| Artificial Cows Fatal
to Disease-Carrying Tsetse Fly - 19/09/01
Science Magazine
'News Focus' - 11/08/01
Re-organization
at NRI - 01/08/01
NRI Scientist in Demand - 14/06/01
Queens Anniversary Prize for NRI's Work
on Food Security - 17/02/01
'In The Field' Radio Series - January
01
NRI wins Queens Anniversary Prize -
17/11/00
Artificial
Cows Fatal to Disease-Carrying Tsetse Fly
19 September 2001
 |
| Photograph
by Dr. Steve Mihok |
One of Africa's most harmful pests,
the tsetse fly, which can infect humans and cattle with
fatal sleeping sickness and nagana (the equivalent disease
in cattle), has been all but eradicated from parts of
the African continent with the help of artificial cows.
Developed by an international group
of researchers including scientists from NRI, the artificial
cows attract tsetse by using kairomones (chemicals emitted
by one species that influence the behaviour of another)
to mimic the smell of real cattle. The fake cattle are
impregnated with insecticides that kill the tsetse attracted
to them.
These artificial cows were first introduced
into Zimbabwe in the mid-1980s, when thousands of cattle
were infected with nagana, transmitted by the tsetse.
Cases of nagana in Zimbabwe plummeted almost to zero
and have remained at this very low level for the last
five years, mainly due to the use of the artificial
cows, of which about 60,000 are now in use. The fake
cows also act as an effective barrier to stop tsetse
re-invading areas cleared of the flies.
Not only are the artificial cows highly
successful in controlling tsetse, but their use also
results in a dramatic reduction in the amount of insecticide
necessary to control this pest. With only four artificial
cows needed per square kilometre to ensure effective
tsetse control, the use of insecticide is far more targeted
than conventional widespread aerial and ground spraying,
resulting in a greatly reduced environmental impact.
"During the mid-1980s, when cases of
nagana were at their peak in Zimabwe, the government
was spraying 100-200 tons per year of the pesticide
DDT (now banned in many countries) to control the tsetse
fly population," says Dr Stephen Torr of NRI. "In total,
around 2900 tons of DDT were used in Zimbabwe. This
pest control policy has now been abandoned in favour
of more effective and environmentally-friendly alternatives
such as artificial cows."
More information
on tsetse, sleeping sickness and nagana.
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Science
Magazine 'News Focus'
11 August 2001
Professor Andrew Gale, working with
Andrew Smith and Neale Monks of the Natural History
Museum, has been the subject of a Science Magazine 'News
Focus' published yesterday, because the group's research
has cast doubts on the Cenomanian-Turonian (C-T) mass
extinction of 94 million years ago.
The team has discovered certain echinoderm
fossil species, mainly sea urchins, formed in the Cretaceous
period, millions of years after they were thought to
have become extinct. "This is going to shake up the
Paleo world for a while," says palaeontologist Lisa
Park of the University of Akron in Ohio.
The team believes that the magnitude
of extinctions has been over-estimated due to an emphasis
on the fossil records in Western Europe and in the western
interior of North America. A more widely-based global
assessment is required to improve our understanding
of the scale and even the existence of mass extinctions.
See 'Science Magazine' Vol. 293,
10 August 2001.
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Re-organization
at NRI
1 August 2001, updated 2 January 2003
Reflecting changes in demand by NRI's
clients, together with changes in the management structure
of the University, NRI has re-organized into six thematic
Groups participating flexibly in interdisciplinary project
teams, co-ordinated by a Director's Office that oversees
business winning, marketing, financial planning and
policy-direction. NRI also works closely with the University's
Medway Sciences team, specializing in research and consultancy
on pharmaceutical chemistry and allied subjects, and
this team's work is therefore featured on our website.
The six NRI Groups are as follows:
- Livelihoods and Institutions Group
- Enterprise, Trade and Food Management Group
- Agriculture, Health and Environment Group
- Agriculture, Health and Environment Group
- Enterprise, Trade and Food Management Group
- Environmental Sustainability Group
Our
organization
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NRI
Scientist in Demand
14 June 2001
 |
| Tanya
and NRI’s local MP, Paul Clark, discussing her
poster at the House of Commons |
Following her successful submission
to the Younger Scientists, Engineers and Technologists
Awards, held at the House of Commons in March, which
ranked a very creditable third ranking overall and was
awarded the De Montford Prize, NRI's Tanya Stathers
has been in great demand by the media.
Articles on her project's research into
the use of diatomaceous earth as an environmentally-friendly
alternative to conventional insecticides have appeared
in no less than ten national newspapers, journal and
periodicals to date in the UK.
Also, four radio interviews have been
broadcast on the topic, ranging from the South African
National Radio's 'Futurwatch' programme to the BBC World
Service's 'Science in Action.'
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Queens
Anniversary Prize for NRI's Work on Food Security
17 February 2001
 The
University of Greenwich has received a prestigious Queen's
Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education for
its work on 'Food Security in the Developing World.'
This national award recognizes outstanding achievement
which also benefits the wider community.
The Prize has been won by the University's
Natural Resources Institute (NRI), whose food systems
experts work with partners in the developing world on
processing, conservation and marketing of food supplies.
A distinguished panel of judges commended NRI, saying
that its work "in the field of sustainable food security
is of international renown." Their citation states that
NRI's "practical projects together with its educational
and training programmes have brought huge benefit, making
a real difference to the lives of thousands of people
in developing countries and ensuring that its multidisciplinary
expertise is shared widely."
In an honours ceremony in the Grand
Ballroom at Buckingham Palace on 16 February 2001, the
Queen presented the Gold Medal to the Vice-Chancellor,
Professor Rick Trainor, while the leader of the food
security team, Professor Chris Haines, received the
Prize Certificate from the Duke of Edinburgh. Also present
were Lord Holme of Cheltenham (the University's Chancellor),
Professor John Perfect, Mr John Conway and five of NRI's
PhD students studying with the winning team. In the
subsequent Reception in the Picture Gallery, the Queen
made a special point of talking to our postgraduate
students individually about their research, while the
Duke was particularly interested in discussing the University's
development of its latest campus at Greenwich Maritime
in the former Royal Naval College.
The winning project included innovative
low-cost solutions to problems faced by hundreds of
thousands of small-scale farmers and food processors
around the globe - from new uses for cassava flour in
preparing local snack foods, to organic replacements
for expensive pesticides. In Colombia, over 6000 villagers
have received 'cascade' training from the team, learning
new ways to protect and market their harvested fruit
and vegetables; in Mozambique, the team is developing
strategies to deal with rat infestation in rural villages;
and in East and West Africa, the team has been working
for several years to improve control of the larger grain
borer, a beetle pest that can reduce maize grain to
dust.
NRI staff working on food security issues
cover an unrivalled range of disciplines and skills
- from entomology and horticulture to social sciences
and food technology - and have a unique network of partnerships
throughout the developing world, including government
institutions, aid agencies, the private sector, and
major players such as DFID,
WHO,
and the World Bank. Members of the winning team are
proud to have won this higher education Prize within
five years of joining the University, which can now
use the highly-regarded Prize logo for four years on
its publications, in its correspondence, on its website
and on its official vehicles.
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'In
The Field' Radio Series
January 2001
'In The Field' is a collaboration between
the BBC World Service and NRI, supported by the Rural
Livelihoods Department of DFID.
The programmes are being broadcast between 3 January
and 21 March 2001.
The aim of 'In The Field' is to bring
to life and showcase innovative approaches to improving
poor people's livelihoods. It draws on projects that
have successfully tackled problems that are both locally
and globally relevant. Almost all of these projects
were funded by DFID, mainly through its Renewable Natural
Resources Research Programme. In all but one of the
projects, NRI was a research partner. NRI collaboration
on the series, and in preparing the notes for the accompanying
website, was made possible through funding from DFID's
Rural Livelihoods Department.
'In
The Field' Site.
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NRI
wins Queens Anniversary Prize
17 November 2000
The University of Greenwich has won
a prestigious Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Higher and
Further Education. This national award recognises outstanding
achievement which also benefits the wider community.
The prize has been won by the university’s
Natural Resources Institute (NRI), whose Food Systems
Department works with partners in the developing world
on processing, conservation and marketing of food supplies.
A distinguished panel of judges commended the university,
saying that its work is of "international renown". Their
citation states that the NRI’s "practical projects together
with its educational and training programmes have brought
huge benefit, making a real difference to the lives
of thousands of people".
The Head of Food Systems Department,
Professor Chris Haines, says: "We have undertaken research,
development and training to improve food security and
food quality in developing countries for over four decades.
We are thrilled to receive this higher education award
only four years after transferring from a government
department into the university sector."
The Queen will present a Gold Medal
and an illuminated Prize Certificate to the Vice-Chancellor,
Professor Rick Trainor and other staff at an honours
ceremony at Buckingham Palace in February. The award
was announced at a special reception for prizewinners
at St James's Palace last night (November 16).
The winning project included innovative
low-cost solutions to problems faced by hundreds of
thousands of small farmers around the globe – from new
uses for cassava flour in preparing local snack foods,
to organic replacements for expensive pesticides. In
Colombia, over 6,000 villagers have received "cascade"
training, learning new ideas about protecting and marketing
their harvests, and in East and West Africa, a natural
predator has been introduced to prey on the larger grain
borer, a damaging pest which can reduce more than a
third of nutritious maize crops to dust.
Expert staff cover an unrivalled range
of disciplines and skills – from entomology and horticulture
to social sciences and food technology - and have a
unique network of partnerships throughout the developing
world, including government institutions, aid agencies,
the private sector, and major players such as the Department
for International Development (DFID), the World Health
Organization and the World Bank.
Professor John Perfect, Director of
NRI, says: "How will the growing global population feed
itself in the future? That’s one of the big issues for
all the peoples of the world. The university is working
to protect the delicate balance of the environment,
so that the planet can continue to feed the generations
to come. We’re really delighted that this work has been
honoured by the Queen."
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