11th October 2013
San Francisco, USA
Scientific research may sometimes be portrayed as a series of breakthroughs, but in fact it is a gradual and labour-intensive process, especially when it comes to developing new drugs. However, this week’s announcement of an exciting result from Leicester University in the UK may well represent a turning point in the fight against degenerative brain […]
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11th October 2013
Boston, USA
The US Science and Innovation Network kicked off a year-long campaign focused on synthetic biology last month in Boston. The goal of this campaign is to promote the fantastic synthetic biology research ongoing in the UK, boost current collaborations and inspire some new ideas for ways the two countries can work together. I am really […]
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9th October 2013
Beirut, Lebanon
A former British Ambassador here was asked at the end of a radio interview what he would like for Christmas. Thinking it typical Lebanese generosity but not wanting to be too greedy, he gave a modest reply. Listening to the broadcast later, he was shocked to hear several envoys asked the same question. The US […]
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8th October 2013
Toronto, Canada
On 8 October 2013, Prof. Peter Higgs of the University of Edinburgh and Prof. François Englert of the Université libre de Bruxelles were awarded the 2013 Nobel Prize in Physics “for the theoretical discovery of a mechanism that contributes to our understanding of the origin of mass of subatomic particles, and which recently was confirmed […]
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7th October 2013
Toronto, Canada
The theme of World Space Week 2013 is “Exploring Mars, Discovering Earth”. With more attention than ever on the Red Planet (so-called due to the high levels of reddish iron oxide in its soil) and human missions set to visit from 2018, the time is right to take a closer look at Mars – and […]
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2nd October 2013
Washington DC, USA
Earlier this month I had the opportunity to travel to NATO headquarters in Brussels to attend a course put together by my colleagues in the UK Joint Delegation to NATO. The course is designed to give staff a thorough introduction to NATO and an understanding of its place at the centre of the UK’s defence […]
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2nd October 2013
Montreal, Canada
Whisky is not just good for sipping; it is also good for making biofuel. The distillation process of whisky produces a lot of byproducts that do not make it into the bottle you see at the liquor store. Actually, only 10 % of what is produced in a distillery is drinkable whisky. The rest is […]
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28th September 2013
Ottawa, Canada
September 2013 marks the second World Alzheimer’s Month, reflecting the growing urgency and concern over the health, social and economic burden of the disease. Alzheimer’s disease is a common form of dementia. Today, it is estimated that over 35 million people worldwide currently live with the condition, and this number is expected to double by […]
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27th September 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
When our Business Minister, Vince Cable, was here this week, he talked a lot about the UK’s Industrial Strategy. As he noted, to some ears this sounds rather old-fashioned. In fact it’s the opposite, it’s an attempt to create long term plans to tackle some of the sources of recent economic weakness and instability in […]
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26th September 2013
New Delhi, India
Last week I was at a dinner with one of the professors from the University of Cambridge. Over dessert, he said something to me that changed the way I looked at the role of ‘Universities’ in the Innovation ecosystem. He told me about how he and some of his colleagues not only teach their students […]
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