Science and conservation news
Keep up to date with the latest science and conservation news and blogs from Kew. Here you will find all the latest articles about our work in the UK and around the world. Research news of interest to specialists is reported in our specialist science news page and our newsletter Kew Scientist.
Specialist science news | Go behind the scenes with Kew blogs
Welcome to the Marianne North Conservation Studio
by: Helen Cowdy, Library, Art and Archives blog06 May 2010
Read about the Marianne North Gallery Conservation project taking place in the newly built Preservation Studio in the Herbarium at Kew.
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Kew to explore the role of DNA technology in restoring damaged habitats
15 Apr 2010
Scientists at Kew are looking into the use of DNA technology to help analyse and restore areas of land that have been harmed or destroyed. This is part of Kew's new research programme in restoration ecology that will reach around the world.
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Our Landscape build gets underway
by: Richard Wilford, Kew at the British Museum blog13 Apr 2010
The turf has been cleared, our landscape beds marked out and the rocks have been put into place. Watch our new video and see how our South Africa Landscape is starting to take shape!
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Misfortune in paradise
by: Caroline Wakeham, Library, Art and Archives blog30 Mar 2010
Read about one 19th Century botanist's run of bad luck while collecting plants in Latin America. Every botanist has a different story to tell, although not always a happy one.
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Protecting plant life from illegal trade
30 Mar 2010
In the week of the fifteenth meeting of the conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITIES) in Doha, Kew's Bronwen Davies investigates the application of DNA technology in plant science and conservation. Bronwen talks to Kew's Professor Monique Simmonds about the practical applications of DNA barcoding in the protection of plant species at risk from illegal trade.
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Our plants from South Africa have arrived in the UK
by: Steve Ruddy, Kew at the British Museum blog25 Mar 2010
Our plants from the Habitat Tree Nursery, near Somerset West in South Africa have arrived in the UK.
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Unlocking the potential of plant and fungal DNA
24 Mar 2010
Following the announcement of the universal plant DNA barcode late in 2009, scientists at Kew are testing the barcode to see if it can be used to identify plants reliably. If successful, this DNA technology will have wide-ranging applications in discovering, identifying and conserving both plants and fungi.
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Our plants from South Africa are still at sea but getting much closer
by: Steve Ruddy, Kew at the British Museum blog23 Mar 2010
The ship carrying the plants for Kew's South Africa Landscape at the British Museum is getting closer to the UK. All hands are on deck in preparation for their safe arrival. But will the weather be kind?
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Growing our Collections - Archive accessions at Kew
by: Kiri Ross Jones, Library, Art and Archives blog15 Mar 2010
Find out how Kew's archival collections are growing, what we do with the documents we receive each year and how you can get involved.
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Establishing a common classification with APG III
05 Mar 2010
The Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (APG) is an international group of botanists that aims to establish a common view on the classification of flowering plants, based mainly upon evidence gained from analyses of plant DNA sequences. The first APG classification was published in a ground-breaking paper in 1998. Since then the classification has been refined through two further updates.
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Specialist science news
What are hard seeds for?
14 May 2013
A new hypothesis has been proposed on why some seeds are hard.
Caffeine enhances bee memory
10 May 2013
Caffeine in the nectar of coffee and citrus flowers manipulates the memory of pollinating bees.
Is our daily cup of coffee under threat?
08 Nov 2012
A new study from Kew suggests that Arabica coffee could be extinct in the wild within 70 years.
Director (CEO and Chief Scientist) of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew to return to Australia
14 Sep 2011
The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew announced today that Director (CEO and Chief Scientist), Professor Stephen Hopper FLS will step down in autumn 2012 after six years in the job.
