UK science group receives grant for microbiology research

A new cash injection will go towards funding microbiology research looking into new ways of cleaning up pollutants in Norwich, UK.

The Norwich Research Park’s Earth and Life Science Alliance (ELSA) will use £750,000 ($1.2 million) donated by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation to identify environmental responses to climate change.

‘The big challenge of environmental sciences is trying to work out ‘who eats what, when and why’ in the environment,’ says director of ELSA  Colin Murrell. ‘All natural systems have feedback mechanisms, if you can understand what these are then you can help mitigate the effects of global warming and climate change.’

Murrell’s research focuses on microbes that can feed on greenhouse gases such as methane, which is a cause of climate change.

‘Although microorganisms are responsible for driving the biogeochemical cycling of elements, there are very few methods of identifying which are the most important ones in the environment, hence the need for our research.’

The Gordon and Betty Foundation is an organisation that invests in global areas of environmental conservation, scientific research and patient care.