedition is a race against time to the submerged prehistoric settlement as erosion threatens its complete loss.

Press Release (26 April 2024).

Dr Jessica Lewis, from the Sagona Lab, has discovered a new bacterial killer that can target common lung infection caused by Burkholderia bacteria that has exciting potential for biotechnological applications.

Press release (3 April 2024)

Spring equinox is fast approaching, on 20 March, but the changing seasons are playing havoc with UK wildlife and crops. This comes after England and Wales had their warmest Februarys on record, according to the Met Office. Professor Rosemary Collier and Dr Dave Chandler comment on what the changing seasons mean for wildlife.

Press Release (20 March 2024)

We are delighted to announce that the School of Life Sciences (SLS) has successfully renewed its Athena Swan Silver Award. The award recognises the progress made by the School towards the goal of addressing gender inequalities and embedding an inclusive culture.

Find out more.

(March 2024)

A £1.5 million donation will drive joint research into antimicrobial resistance (AMR) by scientists in the UK and Japan.

Antimicrobial resistance poses a huge problem in healthcare, risking modern medicine becoming ineffective. This could lead to common infections becoming deadly illnesses. Now, thanks to visionary philanthropy from The Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation, which encourages innovative research between Japan and the UK, and The Sir Howard Dalton Centre at The University of Warwick, the research can progress at pace.

Press Release (6 March 2024)

The British Onions Producers’ Association (BOPA) leads a £1 million project, with researchers from Warwick, industry leaders, and innovators to combat Fusarium Basal Rot (FBR), a menace to the UK onion industry.

Professor John Clarkson, Plant Pathologist, said: “This project is an exciting opportunity for the School of Life Sciences and School of Engineering to provide new approaches to tackling Fusarium basal rot of onion, which is increasingly devastating for UK onion growers. As well as supporting Engineering and the wider consortium with expertise on the disease, my team at the Warwick Crop Centre will develop new DNA-based molecular diagnostic approaches to detect the pathogen in soil so that growers can use this test to avoid planting onions in highly infested fields. The test may also help to assess the risk of onions developing basal rot in storage”.

Press Release (19 February 2024)

A team of academics from The University of Warwick and Aston University has secured a £1.8m grant to engineer microbial cell factories to produce membrane proteins which will support future drug screening and sustainable chemical production.
Press Release (19 February 2024).

New varieties of Britain’s favourite pulse are available for purchase from 10 February 2024. These UK Registered beans (URBeans) were created by Professor Eric Holub as part of his work to diversify British cooking using home-grown ingredients.

A dry bean mix of Godiva and Capulet are on sale from Zero Store shops in Stratford-on-Avon and Leamington Spa.

Press Release (9 February 2024)

The recently published BBSRC Impact Showcase 2023 presents a collection of impact stories arising from BBSRC investments. The showcase highlights the vital role bioscience has in addressing key strategic global challenges and features research by Professor Eric Holub to develop new varieties of beans compatible with the British Climate.
Find out more (Scroll down the homepage to find 'Homegrown production of designer dry beans').

Lincolnshire farmer Andy Ward, known for cultivating the first British Baked Beans in partnership with University of Warwick scientist Eric Holub, is facing a harsh reality as standing waters inundate his farmlands.

Press Release (5 January 2023)

The University of Warwick recently announced the formation of Warwick Agri-Tech to help the future of farming with automation – addressing issues such as labour shortages, food insecurity and loss of biodiversity.

On Thursday 25 January, Emilio Loo Monardez, WMG and Dave Chandler, Warwick Crop Centre will talk about some of the projects that Warwick Agri-Tech are undertaking currently and their plans for the future.

Find out more and book your place.

We are deeply saddened by the death of Professor David Hodgson, who passed away on 29 December 2023 after a long illness.

David Hodgson was a microbiologist of worldwide renown who was a highly valued member of the Department of Biological Sciences and latterly the School of Life Sciences. His generous nature and encyclopaedic knowledge were shared freely with Warwick staff and students alike. His wisdom and humour were also highly appreciated by his colleagues from around the globe, whose esteem was illustrated by the international roll-call of distinguished contributors to the two-day celebration of his career in 2015 when he retired. He had uniquely diverse expertise in the genetics of streptomycetes, myxococci and Caulobacter (types of bacteria unusual in having different cell types), and his fascination with their life cycles and physiology led to intriguing insights into their regulatory mechanisms. His innovative research in this area, which benefited from a Fulbright Senior Research Scholarship to spend a year working with US-based academics sharing his interests, was reflected in his DSc, awarded in 2007. David collaborated with many other academics and was a visiting academic at the University of Surrey. He was an important contributor to collaborative research work at Warwick, in particular playing a key part in a large Warwick-based transnational research programme which helped to redraw the carbon metabolic pathways of Streptomyces coelicolor.

The University of Warwick announces Warwick Agri-Tech to help the future of farming with automation – addressing issues such as labour shortages, food insecurity and loss of biodiversity.

Warwick Agri-Tech, will also support the UK to meet climate targets while enabling the production of enough nutritious food for the growing population. It will combine two world class faculties at WMG at The University of Warwick and the School of Life Sciences (SLS), working with the High Value Manufacturing Catapult to spearhead automation in areas such as horticulture, crops and forestry.

Press release (21 December 2023)

Godiva, Capulet and Olivia are new varieties of the nation’s favourite pulse, common beans, developed and grown in the UK. The trio are set to go plastic-free in the new year when they go on sale in local zero-waste stores.

The UK Registered beans (URBeans) mark an important milestone, kicking-off the celebrations of 75 years of horticultural research at the site of the National Vegetable Research Station, now Warwick Crop Centre, at the University of Warwick Innovation Campus, near Stratford-upon-Avon.

The URBeans are named after iconic figures from the Stratford and Coventry areas. These common beans represent the latest efforts of the University of Warwick’s Professor Eric Holub, in his work to to diversify British cooking. He’s starting close to home - in and around Warwickshire.

Press Release (7 Dec 2023)

The first ever commercial crop of British-grown baked beans have progressed to the tinning phase, a pivotal step in their journey orchestrated by Professor Eric Holub. It is hoped that the baked bean breakthrough will reduce the reliance on imports.
Press Release (29 November 2023)