The BBC has published the winning essay in the ABSW's Young Science Writer of the Year 2022 award. Young British science writer Zara Hussan explores the hidden, underground networks of fungi that are silently helping plants and trees to lock away carbon and combat climate change. The BBC is a partner for the ABSW's award, as are DeepMind and the Royal Institution (Ri), with prize funding provided by Alex and Jeff O'Brien. The Ri will hold the award ceremony on Monday June 27th. We invite ABSW members to join award winners and entrants to share insights into what our career is like, and to register to attend here.
Zara's essay 'Earth's fungal "life support system"' explores a microscopic realm: Read it below:
A forest is home to billions of living things, some of them too small to be seen by the naked eye. Collectively, these micro-scale species contribute more to our planet than most of us could imagine.
While we know that forests play a major role in countering global warming - acting as reservoirs for carbon - what is less well understood is how tiny organisms that dwell hidden in the soil help lock away our greenhouse gas emissions.
Continue reading on the BBC website.
Read the full press release about the award on the Royal Institution website.