Do dolphins adapt to their environment? What is the impact of glyphosate exposure on oxidative stress, inflammation and lung function? Does the presence of bacterial DNA in blood impact the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality? What is the effect of daily temperature on the risk of preeclampsia? How does the spotted cat fish adapt to an environment with highly fluctuating salt concentrations?
Antibiotics remain the primary treatment for many bacterial infections, including those that negatively impact our oral health. In the USA, it has been estimated that dentists prescribe approximately 10% of outpatient antibiotics. Yet the spread of antibiotic resistance due to inappropriate prescribing and overuse presents a major global health risk. Antibiotic resistance challenges the effective delivery of a number of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, including SDGs 1, 2, 3, 8 and 10.
We are delighted to announce the winning images of the BMC Ecology and Evolution photography competition. Like in previous years, the researchers who participated in this annual contest have, once again, produced a spectacular collection of images.
Traditional impact evaluations tend to measure change in pre-specified outcomes. Let’s say that 10 people attend a cycling training course; a traditional impact evaluation might measure anticipated outcomes, such as people’s confidence in cycling, at the beginning and end of the course. But what happens if a few people went on to set up a cycling club or start lobbying for safer roads where they live? These are just two examples of unanticipated impacts that could lead to further societal benefits or more sustainable effects. So shouldn’t we find a way to capture wider impacts of interventions in a meaningful way? Over the last few years, Dr James Nobles, University of Bristol, and Dr Jennifer Hall, Bradford Institute for Health Research, have adapted a method called Ripple Effects Mapping to do this.