News not identified elsewhere: speaking at conferences, presenting poster prizes, etc
BiofuelAi is a startup from the University of Surrey, and is one of ten finalists that have been shortlisted for the £1 million Manchester Prize. The Prize, funded by the Department for Science and Technology (DSIT), aims to reward UK-led artificial intelligence innovations such as those within the fields of …
Today is a public holiday in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, so a quirky item that may interest bird lovers seems suitable… Brett Westwood is a radio presenter and author specialising in natural history, especially birds. Angela Bywater, EBNet’s former Network Co-Manager who now manages the UK side of the …
The Global Center for Sustainable Bioproducts (GCSB) aims to develop environmentally and economically sustainable bio-derived composites and plastics, utilising waste biomass to replace petroleum and its derivatives. It started early this year, and is one of six worldwide Global Bioeconomy Centers which will run for 5 years with funding from …
The Independent Water Commission’s Review of the Water Sector in England and Wales, released on 21 July, may have produced less public furore than anticipated – in part as many of its recommendations targeted the regulators rather than the water companies. But there are signs that another sectoral issue may …
A new video presents the results of a small study carried out by EBNet’s Environmental Biotechnology and Social Sciences WG (EBSS), led by Prof Adrian Ely of the Science Policy Research Unit (SPRU) at the University of Sussex. The work aimed to explore the past, present and future of environmental …
The Environment Agency’s new Position Paper on Nature-Based Solutions is the starting point for an episode in the Planet Possible podcast series, featuring Helen Wakeham, the EA’s Director of Water, and Mark Lloyd, CEO of the Rivers Trust. A wide-ranging discussion includes the challenges presented by lack of performance data, …
Date: Wed 20 Aug 2025, 12:30 – 13:15 UK The Foundation for Water Research (FWR) is hosting a webinar on Water Framework Directive economics 25 years on: From promise to practice – and the case for reform. The webinar will present a review of the economic provisions of the Water …
Researchers in Japan have discovered a species of bacteria that parasitises a methanogen with a key role in anaerobic digestion. This is the first time such bacterium-on-archaeon parasitism has been observed. The bacterium was isolated in a two-strain co-culture with host archaeon Methanospirillum hungatei. The source was digestate from a …
The TERC Better Water for All Network, led by Dr Bing Guo of the University of Surrey, is seeking two Network Managers. This new Network is funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) as part of its Tomorrow’s engineering research challenges initiative. It is one of six …
Minworth WWTW on the outskirts of Birmingham and is operated by Severn Trent Water and is one of the UK’s largest, serving around 2 million people. The West Midlands branch of the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM) has arranged a site visit on 25 September 2025 which …
The International Energy Agency (IEA) has published its first Outlook for Biogas and Biomethane: a global geospatial assessment. The report analyses the sector, reviewing current policies, business models, consumption patterns and supply trends. It examines potential environmental impacts, highlighting the importance of minimising associated methane emissions and responsibly managing organic …
Survey call-out! Can you support the Green Stories Project by answering a short impact survey? This kind of research helps the Project to get funding and makes all the difference to running new projects and competitions. If you have been influenced by reading any of the books, or as writer …
Prof Zhugen Yang of Cranfield University, who leads EBNet’s Environmental Sensors and Wastewater Surveillance Working Group (ESWS WG), reports here on a very successful international symposium: The 2nd International Symposium on Microfluidics for Sensing and Sequencing (ISM2S 2025), held in Oxford from 29–30 July, marked another milestone in advancing interdisciplinary …
An EBNet-funded POC awarded to Dr Tao Lyu, the PFAS WG Lead, looked at the use of molecular docking and dynamics simulations to investigate interactions between enzymes and PFAS compounds, with the goal of helping to elucidate potential mechanisms for PFAS biodegradation and providing tools to bridge the gap between …
The Independent Water Commission’s Review of the Water Sector in England and Wales was released on 21 July 2025, but the public response has been more muted than some anticipated (see Prepare for a drubbing). In part this may be because, while the report recognises that all parties involved bear …
