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Laurence D. Hurst

Professor of Evolutionary Genetics at The Milner Centre for Evolution, University of Bath
Since 1997 Laurence Hurst has been the Professor of Evolutionary Genetics at The University of Bath. Prior to this he was a Royal Society Research Fellow at Cambridge University (1994-1997) and a Junior Research Fellow at Oxford (1991-1993). He was a visiting Professorial Fellow at Collegium Budapest (1995). Between his undergraduate degree at Cambridge University and his doctorate at Oxford University, we was the Henry Fellow at Harvard University.

His research concerns the evolution of genes, genomes and genetic systems. He is especially interested in understanding the fate of apparently innocuous mutations. Current work aims to translate evolutionary understanding of gene and genome evolution into improved diagnostics and healthcare.

He was the recipient of 2003 Scientific Medal of the Zoological Society of London, the 2010 Genetics Society Medal and 2105 VC Research Medal. In 2004 he was elected a member of EMBO. In 2015 he was elected to the Fellowship of the Academy of Medical Sciences and to the Fellowship of the Royal Society. He is the founding director of the Genetics and Evolution Teaching Project that researches the best way to teach evolution in schools. In 2010 he was the inaugural winner of the Excellence in Doctoral Supervision Prize.

Laurence Hurst is on the Advisory board of the Public Library of Science, Biology and sits on numerous editorial boards, including Molecular Systems Biology, BMC Biology, Trends in Genetics, Genome Biology and Evolution, Genome Biology, Biology Direct, BMC Systems Biology, BMC Evolutionary Biology. He is the founding Director of the Milner Centre for Evolution and recipient of an ERC Advanced Award.

He is regularly confused with his younger brother Greg, also a professor of evolutionary genetics (but in Liverpool not Bath).

Why some people don't trust science – and how to change their minds

Jan 01, 2024 12:09 pm UTC| Insights & Views Science

During the pandemic, a third of people in the UK reported that their trust in science had increased, we recently discovered. But 7% said that it had decreased. Why is there such variety of responses? For many years, it...

Economy

What should you do if you can’t pay your rent or mortgage?

The cost of living crisis is making it difficult for many people to pay their bills, including housing costs. Private sector rents have increased by an average 9% over the year to February 2024, and rising interest rates...

Reducing energy demand and improving efficiency will help prevent the next gas crisis

Gas prices have relaxed, Europe has come out of the winter with record gas storage levels and a surfeit of liquefied natural gas is set to reach the shores of Europe over the coming years. Many commentators are hopeful...

Minimum wage for South African farm workers: study shows 2013 hike helped reduce poverty even though compliance was poor

Minimum wage policies are typically aimed at reducing poverty. Yet there is little direct evidence of this effect, especially in developing countries. And none for South Africa. In a recent paper, we consider the...

Gas is good until 2050 and beyond, under Albanese gas strategy

The Albanese government is talking up the crucial role of gas as a transition fuel through to 2050 and beyond. In a gas strategy to be released on Thursday, the government envisages the fuels uses would change over...

South Africa’s plan to move away from coal: 8 steps to make it succeed

The South African governments Just Energy Transition Implementation Plan was launched in November 2023. It is a roadmap guiding the country away from reliance on coal-fired power towards renewable energy alternatives by...

Politics

Donald Trump Allegedly Offers Oil Execs a Deal to Scrap EV Incentives for $1B Donation

Former President Donald Trump reportedly proposed a $1 billion deal to oil executives, offering to end electric vehicle (EV) subsidies in return for campaign funding, according to The Washington Post. This move underscores...

US Supreme Court upended decades of precedent in 2022 by allowing voters to vote with gerrymandered maps instead of fixing the congressional districts first

For the 2022 midterm elections, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed Alabama to use congressional districts that violated the law and diluted the voting power of Black citizens. A 5-4 vote by the Supreme Court in February...

Germany lowers voting age to 16 for the European elections

Ahead of the European parliament elections in June, Germany has lowered the age limit on participation to 16. This makes it the largest of just a handful of states in the EU to allow people under the age of 18 to vote....

South Africa will be president of the G20 in 2025: two much-needed reforms it should drive

South Africa will play an important international role in 2025 as president of the G20. The G20 is a group of 19 countries as well as the African Union and the European Union. Between them they represent 85% of global...

What early 2024 polls are revealing about voters of color and the GOP

By the end of winter 2024, the return of Donald Trump to the top of the GOP presidential ticket has revealed a surprising trend in the former presidents base of support: his increasing popularity among Black and Latino...

Science

Why are algorithms called algorithms? A brief history of the Persian polymath you’ve likely never heard of

Algorithms have become integral to our lives. From social media apps to Netflix, algorithms learn your preferences and prioritise the content you are shown. Google Maps and artificial intelligence are nothing without...

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...

Dark matter: our new experiment aims to turn the ghostly substance into actual light

A ghost is haunting our universe. This has been known in astronomy and cosmology for decades. Observations suggest that about 85% of all the matter in the universe is mysterious and invisible. These two qualities are...

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...

Technology

$73M Crypto Scam: Two Foreign Nationals Arrested for 'Pig Butchering'

The Justice Department prosecuted two Chinese nationals on Friday in a cryptocurrency scam that laundered at least $73 million from deceived victims. Defendants Allegedly Used Shell Corporations to Launder Funds Through...

Tether's $1B USDT Mint Boosts Bitcoin, Eyes on $70K Milestone

Bitcoin has switched its former resistance into support, as Tethers market capitalization continues to rise swiftly in 2024. Tether, the worlds largest stablecoin, has issued another $1 billion, raising its market...

Crucial SHIB Warning Goes Out: Fake Airdrop Scams Targeting Community, Here's Reason

The Shiba Inu team has delivered a crucial warning to its community, highlighting the presence of fake SHIB airdrop scams and the importance of safeguarding cryptocurrency assets. Shiba Inu Team Warns Community Against...

China To Drive Next Rally in Bitcoin, Gold Prices: Tapiero's Bold Predictions

The prospective outlook for Chinas economy, combined with speculation of Quantitative Easing (QE) in the regions real estate industry, is expected to have an impact on Bitcoin (BTC) and gold prices and liquidity in the...

Microsoft Integrates AMD AI Chips into Azure, Competing with Nvidia’s GPU Offerings

Microsoft announced Thursday that it will integrate AMDs MI300X processors into its Azure cloud services, offering a competitive alternative to Nvidias GPUs. Azures New AI Processing Power According to Reuters,...