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This press release was issued by The University of Sheffield
on February 6, 2004
February 6, 2004
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
New Chambers to help Predict Effects
of Global Warming
A new £10.3m biology centre will be officially opened
at the University of Sheffield at 11am on Tuesday 10 February by
Professor Lord May of Oxford, President of the Royal Society.
The new laboratories house world-class equipment for the Department
of Animal and Plant Sciences, including 32 controlled environment
chambers. The chambers allow researchers to exactly recreate climatic
conditions found all over the world, from the Arctic to a tropical
rainforest. They also allow experts to assess the impact of climate
change on flora and fauna as the chambers can be adjusted to mimic
these changes. Some of the applications of this work include developing
crops that are resistant to extreme weather and predicting the effect
of climate change on whole ecosystems.
Professor Malcolm Press, Head of Animal and Plant Sciences, explained,
"If we know how a plant will react to climate change we can
use this information to see how the changes will affect the animals
and micro-organisms that interact with that particular plant. We
can continue this work through the food chain until we have an idea
of the effect on the whole ecosystem."
The new laboratories also include state of the art equipment to
help with the Departments other research, including evolution, molecular
genetics, biodiversity and conservation.
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