News | Crop Science Centre

Dr Jennifer McGaley. Credit: Jonathan Settle / University of Cambridge.

News

July 2026

New film captures mycorrhiza in motion for the first time

Dr Jennifer McGaley explains how her 56-hour marathon at the microscope has opened up the mysterious life of fungi with the first-ever time-lapse of the symbiosis between plants and beneficial soil fungi. What if one organism could copy itself, merge with others, and weave vast living networks through its environment? These abilities may seem alien, but they’re actually not so distant. Meet...

Researchers investigate the function of antenna protein CP26 inside model plant Arabidopsis. Credit: pkujiahe / Getty Images.

News

June 2026

Rethinking plant photoprotection: new insights into antenna protein CP26

Professor Uta Paszkowski at St John's College, Cambridge where she is a Fellow. Credit: Nathan Pitt. © University of Cambridge.

News

June 2026

Uta Paszkowski recognised as a 2026 Top Agri-food Pioneer by the World Food Prize Foundation

Confocal fluorescence microscope image of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi inside rice roots. The image is coloured by depth in the root to reveal the 3D structure. Credit: Jen McGaley.

News

June 2026

Rice research reveals the hidden control levels in plant-fungal partnerships

Professor Uta Paszkowski at St John's College

News

June 2026

Uta Paszkowski appointed Director of the Crop Science Centre and Russell R. Geiger Professor of Crop Science

Professor Uta Paszkowski FRS

News

May 2026

Cambridge plant scientists elected as Fellows of the Royal Society 2026

ASPIRE-GreenTE network event group photo outside St John's College, Cambridge

News

May 2026

Cambridge Plant Sciences hosts ASPIRE-GreenTE network event

Women farmers in a rice field in India. Credit: Studio Charuau.

News

May 2026

Naturally occurring soil fungi could boost rice yields while reducing reliance on synthetic fertilisers

Potato farming by Mark Stebnicki on Pexels.

News

May 2026

Can we feed the world without breaking the planet?

Professor Uta Paszkowski at the NAS signing ceremony in Washington, US. Photo provided by Professor Paszkowski.

News

April 2026

NAS honours Professor Uta Paszkowski at official signing ceremony

Participants at the international photosynthesis hackathon 2026.

News

March 2026

Hacking for hunger: global scientists gather in Accra to code climate-resilient crops

Professor Mario Caccamo / Photo credit: Niab

News

March 2026

CEO Professor Mario Caccamo leaving Niab

UK-CGIAR Bambara groundnut consortium members outside St John’s College, Cambridge. Credit: Aga Alexander / Crop Science Centre, Cambridge.

News

February 2026

Global experts meet in Cambridge to advance the future of the Bambara groundnut

Abdulkadir Issak, a research assistant, collects data on the assembled cowpea germplasm in the field at Zamzam University near Mogadishu. Photo: Ahmed O. Warsame

News

February 2026

How genebanks helped Ahmed bring back cowpea to Somalia

Ramphal. a rice farmer from Chamrori vilaage in India.

News

February 2026

How I’m helping rice farmers in India harness the power of fungi in the soil

Dr Ahmed Warsame working with cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) at the Crop Science Centre, Cambridge. Filming and images by WebsEdge Science.

News

November 2025

COP30 film highlights how Crop Science Centre collaborations are empowering farmers through sustainable innovation

Professor Uta Paszkowski

News

October 2025

Professor Uta Paszkowski appointed co-Director of ENSA in new joint leadership to accelerate breakthrough crop science for smallholder farmers