Each May I’m involved in live broadcasts, across three evenings, from a field with a ridge and furrow system on The Open University campus. We take students from S206 (Environmental Science) through the process of a field investigation and these fieldcasts are designed to both increase student confidence in field science and to give students unable access to other fieldwork opportunities … Continue reading
“Open University ‘plant accountant’, Dr Julia Cooke, will take you through a unique series of stories about some of the world’s most interesting plants. From giant sequoia trees, bigger than the blue whale, to festive mistletoes that are ingenious parasites. Dr Cooke will tease out the ways that plants invest, get returns and make bets in … Continue reading
The podcast I recorded with in situ Science is available here. I really enjoy listening to podcasts and so I was very happy when Dr James O’Hanlon invited me to make a recording for one of my favourites: in situ Science. We chat as we walk though Lane Cove National Park, searching for the population of flying duck orchids … Continue reading
The e-book from our Frontiers Research topic on ‘Plant silicon interactions between organisms and the implications for ecosystems‘ in now available on the Frontiers website: http://www.frontiersin.org/books/Plant_Silicon_Interactions_between_Organisms_and_the_Implications_for_Ecosystems/1112 or on the Research Topic page: http://journal.frontiersin.org/researchtopic/2077/plant-silicon-interactions-between-organisms-and-the-implications-for-ecosystems The issue focuses on new work and includes 9 papers grouped into three categories: Novel methods and fresh approaches, innovative herbivore defence experiments, and new insights into plant … Continue reading
**The application window for these projects is now closed** There are two NERC funded PhD studentships advertised with me at The Open University: Siliceous wood: does silicon matter to plants beyond leaves? Sexually deceptive orchid pollination strategies: is one true love or broad sex appeal best? Have a look at the project descriptions in the links or … Continue reading
A couple of weeks ago, I gave a talk at a new event called Science Uncovered at the Ulster Museum in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It was an evening where the museum threw open its doors after normal hours, and filled its display space with music from a DJ. There were lots of hands on, interactive … Continue reading
I’m often asked about where degrees in environmental or biological sciences can take you. Being an academic, my own career choice is only an example, and one that represents only a very small percentage of graduates. Certainly “being a scientist” doesn’t cut it either as the huge range opportunities and possibilities extends well beyond this. Many … Continue reading
A couple of weeks ago I was teaching in two field-schools for the OU Environmental Science module SXF206 for the Soils and Vegetation practicals. I really enjoyed the week at the Field Studies Council (FSC) property at Preston Montford near Shrewsbury. It was great to see some familiar faces among the students – those I had met at … Continue reading
When I first became interested in plant silicon (studying archaeology at the Australian National University in 2001), the number of papers on the topic were limited. Research was dominated by studies of preserved phytoliths rather than plant silicon use per se, though some seminal papers outlined potential roles of silicon in plants, speculating about further importance. Today, papers about plant … Continue reading
On July 9 I was up on a soapbox, talking about my science to unsuspecting shoppers in the Milton Keynes Centre. I took part in Soapbox Science, an initiative of Drs Seirian Sumner and Nathalie Pettorelli, which brings science to the public and increases the visibility of women in science. First run on Southbank in London, 2016 was … Continue reading
Julia Cooke 
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