Professor Venkitaraman’s Unit will be opening its doors on Sunday 23 March for the event Behind the scenes of cancer research. Visitors will be able to join scientists from the MRC Cancer Unit and the Hutchison/MRC Research Centre to find out more about how they are trying to improve the detection and treatment of cancer. They will also be able to take a look at DNA mutations and unusual chromosomes, and have a go at some of the experiments the researchers do in the lab every day.

Professor Venkitaraman said: “Research at the MRC Cancer Unit focuses on understanding the earliest stages in the development of cancer, and using this new knowledge to find better ways of detecting and treating the disease before it advances. My colleagues and I believe that research on early cancer progression, detection and treatment has tremendous potential to improve the survival rates of cancer patients.

“The Cambridge Science Festival is an excellent opportunity for us to speak to the public about our science, and our hopes for the future of cancer detection, treatment and prevention. We also hope our event will give visitors a small insight into what goes on in some of our labs, and perhaps even inspire the next generation of cancer researchers.”

Speaking about some of the latest research, Dr Ireena Dutta, Scientific Communications Manager at the MRC Cancer Unit said: “One area in which we're making significant strides is the screening and monitoring of patients at risk of developing oesophageal cancer (cancer in the gullet). Research undertaken by Professor Rebecca Fitzgerald has developed a new device called the Cytosponge, which can be used to collect cell samples from patients, and is much less invasive (and cheaper) than traditional monitoring methods such as endoscopies.  This makes it suitable for use in a screening programme, and it is currently being assessed in a large-scale clinical trial. Visitors can find out more about this and other research we are currently doing on the day.”

On the same day, there will be another similar event, Be a cancer research scientist for a day, which is being run by the Cancer Research UK (CRUK) Cambridge Institute. They are inviting visitors to don a lab coat and be a scientist for a day. Visitors will be able to enter their mini science lab, run a DNA gel, stain tissue sections and look at them down a microscope, and try out virtual reality radiotherapy with CRUK’s clinical cancer colleagues.

Drug development is a major part of cancer research and visitors to the Cambridge Biomedical Campus will be able to discover more about this aspect of medical research with two further events also being held on Sunday 23 March.

During the first event, Making medicines from A to Z, visitors will be able to learn how AstraZeneca scientists discover and develop new medicines. In this interactive experience, they will be able to explore how chemistry and 3D modelling are used in the design and build of new drugs and then explore how these drugs, alone or in combination, are tested in humans to treat diseases such as cancer. This event will also take place on Sunday 16 March at the Cambridge Corn Exchange.

The second event is Developing new drugs: have a go at pharmacokinetic sampling! The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Clinical Investigation Ward is involved in many research studies working towards the development of new treatments for cancer. During the development of new drugs detailed studies are undertaken to establish how quickly the body absorbs the drug and how long it stays in the body. Visitors will able to find out more about this aspect of medical research and have a go at ‘pharmacokinetic’ sampling.

Other talks, debates and demonstrations relating to cancer research include:

• Saturday 15 March, as part of ThinkCon 2014, Kat Arney will be talking about the Evolution of Cancer.
• Tuesday 18 March, Transmissible cancers in dogs and Tasmanian devils. Andrea Strakova  will reveal unexpected findings about two unique cancers that have adapted to transfer by the means of living cancer cells between their hosts – Tasmanian devils and domestic dogs. We will explore how a cancer can become transmissible, despite the fact that it is usually considered to be a malignant transformation of cells of your own body.

For more information about the Cambridge Science Festival or to book tickets for any of these events, please visit: www.cam.ac.uk/science-festival

Further news stories about the Cambridge Science Festival can be viewed here:  www.cam.ac.uk/science-festival/news

To see a range of Q&As with key speakers, please visit: www.cam.ac.uk/science-festival/speaker-spotlights

You can also follow us on:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/Cambridgesciencefestival Twitter: https://twitter.com/camscience

To download the Festival app, please visit: www.cam.ac.uk/csf/app

Ends

About Cambridge Science Festival

Now in its 20^th year, the Cambridge Science Festival gives the public the opportunity to explore Cambridge science. Thanks to the support of the University, our sponsors and partners, most of the events are free.

The Science Festival aims to provide the public with opportunities to explore and discuss issues of scientific interest and concern and to raise aspirations and career awareness in the areas of science, technology, engineering or mathematics.

Patrons of the Science Festival are: Professor Simon Baron-Cohen, Professor John Barrow, Dr Claire Cockcroft, Dr Henry Gee, Lord Rees of Ludlow, Professor Malcolm Longair, Mr Tim Radford, Professor Barbara Sahakian, Professor Jeremy Sanders, Dr Andrew Sugden, Ms Carol Vorderman, Professor Jim Secord, Mr Ian Harvey, Professor Andrea Brand, Professor Ron Laskey, Professor Bill Sutherland, Professor John Naughton, Professor Alan Barrell.

The Cambridge Science Festival is sponsored by Cambridge University Press, the Medical Research Council, Anglia Ruskin University, AstraZeneca, MedImmune, Royal Society of Chemistry, AAAS Science International Inc., TTP Group plc., BlueBridgeEducation, Linguamatics, Abcam plc., RAND Europe, Society of Biology, The Babraham Institute, British Association for Psychopharmacology , the Pye Foundation, Walters Kundert Charitable Trust, and Cambridge City Council. Other Festival partners are Cambridge University Hospitals, the Cambridge Science Centre, Hills Road Sixth Form College and National Science and Engineering Week. The Festival's media partner is BBC Radio Cambridgeshire.

A Cambridge PhD student who has forged an outstanding academic career despite having a severe form of muscular dystrophy has become the spearhead of a fundraising bid to help others with the condition.

Jonathan Gilmour, who is 27, was first diagnosed with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy when he was just seven years old. The condition causes the muscles to deteriorate over time, and at the moment cannot be cured. Jonathan has had to use a wheelchair since the age of 14, currently lives with a full-time carer, and has limited use of his arms which means that he needs support to perform basic tasks like dressing and eating.

Now, he and fellow students at St John’s College, Cambridge, have launched a fundraising drive to support the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign. Using Jonathan as its main ambassador, the aim is to raise as much money as possible for the charity, supporting its efforts both to improve the lives of people with the condition, and to undertake research which might eventually lead to a cure.

The limitations of the illness have not stopped Jonathan from becoming an exceptional young academic at one of the best universities in the world. After being encouraged to apply to Cambridge by his mother, he graduated with a First in 2008. He is now studying for a PhD in inter-faith relations, and has won the University’s prestigious Theological Studies Prize on two separate occasions.

He hopes that as well as raising money for the charity, the fundraising campaign will also inspire disabled people to make as much of their lives as possible, without letting the illness restrain their ambitions.

“We’re trying to demonstrate the potential of what can be achieved by people with a disability,” Jonathan explained. “When I first went to university, there was very little information nationally encouraging people with a serious disability to go into higher education. Now it is becoming much more common for people with a condition like mine to study for a degree and beyond.”

“Disability can seem like a permanent barrier, but it doesn’t have to be. People with muscular dystrophy should not feel consigned to living as if it is. I’ve always disliked it when people talk about me being a sufferer – of course it’s frustrating, but it shouldn’t stop you from being able to act positively.”

As a teenager, Jonathan, who is originally from Petersfield, near Portsmouth, never considered applying to Cambridge, but after achieving outstanding results in his GCSEs, his mother, Angela, persuaded him to try. “My Mum was the first person in her family to go to University,” he explained. “I didn’t think I had a chance, but she encouraged me.”

In the event, he won an offer to study Theology and Religious Studies at St John’s, and then passed his A-levels with flying colours despite having to undergo spinal fusion surgery around the time of his exams – an operation which left him in intensive care for 10 days.

Jonathan arrived at St John’s in 2005, occupying a specially-adapted ground floor room in the Victorian buildings of the College’s New Court, where he still lives today. “I was in a chair, but I was more physically mobile than I am now,” he said. “I used to be able to go out at night a lot more, so the experience at the time was really like that of any other student. I was a bit stronger in those days, but you learn to change your lifestyle as things develop.”

Over time, his room has been adapted further, and he has also advised on the implementation of other access measures around the College, parts of which date back to the 16th century. He now lives with a full-time carer, as well as an assistance dog, a black Labrador called Uri.

His academic achievements, coupled with his ongoing battle against what remains a terminal illness, won him the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign’s Young Person of the Year award for 2010/11. Now, they have also inspired colleagues at St John’s and in the wider university to do more to support the charity.

The idea for a fundraising drive initially came from a friend, Albertyna Paciorek, an alumna of St John’s who studied linguistics, and who became friends with Jonathan when they started meeting at lunchtimes in the College’s “buttery” canteen.

After finishing her own PhD, Albertyna decided to run the London Marathon, partly to mark what would have been the 100th birthday of her grandfather, Stanisław Zalewski, a Polish war pilot and concentration camp survivor. She also wanted to do the run on behalf of a charity, which was when she turned to Jonathan for inspiration.

“Jonathan’s experience has made me realise the big difference that even small steps towards treating muscular dystrophy, or improving the lives of people who have the condition, can make,” Albertyna said. “This struck me as something that I could do to make a difference.”

After hearing about her plans, Jonathan decided to lead the fundraising personally. The pair set up a web page for donations and contacted friends through social media. The response from family members and friends was so enthusiastic that Albertyna’s initial ambition, to raise £1,600 by the time of the marathon in April, had been fulfilled well before the end of January.

The early success inspired the pair to up their game, and they are now organising other events to support the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign. This Friday (14 March) will see a fundraiser at the College with performances by the world-famous comedy troupe, the Cambridge Footlights, among others, with other events planned for later in the month ahead of Albertyna’s own marathon attempt.

“The fact that I’ve been able to come here and study at one of the world’s top universities is living proof that the barriers of a disability can be broken down,” Jonathan added. “It’s a life-limiting condition, but living with it is about making the most of things. We hope that our efforts will support the Campaign’s work to maintain the quality of life of other people who have muscular dystrophy, in the same way that they have helped me. One day, a cure will come. Until then, we need to help them to get by.”

To donate to the fundraising bid organised by Jonathan Gilmour and Albertyna Paciorek on behalf of the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign, visit their web page.

His talk - Sun, moon, stars…. What do astronomers do? – introduced his audience of 60 Sir Harry Smith pupils to some of the stars of astronomy, past and present, and the tools of their trade. 

A first, important point was the difference between star-gazing and fortune-telling.

“If you meet an astronomer, don’t say ‘I’m a Sagittarius, what does that mean,” Scott advised. “They might get angry with you.”

As well as being an expensive science to pursue, astronomy was quite a dangerous one, according to Scott’s presentation.  

One of the very first astronomers to use a telescope, Galileo spent the last years of his life under house arrest after publishing data which supported the then-heretical idea that the earth orbits the sun.  “Conflict is part of science,” Scott said.

It wasn’t just disputes with the church that proved hazardous.

Scott revealed that Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe wore a metal nose after losing his own duelling to settle a dispute about mathematics, and was rumoured to have been killed by his own pupil, Johannes Kepler.  “But he was an important astronomer,” Scott added. “This shouldn’t be overshadowed by the crazy stuff he did.”

Moving on to more recent role models, Scott introduced the KS4 pupils to Henrietta Leavitt.  She worked at Harvard University examining photographic records of stars to calculate their brightness.  Her observations of Cepheid variable stars were later fundamental to Edwin Hubble’s work proving that the universe is expanding.

The talk was part of a week-long programme of Schools Roadshows, which are organised every year in the run-up to the university’s Science Festival.  Almost 40 local primary and secondary schools received Schools Roadshow visits this year.

“I take part in the Roadshow because one of the greatest challenges for a scientist is to make their work accessible to others,” Scott said. “Talks like these are a great opportunity to try this.

“Astronomy is also an extremely well-received topic at schools and one of the best ways to get people excited about science!”

Sue Long, Festivals and Outreach Officer for the University of Cambridge, said “The Schools Roadshows bring science alive for primary and secondary pupils and the students relish everything from Gurgling Guts, Weird and Wacky Wildlife and Sun, Moon, Stars – not to mention launching their own rockets! 

“For some of the groups these Roadshow sessions are enhancing what the pupils have already studied in class but for many it’s the introduction to new and exciting science themes and the opportunity to get involved in some hands-on activities.  

“We try hard to visit as many schools as possible and to offer a wide range of really interesting topics,” Sue added.

New research has found that displays at the end of supermarket aisles significantly increase purchases of the displayed alcohol – by 46% for spirits, 34% for wine and 23% for beer. The study also reveals that similar displays of carbonated drinks increase purchases by 52%.

Although it is likely that marketing research exists within the retail industry about the sales effects of end-of-aisle displays, until now there has been little scientific research on the extent of its influence on alcohol and carbonated drink purchases.

The study used data collected from a branch of a major supermarket chain in England. It was conducted by the Behaviour and Health Research Unit, a collaboration between the University of Cambridge, the University of East Anglia, and MRC Human Nutrition Research. The research is published today in the journal Social Sciences and Medicine.

The researchers used detailed information about store layout and product sales of three types of alcoholic drinks (beer, wine and spirits) and three non-alcoholic drinks (carbonated drinks, coffee and tea).

After controlling for price, price promotion and the number of display locations for each product, they found that displaying an item at the end of the aisle increased the sales of that item by 23.2% for beer, 33.6% for wine, and 46.1% for spirits. For non-alcoholic products, in the increase in sales was up 51.7% for carbonated drinks, 73.5% for coffee, and 113.8% for tea.

“Our study shows, for the first time, that these types of displays dramatically influence people’s decisions to purchase alcohol and carbonated drinks,” said lead author Dr Ryota Nakamura from the Behaviour and Health Research Unit and the University of East Anglia. “Prohibiting or limiting this marketing tactic for less healthy options, or utilising this for healthier ones, holds the promising possibility of encouraging healthier lifestyle choices.”

Not surprisingly, a lower price was also associated with increased sales for all of the products, with the biggest impact on alcohol. For every 1% decrease in the price (per volume), there was approximately a 5% increase in sales volume – 5.6% for beer, 5.2% for wine and 5% for spirits. Lower prices had less of an impact on sales of non-alcoholic beverages:  a 1% decrease in price was associated with a 2.3% increase for carbonated drinks, 2% for coffee, and 1.8% for tea.

Professor Theresa Marteau, Director of the Behaviour and Health Research Unit at the University of Cambridge and co-author of the study, said: “Although we often assume price is the biggest factor in purchase choices,  end-of-aisle displays may play a far greater role. It would therefore make sense that any intervention to curb the consumption of alcohol and sugar-sweetened drinks takes this into consideration.”

We talk about being ‘on automatic’ when we’re describing carrying out a familiar series of actions without being aware of what we’re doing.

Now researchers have for the first time found evidence that a dedicated information highway or ‘visuomotor binding’ mechanism connects what we see with what we do. This mechanism helps us to coordinate our movements in order to carry out all kinds of tasks from dunking a biscuit in your coffee, while maintaining eye contact with someone else, to playing basketball on a crowded court.

The UCL-led research (published yesterday in the journal Current Biology) was a collaboration between Dr Alexandra Reichenbach, of the UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, and Dr David Franklin, of the Computational and Biological Learning Lab at Cambridge’s Department of Engineering.

Their research suggests that a specialised mechanism for spatial self-awareness links visual cues with body motion. The finding could help us understand the feeling of disconnection reported by schizophrenia patients and could also explain why people with even the most advanced prosthetic limbs find it hard to coordinate their movements.

Standard visual processing relies on us being able to ignore distractions and pay attention to objects of interest while filtering out others. “The study shows that our brains also have separate hard-wired systems to track our own bodies visually even when we are not paying attention to them,” explained Franklin. “This allows visual attention to focus on objects in the world around us rather than on our own movements.”

The newly-discovered mechanism was identified when three experiments were carried out on 52 healthy adults. In all three experiments, participants used robotic interfaces to control cursors on two-dimensional displays, where cursor motion was directly linked to hand movement. They were asked to keep their eyes fixed on the centre of the screen, a requirement checked by eye tracking. “The robotic virtual reality system allowed us to instantaneously manipulate visual feedback independently of the physical movement of the body,” said Franklin.

In the first experiment, participants controlled two separate cursors – equally close to the centre of the screen – with their right and left hands. Their goal was to guide each cursor to a corresponding target at the top of the screen. Occasionally the cursor or target on each side would jump left or right, requiring participants to take corrective action. Each jump was ‘cued’ by a flash on one side, but this was random and did not always correspond to the side about to change.

Not surprisingly, people reached faster to cursor jumps when their attention was drawn to the ‘correct’ side by the cue. However, reactions to jumps were fast regardless of cuing, suggesting that a separate mechanism independent of attention is responsible for tracking our movements.

“The first experiment showed us that we react very quickly to changes relating to objects directly under our own control, even when we are not paying attention to them,” explained Reichenbach. “This provides strong evidence for a dedicated neural pathway linking motor control to visual information, independently of the standard visual systems that are dependent on attention.”

The second experiment was similar to the first but introduced changes in brightness to demonstrate the attention effect on the visual perception system. In the third experiment, participants were asked to guide one cursor to its target in the presence of up to four dummy targets or cursors, acting as ‘distractors’ alongside the real ones. In this experiment, responses to cursor jumps were less affected by distractors than responses to target jumps. Reactions to cursor jumps remained strong with one or two distractors but decreased significantly in the presence of four.

“These results provide further evidence of a dedicated visuomotor binding mechanism that is less prone to distractions than standard visual processing,” said Reichenbach. “It looks like the specialised system has a higher tolerance for distractions but in the end it is effected by them. Exactly why we evolved a separate mechanism remains to be seen but the need to react rapidly to different visual clues about ourselves and the environment may have enough to necessitate a separate pathway.”

For more information about this story contact Alexandra Buxton, Office of Communications, University of Cambridge, amb206@admin.cam.ac.uk, 01223 761673

People who live and work near a high number of takeaway food outlets tend to eat more takeaway food and are more likely to be obese than those less exposed, Cambridge researchers have found.

Published in the British Medical Journal, the study involved more than 5,000 adults in Cambridgeshire, and is the first to look at the combined impact of the home, work and commuting environments.

It found people were exposed to an average of 32 takeaway outlets, and that those most exposed to takeaway outlets were almost twice as likely to be obese compared with those who encountered the fewest takeaways.

Takeaway exposure was also strongly associated with a greater BMI and increased consumption of takeaway food. Those with the highest combined exposure to takeaway outlets consumed an extra 40g of calorific food a week (equivalent to half a small serving of French fries from a typical takeaway food outlet), and had a BMI on average 1.21kg/m² greater than those least exposed. The association was most pronounced for exposure near people’s place of work.

Although population studies like this cannot prove a causal link between environments and obesity, the researchers suggests that limiting the number of takeaway outlets people encounter on a daily basis could help cut consumption of unhealthy food and excess body weight.

According to lead author Dr Thomas Burgoine of the UKCRC Centre for Diet and Activity Research: “The foods we eat away from home tend to be less healthy than the meals we prepare ourselves, so it is important to consider how exposure to food outlets selling these high calorie foods in our day-to-day environments might be influencing consumption. Our study provides new evidence that there is some kind of relationship between the number of takeaway food outlets we encounter, our consumption of these foods, and how much we weigh.

“Of course this is likely to be just one of a number of factors that contribute to a person’s risk of developing obesity. However, our findings do suggest that taking steps to restrict takeaway outlets in our towns and cities, particularly around workplaces, may be one way of positively influencing our diet and health.”

Over the past decade, consumption of food outside the home has increased by almost a third, with takeaway food outlets proliferating, and scientists believe this changing UK foodscape may be contributing to rising levels of obesity. 

Some local authorities have begun to place restrictions on takeaway outlets, such as exclusion zones around schools and limits on how many hot food takeaways can operate along a high street, in a bid to curb obesity levels. The results of this study suggest that such policies might be effective.

Results from previous studies into the impact of takeaways on obesity have been inconsistent, but most of them focused solely on the residential environment. This study of 5,442 individuals in Cambridgeshire – which accounted for differences between the participants, for example in age, sex, household income, smoking and levels of physical activity – is the first to look at access to takeaway foods at home, work and journeys in between.

The exploration of the Middle East and Gulf region will range from the importance of the Indian Ocean as a medieval trade route, via European Union relations with Gulf states, to the significance of modern social media in the Arab Awakening.

Director Professor Yasir Suleiman is leading a team of 13 academics and PhD students from Cambridge and Bosnia-Herzegovina to Doha for the latest of the Centre‘s ‘Cambridge in…’ series. Sharjah, Morocco and China have all been visited in previous years.

Dr Roxane Farmanfarmaian (Department of Politics and International Studies) will examine Tunisia’s changing media and political landscape, focussing particularly on the post-revolution use of social media by young people and its impact on constitution-building, party politics, and policy construction.

The notion that the ancient and early medieval Indian Ocean  was effectively the ‘silk road of the sea’ will be examined by David Abulafia, drawing on both new archaeological evidence and reinterpreted classical sources such as the Periplous of the Erythraean Sea, describing the routes linking Roman Egypt to India.  These channels served not only as means by which goods were traded, but also as important cultural networks, and their study is helping our understanding of the economic role of both the Gulf and the Red Sea in antiquity and the Middle Ages.

Although slave trading in the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea had a long history, and continued for many decades after abolition in Britain, there appears to be little awareness about its extent amongst Arab societies today. Despite the lack of contemporary written material, Stuart Laing (Master of Corpus Christi College) will attempt to piece together the stories of Arab slave traders and owners.
EU foreign and security policies have been sorely tested over the past decade, particularly given the shifting nature of America interests, with the result that Europe appears to have little strategic idea about what its policies towards the Gulf should be. Geoffrey Edwards will make his way through the paradoxes and nuances of Euro-Gulf relations, exploring differing models of integration and cooperation.

Professor Suleiman said: “The symposium is a unique opportunity to establish new connections between universities in Qatar and Cambridge aiming at fostering joint research projects and academic exchanges at various levels.”

Mind over matter showcases 12 of Britain’s oldest brain donors who agreed to be photographed and interviewed. Presented by artist Ania Dabrowska and Professor Bronwyn Parry, King’s College London, the event also includes a panel discussion chaired by Carol Brayne, Professor of Public Health Medicine in the Department of Public Health and Primary Care at the University of Cambridge.

Speaking about her involvement in this event, artist Ania Dabrowska said: “The Mind over matter project came out of my longstanding artistic interest in questions of memory, Professor Bronwyn Parry's research on brain banks and body organ donation, and our mutual desire to create work that not only demystifies what happens behind the doors of brain banks to the audiences but also celebrates the role that brain donors play in the search for the cure for dementia. 

“The project, funded by Wellcome Trust People Award, proved to be ground-breaking because of the ethical issues it raises about creating art work about people who might be affected by dementia, access to brain banks and unveiling of brain donors' identity, something that was apparently unprecedented.  It offered me as an artist rare access to private lives and archives of the donors we worked with as well as an opportunity to learn about the incredible research that goes on in brain banks around the world. 

“I believe that the relationship between art and science can be beneficial for both disciplines and for the public, but it is a challenging one as they are routed in disparate traditions, come with sets of conflicting expectations and are governed by different rules of conduct. 

“Thanks to the trust between Professor Parry, the donors, their families and myself, our collaborators at Cambridge University Hospital’s Brain Bank and Wellcome Trust support, we succeeded in overcoming these challenges, producing a book and a multi-sensory exhibition that gave due space to both of these worlds in an emotionally charged, curatorially experimental, intellectually challenging and scientifically accurate outputs.  All of this was only possible because of the willingness of all parties to cross the boundaries of their usual practice and our shared belief in the importance of bringing the subject of dementia to the forefront of public awareness.”

A further event covering the subject of dementia will be held on Sunday 23 March. Dementia: what's needed now? will investigate the state of research into dementia and the commitment of G8 countries to trying to find a cure by 2025. This will be discussed by leading dementia researcher, Professor Carol Brayne with the agency responsible for dementia policy in the UK, Public Health England.

Professor Brayne said: “Dementia continues to hit the press almost if not every day. It is one of the major topics of our time and has attracted policy makers’ attention round the world. The announcement of a Dementia Envoy for the recent G8 is a completely new development to assist the international efforts to meet the aspirations set up at this highly successful international forum in December last year. These two events, focused on this topic, cover very different angles of science. The first is an arts and science collaboration to celebrate brain donation, which was built upon long standing studies in Cambridge and participants and their families. The second will be a reflection on the G8, its outcomes and the way in which our institutional structures are responding to policy developments and how science informs this process.”

The event, Become a Dementia Friend, which is also on Sunday 23 March, will highlight the need for a helping hand for those suffering with dementia to go about their daily lives and feel included in their local community. Dementia Friends gives people an idea of the small things they can do to make a difference to people living with dementia.

Lucy Lloyd from the Institute of Public Health, University of Cambridge, said: “670,000 people across England are living with dementia. Many people (one in four) with dementia say that shopping and going out can be very stressful and many have given up since being diagnosed.  Drop in to one of our Become a Dementia Friend information sessions to learn how to offer a helping hand. By becoming a Dementia Friend you will be able to support people in your community, help shift misconceptions, and help make your local area a more dementia aware community.”

For more information about the Cambridge Science Festival or to book tickets for any of these events, please visit: www.cam.ac.uk/science-festival

Further news stories about the Cambridge Science Festival can be viewed here:  www.cam.ac.uk/science-festival/news

To see a range of Q&As with key speakers, please visit: www.cam.ac.uk/science-festival/speaker-spotlights

You can also follow us on:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/Cambridgesciencefestival Twitter: https://twitter.com/camscience

To download the Festival app, please visit: www.cam.ac.uk/csf/app

On Sunday 23 March, the event, From EPIC Patterns to better health, will reveal how looking at patterns in the population allows us to understand the links between diet, lifestyle and health. Visitors to this event will be able to see patterns in the Science Festival 2014 population, explore balanced diets, and experience for themselves the eye conditions being studied in the EPIC project in the Department of Public Health and Primary Care.

The European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) was designed to investigate the relationships between diet, nutritional status, lifestyle and environmental factors and the incidence of cancer and other chronic diseases. EPIC is a large study of diet and health having recruited over half a million (520,000) people in 10 European countries: Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, The Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

Stephanie Moore, Senior Research Assistant on the EPIC Study, said: “You might not believe you have ever thought about epidemiology before, but there are often health stories in the newspapers and you have probably asked yourself questions like: What effects if any do our diets have on health? How can we find health patterns in the population? What do they mean? What keeps people fit and healthy as they get older? How much difference does eating my five a day make? Is my body shape linked to staying well? The EPIC study looks at all these things and many more.

“For 20 years we have been asking people about their lifestyle and diet, making measurements and recording disease if people get ill and over 25,000 people have come to see us and filled in questionnaires, most of them more than once. Our participants have contributed to over 400 research publications.”

Professor Kay-Tee Khaw, one of EPIC’s Principal Investigators will also be presenting an interactive talk on a publication that hit the news, Healthy for longer: guess how and guess who? on Wednesday 19th March. Visitors will be able to join colleagues from the Department of Public Health and Primary Care for a life-size game of guess who? to understand epidemiological concepts and how, by discovering patterns in populations, we can advise the people on how to stay healthy for longer.

An event on Thursday 20 March – Why we know very little about the effect of diet on health, And why so much is written about it– will see David Colquhoun, Professor of Pharmolocology and author of the award-winning Improbable Science Blog (http://www.dcscience.net/) debunk some of the many myths involving diet and ill health, with which we are endlessly bombarded.

Speaking about the topic of his talk, Professor Colquhoun said: “We are perpetually bombarded with advice about what to eat, and quite often each new report contradicts earlier ones.  It follows that some of the advice is wrong.  The main reason for this sad state of affairs is that it’s hard to allocate people at random to eat one diet or another.  We have to rely on observing what people eat and how they die.  Since healthy and wealthy people tend to eat differently from poor unhealthy people, it’s impossible to tell what’s a consequence of wealth and what’s a consequence of diet.  That’s why ‘Almost every single nutrient imaginable has peer reviewed publications associating it with almost any outcome’.  In fact, no single food has a dramatic effect, good or bad, on health.  About all one can say is don’t eat too much and don’t eat all the same thing. But there isn’t much money in such simple advice.”

Other talks and exhibitions related to fitness, health and metabolism include:

• Sunday 23 March, Fascinating fat. Have you ever wondered what fat does? We all know that if we eat too much we get fat, but having too little fat is just as unhealthy as having too much. Join the University of Cambridge Metabolic Research Laboratories and MRC Metabolic Diseases Unit in hands-on activities and games that show you some fascinating facts about fat and why it is so important for everyday life.

For more information about the Cambridge Science Festival or to book tickets for any of these events, please visit: www.cam.ac.uk/science-festival

Further news stories about the Cambridge Science Festival can be viewed here:  www.cam.ac.uk/science-festival/news

To see a range of Q&As with key speakers, please visit: www.cam.ac.uk/science-festival/speaker-spotlights

You can also follow us on:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/Cambridgesciencefestival Twitter: https://twitter.com/camscience

To download the Festival app, please visit: www.cam.ac.uk/csf/app

Ends

About Cambridge Science Festival

Now in its 20^th year, the Cambridge Science Festival gives the public the opportunity to explore Cambridge science. Thanks to the support of the University, our sponsors and partners, most of the events are free.

The Science Festival aims to provide the public with opportunities to explore and discuss issues of scientific interest and concern and to raise aspirations and career awareness in the areas of science, technology, engineering or mathematics.

Patrons of the Science Festival are: Professor Simon Baron-Cohen, Professor John Barrow, Dr Claire Cockcroft, Dr Henry Gee, Lord Rees of Ludlow, Professor Malcolm Longair, Mr Tim Radford, Professor Barbara Sahakian, Professor Jeremy Sanders, Dr Andrew Sugden, Ms Carol Vorderman, Professor Jim Secord, Mr Ian Harvey, Professor Andrea Brand, Professor Ron Laskey, Professor Bill Sutherland, Professor John Naughton, Professor Alan Barrell.

The Cambridge Science Festival is sponsored by Cambridge University Press, the Medical Research Council, Anglia Ruskin University, AstraZeneca, MedImmune, Royal Society of Chemistry, AAAS Science International Inc., TTP Group plc., BlueBridgeEducation, Linguamatics, Abcam plc., RAND Europe, Society of Biology, The Babraham Institute, British Association for Psychopharmacology , the Pye Foundation, Walters Kundert Charitable Trust, and Cambridge City Council. Other Festival partners are Cambridge University Hospitals, the Cambridge Science Centre, Hills Road Sixth Form College and National Science and Engineering Week. The Festival's media partner is BBC Radio Cambridgeshire.

A new study raises questions about current guidelines which generally restrict the consumption of saturated fats and encourage consumption of polyunsaturated fats to prevent heart disease. The research was published today, 18 March, in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine.

An international research collaboration led by the University of Cambridge analysed existing cohort studies and randomised trials on coronary risk and fatty acid intake. They showed that current evidence does not support guidelines which restrict the consumption of saturated fats in order to prevent heart disease. The researchers also found insufficient support for guidelines which advocate the high consumption of polyunsaturated fats (such as omega 3 and omega 6) to reduce the risk of coronary disease.

Furthermore, when specific fatty acid subtypes (such as different types of omega 3) were examined, the effects of the fatty acids on cardiovascular risk varied even within the same broad ‘family’ – questioning the existing dietary guidelines that focus principally on the total amount of fat from saturated or unsaturated rather than the food sources of the fatty acid subtypes.

Gates Cambridge Scholar Dr Rajiv Chowdhury, the lead author of the research at the University of Cambridge, said: “These are interesting results that potentially stimulate new lines of scientific inquiry and encourage careful reappraisal of our current nutritional guidelines.

“Cardiovascular disease, in which the principal manifestation is coronary heart disease, remains the single leading cause of death and disability worldwide. In 2008, more than 17 million people died from a cardiovascular cause globally. With so many affected by this illness, it is critical to have appropriate prevention guidelines which are informed by the best available scientific evidence.”

For the meta-analysis, the researchers analysed data from 72 unique studies with over 600,000 participants from 18 nations. The investigators found that total saturated fatty acid, whether measured in the diet or in the bloodstream as a biomarker, was not associated with coronary disease risk in the observational studies. Similarly, when analysing the studies that involved assessments of the consumption of total monounsaturated fatty acids, long-chain omega-3 and omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids, there were no significant associations between consumption and cardiovascular risk.

Interestingly, the investigators found that different subtypes of circulating long-chain omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids had different associations with coronary risk, with some evidence that circulating levels of eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acids (two main types of long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids), and arachidonic acid (an omega-6 fat) are each associated with lower coronary risk.

Similarly, within saturated fatty acid, the researchers found weak positive associations  between circulating palmitic and stearic acids (found largely in palm oil and animal fats, respectively) and cardiovascular disease, whereas circulating margaric acid (a dairy fat)  significantly reduced the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Additionally, when the authors investigated the effects of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acid supplementations on reducing coronary disease in the randomised controlled trials, they did not find any significant effects – indicating a lack of benefit from these nutrients.

Professor Jeremy Pearson, Associate Medical Director at the British Heart Foundation, which helped fund the study, said: “This analysis of existing data suggests there isn’t enough evidence to say that a diet rich in polyunsaturated fats but low in saturated fats reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease. But large scale clinical studies are needed, as these researchers recommend, before making a conclusive judgement.

“Alongside taking any necessary medication, the best way to stay heart healthy is to stop smoking, stay active, and ensure our whole diet is healthy – and this means considering not only the fats in our diet but also our intake of salt, sugar and fruit and vegetables.”

The study, part-funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC) and published online in PNAS, challenges the idea that suppressed memories remain fully preserved in the brain’s unconscious, allowing them to be inadvertently expressed in someone’s behaviour. The results of the study suggest instead that the act of suppressing intrusive memories helps to disrupt traces of the memories in the parts of the brain responsible for sensory processing.

The team at the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit and the University of Cambridge’s Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute (BCNI) have examined how suppression affects a memory’s unconscious influences in an experiment that focused on suppression of visual memories, as intrusive unwanted memories are often visual in nature.  

After a trauma, most people report intrusive memories or images, and people will often try to push these intrusions from their mind, as a way to cope. Importantly, the frequency of intrusive memories decreases over time for most people.  It is critical to understand how the healthy brain reduces these intrusions and prevents unwanted images from entering consciousness, so that researchers can better understand how these mechanisms may go awry in conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder.

Participants were asked to learn a set of word-picture pairs so that, when presented with the word as a reminder, an image of the object would spring to mind. After learning these pairs, brain activity was recorded using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while participants either thought of the object image when given its reminder word, or instead tried to stop the memory of the picture from entering their mind.

The researchers studied whether suppressing visual memories had altered people’s ability to see the content of those memories when they re-encountered it again in their visual worlds.   Without asking participants to consciously remember, they simply asked people to identify very briefly displayed objects that were made difficult to see by visual distortion.  In general, under these conditions, people are better at identifying objects they have seen recently, even if they do not remember seeing the object before—an unconscious influence of memory.  Strikingly, they found that suppressing visual memories made it harder for people to later see the suppressed object compared to other recently seen objects.  

Brain imaging showed that people’s difficulty seeing the suppressed object arose because suppressing the memory from conscious awareness in the earlier memory suppression phase had inhibited activity in visual areas of the brain, disrupting visual memories that usually help people to see better.  In essence, suppressing something from the mind’s eye had made it harder to see in the world, because visual memories and seeing rely on the same brain areas: out of mind, out of sight.

Over the last decade, research has shown that suppressing unwanted memories reduces people’s ability to consciously remember the experiences. The researchers’ studies on memory suppression have been inspired, in part, by trying to understand how people adapt memory after psychological trauma. Although this may work as a coping mechanism to help people adapt to the trauma, there is the possibility that if the memory traces were able to exert an influence on unconscious behaviour, they could potentially exacerbate mental health problems. The idea that suppression leaves unconscious memories that undermine mental health has been influential for over a century, beginning with Sigmund Freud.

These findings challenge the assumption that, even when supressed, a memory remains fully intact, which can then be expressed unconsciously. Moreover, this discovery pinpoints the neurobiological mechanisms underlying how this suppression process happens, and could inform further research on uncontrolled ‘intrusive memories’, a classic characteristic of post-traumatic stress disorder.

Dr Michael Anderson, at the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit said: “While there has been a lot of research looking at how suppression affects conscious memory, few studies have examined the influence this process might have on unconscious expressions of memory in behaviour and thought.  Surprisingly, the effects of suppression are not limited to conscious memory.  Indeed, it is now clear, that the influence of suppression extends beyond areas of the brain associated with conscious memory, affecting perceptual traces that can influence us unconsciously.  This may contribute to making unwanted visual memories less intrusive over time, and perhaps less vivid and detailed.”  

Dr Pierre Gagnepain, lead author at INSERM in France said: “Our memories can be slippery and hard to pin down. Out of hand and uncontrolled, their remembrance can haunt us and cause psychological troubles, as we see in PTSD. We were interested whether the brain can genuinely suppress memories in healthy participants, even at the most unconscious level, and how it might achieve this. The answer is that it can, though not all people were equally good at this. The better understanding of the neural mechanisms underlying this process arising from this study may help to better explain differences in how well people adapt to intrusive memories after a trauma”

The University of Cambridge has received a £1.75 million Research Programme Grant from the Leverhulme Trust on the theme of Natural Material Innovation.

The funding of £1.75 million over the next five years will enable exploration and development of the potential for natural materials in the built environment.

A fundamental premise of the work is that natural materials are an essential component of a sustainable future, but that unmodified, such materials are not up to the task. 

Led by the Department of Architecture the research will involve unique collaborations with the University’s Department of Biochemistry, Department of Plant Sciences, Departments of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics (DAMTP) and Department of Chemistry.

Michael Ramage, a Senior University Lecturer in the Department of Architecture who will lead the research, said: “Our vision is to establish new sustainable applications for renewable, flexible, energy-efficient and plant-based natural materials in the built environment, in order to improve building quality and mitigate the human impact on climate change, while bringing research innovation directly to practice for the benefit of the natural environment.”

The co-investigators are Paul Dupree (Biochemistry), Paul Linden (DAMTP), Beatrix Schlarb-Ridley (Plant Sciences) and Oren Scherman (Chemistry). 

Mr Ramage added: “What makes this interesting is that Paul Dupree and I, for instance, have knowledge about a given plant such as willow but both approach it from such different positions.
“The departments involved in this rarely work together and that is what makes this project unique.”

Researchers aim to redesign natural materials to carry out different functions that will lead to completely new, innovative solutions, and will change the way we construct cities and civil infrastructure. 
This starts at the molecular level and continues through to engineered solutions that provide new approaches to sustainable living.

By bringing together people and research in biochemistry, chemistry, fluid dynamics, engineering and architecture in a ground-breaking manner, researchers hope to fundamentally transform the way we build, with positive impact on the built and natural environments.

The proposed work fuses research in biochemistry and polymer chemistry at the molecular scale with applied research, modelling and testing of structural and environmental materials at the scale of buildings.

A significant goal will be to ensure new materials are less energy intensive and more sustainable than those they replace.

Image information: New Studio, Department of Architecture. Credit: University of Cambridge.

A recently-developed mobile phone application could make monitoring conditions such as diabetes, kidney disease, and urinary tract infections much clearer and easier for both patients and doctors, and could eventually be used to slow or limit the spread of pandemics in the developing world.

The app, developed by researchers at the University of Cambridge, accurately measures colour-based, or colorimetric, tests for use in home, clinical or remote settings, and enables the transmission of medical data from patients directly to health professionals.

Decentralisation of healthcare through low-cost and highly portable point-of-care diagnostics has the potential to revolutionise current limitations in patient screening. However, diagnosis can be hindered by inadequate infrastructure and shortages in skilled healthcare workers, particularly in the developing world. Overcoming such challenges by developing accessible diagnostics could reduce the burden of disease on health care workers.

Due to their portability, compact size and ease of use, colorimetric tests are widely used for medical monitoring, drug testing and environmental analysis in a range of different settings throughout the world. The tests, typically in the form of small strips, work by producing colour change in a solution: the intensity of the colour which is produced determines the concentration of that solution.

Especially when used in a home or remote setting however, these tests can be difficult to read accurately. False readings are very common, which can result in erroneous diagnosis or treatment. Specialised laboratory equipment such as spectrophotometers or test-specific readers can be used to automate the readouts with high sensitivity, however these are costly and bulky.

The new app, Colorimetrix, makes accurate reading of colorimetric tests much easier, using nothing more than a mobile phone. The app uses the phone’s camera and an algorithm to convert data from colorimetric tests into a numerical concentration value on the phone’s screen within a few seconds.

After testing urine, saliva or other bodily fluid with a colorimetric test, the user simply takes a picture of the test with their phone’s camera. The app analyses the colours of the test, compares them with a pre-recorded calibration, and displays a numerical result on the phone’s screen. The result can then be stored, sent to a healthcare professional, or directly analysed by the phone for diagnosis.

The app can be used in home, clinical, or resource-limited settings, and is available for both Android and iOS operating systems. It has been shown to accurately report glucose, protein and pH concentrations from commercially-available urine test strips without requiring any external hardware, the first time that a mobile phone app has been used in this way in a laboratory setting. Details were recently published in the journal Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical.

Beyond laboratory applications, the app could also be used by patients to monitor chronic conditions such as diabetes, or as a public health tool, by enabling the transmission of medical data to health professionals in real time.

“This app has the potential to help in the fight against HIV, tuberculosis and malaria in the developing world, bringing the concept of mobile healthcare to reality,” said Ali Yetisen, a PhD student in the Department of Chemical Engineering & Biotechnology, who led the research. “By quickly getting medical data from the field to doctors or centralised laboratories, it may help slow or limit the spread of pandemics.”

In addition to medical applications, the researchers are planning to publicly release the app so that it can be used for other colorimetric tests such as laboratory kits, veterinary diagnostics and environmental screening tools.

“This app can substitute for laboratory equipment, saving money to clinics and research institutions,” said Dr Leo Martinez, who developed the app.

The team is planning to use the app for clinical testing of kidney function and infections in clinical testing at Addenbrooke’s Hospital.

The app is the result of a collaboration between researchers from the Department of Chemical Engineering & Biotechnology, and the Department of Engineering.

The app is currently available for research purposes via the website: www.colorimetrix.com.

For more information on this story, contact Sarah Collins: sarah.collins@admin.cam.ac.uk. 

A mummified corpse. An embalmed head. A neat bullet hole in the side of a skull. These are just some of the 78 disturbing illustrations which make up Samuel George Morton’s Crania Americana, undoubtedly the most important work in the history of scientific racism.

Published in Philadelphia in 1839, Morton divided mankind into five races before linking the character of each race to skull configuration. In a claim typical of the developing racial sciences, Morton wrote of Native Americans that “the structure of his mind appears to be different from that of the white man”.

Within a few years Crania Americana had been read in Britain, France, Germany, Russia and India. James Cowles Prichard, the founding father of British anthropology, described it as “exemplary” whilst Charles Darwin considered Morton an “authority” on the subject of race. Later in the nineteenth century, other European scholars produced imitations with titles including Crania Britannica and Crania Germanica.

James Poskett, from the Department of History and Philosophy of Science, is working to uncover how Crania Americana became so influential, not only in the United States, but in Europe and beyond. He has also curated a new exhibition for readers at the Whipple Library charting this history. The showpiece is undoubtedly a copy of Crania Americana itself. The book is extremely rare. Only 500 copies were ever printed with no more than 60 being sent outside of the United States.

“This research is crucial for understanding how racist theories gain credibility,” said Poskett. “Particularly in the early nineteenth century, European scholars tended to treat American science with suspicion. Morton had to work hard to convince his peers across the Atlantic that Crania Americana should be taken seriously.”

The illustrations, now on display at the Whipple Library helped Morton establish his reputation in Europe. Reviewers in Britain were astounded by the eerie, life-like quality of the skulls. To create such an effect, Morton’s artist, John Collins, used a new technique called lithography. He first drew each image onto a limestone block in wax before fixing, inking and printing. The limestone allowed Collins to create fine-grained textures, reproducing the subtle contours of each skull in Morton’s collection.

Previously, such impressive images could only be found in European scientific metropolises such as Paris and Edinburgh. “Crania Americana was the first example of American scientific lithography to gain widespread acclaim in Europe,” said Poskett. “The textured effect also allowed men like Prichard to make the perverse claim that Native American skulls were actually of a different consistency to Europeans.”

The Whipple Library exhibition also features a series of recently-discovered loose plates, printed to promote Crania Americana in Britain. “These images are unique,” added Poskett. “I was amazed when I discovered them, just tucked into the back of the book.”

Morton sent early copies of his illustrations to men of science in Europe. This allowed him to garner support prior to the arrival of the finished volume. Prichard himself first displayed Morton’s cranial illustrations to a European audience in Birmingham in 1839. Darwin was there in the crowd. “I had read about Prichard’s use of these plates in letters, but never imagined I would find copies,” said Poskett. By putting these images on display for the first time, visitors can get a sense of how European scholars must have felt on initially seeing Morton’s work.

Whilst men like Prichard and Darwin found it easy to access Crania Americana, not everyone was so fortunate. The book was expensive, costing Morton $2175 to print. That’s at least $50,000 in today’s money. And to buy a copy, you’d need $20, equivalent to about two months’ wages for an average farm labourer. Particularly in Europe, where import duties inflated the price even further, Crania Americana could only be found in the most prestigious institutions. The Royal Society owned a copy, whereas the London Mechanics’ Institute did not.

Despite these limits to access, Morton’s ideas and images did penetrate beyond the scientific elite with working-class readers certainly aware of Morton and his skulls according to Poskett. In Britain, phrenologists such as George Combe promoted Crania Americana in cheap periodicals, some of which were available for just a couple of pence. A full page notice of the work appeared in Chambers’ Edinburgh Journal in 1840, a magazine with a circulation of at least 60,000 at the time. Copies of Morton’s illustrations were also reproduced in cheap formats. The Phrenological Journal in Edinburgh, on display at the Whipple Library, features small woodcut copies of “Ancient Peruvian” skulls from Crania Americana.

Women too were excluded from most of the libraries in which Morton’s work was held. Still, periodicals aimed at female readers once again ensured his ideas reached a wider audience. In 1840 the Ladies’ Repository, a magazine for Methodist women in Ohio, quoted Morton in an article entitled “Man”. The author described Native Americans as “adverse to cultivation, and slow in acquiring knowledge.” For white settlers living to the west, this was exactly what they wanted to hear. Crania Americana was published just as the remaining Shawnee peoples of Ohio were forcibly relocated west of the Mississippi River.

“The idea that Native Americans could not integrate into modern industrial society was central to both Morton’s argument and Andrew Jackson’s policy of Indian Removal,” said Poskett.

People often associate Crania Americana with slavery. But, according to Poskett, this is a mistake. It wasn’t until later in the century that southern slave owners really started to take up Morton’s ideas in earnest. And in Europe, the majority of readers were abolitionists. The phrenologist Combe was an antislavery man, as was Prichard. It was an odd logic: according to these men, if non-European races were inferior, that meant they deserved protection, not enslavement.

“Anti-slavery and scientific racism were not mutually exclusive in the nineteenth century,” explained Poskett. In Quentin Tarantino’s recent film, Django Unchained, it is the slave owner played by Leonardo DiCaprio who takes up phrenology. In real life it was just as likely to be an abolitionist.

“This research shows just how alert we must be to the variety of places in which racist theories can take hold,” added Poskett. “It can seem counterintuitive at first but, in the course of advocating for the freedom of African slaves, men like Prichard and Combe allowed scientific racism to flourish. The Crania Americana exhibition at the Whipple is a stark reminder of this unsettling history.”

In a report to the Council for Science and Technology, which advises the Prime Minister on science policy, the scientists warn that unless GM crops are regulated at national, rather than at EU level, European agriculture could suffer because it will be unable to adopt GM crops.

The new regulatory system should be modelled on the way pharmaceuticals are licensed in the UK, says the report, which was written by scientists at the universities of Cambridge and Reading, The Sainsbury Laboratory and Rothamsted Research.

According to lead author Professor Sir David Baulcombe of the Department of Plant Sciences at Cambridge: “Most concerns about GM crops have nothing to do with the technology, which is as safe as conventional breeding.

“They are more often related to the way that the technology is applied and whether it is beneficial for small scale farmers or for the environment. To address these concerns we need to have an evidence-based regulatory process that focuses on traits, independent of the technology that has been used to develop them.”

This is the approach used for regulating pharmaceuticals, regulators looking at the effects that new drugs have on patients, not at the technology used to develop them – which in many cases involves genetic modification.

The report recommends the European Food Safety Authority retains an advisory role on risk and safety, similar to the European Medicines Agency for pharmaceuticals, but that approval is made on a national basis, as by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence in the UK.

“As there is no evidence for intrinsic environmental or toxicity risks associated with GM crops, it is not appropriate to have a regulatory framework that is based on the premise that GM crops are more hazardous than crop varieties produced by conventional plant breeding,” it says.

Since GM crops were first developed 30 years ago, major advances in basic science have led to new methods for transferring genes into specific locations in a crop plant's genome.

To respond to today's challenges of population growth, climate change and environmental degradation, as well as the need to develop biofuels and other materials, the report argues plant breeders in the UK – which is a world leader in plant genomics – need GM technology and a well-functioning R&D pipeline for both GM and non-GM crop varieties.

GM crops were first grown commercially in the USA in 1994, and in Europe in 1998. They are now grown in 28 countries worldwide, with GM crops currently accounting for 12% of global arable acreage. Most of that acreage is soybean and cotton, and 81% of the global acreage of these crops is sown to GM varieties.

However, even though 70% of protein fed to livestock in the European Union is imported as GM crop products, less than 0.1% of the global acreage of GM crops is cultivated in Europe. This, the report argues, is because experimentation and commercial release of GM crops in the EU is subject to much more stringent regulation than conventionally bred plants, with a slow and inefficient approval process.

As a result, multinational companies such as BASF and Monsanto have abandoned research to develop GM crops in Europe, and there has been a significant reduction in experimental field trials in the UK, with only one in 2012, compared with 37 in 1995.

To ensure a well-functioning research and development pipeline that can translate genomic research from the laboratory to the market place, the report also recommends establishing a new R&D capacity – PubGM.

PubGM would allow preliminary evaluation of the practical application of academic research findings to crops, including field testing new GM crops either in partnership with companies or so that the public sector could validate traits before engaging in partnerships with the private sector.

Cambridge students from Sunderland, Newcastle, Durham, Ponteland, and Middlesbrough will visit over 30 state secondary schools and colleges between now and the end of March., talking to students, their parents and their teachers.

This year’s tour has been extended to a fortnight to give even more local schools the opportunity of a visit from the Jesus team. 

Aiden Goulden is one of the local undergraduates returning to encourage others to consider Cambridge. He took his A Levels at Sunderland’s St Aidan’s RC Sixth Form and is now studying Chemical Engineering at Jesus College.

“The College visiting my school was a strong initiative in persuading me to apply to Cambridge,” Aiden said. “I’m now JCR Access Officer, which means I work to pass on my own experience to potential undergraduates.  I know from personal experience just how important it is to encourage others.”

Brendan Shepherd, Schools Liaison Officer at Jesus College and the tour organiser, explains:  “I’m from Tyne and Wear myself and know how useful visits like these can be. I wouldn’t have applied to Cambridge without encouragement from my teachers and from Cambridge outreach teams.

“I’m particularly thrilled that we have been able to extend the Schools Tour this year to a full fortnight.”

Tim Allen, Head of Y12 at St Wilfrid’s School, South Shields, welcomed the students, saying: “As a school we are looking forward to the visit of the Jesus College Access team. Building a stronger relationship with Jesus College Cambridge helps us meet our goals of promoting academic excellence and raising aspirations.”

Dr Rutter, Admissions Tutor for Sciences at Jesus College, said “Jesus College is committed to encouraging students from all backgrounds to aspire to higher education and we are delighted that so many schools are able to participate in our expanded ‘Schools Tour’ this year.

“We hope that the young people of Tyne & Wear who meet our undergraduate students and Schools Liaison Officer during this tour will enjoy the opportunity to find out about the University of Cambridge and what it is really like to be a student here, and that they will feel more confident about applying.”

The Jesus team will be taking a day out of their schedule to help out at the 2014 Oxford and Cambridge Student Conference, being held on 19th March at St James’s Park. 

At this free one-day Conference, staff and students from both universities will explain their application and admissions procedures, offer up-to-date information about courses, provide an insight into student life, and be available to talk informally to participants about any aspect of life at university, or beyond.

The St James' Park conference is one of eight taking place throughout the UK. By the end of the month over 10,000 pupils and teachers will have been able to attend a conference in their home region and have their questions about studying at Oxford or Cambridge answered.

Dr Jennifer Barnes, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for International Strategy and formerly President of Murray Edwards College was invited to speak by Council Chairman Professor Peter Oleson.

A fellow speaker was the newly appointed Danish Minister of Higher Education and Science, Sofie Carsten Nielsen.

Dr Barnes praised  the developing Danish model of international multi-disciplinary collaborative research,  which has led to an increase in projects from 15% in 2007 to 82% in 2014.

She compared the model of the lone researcher driven by the need to discover with that of teams of individuals each bringing their own talents to the research challenge.

In Denmark cooperation is seen as a catalyst rather than a compromise, which is essential for successful international collaborations, balanced by the need to support the individuals as well as the teams.

The important role for research and academic links in international diplomacy was highlighted: “Historically, when formal relations between nations have ceased, academic exchanges and long-standing research collaborations have continued., “ she said. “Education, access to education and developing research are now part of significant international discussion.”

She challenged universities across the world to review their internal systems and to support new kinds of international engagement and cooperation and cited the increasing need for facilities and equipment too expensive for a single country which will increase the need for heightened diplomacy, as evidenced by the CERN and Square Kilometre Array projects.

The vision is to create a Museum that enchants its visitors and celebrates the amazing diversity of animal life, showcasing the wonders of the animal kingdom and emphasising the importance of conserving biodiversity for the future. From the long extinct Dodo to specimens that inspired Darwin’s theories, the Museum has a distinguished history, reflected in the historical and scientific richness of its collections.

This significant grant will enable the Museum to:

• create displays and new interpretation to engage people with the wonders of animal diversity;
• create new stores to ensure that the Museum’s internationally significant collections are cared for to the highest standards;
• expand the Museum’s learning programmes, reaching out to wider audiences and increasing online resources.

The University Museum of Zoology in Cambridge holds one of the greatest zoology collections in the world. It is designated as being of outstanding historical and scientific importance and forms a major part of one of the leading international research centres for the study of animal biology. Its four million specimens illustrate the diversity of animal life on Earth, tracing its evolution over the past 500 million years into the wonderful variety of life seen today. The collections include many treasures and unique specimens, including fine examples of the extinct Dodo, Great Auk, and Tasmanian Tiger, and many specimens collected by Charles Darwin and other great naturalists of the past.

Professor Michael Akam, Head of the Department of Zoology said: “We are hugely grateful to the HLF for supporting this exciting and far-reaching project which will benefit the collections and visitors alike."

Robyn Llewellyn, Head of Heritage Lottery Fund East of England said “We’re delighted to be supporting this project, and thanks to Lottery players’ money, we can all have the opportunity to discover the treasures of this Museum’s extraordinary collections.”

Professor Paul Brakefield, Director of the Museum of Zoology said: “The Museum is enthusiastically embracing this unique redevelopment opportunity to display the extraordinary richness of our collections in superb new spaces to the benefit of everyone. The creation of a new conservation campus in central Cambridge will mean that scientists and practitioners from across the University, working with NGOs, will be able to showcase the past, present and future of biodiversity on our planet”

The Museum is currently closed as work on the building, funded by Cambridge University, has already started and will create a Conservation Campus in partnership with the Cambridge Conservation Initiative (CCI). Building work will take approximately two years and the Museum plans to reopen in summer 2016.

The £1.8 million grant is in addition to an HLF Development Grant of £180,000, awarded in January 2013 and matched by the Museum, which permitted development of the plans. The total project is currently costed at £4.8 million and the Museum has already launched a major public fund-raising appeal for £3 million.

A form of crystal that was long considered an unwanted and unloved ‘stone’ in glass making could find practical use as a cheap and efficient optical diffuser, which are used to scatter and soften light for a range of industrial and household applications.

Devitrite is a form of crystal which is produced when commercial soda-lime-silica glass is heat treated for extended periods. As it degrades the performance of glass by making it opaque, it was considered a ‘trouble maker’ in early 20th century glass manufacture and, once identified, its functional properties were never studied. Improvements in commercial glass manufacturing have enabled it to be removed from the final product altogether.

However, researchers from the University of Cambridge have discovered that far from being fit for the bin, devitrite actually possesses many useful characteristics which could make it suitable for a range of practical applications.

Writing in the journal ACS Nano, the researchers found that the very optical characteristics which help to make devitrite unwanted in commercial glass can make it extremely useful as an inexpensive and efficient optical diffuser.

Devitrite grown in glass consists of needle-like crystals, formed into fan-like shapes. The tiny spacings between the needles are similar to that of the wavelength of visible light, so when light passes through the devitrite, it scatters the light at wide angles of up to 120 degrees. 

Optical diffusers are typically either mass produced by sandblasting glass, resulting in low cost devices which diffuse light in a relatively uniform manner, or more expensive engineered holographic diffusers, which can control the shape of the beam of light.

The devitrite-based diffusers developed by researchers from the Department of Engineering and the Department of Materials Science & Metallurgy diffuse light more broadly than the sandblasted devices, while giving some control over the shape of the beam, at lower cost than the engineered holographic devices.

Devitrite can be produced on a large scale, simply by treating ordinary window glass with heat. The devitrite crystals grow into the glass itself, making the diffusers robust and resistant to damage. In addition, the high melting point of the glass means that the diffusers can withstand temperatures in excess of 500°C.

These diffusers could be used in a range of practical applications, from medical laser treatments, to optical imaging, or even in everyday household use. For instance, the adoption of high-efficiency LED lighting has been slowed somewhat by the harsh light which LEDs produce. A reproducible, low-cost diffuser on an ordinary LED bulb would help address this issue, resulting in softer, warmer light.

“For years, the properties of this material were not studied because it was considered as just a trouble maker in the glass making process which needed to be eliminated,” says Dr Kevin Knowles of the Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy, who developed the diffusers with Dr Haider Butt, now of the University of Birmingham. “But by taking a closer look at it, we found that it could have a new lease of life with real practical applications.”

The inventors are currently developing the technology for commercial use with the assistance of Cambridge Enterprise, the University’s commercialisation arm.

For more information, contact Sarah Collins: sarah.collins@admin.cam.ac.uk. 

HE+ is a unique collaborative project developed by the University of Cambridge in partnership with groups of schools and colleges across the UK.

Its goal is to encourage and prepare more academically-able students to compete for places at top universities, including the University of Cambridge.

The Rotherham consortium, led by Thomas Rotherham College and linked to Homerton College at the University of Cambridge, was one of the first consortia to join the project.

Preston’s Cardinal Newman College, which is linked to Sidney Sussex College, is one of the newest consorita. The five members of the Preston consortium brought the total number of HE+ participants since its launch in 2009 to just over 5,000.

"We want students from Lancashire to feel confident to apply for any university, including highly selective ones, and any course,” said Dan Taylor, Preston HE+ co-ordinator.

“HE+ gives them the confidence to do that, through stretching and challenging activities among peers with a similar outlook. The involvement of Cambridge has been an absolute well of support and ideas," Dan added.

In an HE+ consortium, schools and colleges work together to offer their brightest students an on-going programme of extension classes and aspiration-raising visits, delivered in partnership with a Cambridge College.

HE+ consortia are now working in Belfast, Cumbria, Preston, Liverpool, Wigan, Manchester, Huddersfield, Rotherham, Hampshire, Herefordshire, Stourbridge and Swansea.

“I was a bit sceptical about Cambridge but today has definitely broken some stereotypes for me,” said Rotherham HE+ participant Edward O'Toole,  who was in Homerton College for a Maths masterclass. “The maths session was challenging but an insight into the skills you need at degree level. I liked the independence and the freedom to come up with your own way of tackling the problems.”

Matt Hallam, Associate Head of Sixth Form at Maltby Academy, where Edward is studying for his A Levels, says that the Rotherham HE+ consortium has given his students much greater confidence.

“HE+ helps raise the aspirations of our students and in turn supports them in realising their potential,” Matt said.

“One-off visits to Universities provide a great insight into life as an undergraduate, but impact can be limited. The sustained nature of the HE+ programme means that students develop the necessary higher order thinking skills and confidence to compete with top performing students nationally.

“The prospect of applying to Cambridge, or other top universities, steadily becomes more real as the programme develops.

“It is pleasing to see that many of our HE+ students successfully apply to and accept places at a number of selective universities,” Matt added.

Dr Richard Williams, Principal of Thomas Rotherham College and HE+ Co-Ordinator for the Rotherham Consortium, said:  “HE+ is a most valuable initiative. Students and teachers really benefit from coming together in the extension classes in Rotherham, from the day in Cambridge, including the masterclasses with leading academics, and from the visits to Rotherham by our link Cambridge college.”

“The HE+ programme provides academically talented students with a community for whom aiming high is the norm rather than the exception,” explains University of Cambridge HE+ co-ordinator Jess Bond.

“We know that HE+ works,” Jess added. “70% of participants in the 2011-12 HE+ programme were accepted to Russell Group universities, and four in ten of those who applied to Cambridge received offers.”