NEWS
Manchester’s laboratory development completed
The landmark Greenheys development at Manchester Science Park has been completed, offering 131,000 sq ft of specialist laboratory and write-up space for the next generation of life sciences and technology innovation businesses. Bruntwood SciTech, a joint venture
between Bruntwood, L&G and Greater Manchester Pension Fund, has developed Greenheys to centre on flexible Containment Level 2 (CL2) laboratories. These spaces, delivered on time and on budget by Willmot Dixon, offer dedicated fume extraction units, high-spec LEV capacity and advanced air handling designed to facilitate the most sophisticated analytical and research work. Greenheys will form a cornerstone of
Manchester’s expanding innovation-led sectors, becoming part of Bruntwood SciTech’s strategic infrastructure across Manchester’s Oxford Road Corridor Knowledge Quarter, which includes Manchester Science Park, the Citylabs campus and Circle Square – a cluster specifically designed to support science and technology innovation at scale. Among Greenheys’ first tenants will be UK Biobank, which will use Greenheys as its new headquarters and research facility. The organisation is currently preparing to relocate 11 million biological samples from its ultra-low temperature automated storage in Stockport, as well as half of its nearly 400-strong team. With this relocation currently underway, customers at Greenheys will benefit from co-location and collaboration opportunities with both UK Biobank and similar industry leaders, not only at the new innovation hub, but across Manchester Science Park and the wider Bruntwood SciTech network.
Booking open for POCT Innovators’ Oxford event
POCT Innovators’ next Power to Disrupt one-day event takes place in Oxford on Monday 16 November, and booking is open now, with free places on offer to NHS workers.
This will be an essential day for all to
atend across the health sector, especially relevant for clinical and operational leads, service providers, network leads, commissioners, independent diagnostics advisors, point-of-care and rapid diagnostics providers. The 13th face-to-face event hosted by
Tony Cambridge and Thornhill Healthcare Events will have a packed agenda of hot topics across the point of care, rapid diagnostics and healthcare sectors. The full speaker line up is set to be revealed soon, but topics to be covered will include: Integrated Health Organisations (IHO) and the new NHS; quality assurance and regulatory affairs in diagnostics; education in diagnostic roles; the importance of full/complete blood
count at the point of care; diagnostics in women’s health; plus more to be confirmed. As with previous events atendance
is free to those working in the NHS, with commercial places also available at £249 plus VAT. The event will also be supported by an exhibition featuring a large variety of diagnostic firms. Book your place at htps://
poctinnovators.com.
Mānuka honey informing AMR progress
New research at Aston University has shown that a variety of compounds is responsible for the antimicrobial action of mānuka honey, not just the sugar content and methylglyoxal (MGO) alone, as previously thought. Mānuka honey has already been
proven to be effective against numerous disease-causing bacteria. As many bacteria become increasingly resistant to antibiotics, new approaches and treatments are required. Mānuka honey has so far not been associated with the development of resistance in the same way as antibiotics and is atracting interest. Understanding what makes mānuka honey effective is important if it is to be used consistently and effectively in future healthcare applications. The researchers, led by Dr Jonathan
Cox, a senior lecturer in biosciences at Aston University and head of the Mycobacterial Research Group, worked to test honey with different Unique Mānuka Factor (UMF) ratings for the new research, recently published in the journal Microbiology. UMF ranges from 5+ to 20+, representing a measure of the amount of MGO in the honey. The
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team tested the different honeys in the laboratory on a range of bacteria that cause respiratory infections. The antimicrobial activity of the honey increased with increasing UMF, which was unsurprising. However, with artificial formulations containing equivalent concentrations of sugar and MGO, the antimicrobial effect could not be replicated, suggesting that additional bioactive compounds, or interactions between compounds, are responsible. The team are continuing to work to identify and characterise the additional compounds that are responsible for the enhanced antimicrobial activity found in higher UMF mānuka honey. They will also look to determine how the compounds interact. Understanding these active components may support the development of more effective antimicrobial products. Allcot GJ, Evans J, Merry TL, Cox JAG. Unique Mānuka Factor (UMF)-dependent antimicrobial activity of Mānuka honey against respiratory pathogens cannot be explained by sugar and methylglyoxal alone. Microbiology (Reading). 2026;172(8):001746. doi:10.1099/mic.0.001746
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