A multi-million pound programme of strategic research delivered over five years providing science and evidence to support policymakers and its partners. Informed by strong partnerships and the needs of a broad range of stakeholders. Science at the heart of society contributing to the health, wealth and wellbeing of Scotland and beyond.
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Research
Ongoing research (2022-2027)
Displaying 11 - 20 of 23
Healthy diets for a healthy weight: exploring physiological mechanisms related to dietary fibre and non-nutritive sweeteners
The Scottish diet remains poor quality and a main factor in driving unhealthy weight. To reduce the burden of diet related disease, this project explores public attitudes towards nutritional factors, namely food additives (specifically artificial sweeteners) and dietary fibre. The purpose of the study is to understand how dietary fibre influences appetite and food intake and then, how sweeteners may disrupt this response. We are implementing two human diet trials to investigate these key dietary components on physiological mechanisms associated with appetite control for a healthy weight....
- Human Nutrition
- 2022-2027
Hemp: a climate resilient crop for the future of Scottish agriculture
The Scottish Government's Climate Change Plan includes reference to carbon sequestration options for agriculture. This project research supports hemp, a climate resilient crop, for stimulating Scottish farming sector to run greenhouse gas removal activities, identifying opportunities for the Scottish food and drink sector to promote sustainability and by understanding nutrition sufficiency and consumer acceptance of hemp food as part of low carbon footprint diet.
- Crop Improvement
- 2022-2027
Identifying the causes of biodiversity change with specific references to the Intergovernmental Science-policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services drivers
The aim of this project is to identify how the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) drivers affect key parts of Scotland’s biodiversity.
- Biodiversity
- 2022-2027
Novel Multi-Sector Approaches to Provenance and Food Tracking for use in Distributed Ledger Protocols
This project is designed to develop Distributed Ledger (blockchain) compatible methods – based on DNA and chemical analysis – to determine provenance across key Scottish produce and sectors to protect the safety, integrity, and quality of the food chain and the environment and the status of key Scottish produce. It is pertinent to the UK's EU exit and large-scale shifts in international food trade.
- Food & Drink Improvements
- 2022-2027
People and Nature
This is project identifies and evaluates interventions and approaches which facilitate transformative change in how Scottish biodiversity is framed, valued, and managed. It also explores how the benefits of Scotland's biodiversity can be harnessed and more equitably distributed.
- Biodiversity
- 2022-2027
Protected areas to tackle biodiversity loss now, and for the future
This project aims to understand how marine and terrestrial protected areas can best conserve biodiversity under current and future climates.
- Biodiversity
- 2022-2027
Scotland’s biodiversity: people, data and monitoring
This project addresses deficiencies in data and recording infrastructure of Scottish biodiversity enabling improved identification of drivers, hotspots and uniqueness.
- Biodiversity
- 2022-2027
Seeking multiple benefits from natural carbon stores in the uplands
This project explores the relationship between carbon storage, biodiversity conservation and flood mitigation in upland habitats to detect synergies and trade-offs and identifies land management practices that optimise the benefits to be gained. It is generating evidence to inform land-use management practices in the Scottish uplands that contributes to tackling the twin challenges of biodiversity loss and the climate emergency.
- Biodiversity
- 2022-2027
Supply-chain-driven food and drink reformulation to achieve Scotland's dietary and climate targets
This project contributes towards supporting Scotland’s dietary and climate targets though supply-chain-driven food and drink reformulation. This will be achieved through developing new supply chain networks for crops that can be sustainably produced in Scotland. We are developing innovative prototype products for multi-sector use, which we will widely disseminate to encourage wider adoption.
- Food & Drink Improvements
- 2022-2027
Biodiversity and ecosystem functions
There remain large gaps in understanding how changes in management and the environment alter community composition and, hence, ecosystem functions. This Research Deliverable (RD) addresses how ecosystem functions are regulated by the traits of species present, and how potential limits for the maintenance of ecosystem function can be captured in ecosystem health metrics.
- Biodiversity
- 2016-2022