WESTMINSTER


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I became a ‘Citizen Scientist’ last month to help Cancer Research UK fight cancer. I spent five minutes taking a turn on the


new Cell SliderTM website, which could help the charity to bring forward the day when all cancers are cured. With just a few minutes and a few clicks of


the mouse, Cell SliderTM is the first ever interactive website to turn real archive cancer data into a format that can be analysed by the public.


It presents real images of tumour samples


in the form of a simple game of snap. Users are guided through a tutorial explaining which cells to analyse and which ones to ignore. That’s why Cancer Research UK has


launched www.cellslider.net to help accelerate groundbreaking research. By getting the public to become ‘citizen scientists’, more samples will be analysed faster and more effectively, freeing up Cancer Research UK’s experts to carry out other cancer research. More than half a million images have already been analysed.


As the lights went out for this year’s Earth Hour on 23 March, people showed their support for energy that works with the power of nature, not against it.


In the UK, we are consuming three times our


fair share of the planet’s natural resources. Our reliance on high carbon fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas is overheating the atmosphere and affecting the climate. The future of our planet relies on us moving away from unsustainable energy sources and on to renewable energy. WWF’s Earth Hour is a simple idea that


brings together millions of people across the globe who all care about one thing – our planet. In the UK, our energy system needs to change and I want wind, wave and solar power to be part of the future. If we are serious about shaping a better future for generations to come, we need to act now. Last year over 7 million people in the UK


took part in WWF’s Earth Hour. This unique global phenomenon encourages every corner of the globe to switch off for one hour and includes iconic landmarks such as The Houses of Parliament, the Sydney Opera House and the Taj Mahal.


Cell SliderTM comes as predictions show


that the number of people with cancer in the UK is set to rise steeply by 2030. Every year, around 29,400 people in Scotland are diagnosed with cancer.


The program is so easy to use, meaning


everyone can play their part in helping to beat cancer from the comfort of their own homes.By boosting the UK’s ability to analyse data quickly with the help of ‘Citizen Scientists’, Cancer Research UK’s world-class research teams will be able to develop better ways to prevent, control and cure the disease and help save many more lives.


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