CONTENTS Volume 67 No 5 October/November 2020
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EDITORIAL STAFF Editor Tom Ireland MRSB, @Tom_J_Ireland tom.ireland@rsb.org.uk Editorial assistant Emma Wrake AMRSB 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 3925 3464; 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 Full Spectrum, Basildon Group art director Matthew Ball Senior 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 3925 3464 Views expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of the Editorial Board or the Royal Society of Biology. © 2020 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 image: ‘Within the ferns’ by Cooper Geere. Taken at Bradgate Park in Leicestershire and longlisted for the Young Photographer of the Year Award.
ON THE COVER See pages 3 and 5 for more images from the RSB Photography Competition 2020
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UP FRONT 04 Society News The latest RSB news and updates
07 Policy and analysis Policy Lates and an RSB survey into the effects of COVID-19 on research
10 10th anniversary A year of events comes to an end
FEATURES 12 In the ion age How bacteria could be used to recover metal from spent batteries
16 Well connected A new review of the mesentery, now reclassified as the body’s 79th organ
20 Interview: Andrew Singer How the surveillance of sewage could help monitor disease outbreaks
24 Class of 2020 The educators turning the pandemic into an opportunity to develop new approaches to practical teaching
30 Interview: Sarah Gilbert The professor of vaccinology explains the years of science behind Oxford’s COVID-19 vaccine trial
REGULARS 34 Members 37 Treasurer’s report 38 Book reviews 42 Branches 46 Biofeedback 47 Crossword
48 Museum piece Fanoos, the Florence Nightingale Museum, London
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Vol 67 No 5 / The Biologist / 1
