The MEMELAND project, funded by a €13 million ERC Synergy grant, is a multidisciplinary endeavour involving researchers from Norway, Austria, Switzerland, and the UK, aimed at enhancing our understanding of medieval Europe by examining the interplay between culture and nature. This project will explore how medieval farming practices have influenced today's landscapes and biodiversity by analysing sedimentary DNA from lake beds and soil across Europe. These sediments, largely undisturbed over centuries, hold clues about past climates, ecologies, and human activities, which can be revealed through various methods, including lipid biomarkers, archeobotanical remains, and Carbon14-dating.

The insights gained will not only deepen our understanding of historical landscapes but also guide current efforts to restore European landscapes to their historical or "natural" states. By determining the ecological conditions of the past, MEMELAND aims to inform and enhance landscape restoration projects across Europe. The project will also investigate broader questions about the role of different social strata in agricultural developments and the impacts of climate and disease. This ambitious project seeks to provide comprehensive answers that transcend the capabilities of individual disciplines alone.

A new study published in the SCI journal Pest Management Science sheds light on the behaviour of grey squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) and explores methods for the targeted delivery of oral contraceptives to control their populations. The research, a collaboration between APHA's National Wildlife Management Centre, Durham University, and the University of York, provides a platform for mitigating the environmental damage caused by this invasive species and protecting the UK’s declining native red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris) population.

- Researchers have identified the StCDF1 factor as a key regulator of nitrogen use in potatoes, influencing both nitrate uptake and tuber development.

- Inactivation of the StCDF1 gene in modern potato cultivars allows for increased conversion of nitrate to nitrite, an essential step for nitrogen assimilation.

- This discovery paves the way to the development of potato cultivars that are both high-yielding and more efficient in nitrogen usage.

A pioneering collaboration investigating the intricacies of biological clocks in bacteria has been awarded prestigious European Research Council (ERC) funding.