
© 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.
All Anthropocene and sustainability projects
Scarce Minerals
- Brazilian mangrove forests
- CERCAMS
- COG3 cobalt project
- FAME and fortune
- London Centre for Ore Deposits and Exploration (LODE)
- Mafic and ultramafic rocks in southern Mexico
- Polymetallic nodule biodiversity
- Post-magmatic processes in carbonatitic systems
- Scandium in geological systems
- Te and Se Cycling and Supply (TeaSe)
- The Jadar Li-B deposit, Serbia
- The Serra Verde lateritic REE deposit
- From arc magmas to ores (FAMOS)
- Li4UK: Securing a domestic lithium supply chain for the UK
- LiFT (Lithium for Future Technology)
Image credit: Hand holding soil © Shutterstock/bluedog studio
News and information about the Anthropocene
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Wildlife photography
Wildlife Photographer of the Year: A beautifully poisonous landscape
Aerial photo of poisoned Romanian village Highly Commended in the fifty-seventh Wildlife Photographer of the Year.
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News
UK's flying insects have declined by 60% in 20 years
The UK's insect population has fallen sharply as the invertebrates are affected by rising temperatures and fragmented habitats.
6 May 2022 -
News
Climate change could cause diseases to gain new hosts
Diseases which spread between animals and humans, such as Ebola virus, are likely to spread further than ever before.
28 April 2022 -
News
More than a fifth of reptiles are threatened with extinction
Habitat loss and human persecution are the key drivers of their decline, with crocodiles and turtles most at risk.
27 April 2022