Blogs from the Natural History Museum
Inspiring a love of the natural world
We’ve recently reached an exciting stage in the development of our new pond and wetland system, as part of the Urban Nature Project. We sat down with Louise Simmons, Senior Project Manager, who’s been carefully managing the process from the beginning, to hear more about what’s been happening with our brand-new pond.
Continue reading “Our new pond is now ready for nature to move in”
With COP26 on the horizon this November, world leaders will gather in Glasgow to discuss climate change and accelerate vital action towards the goals previously outlined in the Paris Agreement. Should these collaborative efforts fall short however, it will not be the decision makers who will be affected the most, but instead the planet’s young people who will live with the consequences of such inaction. At the Museum we are working hard to empower young people to speak about their views on the planetary emergency and listen to what they are telling us.
Continue reading “Empowering Young Voices on the Planetary Emergency | Executive Director of Engagement”by Hannah Wolley, Museum Development Intern
As someone with two science degrees and a fascination for the unusual I was intrigued, when I found out that the Museum is a world leader in the research of Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs).
NTDs are a group of parasitic and bacterial infections that affect over 1 billion people worldwide. Infection can lead to disabling chronic conditions, delayed and cognitive development. Children are predominantly affected and impacted as they are more likely to come into contact with the parasites.
The research at the Museum has in recent years mainly focused on schistosomiasis (also known as Bilharzia), a debilitating disease caused by schistosome blood flukes that are picked up from contaminated fresh water – freshwater snails are hosts for part of the life cycle.
However, Museum research is now radically expanding to include major work on a group of NTDs called Soil Transmitted Helminths (STH) and they have recently launched DeWorm3. Aimed at demonstrating the feasibility of using integrated platforms to interrupt the transmission of STH, DeWorm3 is funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.