Hello, thanks for visiting my blog! I’m Laura (my middle name is Hope, hence the attempted play on words with the blog title). I am currently in my fourth year studying MSci Biology at the University of Nottingham.

This is my first experience of blogging and I hope to use this as an opportunity to share my passion for biology, science and the natural world. Hopefully you’ll find it interesting, learn something along the way and we’ll have some compelling discussions! Within biology I have a particular interest in animal behaviour, evolution, sexual selection, ecology and natural history so keep an eye out for blogs related to these topics as well as others within biology and science in general.

I’ll also be blogging about the Masters research project I am currently undertaking, to give you an insight into the reality of scientific research and what is involved in ‘hopefully mastering science’. My project is under the supervision of Dr. Kate Durrant. Kate is a lecturer in Behavioural Ecology and her research concentrates on sperm competition and reproductive ecology, with a particular focus on the behavioural, morphological and physiological consequences of sexual selection mainly in birds and insects. My project involves studying sexual selection in the Giant Madagascan Hissing Cockroach, more specifically the courtship routines they exhibit and what role hissing plays in this courtship.

You can find out more about sexual selection, Giant Hissing Cockroaches (they’re not as scary as they sound, I promise) and my project in my post ‘Is he hissy fit?’.

I hope you enjoy my blog. Please like, share and comment on my posts to get in touch about any questions you have or anything you’d like to discuss – one of the great things about science is the discussions and ideas that it evokes.

Happy reading and blogging 🙂