CONTENTS Volume 65 No 1 February/March 2018
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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 Dr Rachael Nimmo MRSB, University College London 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 Design Felipe Perez Production editor Sian Campbell Sub editor Kirsty Fortune Editorial assistant Alec Mackenzie Associate director John Innes john.innes@thinkpublishing.co.uk Non-member rates: £126.00 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.
© 2018 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. Cover image: Steve Gschmeissner/ Science Photo Library
ON THE COVER Tardigrades in space 14 Earthly tardigrades v Star Trek tardigrade
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UP FRONT 04 Society News Honours for RSB Fellows and photo competition theme announced
06 Policy, analysis and opinion Gove’s vision for the countryside; Banning neonics: what comes next?
FEATURES 10 Noise and narwhals How increasing shipping activity is disturbing Arctic marine life
18 Dame Bridget Ogilvie The former director of the Wellcome Trust on leaving research for administration
22 Forgetful flies The surprising use of D.melanogaster to model Alzheimer’s disease
REGULARS 26 Focus on… Biohacking: DIY bio gets dangerous
30 Members Our new lookmembers’ section
37 Biofeedback On the ‘laws of biology’; plastic waste
38 Book reviews 42 Branches 47 Crossword
48 Museum piece The ‘Monster Whale’ of Pevensey Bay 48
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Vol 65 No 1 / The Biologist / 1
