Latest news with #UniversityofHertfordshire
BBC News
a day ago
- General
- BBC News
Uni of Herts to offer part-time teaching training course
A university hopes to tackle teacher shortages by offering the chance to join the profession by studying on a part-time statistics suggest only 1.5% of people who start teacher training do so via a part-time route, out of 27,836 who began training in 24/ September, the University of Hertfordshire will be offering aspiring teachers the chance to study for a PGCE qualification at its Hatfield campus, but for three days a week instead of the usual lead Chris Powell said: "The demand for teachers is always outstripping supply, partly because some people who desperately want to go into teaching cannot for a number of reasons." The postgraduate course is designed to appeal to those juggling childcare or other domestic responsibilities, and will involve studying over four terms, instead of secondary teaching lead Chris Powell said that "attracting people into teaching when you are 20 minutes from Central London had always been a challenge".But he hoped the course would target those who had always had teaching "in the back of their minds, but other things had got in the way" or had been "persuaded to pursue a different option".He added that, for some, "even though decades had gone by" they had "finally got to a point where they felt it was now or never" in terms of joining the profession. The course will see students qualify as teachers in December 2026 and comprises one day studying at the university and two days in one of its partnership Dean for Education and Student Experience, Vicky Pateman, said: "The East is one of those regions where it can be difficult to attract teachers for a variety of reasons, so being a provider that can offer this route is fantastic."She added that "professional people who are thinking of changing careers come with a legacy of real skills and understanding about the world" that was "really important to share with children".The course is supported by Now Teach, an organisation that encourages experienced professionals to become executive Graihagh Crawshaw-Sadler told the BBC: "It is vital to enable individuals with contrasting and much-needed subject expertise to train as teachers, and it is so encouraging to see the University of Hertfordshire offering 13 subjects."She said: "Flexible routes into the classroom mean you can retrain at your own pace whilst maintaining life commitments." Follow Beds, Herts and Bucks news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Quirky corn, peculiar peas and our food security
They may not be flowers, but with their plump, juicy fruits and vibrant colours, these vegetables certainly do not look out of place at this year's RHS Chelsea Flower Show. The exhibit, on display in the Great Pavilion and titled Grow the Rainbow, has been created by Lucy Hutchings and Kate Cotterill who run a seed company in Suffolk. The pair specialise in heirloom seeds which they say are vital to food security in the face of climate change. Based in Capel St Mary near Ipswich, the women sell their heirloom seeds - weird and wonderful vegetable varieties, each dating back more than 50 years and not genetically modified. The pair won gold when they made their debut at the prestigious west London flower show last year. But there is more to their business than the picture-perfect produce that has attracted nearly 250,000 social media followers. Lucy and Kate are passionate about biodiversity. In the face of climate change and as ever-evolving diseases and pests threaten crops worldwide, Lucy explains that heirloom seeds can "adapt to their specific growing environment". Unlike hybrid seeds, which much of our supermarket produce comes from, heirloom vegetables grow year-on-year from seeds saved from healthy plants - that are constantly evolving. "You are giving yourself a fantastically well adapted plant, specific to your growing environment," Lucy says. "This is so important on a global scale because if we are 100% reliant on hybrid seed for all our food... it would only take one terrible season, one disastrous climate event and an entire crop can be wiped out. "If we are growing more and more open-pollinated (heirloom) varieties... we can be saving seed, giving us a source of seed which future proofs us against these big climate changes." Prof David Barling, from the Centre for Agriculture at the University of Hertfordshire, agrees. He says biodiversity in our seed varieties is crucial as we face severe droughts, increased flooding, and more diseases. "The wider variety we've got... the more likely we are to find variety which are resilient to or have already adapted to these harsh conditions." He added that by involving ordinary people in growing their own heirloom vegetables, people were much more engaged "not just as consumers but actively involved in sustaining our food system and thinking about the sustainable way forward". Seeds of life: The plants suited to climate change Just last year a report by the University of Oxford for the Food Standards Agency said climate change was having "wide-ranging impacts" on our food system. A spokesperson for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) told the BBC: "We are supporting innovative work such as precision breeding which offers huge potential to boost food security and transform the plant breeding sector in England." They also said Defra was "investing up to £15m in genetics innovation" in crops. Back in the pavilion, Lucy and Kate are hoping they can first have an influence on people at a local level. "If people start growing their own, they introduce themselves to seasonality," says Kate. "They know that they can only get strawberries in this country at one time of the year, and they know the love and the labour that goes into ripening a tomato." "Hopefully people become more considered so when they're going to the shop... that understanding of seasonality means less waste, higher nutrients and hopefully zero miles if you're growing it yourself or a lower [food] miles harvest. "Small changes in habit make a big impact in the world." Follow Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X. Well-managed solar farms can boost wildlife - study Farmer says rewilding will help look after nature 'We are creating new crops five-times faster' RHS Chelsea Flower Show Defra University of Hertfordshire
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Quirky corn, peculiar peas and our food security
They may not be flowers, but with their plump, juicy fruits and vibrant colours, these vegetables certainly do not look out of place at this year's RHS Chelsea Flower Show. The exhibit, on display in the Great Pavilion and titled Grow the Rainbow, has been created by Lucy Hutchings and Kate Cotterill who run a seed company in Suffolk. The pair specialise in heirloom seeds which they say are vital to food security in the face of climate change. Based in Capel St Mary near Ipswich, the women sell their heirloom seeds - weird and wonderful vegetable varieties, each dating back more than 50 years and not genetically modified. The pair won gold when they made their debut at the prestigious west London flower show last year. But there is more to their business than the picture-perfect produce that has attracted nearly 250,000 social media followers. Lucy and Kate are passionate about biodiversity. In the face of climate change and as ever-evolving diseases and pests threaten crops worldwide, Lucy explains that heirloom seeds can "adapt to their specific growing environment". Unlike hybrid seeds, which much of our supermarket produce comes from, heirloom vegetables grow year-on-year from seeds saved from healthy plants - that are constantly evolving. "You are giving yourself a fantastically well adapted plant, specific to your growing environment," Lucy says. "This is so important on a global scale because if we are 100% reliant on hybrid seed for all our food... it would only take one terrible season, one disastrous climate event and an entire crop can be wiped out. "If we are growing more and more open-pollinated (heirloom) varieties... we can be saving seed, giving us a source of seed which future proofs us against these big climate changes." Prof David Barling, from the Centre for Agriculture at the University of Hertfordshire, agrees. He says biodiversity in our seed varieties is crucial as we face severe droughts, increased flooding, and more diseases. "The wider variety we've got... the more likely we are to find variety which are resilient to or have already adapted to these harsh conditions." He added that by involving ordinary people in growing their own heirloom vegetables, people were much more engaged "not just as consumers but actively involved in sustaining our food system and thinking about the sustainable way forward". Seeds of life: The plants suited to climate change Just last year a report by the University of Oxford for the Food Standards Agency said climate change was having "wide-ranging impacts" on our food system. A spokesperson for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) told the BBC: "We are supporting innovative work such as precision breeding which offers huge potential to boost food security and transform the plant breeding sector in England." They also said Defra was "investing up to £15m in genetics innovation" in crops. Back in the pavilion, Lucy and Kate are hoping they can first have an influence on people at a local level. "If people start growing their own, they introduce themselves to seasonality," says Kate. "They know that they can only get strawberries in this country at one time of the year, and they know the love and the labour that goes into ripening a tomato." "Hopefully people become more considered so when they're going to the shop... that understanding of seasonality means less waste, higher nutrients and hopefully zero miles if you're growing it yourself or a lower [food] miles harvest. "Small changes in habit make a big impact in the world." Follow Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X. Well-managed solar farms can boost wildlife - study Farmer says rewilding will help look after nature 'We are creating new crops five-times faster' RHS Chelsea Flower Show Defra University of Hertfordshire
BBC News
20-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
Suffolk vegetable business says heirloom veg key to biodiversity
They may not be flowers, but with their plump, juicy fruits and vibrant colours, these vegetables certainly do not look out of place at this year's RHS Chelsea Flower Show. The exhibit, on display in the Great Pavilion and titled Grow the Rainbow, has been created by Lucy Hutchings and Kate Cotterill who run a seed company in Suffolk. The pair specialise in heirloom seeds which they say are vital to food security in the face of climate change. Based in Capel St Mary near Ipswich, the women sell their heirloom seeds - weird and wonderful vegetable varieties, each dating back more than 50 years and not genetically pair won gold when they made their debut at the prestigious west London flower show last year. But there is more to their business than the picture-perfect produce that has attracted nearly 250,000 social media followers. Lucy and Kate are passionate about the face of climate change and as ever-evolving diseases and pests threaten crops worldwide, Lucy explains that heirloom seeds can "adapt to their specific growing environment".Unlike hybrid seeds, which much of our supermarket produce comes from, heirloom vegetables grow year-on-year from seeds saved from healthy plants - that are constantly evolving. "You are giving yourself a fantastically well adapted plant, specific to your growing environment," Lucy says."This is so important on a global scale because if we are 100% reliant on hybrid seed for all our food... it would only take one terrible season, one disastrous climate event and an entire crop can be wiped out."If we are growing more and more open-pollinated (heirloom) varieties... we can be saving seed, giving us a source of seed which future proofs us against these big climate changes." Prof David Barling, from the Centre for Agriculture at the University of Hertfordshire, says biodiversity in our seed varieties is crucial as we face severe droughts, increased flooding, and more diseases."The wider variety we've got... the more likely we are to find variety which are resilient to or have already adapted to these harsh conditions."He added that by involving ordinary people in growing their own heirloom vegetables, people were much more engaged "not just as consumers but actively involved in sustaining our food system and thinking about the sustainable way forward". Just last year a report by the University of Oxford for the Food Standards Agency said climate change was having "wide-ranging impacts" on our food system.A spokesperson for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) told the BBC: "We are supporting innovative work such as precision breeding which offers huge potential to boost food security and transform the plant breeding sector in England."They also said Defra was "investing up to £15m in genetics innovation" in crops. Back in the pavilion, Lucy and Kate are hoping they can first have an influence on people at a local level."If people start growing their own, they introduce themselves to seasonality," says Kate."They know that they can only get strawberries in this country at one time of the year, and they know the love and the labour that goes into ripening a tomato.""Hopefully people become more considered so when they're going to the shop... that understanding of seasonality means less waste, higher nutrients and hopefully zero miles if you're growing it yourself or a lower [food] miles harvest."Small changes in habit make a big impact in the world." Follow Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Euronews
16-05-2025
- Health
- Euronews
Baby with rare disorder treated with personalised gene-editing therapy
A baby in the US is among the first people with a rare genetic disorder to be treated with CRISPR, a customised gene-editing therapy that allows scientists to edit DNA. The baby, known as KJ, was diagnosed soon after his birth with a rare disorder called severe carbamoyl-phosphate synthetase 1 deficiency (CPS1), which is estimated to affect about one in a million babies. The condition causes ammonia levels in the blood to rise, which can lead to vomiting, hypothermia, lethargy, convulsions, brain swelling, and coma. It kills about half of babies with the condition. Treatment typically involves having a low-protein diet until the child is old enough for a liver transplant, but that approach also comes with health risks. KJ began receiving personalised CRISPR treatment when he was around six months old, enabling his doctors to reduce his dependence on medication to keep his ammonia levels low, according to the case study published Thursday in The New England Journal of Medicine. 'While KJ will need to be monitored carefully for the rest of his life, our initial findings are quite promising,' said Dr Rebecca Ahrens-Nicklas, who directs the gene therapy programme at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia in the US, where the operation took place. CRISPR works by targeting specific sequences in the genome, cutting the DNA precisely at those locations, and then leveraging the cell's natural repair mechanisms to disable the harmful gene or insert a corrected version. In this case, the therapy targeted a faulty gene in KJ's liver, cutting the DNA at the exact spot where the error occurred to correct the enzyme. The procedure's success means additional patients could eventually be treated with the cutting-edge technology, researchers said. 'While KJ is just one patient, we hope he is the first of many to benefit from a methodology that can be scaled to fit an individual patient's needs,' Ahrens-Nicklas said in a statement. KJ's case is a promising proof of concept, but experts cautioned that efforts to develop CRISPR therapies present several challenges. Technically, delivering a gene-editing therapy to other organs rather than the liver is much more difficult. Developing such treatment is also expensive, with the total cost of the procedure being over €700,000, though that is close to the price of a standard liver transplant, the team told the Associated Press. Though the procedure helped improve KJ's quality of life, the research team couldn't fully assess the potential side effects of the intervention for safety reasons. Dr Alena Pance, a senior lecturer in genetics at the University of Hertfordshire in the UK who was not involved with the procedure, added that most diseases are the result of diverse mutations in the genes, rather than errors that could be addressed through the precise edits made in CRISPR treatments. 'The [CRISPR] approach is applicable to any disease caused by a single nucleotide change, however more often than not, diseases are caused by a variety of variants so perhaps more general strategies could be more effective than very precise ones,' Pance said in a statement.
