News
Nationwide study set to improve poultry welfare
A new £500k commercial poultry catching and handling study is aiming to improve the welfare of farmed birds throughout Britain.
Led by SRUC and the University of Bristol, the comprehensive collaboration between academic research teams, industry, Humane Slaughter Association and a poultry veterinary consultant is set to take place over three years and will collect data from over 100 commercial poultry flocks, leading to best practise for poultry wellbeing.
MYGroup enters joint venture with Beta Bugs to secure supply of Black Soldier Fly eggs
MYGroup has entered into a joint venture with insect genetics company Beta Bugs to supply eggs for its Black Soldier Fly (BSF) bioconversion Insectology™ process for food waste management.
Under the joint venture, Beta Bugs will become MYGroup’s exclusive supplier of BSF eggs, with a new breeding and hatching facility to be established at the waste management company’s The Maltings site at South Milford, near Leeds.
Nick Challoner appointed as Chief Executive Officer at Ingenza
Ingenza Limited, a technology driven contract research, development and manufacturing organisation (CRDMO), has announced the appointment of Nick Challoner as its new Chief Executive Officer, effective the 1st of October, 2025.
Hub to aid precision breeding of future farm animals
Edinburgh experts will receive almost £5 million to establish a new hub at the University’s Roslin Institute, based at the Easter Bush campus, to drive advances in engineering biology – a major innovation focus for the UK Government.
The hub will focus on research to identify and study small changes to DNA in animals to advance sustainable agriculture and control diseases.
Midlothian’s Ambitious Plans for Inclusive & Sustainable Economic Growth
Midlothian councillors have approved two key documents that set out the Midlothian Council Economic Development Service‘s roadmap for delivering inclusive and sustainable economic growth over the next two years.
Scottish Government Announce Match Funding to Support Moredun’s Louping Ill Vaccine: Industry Backing Needed
The Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands, Mairi Gougeon, announced that the Scottish Government will provide match-funding of up to £100,000 to support the development of a new vaccine against Louping Ill — a serious tick-borne viral disease affecting sheep. The announcement was made during the Moredun Foundation reception at the Royal Highland Show.
Equity investment in Scotland’s smaller businesses bounces back
Smaller firms in Scotland saw increased levels of equity investment in 2024, as London became less dominant and the wider UK saw a collective decline.
That's according to the British Business Bank’s annual Small Business Equity Tracker , which showed that equity deals involving small businesses in Scotland totalled £507m last year; up 28.3% on 2023’s £395m.
Source: Business Insider
Fat recycling mechanism could boost salmon health
Aquaculture experts, in collaboration with the University of Glasgow, University of Stirling and Benchmark Genetics, have identified a fat recycling process in Atlantic salmon cells that could help enable healthier feed strategies and improved disease resilience.
This process helps break down excess fat inside cells, and its discovery could play a major role in tackling the challenges of modern salmon diets.
Edinburgh research organisation receives £3.6 million for AI health project
An Edinburgh-based research organisation has been awarded £3.6m from Scottish Enterprise for a project that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to improve medical scans and speed up data analysis.
Canon Medical Research Europe’s (CMRE) new project will cost around £14m in total, and is expected to benefit both patients and health services.
Source: Business Insider
Scottish Health-Tech Trade Mission Heads to Japan
A trade mission from Scotland’s health technology sector is set to visit Japan next week to strengthen trade and innovation ties and promote Scottish expertise on the world stage. Led by health secretary Neil Gray, the delegation will feature a host of forward-thinking health-tech firms highlighting Scotland’s strengths in digital health and life sciences at a series of events, including Japan Health 2025 in Osaka and a programme at the UK Pavilion at Expo 2025.
Source: DIGIT