THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF BIOLOGY

1 Naoroji Street, London WC1X 0GB

Tel: 020 3925 3440 info@rsb.org.uk; www.rsb.org.uk

EDITORIAL STAFF

Editor Tom Ireland MRSB, tom.ireland@rsb.org.uk

Editorial assistant Emma Wrake AMRSB, emma.wrake@rsb.org.uk

Chair of the Editorial Board

Professor Dan Davis FRSB,

Imperial College London

Editorial Board

Professor Matthew Cobb FRSB,

The University of Manchester Dr Anthony Flemming FRSB, Syngenta

Dr Sarah Maddocks CBiol MRSB,

Cardiff Met University Dr Esther Odenkule MRSB, GSK Professor Shaun D Pattinson FRSB,

Durham University

Dr James Poulter MRSB, University of Leeds

Professor Diane Purchase FRSB,

Middlesex University Dr Natasha de Vere, National Botanical Garden of Wales

Membership enquiries

Tel: 020 3925 3441; membership@rsb.org.uk

Subscription enquiries Tel: 020 3925 3464; info@rsb.org.uk

The Biologist is produced on behalf of the

Royal Society of Biology by

Think Media Group, 20 Mortimer Street,

London W1T 3JW www.thinkpublishing.co.uk;

020 3771 7200

Printed by Full Spectrum, Basildon

Senior designer

Juanita Adu Production editor

Sian Campbell

Sub editor Kirsty Fortune Group account director

John Innes,

john.innes@thinkpublishing.co.uk

ISSN 0006-3347

Advertising in The Biologist represents an unparalleled opportunity to reach a large

community of professional biologists.

For advertising information contact tom.ireland@rsb.org.uk; 020 3925 3464

Views expressed in this magazine are not

necessarily those of the Editorial Board

or the Royal Society of Biology. © 2022 Royal Society of Biology

(Registered charity no. 277981)

The Society permits single copying of individual

articles for private study or research, irrespective of where the copying is done. Multiple copying of individual articles for teaching purposes is also permitted without specific permission. For copying or reproduction

for any other purpose, written permission must be sought from the Society. Exceptions to the above are those institutions and non-publishing organisations that have an agreement or licence with the UK Copyright Licensing Agency or the

US Copyright Clearance Center. Access to the

magazine is available online; please see thebiologist.rsb.org.uk for more details.

Cover: S Entressangle/E Daynes/

Science Photo Library

VOLUME 69 NO 4 Winter 2022

ON THE COVER 16 Cooking with cavemen How cutting-edge bioscience is helping reveal what was on palaeolithic plates

Contents

24 Interview Imran Khan on why psychedelic research needs to be legitimised

04 RSB competitions Feast your eyes on this year’s winning photos and illustrations

34 Darwin’s teacher The story of John Edmonstone, freed slave and taxidermy tutor

CONNECT WITH US Have an idea for an article or interested in writing for us?

tom.ireland@rsb.org.uk

facebook.com/ RoyalSocBio thebiologist.rsb.org.uk

@RoyalSocBio

www.youtube.com/ royalsocbio

UP FRONT 04 Society news Photography and drawing competition winners; outreach and apprenticeship awards

08 Policy news Five-year priority plan; Society urges investment in science; nature payment review delayed

10 Policy analysis Why diversity in clinical research is key to health equality

FEATURES 12 Comparatively speaking Do metaphors help or hinder our understanding of science?

16 More than meat on the menu Hunter-gatherers had more complex diets than we thought

20 They want your blood Tick biology and behaviour – and how to avoid Lyme disease

24 Tripping point Imran Khan discusses the challenges – and opportunities – of psychedelics research

30 Back from the brink The slow success of coastal ecosystem restoration

34 Black History Month John Edmonstone’s role in one of the greatest scientific theories

REGULARS 38 Members 42 Book reviews 44 Branches 47 Crossword 48 Biochemical colouring page Myoglobin in a muscle cell

Vol 69 No 4 / THE BIOLOGIST / 1