ContentsVolume 62 No 4 Aug/Sep 2015
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EDITORIAL STAFF Director of Membership, Marketing and Communications Jon Kudlick MRSB Editor Sue Nelson @ScienceNelson Managing Editor Tom Ireland MRSB @Tom_J_Ireland tom.ireland@rsb.org.uk Communications and Events Officer Karen Patel MRSB karen.patel@rsb.org.uk Membership enquiries Tel: 01233 504804 membership@rsb.org.uk Subscription enquiries Tel: 020 7685 2556 tom.ireland@rsb.org.uk EDITORIAL BOARD Susan Alexander BSc PGCE CBiol CSci MRSB MRSPH FRGS J Ian Blenkharn CBiol FRSB FRSPH Phil Collier MSc PhD CBiol FRSB FLS FHE Cameron S Crook BSc MPhil CBiol MRSB MIEEM FLS Rajith Dissanayake MSc PhD FZS AMRSB Catherine Duigan BSc PhD FRSB FLS John Heritage BA DPhil CBiol FRSB Sue Howarth BSc PhD CBiol FRSB Allan Jamieson BSc PhD CBiol FRSB Catherine Jopling BSc PhD MRSB Leslie Rose BSc CBiol FRSB FICR
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Nicola Hemmings on sperm’s incredible journey to the egg PAGE 18
IN THIS ISSUE
05 DE-EXTINCTION DEBATE
Why resurrecting a mammoth isn’t a good idea 09 GENOMES GALORE How do we ensure that
DNA data is useful? 10 POLICY
Food security around the world, and policy news 12 INTERVIEW
Sir David Attenborough talks to Professor Alice Roberts about his career
18 TRIALS OF A SPERM
Nicola Hemmings on what makes a winning sperm 22 CLUB CLASSIC
Mike Samworth on the Postal Microscopical Society 24 CELL CULTURE
Julie Russell explains the importance of cell lines in fighting disease 28 HOW TO… FIND FOSSILS
Grace Paget’s palaeontology tips for beginners
REGULARS 02 NELSON’S COLUMN 04 UP FRONT
Society news and opinions; Inside View; and members’ images 32 SPOTLIGHT ON… Immunology 34 MEMBERS 37 REVIEWS 40 BRANCHES 46 BIOFEEDBACK 47 CROSSWORD 48 MUSEUM PIECE
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Vol 62 No 4 / The Biologist / 1
