Hidden beneath the surface of every lake, river, stream and pond live trillions of diverse and ecologically important microorganisms. Invisible to the naked eye, these bacteria and fungi play a critical role in decomposing dead plant material and smaller biomolecules, such as cellulose, starch and peptides, that are washed into aquatic systems.
It is common knowledge that plants generate oxygen via photosynthesis. Have you ever challenged this knowledge? And, if so, how much oxygen do they generate? In my talk I will discuss the generation of oxygen from photosynthetic organisms and describe a simple method for measuring it. I will also discuss how the electrons generated by photosynthesis can be used to create electricity.
Land plants evolved about half a billion years ago from algae, and have since transformed the planet. They have become bigger (or smaller) and more complex, evolving branches and roots, leaves and flowers, and various ways to survive in a changing environment.
How did all these complex plants evolve?
Cultivated tulips are a common sight in Spring gardens around the world, but have you ever considered where wild tulips grow?
Discover complex, intriguing and challenging stories about power within our collections.
Join us for The Power Walk series - an opportunity to share and exchange stories and ideas linked to the University of Cambridge Museum's investigation of the legacies of empire and enslavement, power and memory with our communities and audiences.
Discover complex, intriguing and challenging stories about power within our collections.
Join us for The Power Walk series - an opportunity to share and exchange stories and ideas linked to the University of Cambridge Museum's investigation of the legacies of empire and enslavement, power and memory with our communities and audiences.
Join Curator Dr Susanne Turner on this tour of the Museum of Classical Archaeology’s Cast Gallery. The Museum houses a rather unusual collection: instead of original statues, the Cast Gallery is packed with more than 600 historical plaster casts of Greek and Roman sculptures. But why do we have all these replicas? And how might thinking about copying help us to look differently at ancient sculpture?
The Cambridge Festival is open for booking, with a mixture of online, on-demand and in-person events covering all aspects of the world-leading research happening at Cambridge.
For 2023 the Festival includes a special fifth theme - Power.
From panel discussions, film premieres, and self-guided walking tours, to interactive activities for the whole family, discover a breadth events on the Festival website.
Find events under the theme of power
Join project curator Abigail Baker on a tour of 'Islanders: The Making of the Mediterranean’ where she will share her exclusive highlights from the exhibition.
Travelling back in time you will discover that the borders of the tropical region have been dynamic throughout the history of life on Earth with clues that have allowed us to understand the extent of the tropical belt, with a focus on the fossil record. You will then study current patterns of geographic distribution of plant diversity on Earth – discovering that it is not homogeneous, but dramatically different between continents.
