By Heather Hobbs
BRINGING YOU THE LATEST NEWS & EVENTS FROM THE SCIENCE INDUSTRY Francis Crick Institute Celebrates Formal Opening
to welcome the Queen to our new building for the Francis Crick Institute and show her some of the science that we are carrying out to understand the human body better in health and disease.”
He added: “As part of the visit, she sequenced my genome and we’ll find out the results in the coming weeks. In our normal work at the Crick, we use this type of advanced sequencing to understand more about genetic influences on disease, or the changes that occur in cancer cells as tumours develop.”
Sir Paul Nurse welcomes HM The Queen to the Crick
The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh, accompanied by The Duke of York, officially opened the £650 million Francis Crick Institute in London during November. During a tour of the facility, the biggest biomedical research institute under one roof in Europe, The Queen also started the sequencing of Sir Paul Nurse’s genome - all three billion letters in his DNA code.
Paul Nurse, Director of the Crick, former president of the Royal Society and Nobel laureate, said: “It was a delight
A registered charity, the Crick was formed on 1 April 2015. Its founding partners are the Medical Research Council (MRC), Cancer Research UK, Wellcome, UCL (University College London), Imperial College London and King’s College London.
The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh saw some of the state-of-the-art facilities for research, including the advanced sequencing and peptide chemistry laboratories. They met many of the scientists and staff of the Crick, along with major donors who contributed to the Crick via a Cancer Research UK fundraising campaign and were also introduced to representatives of each founding partner.
With the scale, vision and expertise to tackle some of the most challenging scientific questions underpinning health and
disease the Crick also has a strong national role. By taking a collaborative approach, training future science leaders, taking forward discoveries towards new treatments for patients and engaging with schools and the public, the Crick aims to boost UK science and help drive the UK economy.
41513pr@reply-direct.com
Iron Catalyse Reaction Breakthrough
A team of scientists at the University of Huddersfield have developed a new chemical reaction that is catalysed using simple iron salts – an inexpensive, abundant and sustainable alternative to costlier and scarcer metals.
The research* could lead to huge economic gains in the pharmaceutical and agrichemical sectors, plus more affordable medicines for healthcare providers. The core reaction developed at Huddersfield has been patented and research continues, with further publication in the pipeline.
“Also, we are keen to establish connectivity with companies, so we can get these compounds out into industry as quickly as possible,” said project leader Joe Sweeney, who is Professor of Catalysis and Chemical Biology at the University.
“Most of the catalytes that are in current use are so-called scarce metals such as rhodium, palladium, platinum or iridium. The advantage is that they are usually very active, so they can mediate reactions quicker and at a lower catalytic loading.
“But if you look at tables of abundance in the earth’s crust,
these metals are all right at the bottom, so there has been a big push towards devising catalytic processes that use more sustainable catalysts, such as iron, which is probably the most abundant metal.”
The new process is highly accessible, said Professor Sweeney. “A key driver of organic chemistry is that it should be practical and shouldn’t require esoteric conditions. Our process is carried out using standard apparatus in a standard laboratory at room temperature. That is kind of the benchmark for organic chemistry.”
*An iron-catalysed C–C bond-forming spirocyclization cascade providing sustainable access to new 3D heterocyclic frameworks, by Kirsty Adams, Anthony K. Ball, James Birkett, Lee Brown, Ben Chappell, Duncan M. Gill, P. K. Tony Lo, Nathan J. Patmore, Craig. R. Rice, James Ryan, Piotr Raubo and Joseph B. Sweeney is published in Nature Chemistry.
41510pr@reply-direct.com Professor Joe Sweeney
London – A ‘Global Epicentre’ of Biomedical Engineering
A new Imperial research facility harnessing biomedical engineering to address major healthcare challenges at Imperial College London, (ICL), is to receive £20 million of government funding.
The investment by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) through the UK Research Partnership Investment Fund (UK RPIF) will support the development of a biomedical engineering hub at ICL’s new White City Campus.
The facility will bring together over 500 engineers, scientists and clinicians, collaborating to develop solutions to some of the world’s most pressing biomedical and healthcare problems.
Its research focuses include new technologies for the early detection, monitoring and treatment of cancers; the
development of minimally invasive implants; regenerative medicine and technology to aid recovery from nervous system injuries.
The biomedical engineering hub will occupy the Michael Uren Biomedical Engineering Research Hub, a 14 storey research building made possible thanks to an unprecedented £40 million gift from Imperial alumnus Sir Michael Uren and his foundation. Due for completion in 2019, the hub will house a clinical facility side-by-side with multidisciplinary laboratories and offices for translational research initiatives. The building, due for completion in 2019, will house life-changing research into new and affordable medical technology, helping people affected by a diverse range of medical conditions.
ICL’s President Alice P. Gast said: “Collaboration and multidisciplinary research are key pillars of Imperial’s strategy.
Our White City campus embodies this. We are creating an environment for the serendipitous encounters, collaboration and networks that drive innovation.
“The Michael Uren Biomedical Engineering Research Hub is one of our remarkable multidisciplinary hubs at White City that address some of the world’s big challenges. Its vision, ambition and potential is unrivalled. The facility, and its world-leading research, will be an epicentre of biomedical engineering innovation.”
The Co-Directors of the multidisciplinary Biomedical Engineering Hub are engineer Professor Anthony Bull and Orthopaedic Surgeon Professor Justin Cobb.
41492pr@reply-direct.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88
