Reimagining Undergraduate Teaching and Research
Blog, Featured Article 1Setting the stage
All of us remember sitting in front of a tutor and feeling completely inadequate for not understanding something that seemed obvious to everyone else. At the same time, many of us who have mentored students also remember encountering that one student who appeared unable to understand…
Review: Training tomorrow’s plant taxonomists
Plant Science Research WeeklyReading this review brought to mind some well-known lyrics starting “You don’t know what you’ve got …” Joni Mitchell followed with “till its gone,” whilst Blink-182 suggested “till it’s almost gone”. A major challenge for plant scientists today is to find out what we have before…
A vision for plant science education
Plant Science Research WeeklyThe urgent need to support and sustain plant research is indisputable, but sometimes plant education, the foundation upon which research rests, doesn’t get the same support. In January 2025, a group of dedicated educators (mostly higher education and outreach) spent two days together to strategize…
Training scientists to make their data FAIR
Plant Science Research WeeklyI’m sure many of you have experienced frustration when trying to access an intriguing dataset that either doesn’t exist, isn’t open, or is set up in an impossibly unintuitive manner. Part of that problem stems from a lack of training of early-career scientists in how to make their data findable,…
Comment: Lack of racial diversity in UK plant science
Plant Science Research WeeklyIn most STEM disciplines there is a racial disparity between practitioners and the broader population. This disparity is often greater in plant sciences than in biomedical-related disciplines. Here, Hubbard and colleagues take a close look at the demographics of plant scientists in the UK and provide…
Review: Back-of-the envelope Fermi calculations in plant science
Plant Science Research WeeklyI think one of the most important lessons a scientist learns is to cross-check their findings with a different approach in order to determine if the findings are reasonable. This interesting article by Oliveira-Filho and Campos-Silva et al. lays out several examples of using back-of-the envelope or Fermi…
Graduate student mentorship as a target for diversifying biology
Plant Science Research WeeklyThe quality of student-advisor relationships is one of the top predictors of research progress and sense of belonging in science, yet in most cases the mentoring relationship is simply left to chance. In this preprint, Debray et al. surveyed a cohort of PhD students to understand what mentoring practices…
Building an inclusive botany: A radical dream
Plant Science Research WeeklyRecent years have seen a reevaluation of the history and practice of science, including reconsidering who is recognized and why. Science doesn’t exist in a vacuum; it reflects the culture and values of those that practice it. This article, by Mabry et al., is intended to serve as a conversation starter…
Insights from a survey of mentorship experiences
Plant Science Research WeeklyWhat do mentees want and need from their mentors, and are they getting it? How do factors such as gender identity and internationalism affect the quality of mentor/mentee interactions? Results from a survey of more than 2000 mentees (mostly postdocs and graduate students) are reported, along with a thorough…