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Diana Bell

Professor of Conservation Biology, University of East Anglia
I am a conservation biologist with eclectic research interests mainly at interdisciplinary boundaries. Much of my current research concerns emerging zoonotic diseases such as SARS, HPAI H5N1 and Ebola and the roles of introduced pathogens and wildlife trade in biodiversity loss. This has recently involved collaboration with The Genome Centre TGAC and colleages at the Institute of Zoology to sequence the genomes of the endangered Mauritius Pink Pink Nesoenas mayeri (Mohammed Albeshr) and the protozoan Trichomonas gallinae (Abdul alrefaei). Another of my PhD students, Simon Poulton, is investigating altitudinal variation in small mammals and their pathogens in the Nepali Himalayas.

Historically my overseas research has been primarily aimed at helping to identify long-term management plans to minimise biodiversity loss in critically threatened grassland and forest refugial habitats in Mexico, the Indian sub-continent, S.E. Asia and islands of the Indical Ocean. My UK research has used the European wild rabbit as a model species to investigate inter-relationships among population dynamics, behavioural ecology, reproduction, genetics, parasites/disease and species/ecosystem conservation. Most of the latter research has involved a long-term (20+years), non-invasive study of a natural European wild rabbit population situated on the UEA campus.

Current Research Projects

Parasites and disease in the European wild rabbit
Impact of H5N1 on biodiversity and local livelihoods
Wildlife trade and farming in SE Asia
Genomes and parasites in Indian Ocean columbids and passerines
Myxomatosis epidemiology 60 years on
Altitudinal variation in small mammals and their pathogens in the Himalayas
Genetic variation in Trichomonas gallinae
Reintroductions and translocations of Mauritian avifauna
Pangolin conservation
Conservation of endangered lagomorphs

Wuhan coronavirus: we still haven't learned the lessons from SARS

Jan 27, 2020 03:18 am UTC| Insights & Views Health

The SARS outbreak in 2002-2003 was the first global pandemic of the 21st century. There were 8,422 reported cases and 11% of those infected with the virus died. Its cause was a newly identified coronavirus (a type of virus...

Economy

The US is one of the least trade-oriented countries in the world – despite laying the groundwork for today’s globalized system

Given the spate of news about international trade lately, Americans might be surprised to learn that the U.S. isnt very dependent on it. Indeed, looking at trade as a percentage of gross domestic product a metric...

Beyond the spin, beyond the handouts, here’s how to get a handle on what’s really happening on budget night

Three weeks from now, some of us will be presented with a mountain of budget papers, and just about all of us will get to hear about them on radio, TV or news websites on budget night. The quickest way to find out what...

Johannesburg in a time of darkness: Ivan Vladislavić’s new memoir reminds us of the city’s fragility

Ivan Vladislavić is Johannesburgs literary linkman. He tells us, in the first pages of his new book, The Near North, that before cities were lit, first by gaslight and later electricity, people of means paid torchbearers...

Economist Chris Richardson on an ‘ugly’ inflation result and the coming budget

With Jim Chalmerss third budget on May 14, Australians will be looking for some more cost-of-living relief beyond the tax cuts although they have been warned extra measures will be modest. As this weeks consumer price...

Inflation is slowly falling, while student debt is climbing: 6 graphs that explain today’s CPI

Australias inflation rate has fallen for the fifth successive quarter, and its now less than half of what it was back in late 2022. The annual rate peaked at 7.8% in the December quarter of 2022 and is now just 3.6%, in...

Politics

US Urges China, Russia to Reject AI Control in Nuclear Arms, Align with Global Norms

Paul Dean, a senior U.S. arms control official, emphasized the critical need for China and Russia to join the U.S. in declaring that humans will always decide on the deployment of nuclear weapons, not artificial...

South Africa’s youth are a generation lost under democracy – study

South African president Cyril Ramaphosa recently painted a rosy picture in which the countrys youth democracys children had enormous opportunities for advancement, all thanks to successive post-apartheid governments led...

Sadiq Khan on track for third term as London mayor – but nearly half of Londoners dissatisfied with performance

Polls have consistently shown that the incumbent mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, appears to be on track to win a third term in office at the upcoming mayoral elections on May 2. One poll we commissioned as part of our...

Biden administration tells employers to stop shackling workers with ‘noncompete agreements’

Most American workers are hired at will: Employers owe their employees nothing in the relationship except earned wages, and employees are at liberty to quit at their option. As the rule is generally stated, either party...

Labour can afford to be far more ambitious with its economic policies – voters are on board

To say that the Labour party is flying high in the polls is something of an understatement. But despite its consistent lead against the Tories, the opposition finds itself in a rather odd position: on the cusp of power but...

Science

IceCube researchers detect a rare type of energetic neutrino sent from powerful astronomical objects

About a trillion tiny particles called neutrinos pass through you every second. Created during the Big Bang, these relic neutrinos exist throughout the entire universe, but they cant harm you. In fact, only one of them is...

The Mars Sample Return mission has a shaky future, and NASA is calling on private companies for backup

A critical NASA mission in the search for life beyond Earth, Mars Sample Return, is in trouble. Its budget has ballooned from US$5 billion to over $11 billion, and the sample return date may slip from the end of this...

A Nasa rover has reached a promising place to search for fossilised life on Mars

While we go about our daily lives on Earth, a nuclear-powered robot the size of a small car is trundling around Mars looking for fossils. Unlike its predecessor Curiosity, Nasas Perseverance rover is explicitly intended to...

The rising flood of space junk is a risk to us on Earth – and governments are on the hook

A piece of space junk recently crashed through the roof and floor of a mans home in Florida. Nasa later confirmed that the object had come from unwanted hardware released from the international space station. The 700g,...

Peter Higgs was one of the greats of particle physics. He transformed what we know about the building blocks of the universe

Peter Higgs, who gave his name to the subatomic particle known as the Higgs boson, has died aged 94. He was always a modest man, especially when considering that he was one of the greats of particle physics the area of...

Technology

Samsung Chief Lee Jae-yong Wraps Up Europe Visit, Includes Vatican and Zeiss

Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong returned to Seoul this Friday after a crucial ten-day European trip, where he met with Pope Francis and explored potential business collaborations. The Korea Herald reported...

Bitcoin Thrives: Whales Accumulate Over 47K BTC Amidst Price Rally

Bitcoin experiences a transformative moment as large-scale investors, known as whales, acquire over 47,000 BTC, valued at $2.9 billion, amidst a price retreat. This strategic move marks a pivotal shift in sentiment,...

Kraken Pro Boosts Shiba Inu with New Margin Trading Option

Kraken Pros announcement of Shiba Inus (SHIB) inclusion in its margin trading pairs signifies a significant milestone for the meme-inspired cryptocurrency. This move underscores SHIBs growing prominence within the crypto...

Hong Kong Firm Dominates BlackRock's Bitcoin ETF, Surges to Top Holder

In a significant development for the cryptocurrency market, Hong Kong-based Yong Rong HK Asset Management Ltd has secured its position as the largest holder in the BlackRock iShares Bitcoin ETF (IBIT), according to recent...

Nintendo's Next-Gen: Switch 2 Could Hit 240FPS, Leaks Suggest

Leaked by data miner OatmealDome, Nintendos updated NintendoWare Bezel Engine reportedly supports frame rates potentially as high as 240FPS, a massive leap from the current 60FPS limit on the Nintendo Switch. The...