Research

Scientists uncover CO₂ regulating mechanism

A team in the Department of Biological Sciences has discovered a new mechanism that slows the process of carbon dioxide fixation in plants.

The research, funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, increases our understanding of this process, which may lead to crop improvement and ‘fourth generation’ biofuels. The mechanism, which helps to regulate the way in which plants absorb carbon dioxide (CO₂) from the atmosphere and turn it into sugars, acts by putting the brakes on sugar production when there is not enough energy from sunlight available. As sunlight increases, the brakes are rapidly released and carbon dioxide fixation speeds away.

Plants are dependent on sunlight to capture carbon dioxide, which is turned into important sugars via a process called the Calvin Cycle. As a result, as the amount of sunlight varies during the day, for example through cloud cover, they must also be able to vary the speed at which they capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. This ensures that when there is a lot of sunlight, it is taken full advantage of. This ability to maximise energy use is important for plants and prevents the loss of important metabolic resources.

The research shows how the Calvin Cycle can be regulated in response to a changing light environment via a molecular mechanism involving two enzymes which stick together when light levels decrease. By increasing understanding of this process, the research will underpin strategies to increase the amount of carbon dioxide absorbed by plants, thereby increasing yield for food and biofuel production.

Professor Christine Raines, of Biological Sciences, said: ‘Although this research focuses on the fundamental biological processes that plants use, ultimately, if we can understand these processes, we can use the knowledge to develop and improve food and biofuel crops.’

Richard III visited Colchester

One of England’s most controversial monarchs visited Colchester, Essex PhD history student John Ashdown-Hill revealed recently, in an article published in Essex Archaeology and History.

Richard III, portrayed by Shakespeare and others as a deformed monster who murdered his way to the crown, visited the town in 1467 or 1468 when he was a teenaged duke of Gloucester.

The royal visit came at the invitation of Sir John Howard, Constable of Colchester Castle, one of the town’s most prominent residents, whom Richard later created Duke of Norfolk. Richard spent at least one night in Colchester, probably at St John’s Abbey.

John Ashdown-Hill is researching John Howard’s influence in north Essex and south Suffolk. He came across a draft of a letter amongst a collection of Howard’s papers preserved at Arundel Castle, Sussex.

John explained: ‘Although a transcript of the letter was published in 1841, its local significance had hitherto been ignored.

‘The established protocol for such royal visits means that Richard will have been met by the bailiffs, mace-bearers and other civic dignitaries at Lexden. He almost certainly visited the Red Lion in Colchester’s High Street which in those days was the home of Sir John Howard.’

Shape of the future

How technology will fit into our future lives is to be examined in an extensive three-year project combining the talents of the Department of Computing and Electronic Systems and Chimera, the University’s socio-technical institute.

The team of Professor Vic Callaghan, Professor Hani Hagras, Dr Martin Colley, Dr Michael Gardner, Christian Wagner and Dana Pavel, have been awarded nearly £400,000 as part of a Europe-wide consortium to investigate the concept of forming socio-technical ecologies consisting of people, context-aware artefacts (such as fridges) and digital commodities involving communications.

Professor Callaghan explained: ‘This is a general investigation in to how in the future different types of technology in the home might fit into our lives.

‘We are interested in understanding how symbiotic relationships might be formed between people and technology. A core focus of this research is the notion of adaptation; how the ever-increasing amount of technology in our lives can be made to adapt to support our varied and individual needs.’

The iSpace, a full size high-tech apartment, will play an important part in the research in the form of a ‘population observatory’ with groups living in the specially adapted apartment for up to three months.

The research, worth a total of nearly two million euros, also involves the universities in Germany, France and Greece.

Also in the printed April edition of Wyvern:

• Study focuses on sexual diversity in London
• Essex presence at BSA conference
• Technology journal approved
• Bookshelf
• Research reveals mums lose out after break-ups