Fast-spreading Xylella fastidiosa is one of the world’s most dangerous plant pathogens, devastating tree species from citrus to oak trees across the globe. Now, hyperspectral cameras mou…

Advances in microscope technology and molecular biology are allowing researchers to see exactly how xylem or wood is formed, in real-time, at the cellular level. Professor Staffan Persson…

A new systems biology model mimicking the process of wood formation allows the prediction of effects in switching on and off genes involved in producing lignin. The model speeds the process o…

Plastic and paper-based food packaging needs a coating to prevent water or oxygen from penetrating the cover and spoiling the foodstuff inside. This is usually manufactured from petroleum…

The aptly named Professor Tim Bugg has used bacteria to turn lignin into a strong, mouldable plastic. Professor Bugg worked with a genetically modified bacteria called Rhodococcus jostii w…

FWPA has an ongoing project which uses 3D printing to produce timber panels composed of forestry waste– and by- products. Interest in this technology is growing and cellulose has been found t…

Adhesive tape made from lignin, a common waste product of paper manufacturing, performs just as well as at least two commercially available products. Adhesives are often are made from petro…

Spiderman and Superman move over… the world’s next superhero could well be The Woodsman – a fearless fighter who battles evil while clad in armour woven from a nanofibre biomaterial derived f…