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GM-6, a new maize variety developed through innovative Bangor crop breeding research (pioneering the use of participatory plant breeding) was released in three states in Western India between 2002 and 2005. Since its release, GM-6 cultivation has rapidly grown to a cumulative area exceeding 2M hectares, of which 54% (more than 1M ha) was during 2008-2013, with a major positive impact on the welfare and prosperity of at least 330,000 households per year. Because of its advantage under drought and on poor soils, GM-6 has average grain yields 28% higher than the best available alternative varieties, providing 360,000 t of additional food grain during 2008-2013 with a total net present value to these farm households of an average of at least £9M per year.
Biocatalysts provide unique activities that facilitate chemical transformations that are simply not possible using abiotic methods. Northumbria University researchers with expertise in enzymes and biocatalysis have provided biocatalysis services to the pharmaceutical, fine chemical, food and biofuels industries through our business facing innovation unit Nzomics. This has generated significant contract research, collaboration and licence agreements to companies, including the pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline and the services-led company Almac. Biocatalysts produced as a result of Northumbria University research and technology transfer are sold worldwide and benefit business through their use in research and development activities, such as the production of intermediates in drug synthesis.
Research on the environmental safety and toxicity of nanomaterials in fishes has had a global impact across both government and industry contributing to:
(i) Consensus building on biological effects allowing regulatory agencies/governments to make proper decisions on the hazard of nanomaterials to farmed fish and wildlife.
(ii) Critical evaluation of the internationally agreed process of toxicity testing to determine whether the current legislative test methods are fit for purpose and acceptable to the aquaculture industry.
(iii) Identification of national/international research priorities and policies via work with the OECD and the US Government.
(iv) Influencing government policy to support training and information for industry.
The decline of bees, hoverflies, and other pollinators has been widely described as a "pollination crisis" (e.g. Progress Report of FAO on the Implementation of the International Pollinators Initiative - September 2012) which could have profound effects on both food security, and wild plant populations and the ecosystem services they support. Research by Professor Jeff Ollerton and colleagues into the ecology and diversity of plant-pollinator interactions has: (a) provided a scientific evidence base that has influenced national and international policies relating to the conservation of pollinator populations; (b) raised national and international public awareness of the subject of pollinator conservation; and (c) led to positive changes in UK gardening practices.
A team at the University of Sunderland has undertaken research into equipment maintenance for over 20 years. This has been undertaken within a series of funded UK and EU projects. The work of the team has resulted in a new model for maintenance strategy, and the development of novel artificial intelligence algorithms to monitor the condition of key factory assets. A series of software tools have been developed in collaboration with industrial partners. These tools and the strategic model have been tested in industrial settings and have had impact in the UK, across the EU, and internationally.
Mathematically-based image processing techniques developed at the University of Cambridge have helped bring about a revolution in the ability to extract quantitative measurements from laboratory experiments in fluids. Techniques and software tools developed from this research and incorporated into commercial software are now used in engineering, physics and mathematics research laboratories around the world on projects ranging from fundamental research to ones with strong industrial connections.
The domestic horse is often managed in sub-optimal conditions that provide inadequate forage and high levels of starch leading to respiratory, metabolic and behavioural disturbances. Research at the RAU over the past five years has had a significant ameliorative impact upon these welfare reducing phenomena via the development and marketing of the following products:
In addition, impact of both nutritional and behavioural data has been maximised via thorough dissemination of findings to the horse owning populace via scientific reviews and lay publications.
Work by University of Stirling staff has contributed directly to improved wildlife resource management in the Central African region. Innovative research into the status and trends of key wildlife populations, ecological impacts, resource harvests and trade, drivers of resource use and assessing management success have contributed directly to new thinking on the issue, revisions of laws and policy and to success in attracting foreign aid for management issues. Stirling staff members now advise the Government of Gabon on resource management policies, National Park management and biodiversity issues.
Over one quarter of the estimated 886 million undernourished people in the world live in sub-Saharan Africa and their lives and livelihoods depend critically on rain-fed agriculture. However this region has lacked the equipment and the infrastructure to monitor rainfall. Over the past 20 years, the Unit's TAMSAT (Tropical Applications of Meteorology using SATellite Data and Ground-Based Observations) research group has developed a reliable and robust means for monitoring rainfall, appropriate for use in Africa. In addition, the Unit pioneered the use of such data to predict crop yields over large areas. TAMSAT data and methods are now used in food security (to anticipate drought and predict crop and livestock yields); in health planning (to predict outbreaks of rain-promoted diseases such as malaria); in aid (to guide the allocation and distribution of relief food and water); and in economic planning (to plan mitigation activities and investment in infrastructure). The Unit's programme of development and validation has extended the method to all of Africa, at all times of year. Our work with national meteorological services in Africa has helped them to build their own capabilities and to both contribute to TAMSAT and exploit it. The data provided by TAMSAT has had major impact in increasing the resilience of African populations to weather and climate, saving and improving the quality of lives, and strengthening economies in developing nations.