Heather Hobbs Research & events news Solar-Electric Powered Boat on Course


A team of academics and students at the University of Southampton are building a solar-electric-powered boat to compete in next year’s Solar Splash Boating event, (Arkansas, 9-13 June), which tests technical capability as well as speed, manoeuvrability and endurance.


Led by Dr Peter Wilson at the University's School of Electronics and Computer Science, Team ‘Tarka’ is seeking collaboration with local businesses interested in 'green' boats or buildings, aerospace, engineering or general manufacturing. In 2009 a number of companies sponsored key elements of the boat, with the team bringing home awards for the ‘Rookie Team with the Highest Overall Score’ and ‘top teamwork’, ‘sportsmanship’, and a top three finish in the qualifying event, resulting in qualification as one of the ‘elite’ boats for 2010.


This year the team are also hoping to get support at a different level: “Last year, we managed to produce a boat which was simple and light,” said Dr Wilson. “This year, due to our new laboratory facilities, carbon fibre expertise and our advances in solar-powered technology, we can invest in a more professionally engineered boat aiming to be one of the most sophisticated solar-powered boats ever designed within the constraints of the Solar Splash competition.”


For further information contact: Dr Peter Wilson, Electronic Systems and Devices Group, School of Electronics and Computer Science, University of Southampton, Tel: 023 8059 4162, email prw@ecs.soton.ac.uk


TO FIND OUT MORE CIRCLE NO. 502 Supercomputer Ranked as UK Academia’s Greenest


The University of Southampton’s new supercomputer which is now live is named UK academia’s ‘greenest’ computer in this year’s Green500 List, a ranking of the world’s most energy-efficient supercomputers.


The Green500 List also ranks it as the second most energy-efficient UK-based supercomputer overall – covering both academia and commercial markets.


Custom-designed and built by supercomputer and storage integrator OCF and using IBM’s iDataPlex server technology, the supercomputer uses just one watt of power to generate speeds in excess 299.52 megaflops of performance. It will be used by leading-edge researchers across the University to make highly complex computations in fields ranging from cancer research to climate change.


Professor Philip Nelson, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University of Southampton, comments: "It's good to know that the University of Southampton not only has one of the fastest supercomputers in the world, but also one of the greenest. While our researchers are


investigating new responses to climate change, designing new transport systems and exploring the origins of life on earth, it's important that we limit our impact on the planet."


“Obtaining significant supercomputer processing performance, whilst at the same time keeping an eye on energy consumption and the related costs has become a primary challenge for many organisations investing in a supercomputer,” says Barry Evans, technical director, OCF plc. “Using innovative technologies from companies such as IBM is key to making those energy consumption cost reductions happen.


"IBM is actively engaged with universities like Southampton throughout the world working to put the latest technology into the hands of leading researchers," said Ben Warwick, IBM. "As we push supercomputers to new heights of performance, IBM is committed to ensuring that energy efficiency keeps pace. Energy efficiency - including performance per watt for the most computationally demanding workloads - is a core design principle in developing IBM systems."


TO FIND OUT MORE CIRCLE NO. 503 Leeds Research Finds new Piece of BSE Puzzle


A new treatment route for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) and its human form Creutzfeldt Jakob disease (CJD) could be a step closer thanks to a discovery by scientists at the University of Leeds who have discovered that protein Glypican-1 plays a key role in the development of BSE.


BSE is known to be caused by an infectious and abnormal form of the prion protein which is present on cells within the nervous system. But scientists have been unclear as to what causes the prions to become abnormal.


The new research from Leeds’ Faculty of Biological Sciences shows that the presence of Glypican-1 causes the numbers of abnormal prion proteins to rise. In experiments, when levels of Glypican-1 were reduced in infected cells, the levels of the abnormal prion reduced as well.


The discovery was a mixture of scientific detective work and luck, according to Professor of Biochemistry, Nigel Hooper.


“We were looking at how the normal prion protein functions in


cells and spotted that it was interacting with something,” he said. “Some lateral thinking and deduction led us to Glypican- 1 and when we carried out the experiment, we found we were right.”


The team believe that Glypican-1 acts as a scaffold bringing the two forms of the prion protein together and that this contact causes normal prions to mutate into the infectious form. They are seeking further funding to investigate their hypothesis.


“Now that we know the identity of one of the key molecules in the disease process, we may in the future be able to design drugs that target this.”


While initial experiments haven’t shown any link with other neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s, we’re not yet completely ruling that out,” said Professor Hooper.


The research is published in PLoS Pathogens (Nov 20).and was mainly funded through the Wellcome Trust with additional support from the Medical Research Council.


TO FIND OUT MORE CIRCLE NO. 504 bioProcessUK Welcomes


Investment in Research The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), are to invest a further £9 million in the Bioprocessing Research Industry Club (BRIC) in partnership with bioprocessing companies in the UK and the KTN.bioProcessUK, part of the HealthTech and Medicines Knowledge Transfer Network, has worked with the bio pharmaceutical industry since 2005 to ensure strong engagement in the BRIC.


Mark Bustard, Head of bioProcessUK, said: “bioProcessUK is delighted that the BBSRC and EPSRC will continue to fund much- needed industrially-focussed research and training in bioprocessing with £9 million for the second phase of BRIC. We have continued to highlight the benefits that membership of BRIC can bring to industry and expect many of the members of the first BRIC will continue to be committed and that there will be a number of new industry partners joining the club.


TO FIND OUT MORE CIRCLE NO. 505


Charity Receives Largest Intake of Grant Applications


Scientists are showing an increasing interest in using and developing new techniques without the use of animals to advance medical research, said the Dr Hadwen Trust for Humane Research (DHT). The charity has received a record number of applications from scientists seeking funding to develop non- animal techniques in medical research but says that more funding is needed to harness the full potential of these technologies. The leading medical research charity, which funds exclusively non-animal techniques, currently awards up to £700,000 in grants annually in the UK.


This year the charity received 120 research applications for funding, a record 500% increase on the previous year. This is the highest number of applications ever received in the DHT’s forty year history; a 114% increase compared to the highest intake in 2003. The DHT says that such an increasing interest from scientists from all fields to advance medical research and replace animal experiments is a very positive and significant step forward. “The limitations of using animals are becoming increasingly acknowledged within the scientific community. This is reflected by the increase in the number of grant applications where applicants are motivated by a desire to improve the quality of their research and replace animals with more human-relevant advanced methods and technologies,” said Dr Sebastien Farnaud, Science Director of the DHT. “The ethical responsibility to tackle animal suffering is also a key factor, with many of the proposals having the potential to replace the use of thousands of animals each year.” The charity’s current research portfolio includes development of further three- dimensional human tissue structures with targeted gene disruptions that replace genetically modified mice; use of fibroblasts as a new disease model for Huntington’s disease; and an advanced brain research tool called dual-site transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), instead of invasive experiments on primates, to study brain function in humans.


However, even as the UK’s largest charity funder of non-animal replacement research, the Dr Hadwen Trust will not be able to fund each and every highly relevant application as more funding is needed to develop the full potential and make use of such advanced research.


Kailah Eglington, Chief Executive of the Dr Hadwen Trust said:


“Non-animal replacement techniques represent some of the most exciting and advanced technological approaches that medical science has to offer, so it is encouraging to see an increased interest from more scientists across all fields. At the same time, it’s disheartening to see that so many of these replacement solutions might never be explored because of insufficient funding. We call upon the public to help raise more vital funds to pursue better and more ethical medical research.”


To find out more about the DHT and how you can participate and make a difference, go to www.drhadwentrust.org or www.scienceroom.org.


TO FIND OUT MORE CIRCLE NO. 506


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