CONTENTS Volume 66 No 2 April/May 2019
HAVE AN IDEA FOR AN ARTICLE OR INTERESTED IN WRITING FOR US? For details contact tom.ireland@rsb.org.uk
ROYAL SOCIETY OF BIOLOGY Charles Darwin House, 12 Roger Street, London WC1N 2JU Tel: 020 7685 2400 info@rsb.org.uk; www.rsb.org.uk
EDITORIAL STAFF Editor Tom Ireland MRSB @Tom_J_Ireland tom.ireland@rsb.org.uk Chair of the Editorial Board Professor Alison Woollard FRSB Editorial Board Dr Anthony Flemming MRSB, Syngenta Professor Adam Hart FRSB, University of Gloucestershire Dr Sarah Maddocks CBiol MRSB, Cardiff Metropolitan University Professor Shaun D Pattinson FRSB, Durham University Dr James Poulter MRSB, University of Leeds Dr Cristiana P Velloso MRSB, King’s College London Membership enquiries Tel: 01233 504804 membership@rsb.org.uk Subscription enquiries Tel: 020 7685 2556; info@rsb.org.uk The Biologist is produced on behalf of the Royal Society of Biology by Think Publishing Ltd, Capital House, 25 Chapel Street, London NW1 5DH www.thinkpublishing.co.uk; 020 3771 7200 Printed by Wyndeham Southernprint Art director Matthew Ball Designer Felipe Perez 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 7685 2556 Views expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of the Editorial Board or the Royal Society of Biology. © 2019 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 the Society’s website for further details. This magazine is sent in biodegradable wrap that can be composted or placed with food waste. Cover: Robber fly from the USGS Bee Inventory
ON THE COVER 14 Interview: Erica McAlister The dipterist explains her fascination with flies and their extraordinary lives
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UP FRONT 04 Society News and Opinion Voice of the Future tackles postBrexit science; anniversary plans; PhD life; chief executive’s update
08 Policy and analysis Growing the future of UK plant science and Brexit Watch
FEATURES 10 Secret passageways Understanding the mysterious nanotubes linking distant cells
20 The cholinergic connection Research on the links between nicotine, Alzheimer’s disease and schizophrenia
24 Hearing things How and why plants are able to respond to sound and vibrations
28 Bioenergy bonus Could more people growing Miscanthus help fight climate change and biodiversity stress?
REGULARS 30 Members Meet RSB members; plus a round-up of Society activities
34 Book reviews 40 Branches 44 Regional grants 47 Crossword
48 Museum piece An interactive homage to Henrietta Lacks
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Vol 66 No 2 / The Biologist / 1
