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Our impact

A selection of case studies about how BBSRC-funded research has had an impact on science, the economy and social issues.

Case studies for the past seven years can be found below. If you would like to view older case studies, please contact us.

PhD student takes new rapid COVID-19 test from idea to reality May 2021
BBSRC Networks help Holiferm turn greentech breakthrough into growing business April 2021
Biome Bioplastics - Turning biomass into plastic February 2021
Smart breeding for Striga-resistant rice September 2020
BBSRC Impact Showcase 2020 August 2020
Virtual reality technology aided by binocular vision research September 2020
Copyright: James Lee, Flickr
Busy as a bee: Caffeine boost for strawberry pollinators July 2020
New fungi for tastier cheese June 2020
MARPLE: the real-time cereal killer detective May 2020.
Copyright: GrowVeg.co.uk
Machine learning saves gardeners' plants from pests April 2020
Arabidopsis: the model plant March 2020
Accelerating the growth of bioenergy crops March 2020
Improved food safety through policy change February 2020
Copyright: Zentraxa Ltd
Bio-engineering creates new peptide-based materials using bacteria December 2019
Copyright: NIAID on Flickr by CC 2.0
Step-change in immune cell survival rates benefits viral infection research October 2019
Finding the sweet spot: 'SafePod' improves long-term apple storage October 2019
Copyright: Dirk Dallas on Flickr by CC 2.0
Biofilm research informs marine coatings design September 2019
Impact Writing Competition 2019: Using Coordinated Varroa Treatments to Improve Honey Bee Health July 2019
Copyright: JR Biotek Foundation
Impact Writing Competition 2019: Capacity building in African tertiary education institutions July 2019
Impact Writing Competition 2019: The Ageing Clock at the Babraham Institute July 2019
Copyright: Javier Guitian, RVC
Improved Control of Bovine Brucellosis in Punjab January 2019
Green Biologics: Sustainable industrial biotechnology supported by academic-industry interactions January 2019
Copyright: wikimedia
Computational biology enables regenerative medicine advances December 2018
Copyright: Fluidic Analytics Ltd
Fluidic Analytics: innovative protein analysis technology November 2018
Copyright free (Unsplash, Tina Guina/Creative Commons CC0)
Coffee waste could be turned into electricity October 2018
Copyright: Carol Walker
Poppy research creates new cough suppressant supply September 2018
Copyright: Dr. Andrew C.R. Martin, Bioinf
Pharmaceuticals industry benefits from antibody sequence software September 2018
Copyright: Daniela on Flickr by CC 2.0
Insect flight aerodynamics study informs drone design August 2018
Copyright free (Pixabay/Creative Commons CC0)
Innovative packaging to slow potato greening August 2018
Copyright: adam_gulkis on Flickr by CC 2.0
New wheat variety to boost UK whisky production June 2018
Copyright: Professor Andrew Mason, University of Toronto
Insect-inspired microphone could revolutionise hearing aids June 2018
Copyright: Professor Keith Edwards, University of Bristol
Wheat breeding companies benefit from new molecular tools March 2018
Copyright free (Pixabay/Creative Commons CC0)
Bee survival model adopted by industry March 2018
LabGenius – Engineering new biological materials using synthetic DNA March 2018
The Worm Wagon – Educating the public about worm infections March 2018
Natural grapefruit flavouring from industrial biotechnology February 2018
Simple arsenic sensor could save lives February 2018
Academic-industrial partnership leads to potential new cancer therapy January 2018
Safeguarding the Ghanaian coconut crop December 2017
Behavioural neuroscience improves firefighter decision-making November 2017
ONI Ltd – bringing powerful microscopy to the biology lab November 2017
Copyright: University of Sussex
New peptide research tool enables Alzheimer's research June 2017
Copyright: John Hutchinson, Royal Veterinary College
Open source bone biology software brings benefits March 2017
Copyright: Elasmogen Ltd
Elasmogen Ltd – shark proteins for drug discovery January 2017
Copyright: Richard Ling, Wikimedia Commons by CC 2.0
Azul Optics Ltd – From visual ecology to human health December 2016
Copyright: MIKI Yoshihito on Flickr by CC 2.0
Innovative nucleic acid chemistry for industry and academia November 2016
Copyright: Morten Just on Flickr by CC2.0
Milkalyser – bringing the gold standard of fertility detection into the milking parlour November 2016
Copyright: NIAID/NIH, Public Domain
Autolus Ltd – Engineered immune cells for cancer therapy October 2016
Copyright: T.J. Gehling
Pollinators research informs UK and European pesticides policy debate September 2016
Copyright free (Pixabay/Creative Commons CC0)
Policy advice to support pollinators in cities September 2016
Copyright free (Pixabay/Creative Commons CC0)
Empowering beekeepers to monitor honeybee health September 2016
Copyright: Thistle-Garden on Flickr by CC 2.0
BBSRC-funded researcher founds Bumblebee Conservation Trust September 2016
Copyright: Oregon State University. CC BY-SA 2.0
New diagnostic tests for sleeping sickness September 2016
Copyright: Professor Laura Green/The University of Warwick
Lameness in sheep treatment guidelines save UK farmers £700M September 2016
Copyright: John Innes Centre
New Heritage Barley Ltd – reviving a Victorian barley variety for modern brewers August 2016
Copyright: Thinkstock
DNA sequencing tackles global challenges July 2016
Copyright: iStockphoto
Activiomics – innovative proteomics methods for the pharma industry July 2016
Copyright: iStock
Unravelling cell signalling mechanisms to enable drug discovery April 2016
Copyright: Thinkstock
DNA sequence analysis software aids clinical practice April 2016
Copyright: NASA
From soil to the stars: microbiology informs international space policy April 2016
Copyright: University of Birmingham
UK-Japan collaboration helping with Fukushima clean-up March 2016
Copyright: iStock
Equinox Pharma brings artificial intelligence to drug discovery March 2016
Copyright: Tiziana Lembo, University of Glasgow
Government and communities in Tanzania benefit from foot-and-mouth disease research February 2016
Copyright: Ian Johnston, University of St Andrews
Salmon genetics technology from Xelect Ltd boosts global aquaculture industry January 2016
Copyright: nanoporetech.com
Oxford Nanopore Technologies: super-fast desktop sequencing January 2016
Copyright: BBSRC
BBSRC impact in the REF December 2015
Copyright: Valiseek
Spinout Valiseek takes reformulated lung cancer drug through clinical trial November 2015
Copyright: The Centre for Process Innovation
Isogenica: manufacturing better proteins for industry November 2015
Copyright: ICRISAT on Flickr CC BY-NC 2.0
Greater food security through disease-resistant pearl millet November 2015
Copyright: Andy Simmons on Flickr by CC 2.0
Smart coatings and sensors to guard against infection October 2015
Copyright: Russell Foster group
Illuminating the biological clock October 2015
Copyright: Scottish Salmon Producers' Organisation/Flickr CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Disease resistance cuts fish deaths for £600M Scottish salmon farming industry October 2015
Copyright: Felipe Barrios-Masias at UC Davis
Reducing water use: more crop per drop September 2015
Copyright: C4X Discovery (formerly Conformetrix)
C4X Discovery: speeding up drug discovery September 2015
Copyright: Guy Montag on Flickr by CC 2.0
Milk that benefits the wider food chain September 2015
Copyright: XstalBio Ltd
XstalBio: new ways to deliver drugs July 2015
Copyright: Clyde Biosciences
Clyde Biosciences: cutting the cost of drug development June 2015
Copyright: BlueRidgeKitties/Flickr CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Sharing science: GeneChip and the Nottingham Arabidopsis Stock Centre (NASC) May 2015
Copyright: Steve Jurvetson on Flickr CC BY 2.0
Producing artificial biofuels in bacteria February 2015
Copyright: Masur, Wikimedia Commons
The National Collection of Yeast Cultures February 2015
Copyright: M J Richardson
Antimicrobial resistance: case study series November 2014
Copyright: Dr Emily Burton/Nottingham Trent University
Tackling poultry industry research challenges October 2014
Copyright: Dr Che Connon/University of Reading
Hydrogels: a unique solution for stem cell storage and transport September 2014
Big science with small bugs: 50 years of the Rothamsted Insect Survey. Copyright: RIS
Big science from small insects: 50 years of the Rothamsted Insect Survey September 2014
Impacts from the Babraham Research Campus. Copyright: The Babraham Institute
Impacts from the Babraham Research Campus September 2014
Plants help clean up explosive-contaminated land. Copyright: Neil Bruce, University of York
Plants help clean up explosive-contaminated land August 2014
FLIP case studies. iStock Thinkstock
FLIP case studies May 2014
Astex Pharmaceuticals – structural biology revolutionises drug discovery. Wikimedia Commons
Astex Pharmaceuticals – structural biology revolutionises drug discovery May 2014
Copyright free (Pixabay/Creative Commons CC0)
Research into the body clock leads to drug discovery programme April 2014
Rapid test for deadly poultry disease. Zoetis
Rapid test for deadly poultry disease April 2014
Copyright: Andrew Turner on Flickr by CC 2.0
Improving drug delivery April 2014
Extending the shelf life of packaged salad. Hazel Smith
Extending the shelf life of packaged salad April 2014
Publically funded research combats foot-and-mouth disease. The Pirbright Institute
Publically funded research combats foot-and-mouth disease March 2014
Technologica – chlorophyll fluorescence imaging system for rapid plant screening - February 2014. Technologica
Technologica – chlorophyll fluorescence imaging system for rapid plant screening February 2014
Natural flavour and fragrance compounds from novel bioprocesses. avdeev007/istockphoto.com
Natural flavours and fragrances from novel bioprocesses February 2014
Medella Therapeutics - monoclonal antibody drugs halt tumour growth - February 2014. defun/iStock/Thinkstock
Medella Therapeutics – monoclonal antibody drugs halt tumour growth February 2014
New microscope technology from Ionscope enables imaging of live cells. Ionscope
New microscope technology from Ionscope enables imaging of live cells February 2014
Armyworms can occur at densities in excess of 50,000 per hectare. Image: Ken Wilson
Fighting armyworms January 2014
Fraxinus: a crowdsourcing game to fight ash dieback disease
Fraxinus: a crowdsourcing game to fight ash dieback disease January 2014
Pyrethroids timeline. InAweofGodsCreation/Flickr
The history of the pyrethroid insecticides January 2014
Lumora - bioluminescent assays, courtesy of the firefly. Herky/Wikimedia Commons
Lumora – bioluminescent assays, courtesy of the firefly November 2013
Dundee Cell Products - supplying life science tools and services. npmeijer, Flickr
Dundee Cell Products – supplying life science tools and services November 2013
Biosensor platforms for real-time medical diagnostics. OJ-Bio
Newcastle University spin-out OJ-Bio develops wireless disease detector October 2013
Wheat genetics research in the UK. iStockphoto Thinkstock
Wheat genetics research in the UK October 2013
Thirty years of plant transformation - Joachim Müllerchen
Thirty years of plant transformation September 2013
Campylobacter strategy unites academia, industry and policy-makers. Microbe World/Flickr
Campylobacter strategy unites academia, industry and policy-makers July 2013
Complex sugars could treat serious illnesses. Intellihep
Complex sugars could treat serious illnesses June 2013
Gene fragmentation research leads to drug discovery spinout. Domainex
Gene fragmentation research leads to drug discovery spinout March 2013
Basic bioscience supports MRSA vaccine development. Professor Simon Foster/The University of Sheffield
From cell biology to an MRSA vaccine March 2013
Diagnostic kits to improve pet and farm animal welfare. Reactivlab Avacta
Diagnostic kits to improve pet and farm animal welfare March 2013
Developing novel therapies for common skin conditions. Care_SMC/Flickr
Developing novel therapies for common skin conditions March 2013
M-Scan: supporting the biopharmaceutical industry. Flickr
M-Scan: supporting the biopharmaceutical industry February 2013
Novel 3D cell culture system sold worldwide. Reinnervate
A novel 3D cell culture system from spinout company Reinnervate February 2013
Innovator of the Year awards
Innovator of the Year awards February 2013
Improving the shelf life of therapeutic proteins. Zhanfeng Cui
Improving the shelf life of therapeutic proteins January 2013
Prolysis and Demuris: Spinouts founded on basic bacterial bioscience. Dr Nick Allenby, Demuris Ltd
Prolysis and Demuris: Spinouts founded on basic bacterial bioscience October 2012
Biopesticides regulation informed by RELU research. Dave Chandler
Biopesticides regulation informed by RELU research October 2012
VSN International: spinning success from statistics software. Rothamsted Research
VSN International: spinning success from statistics software October 2012
Teaming up to fight bluetongue disease. Credit: IAH
Teaming up to fight bluetongue disease July 2012
Tackling foot-and-mouth disease. Credit: IAH
Co-funding for international foot-and-mouth disease research July 2012
International policies on arsenic levels in food. Credit: Professor Andrew Meharg/University of Aberdeen
International policies on arsenic levels in food July 2012
Bioscience research supports UK equipment manufacturers. Image: TTP Labtech Ltd
Bioscience research supports UK equipment manufacturers July 2012
Impacts from David Phillips Fellowships. Image: IHI/University of Glasgow
Impacts from David Phillips Fellowships May 2012
Streptomyces antibiotics. Image: Andrew Davis
Long-term benefits from research into Streptomyces bacteria April 2012
Shankar Balasubramanian collects his Innovator of the Year award. Image: BBSRC
Solexa Sequencing – Innovator 2010 overall winner March 2012
Beneforte broccoli was launched in the UK 4 October. Image: IFR
Superbroccoli February 2012
Trichoderma protects plants (right) from pre- and post-emergence pathogens. Image: Chris Thornton
Growing plants with friendly fungi January 2012