The UK Government Office for Science has launched a new Foresight Project to help inform the government’s long-term net zero strategy.
The report titled A net zero society – scenarios and pathways follows the COP26 summit in Glasgow where global leaders convened to outline coordinated action to tackle climate change.
The UK government has committed to achieve net zero by 2050 which is essential to keeping global temperature rises limited to 1.5C.
Societal norms, practices and behaviours will play a significant role in emissions reduction, but these are uncertain and likely to change in the future. This project will provide the evidence and tools to help understand how behaviours could impact net zero.
Patrick Vallance, the government Chief Scientific Adviser, said: “If we are to keep warming below 1.5C, changes within society will matter as much as big technological changes. Through this research, we can understand the impact of potential societal changes on our path to achieving net zero.“
This project, due to run until late 2022, will produce an expert evidence review and a set of future scenarios and their implications for the energy system and for different groups within society.
Science and Innovation Day at COP26 will see the announcement of new initiatives backed by global coalitions of nations, businesses and scientists. These will support the implementation of the goals announced during the World Leaders Summit and other country commitments announced during the first week of the conference.
Government Chief Scientific Adviser Sir Patrick Vallance will underline the critical role of science and innovation in enabling every country to access the tools it needs to immediately reduce emissions in line with Paris temperature targets, and to adapt to the effects of climate change that we are already seeing.
These initiatives include:
new commitments to accelerate innovation and low carbon transitions in industry and cities
new global Adaptation Research Alliance to increase the resilience of vulnerable communities on the frontline of climate change
independent experts to track progress against the Breakthrough Agenda announced by world leaders on 2 November, advising on action and collaboration
global scientific research community to produce annual climate risk assessment to ensure the dangers are fully understood by world leaders
Mission Innovation, a coalition of 23 governments (covering 95% of global public investment in clean technology, research and development) will announce 4 new ‘innovation missions’ in which countries will work together to accelerate the development of clean technologies for cities, industry, carbon dioxide removal, and the production of renewable fuels, chemicals, and materials.
Mission Innovation’s ‘innovation missions’ now cover sectors responsible for more than 50% of global emissions.
The Adaptation Research Alliance (ARA) – a global first – launches today. This network of over 90 organisations across 30 economies will see governments, research institutions and communities collaborate to increase the resilience of vulnerable communities on the frontline of climate change.
A new landmark programme putting the ARA’s work into practice is the Climate Adaptation and Resilience research programme (CLARE), jointly funded by the UK and Canada.
Today the UK announces a further £48 million towards CLARE, bringing the total UK aid funding to £100 million, alongside £10 million from Canada to support the development of actionable solutions in communities most vulnerable to climate change and extreme weather events. £40 million of the UK’s contribution will be focused on Africa, and in total the programme is set to benefit at least 5 million people around the world.
To support implementation of the Breakthrough Agenda announced by World Leaders on 2 November, a new ‘Global Checkpoint Process’ will seek to sustain and strengthen international cooperation in each of the emitting sectors.
Independent experts led by the International Energy Agency (IEA), together with the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the UN High Level Climate Action Champions will produce an annual report to track progress and advise on action. Informed by this advice, countries will discuss how they can work together to make faster progress.
A group of leading international scientific organisations will make a new commitment to improve the way we assess and communicate climate risk to inform the decisions of world leaders.
The coalition, including, amongst others, the World Meteorological Organisation and the World Climate Research Programme, will work to ensure that research and reports for policymakers set out clearly for world leaders the full scale of the dangers we will face if global temperature increase is not held below 1.5 degrees.
Other announcements on Science and Innovation Day include:
Under the Industrial Deep Decarbonisation Initiative (IDDI) the UK, India, Germany, Canada and UAE will work together to create new markets for low carbon steel and concrete. The IDDI launched today a campaign where member governments, including the UK, commit to the disclosure of embodied carbon of major public construction by no later than 2025, they also pledged to achieve net zero in major public construction steel and concrete by 2050, and to work towards an emission reduction for 2030 to be announced next year.
Building on the success of the Futures We Want collaboration, the UK COP26 Presidency, in partnership with Italy, is establishing a new global partnership to leverage the power of science and innovation to address key challenges blocking the path to a climate-resilient, net-zero future.
This new partnership will bring together countries from across the world to pool scientific expertise and develop new ways to bring citizen voices into policy making, by running a series of region-led projects to tackle specific net-zero challenges.
47 countries (including Malawi, Spain, Morocco and the US) have committed to building health systems which are able to withstand the impacts of climate change and which are low carbon and sustainable. These include 42 countries, representing over a third of global health care emissions, which have committed to develop a sustainable, low-carbon health system. 12 of these 42 countries have set a deadline of 2050 or earlier, by which their health system will reach Net Zero.
Patrick Vallance UK Chief Scientific Adviser said: “The facts are clear: we must limit warming to 1.5C. Thanks to science, that is feasible – the technologies are already available.
Investment in research and development will deliver new clean technologies, while policies to create markets will ensure they are deployed. At the same time, science will help us adapt to the impacts of climate change we’re already seeing around the world and transform our economies.
“Through research and innovation, we will adjust essential systems and ensure continued safety, security and prosperity.”
Patrick Child, Chair of Mission Innovation and Deputy Director-General for Research and Innovation at European Commission said: “Clean energy solutions must be cost-effective at scale and available everywhere if we are going to reach net zero.
“We must invest in innovation now to scale up these vital technologies and avoid a climate disaster. International collaboration sits at the heart of this, and Mission Innovation provides a vital platform for world governments to drive action and investment in the technologies which will save our planet.
Jesse De Maria Kinney, Head of Secretariat for Adaptation Research Alliance (ARA) said: “Climate adaptation requires evidence-based solutions that are tailored to local contexts.
“The formal launch of the ARA highlights a growing global movement supporting this approach among funders, researchers, policymakers and communities and our collective commitment to driving a paradigm shift in the adaptation community where solutions are co-produced, action oriented and lead to positive changes in people’s lives.
Anne-Marie Trevelyan, COP26 Champion on Adaptation and Resilience said: “Action-focused research is crucial to effective, inclusive and sustainable climate adaptation, particularly to protect the most vulnerable communities from the impacts of climate change.
“We will ensure women’s voices shape these conversations, and women’s leadership and expertise are championed to deliver gender-sensitive adaptation solutions. Both the Adaptation Research Alliance and the UK’s support for the Climate Adaptation and Resilience research programme will improve the effectiveness of adaptation, putting people at the heart of climate research to build the resilience of those living on the frontline of the climate crisis.”
Science Minister George Freeman, Science Minister said: “Real change to combat climate change cannot happen without new scientific ideas, innovation and research, and it is clear that no country or company acting in isolation can deliver the change that is needed at the pace that is needed.
“As an innovation nation, we want to lead the global effort to have every country, organisation and business contribute to this agenda by encouraging new ideas and products. That is why, for example, we have launched new commitments to enhance international innovation cooperation and ensure we meet our climate goals.
“The scale of the challenge we face is daunting, but there is room for optimism, and I look forward to working together to unleash a new wave of innovation to build a cleaner, better, and more prosperous world.”
The typewriter’s social and technological influence is revealed in this new exhibition and looks at its role in society, arts, and popular culture. It traces the effect and evolution of typewriters across more than 100 years, from weighty early machines to modern style icons.
The impact of the typewriter has been much wider than simply speeding up the way we write. It helped revolutionise the world of work and change the lives of working women in particular. Typewriters helped them launch their own businesses at a time when female employers were rare and became a vital weapon in the fight for the vote.
6 Aug 2021–9 Jan 2022 Exhibition Gallery 4, Level 1 Free entry
On the 250th anniversary of Sir Walter Scott’s birth, experience his novels through objects that inspired him. In this small exhibition we show how Scott drew upon real historical objects for inspiration, placing objects alongside Scott’s words, and the stories in which they feature. While you view these fascinating objects, you can listen to an actor reading extracts from these tales.
In association with Walter Scott 250: Celebrating 250 Years of Scotland’s Greatest Storyteller.
This small exhibition highlights the exciting work being carried out in Scotland to fight against climate change. It brings together just some of the technological responses that have been developed in Scotland or that are being used here in the effort to cut carbon dioxide emissions. On show are a range of leading-edge equipment, much of it newly collected, alongside samples of natural material.
Supported by players of People’s Postcode Lottery.
24 Sep 2021 – 9 Jan 2022 The Grand Gallery Free entry
The Extinction Bell is a work by Bristol-based artist Luke Jerram that aims to raise awareness of biodiversity loss. A fire engine bell from National Museums Scotland’s collection has been adapted to toll at random intervals 150-200 times per day. Each ring of the bell symbolises the extinction of a species, representing the number being lost every 24 hours (according to a 2007 report from the UN).
Supported by players of People’s Postcode Lottery.
East Fortune Airfield, B1347, North Berwick EH39 5LF Open 10:00-17:00 daily
LEGO® Concorde Model 28 Jun – 31 Oct 2021 10:00 – 17:00 Free with entry to the museum
Master builder Warren Elsmore and his team have created a LEGO® Big Build of Concorde. Six metres long and made of over 60,000 bricks, the model took five days to build and is now on display under the wings of the real Concorde at the National Museum of Flight.
Supported by players of People’s Postcode Lottery.
The Glenmorangie Annual Lecture: Rediscovering Viking-age Scotland with Michael Wood
26 Oct 2021 18:00—19:00 Watch online Free, with option to add a donation
Join historian and broadcaster Michael Wood and Dr Adrián Maldonado, Glenmorangie Research Fellow, as they take a fresh look at some of the iconic objects on display in the National Museum of Scotland and discuss new research on objects in the museum’s stores. The event celebrates the launch of Adrián’s new book, Crucible of Nations: Viking Age to Medieval Scotland, which reassesses the museum’s 9—12th century collections, uncovering an exciting new vision of Scotland’s diverse and creative past.
The event includes a live Q&A chaired by writer and broadcaster, Sally Magnusson.
Art and Science – Communicating the Climate Emergency
4 Nov 2021 19:30 – 20:30 Watch online Free, with optional donation
As the eyes of the world turn to Scotland for the UN Climate Conference in November, join artists Luke Jerram and Philip Pinsky, along with National Museums Scotland curators, for a discussion about the urgency of the climate and biodiversity crisis. Explore how the research and technology being used to tackle these issues can be shared with the wider public, and consider how art can help communicate these critical messages and inspire change.
Chambers Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1JF Open 10:00–16:30 daily
For families
October Half Term
18 Oct – 25 Oct 2021 10:00 – 12:00 & 14:00 – 16:00 Free, drop-in and online
Reduce, Reuse, and Rewild this October Half Term with activities to do at home or visit us in the museum to learn more. Take a walk on the wild side with our Rewilding Trail, make musical instruments from things you can find on a walk outside, or “go green” this Halloween and raid your recycling bin to craft a bat rocket and make some monster feet to wear!
And If Not Now, When? 1 Nov – 14 Nov 2021 10:30 – 16:30 Event Space, Level 2 Free entry, sign up on the day in the Grand Gallery
And If Not Now, When? is an immersive, reactive, sound and film installation by Edinburgh artists Philip Pinsky and Karen Lamond which invites you to experience a transformed urban reality to inspire hope and possibility.
Confronted with a heightened version of a busy urban junction; heavy traffic, pollution and noise, you will walk through a sound and film installation, guided by a lighted path. As you do so, notice how your position in the room directly impacts the environment around you. Watch and listen as your actions transform one environment into another and end the experience with a vivid and tranquil re-imagining of how we could all live peacefully in our cities.
National Museum of Flight East Fortune Airfield, B1347, North Berwick EH39 5LF Open daily 10:00 – 17:00
For families
Survival Skills
19 Oct – 22 Oct 2021 11:30 – 16:00 Free with pre-booked museum entry
Take part in survival skills training for all the family at the National Museum of Flight this October half term. Learn how to set up a ‘leave no trace’ camp in the Concorde Hangar and sign up for our family bushcraft workshop.
Supported by players of People’s Postcode Lottery.
26 Jun – 31 Oct 2021 10:00 – 17:00 Self-guided activity recommended for families with children aged 7-11 Free with pre-booked museum entry
Discover how engineers are working to make air travel less damaging to the environment. Download or pick up your trail to explore the museum while you learn about the challenges faced by the aviation industry and discover some of the innovative solutions that could be used.
15 new studies across the UK will expand research into long COVID to support thousands of vulnerable people, backed by nearly £20 million through the NIHR
15 new studies across UK to expand research that will support thousands of vulnerable people
Nearly £20 million for research projects will help improve understanding of long COVID and identify effective treatments
Projects include the largest long COVID trial to date which will involve over 4,500 people
Thousands of people suffering with long COVID will benefit from new research programmes backed by £19.6 million to help better understand the condition, improve diagnosis and find new treatments.
An extensive programme of 15 new research studies, backed by government funding through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), will allow researchers across the UK to draw together their expertise from analysing long COVID among those suffering long-term effects and the health and care professionals supporting them.
The latest research shows that although many people make a full recovery following COVID-19, a significant proportion of people continue to experience chronic symptoms for months. These ground breaking studies aim to help those people affected return to their normal lives.
The projects will focus on:
Better understanding the condition and identifying it
Evaluating the effectiveness of different care services
Better integrating specialist, hospital and community services for those suffering with long COVID
Identifying effective treatments, such as drugs, rehabilitation and recovery to treat people suffering from chronic symptoms
Improving home monitoring and self-management of symptoms, including looking at the impact of diet, and
Identifying and understanding the effect of particular symptoms of long COVID, such as breathlessness, reduced ability to exercise and brain fog
Health and Social Care Secretary, Sajid Javid, said: “Long COVID can have serious and debilitating long term effects for thousands of people across the UK which can make daily life extremely challenging.
“This new research is absolutely essential to improve diagnosis and treatments and will be life-changing for those who are battling long-term symptoms of the virus.
“It will build on our existing support with over 80 long COVID assessment services open across England as part of a £100 million expansion of care for those suffering from the condition and over £50 million invested in research to better understand the lasting effects of this condition.”
Professor Nick Lemoine, Chair of NIHR’s long COVID funding committee and Medical Director of the NIHR Clinical Research Network (CRN), said: “This package of research will provide much needed hope to people with long-term health problems after COVID-19, accelerating development of new ways to diagnose and treat long COVID, as well as how to configure healthcare services to provide the absolute best care.
“Together with our earlier round of funding, NIHR has invested millions into research covering the full gamut of causes, mechanisms, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of long COVID.”
The selection process for this broad range of innovative studies into long COVID involved people with lived experience at every stage and their input has been invaluable in shaping the outcome of this call and the research projects which will receive funding.
The projects include:
STIMULATE-ICP at University College London which will be the largest long COVID trial to date, recruiting more than 4,500 people with the condition. With £6.8 million of funding, the project will test the effectiveness of existing drugs to treat long COVID by measuring the effects of 3 months’ treatment, including on people’s symptoms, mental health and outcomes such as returning to work. It will also assess the use of MRI scans to help diagnose potential organ damage, as well as enhanced rehabilitation through an app to track their symptoms.
The immunologic and virologic determinants of long COVID at Cardiff University with nearly £800,000, which will look at the role of the immune system in long-term disease and whether overactive or impaired immune responses could drive long COVID by causing widespread inflammation.
ReDIRECT at University of Glasgow backed by nearly £1 million, which will assess whether a weight management programme can reduce symptoms of long COVID in people who are overweight or obese.
LOCOMOTION at University of Leeds with £3.4 million, which focuses on identifying and promoting the most effective care, from accurate assessments in long COVID clinics to the best advice and treatment in surgeries, as well as home monitoring methods that can show flare-ups of symptoms. The research aims to establish a gold standard of care that can be shared across England and the rest of the UK.
EXPLAIN at University of Oxford backed by £1.8 million, which will seek to diagnose ongoing breathlessness in people with COVID-19 who were not admitted to hospital, using MRI scans to trace inhaled gas moving into and out of the lungs to assess their severity and whether they improve over time.
UK Government Minister for Scotland Iain Stewart said: “Long Covid is a terrible illness affecting thousands of people across the UK, and as it’s such a new disease, there’s still a lot we don’t know about it.
“This UK Government funding, which is supporting studies led by the University of Glasgow and University of the West of Scotland, will help us make progress in understanding long Covid and hopefully improve treatment and support for patients right across the UK.”
Professor Amitava Banerjee, Associate Professor in Clinical Data Science and Honorary Consultant Cardiologist, University College London, Chief investigator of the STIMULATE-ICP (Symptoms, trajectory, inequalities and management: understanding long COVID to address and transform existing integrated care pathways) trial, said: “Individuals with long COVID have long been asking for recognition, research and rehabilitation.
“In our two-year study across six clinical sites around England, we will be working with patients, health professionals, scientists across different disciplines, as well as industry partners, to test and evaluate a new ‘integrated care’ pathway from diagnosis to rehabilitation, and potential drug treatments in the largest trial to-date.
“We will also be trying to improve inequalities in access to care and investigating how long COVID compares with other long-term conditions in terms of use of healthcare and burden of disease, which will help to plan services.”
Dr Dennis Chan, Principal Research Fellow, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, Chief investigator of the CICERO (Cognitive Impairment in long COVID: PhEnotyping and RehabilitatiOn) project, said: “Cognitive impairment, referred to informally as ‘brain fog’, is a major component of long COVID that compromises people’s daily activities and ability to return to work.
“The aim of this study is twofold; first, to understand better the nature of this ‘cognitive COVID’ in terms of the cognitive functions affected and the associated brain imaging changes, and second, to test whether neuropsychological rehabilitation can improve people’s outcomes.
“If this study is successful we will not only understand much better the way in which COVID affects the brain but also provide NHS services with new tools to help people recover from their cognitive difficulties.
Professor Fergus Gleeson, Professor of Radiology and Consultant Radiologist, Oxford University, Chief Investigator of EXPLAIN (HypErpolarised Xenon Magnetic Resonance PuLmonary Imaging in PAtIeNts with Long-COVID) project, said: “Following on from our earlier work using hyperpolarised xenon MRI in patients following hospitalisation with COVID-19 pneumonia, where we showed that their lungs may be damaged even when all other tests were normal, it is critical to determine how many patients with long COVID and breathlessness have damaged lungs, and if and how long it takes for their lungs to recover.
“Hyperpolarised xenon MRI is a safe scanning test that requires the patient to lie in the MRI scanner and breathe in one litre of the inert gas xenon that has been hyperpolarised so that we can see it using MRI.
“The scan takes a few minutes and does not require radiation exposure, so it may be repeated over time to see lung changes. Using this technique, we can see the xenon – which behaves in a very similar way to oxygen – move from the lungs into the blood stream.
“In this way, we can see if there has been damage to the airways in the lungs, or to the areas where oxygen crosses into the blood stream, which appears to be the area damaged by COVID-19.”
Background information
The projects were funded following a UK-wide research call for ambitious and comprehensive research into understanding and addressing the longer term physical and mental health effects of COVID-19 in non-hospitalised people and will build on the existing research already commissioned to look at long COVID.
In February 2021, 4 projects funded by NIHR and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) were announced, following the first research call.
The UK began the commissioning of long COVID research in 2020 and some projects are already producing results that are informing the understanding of long COVID. This research call adds to the existing investment of over £30 million of research funding taking the total investment to £50 million.
The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) has issued official guidance on best practice for recognising, investigating and rehabilitating patients with long COVID. According to NICE guidance, ‘long COVID describes signs and symptoms that continue or develop after acute COVID-19. It includes both ongoing symptomatic COVID-19 (from 4 to 12 weeks) and post-COVID-19 syndrome (12 weeks or more).’
In October 2020, NHS England and Improvement launched a 5 point plan for long COVID. There are now 89 specialist post COVID-19 clinics operating in England.
On 15 June 2021, NHSEI published a new 10 point plan and announced an additional £100 million expansion of care for patients with long COVID.
Study summaries
Developing and testing the best ways to diagnose, treat and provide rehabilitation for people with long COVID
Dr Amitava Bannerjee, University College of London – £6.8m
The wide-ranging symptoms of long COVID are debilitating and need coordinated care from specialists, hospitals and community services. The STIMULATE-ICP (Symptoms, trajectory, inequalities and management: understanding long COVID to address and transform existing integrated care pathways) trial, developed with the help of patient organisations, will be the largest long COVID trial to date, recruiting more than 4,500 people with the condition. This project will test the efficacy of existing drugs to treat long COVID, and measure the different effects of three months’ treatment on patients with regards to their symptoms, mental health and outcomes such as returning to work. It will also assess the use of MRI scans to help diagnose potential organ damage in those recovering from the coronavirus, as well as enhanced rehabilitation – the provision of joined-up specialist care centred around an app for patients allowing them to track their symptoms.
Optimising standards of care for long COVID in hospitals, doctors’ surgeries and at home
Dr Manoj Sivan, University of Leeds – £3.4m
Although there are 83 long COVID clinics in England, most people have not had access to them, and face long waiting times to be seen. The LOCOMOTION (long COVID multidisciplinary consortium: optimising treatments and services across the NHS) project focuses on identifying and promoting the most effective care, ranging from accurate assessments in these clinics to the best advice and treatment in surgeries, as well as home monitoring methods that can show flare-ups of symptoms. Drawing from the experiences of current long COVID patients and NHS professionals, the research aims to establish a ‘gold standard’ of care that can be shared across England and the rest of the UK. Analysis will be conducted in 10 long COVID clinics, at home and in doctors’ surgeries, and the study will track referrals and evaluate different services through patient interviews to make sure they are efficient, accessible and cost-effective. Specialists in healthcare inequality will also ensure that views are sought and recorded from people who are not visiting clinics.
Explaining why long COVID patients experience breathlessness and a reduced ability to exercise
Professor Fergus Gleeson, University of Oxford – £1.8m
One of the most prevalent and persistent symptoms among long COVID patients has been discomfort in breathing following physical activity. The EXPLAIN (Hyperpolarised xenon magnetic resonance pulmonary imaging in patients with Long-COVID) project will seek to diagnose ongoing breathlessness in coronavirus patients who were not admitted to hospital, using MRI scans to trace inhaled gas moving into and out of the lungs.
A 15-minute scan using low levels of xenon gas will display lung function and – if abnormalities are found – comparisons of data across different groups of participants recruited from Oxford and Sheffield can help assess their severity and whether they improve over time. Some EXPLAIN patients will also have a separate scan to see if heart damage can be identified. If the MRI scans separate patients with and without lung disease, further CT scans can be analysed, using artificial intelligence and blood samples to identify associated conditions and inform the development of treatments.
Understanding and treating ‘brain fog’
Dr Dennis Chan, University College London – £1.2m
Up to three quarters of people who experience long-term symptoms after COVID-19 report problems with memory, attention or other cognitive functions – symptoms known collectively as ‘brain fog’. The CICERO (Cognitive Impairment in long COVID: PhEnotyping and RehabilitatiOn) project will first determine which elements of brain function are most affected in people with long COVID. The relationship between brain function and other symptoms of long COVID, such as fatigue and anxiety, will be explored, and MRI scanning will be used to identify the affected brain networks. The researchers will then develop and test a new rehabilitation strategy to help people recover from the cognitive aspects of long COVID and return to normal life and working ability. This will support production of a freely available COVID-19 Cognitive Recovery Guide on how best to offer the new rehabilitation approach depending on the patient’s symptoms.
Co-designing personalised self-management for patients at home
Professor Fiona Jones, Kingston University – £1.1m
Long COVID describes more than 200 different symptoms that can interact and fluctuate. Although fatigue and problems with brain function are the most common symptoms, each patient can experience a different set of symptoms. The LISTEN (Long COVID Personalised Self-managemenT support – co-design and EvaluatioN) project will work in partnership with people who have long COVID to design and evaluate a package of self-management support that can be personalised to individual needs. The researchers will first work with people living with or recovered from long COVID, plus a social enterprise with expertise in reaching seldom heard populations, to design the package and associated patient and training resources. The team will then test the self-management package alongside up to six one-to-one virtual coaching sessions from trained rehabilitation practitioners, to test whether the treatment improves how people with long COVID feel and how they cope with everyday activities. The researchers will also evaluate how the package could be implemented more widely, with the aim that self-management for people with long COVID can be delivered at scale.
ReDIRECT: Remote Diet Intervention to Reduce long Covid symptoms Trial
Dr David Blane, University of Glasgow – £999,679
The immunologic and virologic determinants of long COVID
Professor David Price, Cardiff University – £774,457
Quality-of-life in patients with long COVID: harnessing the scale of big data to quantify the health and economic costs
Dr Rosalind Eggo, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine – £674,679
Percutaneous Auricular Nerve Stimulation for Treating Post-COVID Fatigue (PAuSing-Post-COVID Fatigue)
Dr Mark Baker, Newcastle University – £640,180
Immune analysis of long COVID to inform rational choices in diagnostic testing and therapeutics
Professor Daniel Altmann, Imperial College – £573,769
Understanding and using family experiences of managing long COVID to support self care and timely access to services
Professor Sue Ziebland, University of Oxford – £557,674
Development of a robust T cell assay to retrospectively diagnose SARS-CoV-2 infection and IFN-γ release assay as diagnostic and monitoring assay in Long COVID patients
Dr Mark Wills, University of Cambridge – £372,864
Using Activity Tracking and Just-In-Time Messaging to Improve Adaptive Pacing: A Pragmatic Randomised Control Trial
Professor Nicholas Sculthorpe, University of the West of Scotland – £317,416
Impact of COVID-19 vaccination on preventing long COVID: a population-based cohort study using linked NHS data
Professor Daniel Prieto-Alhambra, University of Oxford – £224,344
Long COVID Core Outcome Set (LC-COS) project
Dr Tim Nicholson, King’s College London – £139,619
Ten things you learnt at school which are no longer true
Our knowledge of the world is constantly evolving, and as such, some of the things which were once taught in schools are no longer true.
Remember when Pluto (above) was declassified as a planet and you began to doubt everything your teachers had ever told you? Turns out, that was just the start.
From science and history to English grammar, Oxford Home Schooling has compiled a list of 10 ‘facts’ which you may have heard in the classroom but are now considered outdated.
1) Diamond is the hardest material
Correction: There are six materials on earth which are harder than diamond
It was once taught that diamond is the toughest substance on the planet, but, while it remains the most scratch-resistant, there are actually six materials now known to be harder.
These include wurtzide boron nitride – a crystal lattice formed during volcanic eruptions, which is 18% harder than diamond – and graphene – a carbon lattice that is only one atom wide but is the strongest material we know of, in proportion to its thickness[1].
2) Water can only be found on Earth
Correction: There is water in multiple places in our solar system
We used to think that earth was the only place where water can be found, but NASA has since proved its presence on some of our galactic neighbours.
In 2015, it confirmed water flows intermittently on Mars and then, later that year, discovered an ocean beneath the icy crust of Saturn’s moon Enceladus[2]. Many suspect that there’s also an ocean on Jupiter’s moon Europa.
3) King Tutankhamen was murdered
Correction: He either died from a chariot crash or from genetic impairments
Some schools used to teach that King Tutankhamun of Ancient Egypt was murdered when someone struck him on the head.
However, a 2014 BBC documentary suggested that he died in a chariot crash that ultimately ended in an infection and blood poisoning.
Around the same time, a virtual autopsy of the pharaoh’s body indicates he may have died because of genetic impairments, with evidence suggesting his parents were siblings[3].
4) You can’t split an infinitive
Correction: It’s now acceptable
Star Trek’s famous line “to boldly go where no-one has gone before” annoyed a lot of hard-line grammatists by breaking a long-standing rule of the English language – that the infinitive form of a verb (I.e. to go) should not be split.
However, researchers at Lancaster University and Cambridge University Press found that split infinitives are now almost three times as common now as they were in the 1990s[4], and as language keeps evolving, most linguists now consider them acceptable.
5) There are three states of matter – solid, liquid and gas
Correction: There are at least five
One of the fundamentals of chemistry, most school students were told that there are three states of matter – solid, liquid and gas.
However, scientists now know of a fourth natural state, plasma, which despite not being common on earth, is thought to be the most prominent form in the universe.
There’s also a fifth state, the Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC), where molecular motion almost stops completely. BECs were discovered in 1995, but so far have only been found in laboratories[5].
6) Neanderthals were not very intelligent
Correction: They were skilled hunters with advanced tools
Many people used to believe that Neanderthals died out largely because they were less intelligent than Homo sapiens, but recent studies suggest they had similar cognitive abilities and were actually quite skilled hunters[6].
New archaeological evidence shows they used relatively advanced tools and were also better at socialising than once thought.
7) The universe is 13.7 billion years old
Correction: It’s actually 100 million years older
Science lessons used to teach that the universe is 13.7 billion years old, but it turns out we were out by around 100 million years. The European Space Agency’s Planck mission scanned the sky for radio and microwaves and in 2013 concluded that previous estimates were slightly short – the universe is actually 13.82 billion years old[7].
8) No-one knows where Richard III’s body is
Correction: He was buried under a car park in Leicester
For over 500 years, historians and archaeologists had been searching for the body of King Richard III, who died from injuries sustained in the Battle of Bosworth in 1485.
The long mystery was solved in 2013 when researchers from the University of Leicester announced that they’d discovered the controversial monarch’s remains beneath a car park in the city[8].
9) Nothing can travel faster than light
Correction: Things can move faster than light under the right conditions
It’s still true that nothing can travel faster than light in a vacuum or in similar conditions in space.
However, scientists have managed to slow light down by either trapping it inside waveguides made with photonic crystals or inside ultracold atom clouds.
This can reduce the speed of light from around 300,000km per second to near zero, so lots of things could outpace it[9].
10) We have five senses
Correction: We have way more than five
The five main senses – touch, taste, sight, hearing and smell – are still our most fundamental, but we also have lots of other mechanisms helping us to make sense of the world.
For example, we have proprioception – a sense of space. This is how our brain understands where we are in relation to other things. We also have others, such as neuron sensors, which help to control balance[10].
Greg Smith, Head of Operations at Oxford Home Schooling, said: “Every year in every subject, experts are constantly learning and updating our knowledge. This means that some things which were once taught at school now don’t tell the whole story, or have even been proved to be wrong!
“This can only be a good thing, however, as it shows that we are developing a greater understanding of our world.”
For more ‘facts’ you learnt in school which are no longer true, visit:
Jupiter’s clouds have water conditions that would allow Earth-like life to exist, but this isn’t possible in Venus’ clouds, according to the groundbreaking finding of new research led by a Queen’s University Belfast scientist.
For some decades, space exploration missions have looked for evidence of life beyond Earth where we know that large bodies of water, such as lakes or oceans, exist or have previously existed. However, the new research shows that it isn’t the quantity of water that matters for making life viable, but the effective concentration of water molecules – known as ‘water activity’.
The new study also found that research published by an independent team of scientists last year, claiming that the phosphine gas in Venus’ atmosphere indicates possible life in the sulphuric acid clouds of Venus, is not plausible.
Through this innovative research project, Dr John E. Hallsworth from the School of Biological Sciences at Queen’s and his team of international collaborators devised a method to determine the water activity of atmospheres of a planet. Using their approach to study the sulphuric acid clouds of Venus, the researchers found that the water activity was more than a hundred times below the lower limit at which life can exist on Earth.
The research also shows that Jupiter’s clouds have a high enough concentration of water, as well as the correct temperature, for life to exist there. The study has been published in Nature Astronomy.
Dr Hallsworth said: “Our research shows that the sulphuric acid clouds in Venus have too little water for active life to exist, based on what we know of life on Earth.
“We have also found that the conditions of water and temperature within Jupiter’s clouds could allow microbial-type life to subsist, assuming that other requirements such as nutrients are present.
“This is a timely finding given that NASA and the European Space Agency just announced three missions to Venus in the coming years. One of these will take measurements of Venus’s atmosphere that we will be able to compare with our finding.”
Co-author of the report, an expert on physics and chemical biology of water, Dr Philip Ball, commented: “The search for extraterrestrial life has sometimes been a bit simplistic in its attitude to water.
“As our work shows, it’s not enough to say that liquid water equates with habitability. We’ve got to think too about how Earth-like organisms actually use it – which shows us that we then have to ask how much of the water is actually available for those biological uses.”
Co-author of the report, NASA-based planetary scientist Prof Christopher P. McKay, said: “We derive water activity of atmospheres without a model of any sort, based only on direct observations of pressure, temperature, and water concentration.”
Dr Hallsworth added: “We have also performed calculations for Mars and Earth and show that these calculations can be done for planets outside our solar system.
“While our research doesn’t claim that alien (microbial-type) life does exist on other planets in our solar system, it shows that if the water activity and other conditions are right, then such life could exist in places where we haven’t previously been looking.”
Co-authors of this paper include planetary scientist Christopher P. McKay (NASA Ames Research Center, CA, USA); atmosphere chemistry expert Thomas Koop (Bielefeld University, Germany); expert on physics and chemical biology of water Philip Ball (London, UK); biomolecular scientist Tiffany D. Dallas (Queen’s University Belfast); biophysics-of-lipid-membrane expert Marcus K. Dymond (University of Brighton, UK); theoretical physicist María-Paz Zorzano (Centro de Astrobiologia [CSIC-INTA], Spain); micrometeorology and aerosol expert Juergen Burkhardt (University of Bonn, Germany); expert on acid-tolerant microorganisms Olga V. Golyshina (Bangor University, UK); and atmospheric physicist and planetary scientist Javier Martín-Torres (University of Aberdeen, UK).
The research was funded by Research Councils UK (RCUK), Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and Ministry of Science and Innovation.
Starting this week, world’s first and still Europe’s biggest Edinburgh Science Festival celebrates women in STEM with a large-scale street art trail around the Scottish capital featuring 9 locations, each devoted to a different STEM professional whose passion and knowledge contributed to the world of science, technology, engineering and maths.
The Trail is a visual representation of Edinburgh Science’s commitment to championing women in science and science communication and the fight against the under-representation of women in STEM and the stereotypes that persist, despite many long-standing initiatives to boost young women’s interest. Edinburgh Science is proud to present a Festival where 60% of guest speakers are women.
Women in STEM Street Art Trail, supported by Edina Trust, showcases the inspiring achievements of:
Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon MBE (Lothian Street), the youngest girl to complete A-levels in computing at the age of 11, Oxford graduate at 20 and founder of Stemettes, an organisation dedicated to inspiring and supporting young women and non-binary people into STEM careers.
Helen Sherman OBE (Citadel Youth Centre), first British Astronaut who in 1991 flew on a Soyuz rocket up to the Soviet, Mir Space Station. During her eight days in space, she conducted medical, agricultural and materials and Earth observation work.
Talat Yaqoob (WHALE Arts), award-winning Scottish campaigner, writer and activist passionate about improving women’s access to STEM subjects and politics.
Natalie Duffield (North Edinburgh Arts), a digital innovator who, following a personal tragedy, decided to not go to university but work and earn – she is now the CEO of InTechnology SmartCitie who provides free WiFi in central Edinburgh, which is a paid for by the company meaning the Council doesn’t have to spend a penny.
Lorna Prendergast (The Space / Broomhouse Hub), a 90-years-old Melbourne University graduate with master’s in ageing who now continues her investigation into the correlation between music and dementia symptom relief via a music therapy trial which started in July 2020.
Dr Aline Finger (Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh), a conservation geneticist and molecular ecologist at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, focusing on the conservation of rare, threatened or important plant species in Scotland.
Dr Helen Senn (Edinburgh Zoo), Head of Conservation and Science at Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS). Overseeing all 23 wild conversation projects and working as a conservation genetics specialist, Helen supports reintroduction projects for critically endangered species, such as the dama gazelle and the addax.
Dr Kathy Sullivan (Dynamic Earth), first American woman to complete a spacewalk (1984, Space Shuttle Challenger), the first woman to travel to the bottom of the ocean (2020, Challenger Deep in the Marian Trench, seven miles below the surface). After the dive, Kathy made a phone call to the International Space Station, marking the two extremes of human exploration.
Zarina Ahmad (Summerhall), climate justice and race equality advocate who has been dedicated to increasing participation and improving funding access for under-represented groups.
These inspiring, large-scale portraits have been produced by artists Shona Hardie – known for her portraits of the late DJ Andy Weatherall and the legendary Leith figure Arthur Williams – and Kerry Wilson.
Festival Director Amanda Tyndall said: “Promoting opportunities for women in STEM is a topic very close to my heart and this year not only is our programme packed with amazing women talking about fascinating science but the street art trail takes this message to the streets of Edinburgh and, we hope, will play a small part in inspiring the next generation.”
Artist Shona Hardie puts the finish touches to the portrait of Natalie Duffield at North Edinburgh Arts Centre
Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon MBE said: “Two of my favourite things about being a woman in STEM: I can dream something up and create it and I can genuinely solve problems for others using my STEM knowhow.”
Dr Helen Senn, RZSS Head of Conservation and Science Programmes said:“It is always exciting to showcase our charity’s worldwide wildlife conservation work as part of the Edinburgh Science Festival and a real honour to be featured in the Women in STEM Street Art Trail this year.
“Recovering species on the edge of extinction is only possible through collaboration and, with our planet facing an extinction crisis, it is more important than ever before to find ways to break down barriers and empower more people from a wide range of backgrounds to gain the skills needed to protect animals across the globe.”
Festival Director Amanda Tyndall with the portrait of Natalie Duffield at the North Edinburgh Arts centre
Geraldine Marais, Trust Secretary at Edina Trust said: “Edina Trust is proud to have sponsored the Edinburgh Science Festival since 2005. Edina’s main aim is to enhance primary science teaching and learning across the UK by supporting schools, science providers, and science festivals.
“Edina views science as a key part of children’s learning from the start, to make sense of the world we live in, and to provide opportunities to pursue a career in the world of STEM in our ever-changing world. Part of this includes encouraging girls to consider a future in STEM by supporting their learning through hands-on science activities at an early age.”
The Festival’s 2021 line-up features an inspiring line-up of female STEM professionals, authors and explorers from around the world, including, among many others, such names as:
Prof. Linda Bauld who is an adviser to the Covid-19 Committee of the Scottish Parliament;
astronautical engineer Cassandra Mercury;
Mya-Rose Craig, an 19 year old prominent British Bangladeshi birder, conservationist and environmentalist whose blog clocked 5 million views;
quantum gravity, theoretical physics expert Dr Sonali Mohapatra who is part of the technical team of the upcoming ROKS mission which will be launched in 2022;
and Prof. Heidi Larson, founder of the Vaccine Confidence Project and the recipient of this year’s prestigious Edinburgh Medal.
All these events, alongside the Trail, constitute the Festival’s ambitious Women in STEM programme which is dedicated to the memory of Joan Davidson who led Edinburgh Science’s Learning programme for 12 years and stood out for her dedication to inspiring young people to explore, study and develop a lifelong love of science and technology.
128 schools across 32 local authorities in Scotland have joined the virtual Scottish Friendly Children’s Book Tours since the start of lockdown last year, with educational video content viewed over 100,000 times.
The ‘Connected’: Space tour recently hosted five days of ‘out-of-this-world’ virtual events, telling the stories of space adventures through science fact and fiction.
The digital events took place online from Monday 22 February to Friday 26 February, with schools from Aberdeen, Argyll & Bute, East Renfrewshire, Edinburgh, Falkirk, Glasgow, Moray, Scottish Borders, South Ayrshire and West Lothian signed up for events, reaching over 750 pupils.
The events are available to watch on demand via Scottish Book Trust’s website.
The Scottish Friendly Children’s Book Tour is supported by Scottish Friendly and organised by Scottish Book Trust, the national charity transforming lives through reading and writing.
For over 20 years the tour has visited schools the length and breadth of the UK, bringing the world’s best authors directly in front of children in classrooms. Since covid-19 the tour has adapted to the restrictions and changing landscape and has gone fully digital to continue vital work in supporting children, reaching around 8,000 P1-S3 pupils.
Fun, educational video content and live events for home learning and in the classroom have to-date reached an audience of over 100,000 through the Scottish Book Trust social media, Home Activities Hub and On Demand library.
Carol Ann Neil, teacher at Bridge of Allan Primary School said:“Having the opportunity to engage with the Space Explorers event reignited the children’s enthusiasm for reading as individuals and as a class team to share stories during the pandemic.”
The Connected: Space tour featured a diverse mix of book events, including: illustrator and graphic designer Matt Carr, creator of Rocketmole; author and astronomer Dr Sheila Kanani and author Libby Jackson, one of the UK’s foremost space experts and author of book Space Explorers.
P5-7 pupils had the opportunity to meet Dr Alastair Bruce, Dynamic Earth’s very own resident Astronomer. Joined by Alastair Chisholm, author of Orion Lost, pupils took the role of captain and decided the fate of their own space mission.
The previous tour, Connected: Polar, is now available to watch via Scottish Book Trust’s On Demand library hub. Events include Sarah Airreiss and British Antarctic Survey, live from the Antarctic and Shackleton’s Journey with William Grill and RRS Discovery, Dundee.
The next virtual Connected tour: Continents, will take place from Monday 22 March – Friday 25 March.
Pupils will have the chance to join events and meet authors live from different parts of the world including Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, North and South America.
From celebrating different cultures and languages, to exploring about mythology and magic to drawing manga, the Connected: Continents, tour is jam-packed with fun events for all the family. Schools can find out more and sign up via Scottish Book Trust’s website. Events will be available to watch later via Scottish Book Trust’s On Demand Library.
Kevin Brown, Head of PR at Scottish Friendly, said:“As soon as the pandemic hit and schools were closed, our number one priority was to provide educational and exciting content to help children, teachers and parents with engaging video content that can be viewed either via live social media streams or at a time of their choosing.”
Marc Lambert, CEO of Scottish Book Trust said:“Scottish Book Trust is delighted to bring the Scottish Friendly Children’s Book Tour virtually into classrooms and homes across Scotland.
“Since the pandemic started a year ago, it has been more important than ever to provide young people with engaging and exciting content.
“The Connected tours aim to transport pupils to new worlds through author events, offering opportunities to spark their creativity and imagination. The feedback from schools and families has been fantastic, and our On Demand library allows anyone to watch the tour, at any time, and no matter their location.”
Science practicals filmed for Education Scotland and BBC Bitesize offering
Academics from Edinburgh Napier’s teacher education programme have been helping bring science into the home for thousands of secondary school pupils in Scotland.
The University’s Dr Colin McGill (above), Dr Fiona Savage and Dr Eric Easton have worked with Education Scotland and the BBC Bitesize team to film a number of practical experiments to ensure that pupils studying science subjects continue to learn as lockdown restrictions remain in place.
Work with Education Scotland commenced last Autumn, with a selection of practical experiments filmed within the laboratories at Edinburgh Napier’s Sighthill campus.
These films – which saw the team work with Ian Stewart, a Chemistry teacher from Beeslack Community High School in Midlothian – are available via YouTube, West OS and Glow – Scotland’s nationally available digital environment for learning – as part of the National e-Learning Offer (NeLO).
In addition to supporting the development of these films for NeLO, Ian also teaches on the Senior Phase Study Support programme run via e-Sgoil for NeLO.
The content covered in the videos is broad, ranging from general science activities such as making a pH indicator from red cabbage for S1-S3 pupils, to videos to support learning at National 5 and Higher Chemistry such as measuring the average rate of a chemical reaction and testing carbonyl compound.
Dr McGill has also recently completed further filming for the BBC Bitesize platform.
Filmed over three days again at the University’s Sighthill campus, Dr McGill teamed up with Education Scotland and Ian Stewart to devise around 30 – 40 video ideas for Chemistry and the sciences.
This content was aimed at the Broad General Education (BGE) sciences curriculum all the way up to Higher Chemistry and included demonstrations on testing for gases, electrolysis and cracking alkanes. The BBC Bitesize filming was co-ordinated by Education Scotland.
Edinburgh Napier’s Dr McGill was delighted to play a part in supporting teachers through the on-going pandemic. He said: “I think these tools are very important to help pupil learning during the pandemic.
“It’s impossible for many practical activities to be done remotely so this at least gives pupils an opportunity to see the practical activity taking place and to then apply their learning from watching the activity.
“Teachers have been amazing during this pandemic and I would argue that the work they have put in to support their pupils is hugely underestimated, so if these videos have gone some way to help reduce their workload in any way then that is a huge positive for me.
“If and when things start getting closer to normal, these videos will still be very valuable for pupils to go over a practical that they carried out in class, or to support pupils who are absent from school for any reason.
“The technical support from Bill Surrage and Sandra Dunbar has allowed this practical work to take place – I’m really grateful to them for the support they have provided. I’m also really grateful to everyone that has made safe access to the Sighthill campus possible.”
A selection of the Education Scotland videos can be viewed on YouTube here or can be accessed via the NeLO supported resources blog.
Edinburgh Napier’s Professional Diploma in Education (PGDE) courses are designed by teachers, for teachers. The programme specialises in Biology, Chemistry, Maths or Physics, allowing students to become a secondary school teacher.
Each subject is accredited by the General Teaching Council for Scotland.
More information on the programme can be found here.
Matthew Thornton, a post-doctoral researcher at the University of St Andrews, is presenting his research to politicians, Parliamentarians and a panel of expert judges as part of STEM for BRITAIN today (Thursday 4th March).
STEM for BRITAIN is an annual poster competition, usually held in the House of Commons, involving some 200 or so early career researchers. The Parliamentary and Scientific Committee runs the event in collaboration with the Institute of Physics, the Royal Society of Chemistry, the Royal Academy of Engineering, Royal Society of Biology, Physiological Society, Council for the Mathematical Sciences, and the Nutrition Society.
The aim of the competition is to give members of both Houses of Parliament an insight into the outstanding research work being undertaken in UK universities by early-career researchers.
Dr Thornton’s poster will be judged against dozens of other scientists’ research, in the only national competition of its kind.
His presentation will explain how he and his colleagues are expanding our knowledge of quantum systems, which will enable the design of new and remarkable sources of quantum light.
The most important inventions of the 20th century, including the transistor, the laser and the atomic clock, were built on a deep understanding of the quantum nature of materials and atoms. For example, quantum physics is required to explain how electrons move within semiconductors, and so helped to predict the underlying behaviour of transistors.
Matthew’s work will improve the stability of atomic clocks such as those used in GPS satellites, enable development of microscopes which can take higher resolution pictures of small objects with less intense light than normal, and help enable a secure, unhackable quantum internet.
He said: “This prestigious event is a great opportunity to display some key outcomes from my time in St Andrews, and to practice communicating the underlying principles.
“The foundational idea of my recent research is that effects which ordinarily destroy a quantum state can, in some contexts, actually create quantum light from a classical input. I find this both counterintuitive and beautiful.
“In the future I plan to move further into the quantum technologies arena in order to create devices which help people.”
Stephen Metcalfe MP, Chairman of the Parliamentary and Scientific Committee, said: “This annual competition is an important date in the parliamentary calendar because it gives MPs an opportunity to see the work of a wide range of the country’s best young researchers.
“These early career engineers, mathematicians and scientists are the architects of our future and STEM for BRITAIN is politicians’ best opportunity to meet them, virtually on this occasion, and understand their work.”
Matthew’s research has been entered into the physics session of the competition, which will end in a gold, silver and bronze prize-giving ceremony.
Judged by leading academics, the gold medalist receives £1000, while silver and bronze receive £750 and £500 respectively.
Due to COVID-19 the 2021 event is being held online, but will nevertheless still be supported by Parliamentarians, including those Members of Parliament whose constituents have been shortlisted to present their posters.
The winners will be announced virtually on Monday 8th March.
