FEATURES
Training the medicine makers of tomorrow: How virtual reality is securing the UK’s life sciences future
Ivan Wall, is co-director of Resilience, a two-year, £4.3 million UK government scheme using VR to educate the next generation of medicine makers.
As the world marks International Day of Education on 24 January, the UK faces a stark reality:...
Inclusive clinical trials will drive better health outcomes for all
Pharmaceutical research must be much more inclusive and diverse to protect global health, says Kate Shaw, of Innovative Trials.
As a sector, the life sciences industry is driven to innovate. From precision medicines to genome editing and AI-powered molecules, our...
In 2026, precision oncology trials will finally come into their own
Dr Gen Li, CEO and Founder, Phesi, looks at R&D trends for the year ahead.
Oncology indications – particularly breast, prostate and non-small-cell lung cancer – have led Phesi’s annual Most Studied Diseases list for the last four years, and...
Poorer heart health in middle age linked to increased dementia risk
People with signs of damage to their heart during middle age are more likely to develop dementia in later life, according to research funded by the British Heart Foundation and published in the European Heart Journal.1
The study, led by...
Eye prosthesis restores sight
A tiny wireless chip implanted in the back of the eye, together with a pair of high-tech glasses, have partially restored vision to people with an advanced form of age-related macular degeneration.
In a clinical trial led by Stanford Medicine...
Arbitrating innovation: Resolving IP disputes in life sciences
As biotech and AI converge, arbitration is emerging as the preferred forum for complex intellectual property disputes – particularly when the underlying science defies straightforward explanation or analysis. In this exclusive feature, Bernhard Maier, partner and head of arbitration...
At-home brain stimulation ‘prevents major depression relapse’
Up to 85% of people with depression experience relapse during treatment.
However, a new clinical study has found that at-home brain stimulation therapy helped 75% of patients stay depression-free over six months, solving a major gap in mental health care.
The...
One in 4 life sciences professionals don’t know what data their AI models use
Experts from companies including AstraZeneca, Bayer, Novartis, and Vertex shared insights into AI agents, accelerating clinical trials and skills gaps, at a recent US conference.
New data indicates a growing “scientific content crisis” that is limiting the accuracy and adoption...
How chromosomes separate accurately
UNIGE scientists have shed new light on how cell division disorders lead to certain cancers.
Cell division is a process of remarkable precision: during each cycle, the genetic material must be evenly distributed between the two daughter cells.
To achieve this,...
Breaking the bias: Diverse genomics can transform dementia diagnoses
Diagnosis of complex genetic diseases is a global challenge, but genomics research remains disproportionately focused on populations of European ancestry. Inclusive, diverse research could unlock the door to new therapies, says Neil Ward, VP of PacBio EMEA.
Europeans make up...
Doing more with less in R&D: turning equipment usage data into CapEx efficiency
As budgets tighten across life sciences, many R&D organisations have realised their biggest source of waste isn’t in their science, but their operations. Johannes Solzbach, CEO and co-founder at Calira, believes greater visibility of equipment usage data can help...
Principal Investigators: The fuel of scientific progress
PIs are crucial to maintaining research integrity, says Dekel Faruhi, VP of Product Adoption at Proofig AI.
The path to becoming a Principal Investigator (PI) usually takes over a decade, beginning with undergraduate studies and culminating in the acquisition of...
AI hallucinations are eroding trust in lab tools – but there are solutions
As scientists and researchers seek to integrate AI more deeply into daily lab workflows, tackling the issue of false or misleading information has become a top priority, says Andrew Wyatt, Chief Growth Officer, Sapio Sciences.
AI is increasingly important for...
How an AI powered implant is rewriting neurological care
The frontier of neurology has begun to think for itself.
The claim follows pioneering brain surgery carried out at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre (KFSHRC).
In June 2025, surgeons at the centre, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, implanted the Middle...
Next-gen medical devices could run on body’s natural sugars
A new generation of implantable medical devices powered by natural sugars in the body could help treat life-long conditions like neurodegenerative diseases, diabetes and heart conditions.
The GLUTRONICS research project, which has received over £2 million in funding, is led...
DNA molecules manoeuvred using electrical fields
New tool offers real-time control over genetic materials, with potential to accelerate disease diagnostics and genome mapping
Researchers in McGill’s Department of Physics have developed a device that can trap and study DNA molecules without touching or damaging them.
The device,...
Without the right infrastructure, the UK risks falling behind in life sciences
Dr Kath Mackay, Chief Scientific Officer at Bruntwood SciTech, insists that investment in scientific talent and research is not enough on its own. To stay globally competitive in life sciences, the UK must invest in the infrastructure and ecosystems...
Why life sciences must build Recall Ready systems now
From paracetamol contamination to failing defibrillators, recent recall events show how fragile response mechanisms remain. Pete Gillett, founder of Marketpoint Recall, explores why life sciences firms must modernise recall operations before regulatory, financial and reputational costs spiral further.
In mid‑2025,...
Serious disease research takes big step forward in UK
Insmed recently opened a new R&D facility in Cambridge focused on synthetic rescue for serious diseases. Dr Tom Heightman, SVP of Research at the global biopharmaceutical, explains why the company is focused on UK expansion.
Insmed specialises in striving to...
Global warming ‘accelerates antibiotic resistance in soils’
An international study involving researchers from Durham University reveals that climate change is accelerating the rate of development and global abundances of antibiotic resistance bacteria in soils.
The findings, published in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution, highlight a new...
AI: reimagining AI healthcare
The UK can overcome challenges and harness AI to address the immense pressures on the NHS, says Pratik Maroo, Senior Vice President and Head – Healthcare and Life Sciences, Zensar.
The UK Prime Minister’s Plan for Change focuses on how...
How AI is driving repurposing of drugs for rare diseases
Dr Anton Yuryev, consulting director, Bioinformatics and Data Science, Elsevier, explores two case studies where researchers have used AI to find drugs that can be repurposed for rare conditions.
There are more than 300 million people worldwide living with a...
Rules of protein stability are a billion years old
The rules required to make proteins stable are much simpler than previously thought, according to new research.
Published in the journal Science, the study has taken an important step towards learning the rules of protein stability, which may help protein...
Spinal cord injuries healed with bioelectricity
A groundbreaking bioelectric implant has restored movement in rats after spinal cord injuries.
The breakthrough offers new hope for an effective treatment for humans suffering from loss of sensation and function due to spinal cord injury.
The implant is developed by...
Stroke AI software hailed as ‘revolutionary’
An AI software platform has tripled the number of stroke patients achieving functional independence, from 16% to 48%, according to a study by the Royal Berkshire Hospital.
Additional data from the largest real-world evaluation of stroke AI imaging showed that...
Scotland’s total body PET scanner
UK’s world-class imaging platform extends to Scotland.
Scotland’s first total-body scanner is in situ at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, meaning the National PET (Positron Emission Tomography) Imaging Platform network is now operational across the whole UK.
It’s part of a...
Parkinson’s: How the affected side shapes disease course
A team from UNIGE and HUG has shown that the side on which the first symptoms of the disease appear – left or right – influences patients’ cognitive and emotional symptoms.
Parkinson’s disease often begins asymmetrically, affecting either the right...
Research integrity under stress
Dekel Faruhi, VP of Product Adoption at Proofig AI, examines the pressures that U.S. institutions face in 2025, and how research integrity is essential to academia’s very survival.
American academia is facing an incredible amount of political and financial pressure.
Following...
Robotics ‘transforming’ cell therapy
A breakthrough partnership could make personalised, life-saving cancer treatments affordable and widely available.
A new robotic biomanufacturing cluster achieves a 74% cost reduction for life-saving cell therapies, according to developer Multiply Labs.
The breakthrough, published in peer-reviewed studies with UCSF, leverages...
‘Good vibrations’ improve lab-grown tissues
McGill researchers develop safe, scalable vibration technique to improve lab-grown tissues.
Researchers in McGill’s Department of Mechanical Engineering have discovered a safe and low-cost method of engineering living materials such as tissues, organs and blood clots.
By simply vibrating these materials...
