The James Hutton Institute and McLaughlin & Harvey have signed construction contracts worth £28.7m for the next stage of the ongoing redevelopment of The James Hutton Institute’s Invergowrie estate.

Researchers working on an ancient form of barley grown only on Unst, Shetland’s northernmost island, have returned from a knowledge exchange trip to Germany that will help them and others better understand its specific traits.

By learning a state-of-the-art computational method for assembling plant genome sequences from their German counterparts, the researchers from The James Hutton Institute in Dundee will be able to find the unique traits of Bere Unst barley that can then be used to create higher quality and more productive varieties.

The James Hutton Institute has been awarded £350,000 of funding to further develop its innovative software to support global food security efforts.

Hutton’s homegrown software platforms, GridScore and Germinate, will support the Crop Trust’s BOLD project (Biodiversity for Opportunities, Livelihoods and Development), which is backed by $58 million from the Norwegian Government.The 10-year project aims to strengthen food and nutrition security worldwide by supporting the conservation and use of crop diversity.

The UN’s Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP15) has a single aim; to agree a global framework on biodiversity.

But what is biodiversity and do we all value it as much as we should? What role does nature play in our lives and what should we be doing about the loss of it?

As we reach the mid-way point of COP15, and also edge closer to the festive holiday period, we decided to help you answer these questions.

Following successful field trials, the James Hutton Institute based at Invergowrie, has donated three tonnes of locally grown potatoes to Cyrenians, Scotland’s charity for homelessness, for distribution to communities in need across the country.

The James Hutton Institute is mostly known for its scientific and research work. But while it’s our researchers and scientists who carry it out, there is a small team who help to create and manage the scientific instruments that they use.

The latest issue of Hutton Highlights, our e-magazine is now available from our Hutton Highlights pages.

Showing how Institute research is helping in the fight to halt and reverse the loss of biodiversity, currently being discussed at COP15.

A selection of content included in our December 2022 issue:

Researchers from The James Hutton Institute in Aberdeen are collaborating on a new project led by the University of Stirling to explore how pollution and climate change are impacting freshwater ecosystems.

The study, MOT4Rivers, will investigate how pollutant mixtures interact with rivers and ecosystems, and devise a system to monitor, measure and mitigate pollution.

COP15 is currently taking place in Montreal, Canada, where governments from around the world have gathered, aiming to agree on a new set of goals to guide global action through 2030 to halt and reverse the loss of biodiversity.

The International Barley Hub Field Centre at the James Hutton Institute was officially opened today (2 December) by UK Government Minister for Scotland, Malcolm Offord.

The £62 million International Barley Hub, comprised of several developments including the Field Centre, has been funded through the Tay Cities Deal Partnership and marks a major milestone in establishing Scotland as a leader in global food security and crop resilience.