Transition to carbon neutrality cannot happen without nuclear and coal

February 4, 2022

Marcin Nowacki, Member of the EESC, Employers’ Group (Group I), charts the energy transition to carbon neutrality that cannot happen without nuclear & coal

As some European governments slammed plans by the European Commission to include nuclear energy and natural gas in its long-awaited green labelling system for investments in the energy sector, it is important to inject some common sense into the debate, in the light also of the Fit for 55 package.

Without a well-thought out approach to energy transformation, it is clear that carbon neutrality will bear heavy social costs as energy currently accounts for almost 10% of consumer spending in Europe. At the moment, we seem to be frenziedly trying to deliver a carbon-free economy without analysing what is technologically and technically possible and what the cost for EU companies and consumers will be.

The instability of the European energy system is slowing the transition to carbon neutrality

2021 very clearly showed our weaknesses in terms of electricity and raw material supply chain structures. In many countries, we have experienced disruption in electricity capacity because of a temporary dip in the efficiency of renewable energy sources and higher-than-anticipated energy needs. Lower energy production from wind and photovoltaic energy increased the need for other sources, namely gas and coal. The higher demand for gas, along with supply restrictions from Russia, led last year to record prices for gas all over Europe. In this context, the negative narrative surrounding nuclear power is rather puzzling. Nuclear power has to be part of the energy mix if we are to achieve carbon neutrality.

At the same time, in 2021 coal (bituminous and lignite) was the largest source of electricity in Germany, after more than 20 years of the Energiewende policy and hundreds of billions of euros spent implementing it. This situation is all too likely to be replicated in the energy transformation in Poland, for example, proving that the process of shifting from coal to other sources needs to be extended.

It cannot be denied that European companies need cheap energy. Diversifying supplies must be at the heart of energy transformation, as EU companies have to have access to sufficient electricity to maintain European competitiveness. After all the toxic debates and the events of 2021, one might wonder whether Europeans realise that without a differentiated approach more energy-intensive companies and plant will shut down for good. They will no longer be competitive internationally because they will be unable to sustain losses in the long run. This will prompt lay-offs, with far-reaching social consequences.

Consider Sidenor: last October, one of the largest steel producers in Spain was forced to halt production until the end of the year because of soaring electricity and gas prices. Electricity prices in Spain increased by more than 300% last year alone.

Increase purchasing power on the market for gas

In this context, measures are needed to increase the EU’s purchasing power on the market in access to gas in order to limit the speculative trend in the gas trade.

Currently, natural gas provides about one-fifth of electricity in the European Union and is, next to nuclear energy, the most optimal transitional fuel. Natural gas increases the stability of the energy mix since, unlike renewable energy, its production is not dependent on weather conditions. In addition, gas blocks also have a faster start-up time, so they are easier to adapt to fluctuating energy needs than coal power plant.

Regrettably, recent years have seen the EU become more dependent on Russian gas, which is used in both industrial installations and power plant.

The EU needs to discuss the possibility of joint European wholesale gas purchasing. This will not only considerably stabilise relations with Russia, but also improve the security of smaller Member States. We cannot allow gas to be used as a political tool.

More importantly, it will not be possible to harness the full potential of natural gas as a transitional fuel without developing the necessary infrastructure. Investment in new LNG and CNG terminals will allow the EU to diversify gas supplies, opening up our energy market to cooperation with partners from all over the world. This will free the EU from dependence on Russian supplies, leaving it in a better negotiating position in joint gas purchasing. On the other hand, increasing the number and capacity of gas storage installations will bring tangible benefits, allowing us to safeguard against the effects of rapid increases in the use of gas.

At the same time, we should keep modern coal units as a back-up source to be activated in exceptional circumstances. Starting up gas blocks would allow gas prices to stabilise if they became speculative, as it is currently the case.

The energy mix of the future

Of course, we know that the green transformation is irreversible, but until emission-free sources – renewables, hydrogen or nuclear – are able to guarantee the continuity of cheap energy supplies, we should consider an energy mix that will not cause economic upheaval in European countries.

Last but not least, nuclear power plant have to be developed and maintained in order to secure our economies and stabilise the growing volumes of renewable energy. Nuclear energy is a stable source of electricity with zero emissions. Moreover, France, whose energy mix is approximately 70% nuclear, is one of the least emitting economies in Europe.

The integration of the energy market may have a key role to play in Europe’s energy transformation: individual countries would be allocated stabilising measures in line with their capabilities. This would certainly help stabilise prices on the entire European market, and at a reasonable level. Therefore, we must encourage European decision-makers to take a more rational approach to setting goals so that they continue to be viable in the future.

Managing Tail Spend effectively in the public sector

February 4, 2022

tail spend, public sector — © Ecaterina Tolicova

Crown Commercial Service (CCS) describes here what we need to know about managing Tail Spend effectively in the public sector

Crown Commercial Service (CCS) has launched a ‘first of its kind’ new solution to help the public and third sectors get the best deal on the procurement of millions of low-value products. The Tail Spend Solution helps organisations to manage and aggregate ‘tail spend’. Tail spend is generally classed as relatively low-value products purchased in an ad hoc manner by members of staff outside of an organisation’s more formal procurement practices.

This could include a school purchasing stationery to meet a specific, short-term need, or a local authority buying camera equipment and accessories. It is often invisible until it appears in an organisation’s end of year accounts, and can cause significant budget pressures if not controlled properly. It’s estimated that public sector tail spend on goods is currently in excess of £1 billion per year.

CCS’s Tail Spend Solution framework

CCS’s Tail Spend Solution will allow public and third sector customers to bring this spend under control, supporting public sector buyers to spend less time and money on invoicing, increase visibility and control of ‘hidden’ spend, and improve their spend data. This is the first time a centralised tail spend solution with a single route to market has been made available to the whole UK public and third sectors.

Mercateo Unite and OT Group have launched CCS’s Tail Spend Solution framework on their online platforms – opening up public sector procurement to a large supply chain of small and medium-sized suppliers, offering millions of products at market-leading prices.

Customers will also be able to curate their own version of the solution, to exclude products they do not wish to be available for purchase to their users – for instance, safety-critical items.

Simon Tse, Chief Executive Officer of CCS says: “Tail Spend Solution is the first of its kind, a new agreement that supports the public sector to take control of its ad hoc purchases, aggregating the spending power of the UK public sector as we build back better.

“There is wide agreement across the public sector that tail spend is an under-managed and often overlooked area of spend that is increasingly important for organisations to deal with.

“Use of self-serve, modern technology and aggregation to create efficiencies and empower staff outside of commercial functions is critical for buyers who wish to improve their delivery of commercial benefits beyond just focusing on the largest contracts.”

Schools, charities, the NHS and other public sector and third sector organisations can purchase IT peripherals, office and janitorial supplies, educational resources, musical instruments, camera equipment and other non-safety critical products through the online platforms. The solution was developed after extensive engagement with CCS’s public and third sector customers and the supply market.

Achieving maximum commercial value

Crown Commercial Service (CCS) is an Executive Agency of the Cabinet Office, supporting the public sector to achieve maximum commercial value when procuring common goods and services. CCS supports the public sector to achieve maximum commercial value when procuring common goods and services. In 2020/21 CCS helped the public sector to achieve commercial benefits equal to £2.04 billion – supporting world-class public services that offer the best value for taxpayers.

Find out more

To find out more about Tail Spend Solution, visit the Crown Commercial Service website.

© Crown copyright

“Place-based budgets” and listening to what works needed for towns revival

February 4, 2022

Nigel Wilcock, Executive Director of the Institute of Economic Development, lifts the lid on the findings of new research on town centre regeneration

Walk down any UK high street, and it is abundantly clear that the pandemic has accelerated trends in towns and cities there were already having a detrimental impact before Covid hit. More empty retail units, decreasing football in town and city centres, increasing online sales and home working – we know the issues, but there is comparatively little out there in terms of how to regenerate, renew and revive these spaces.

It is true that for far too long local authorities have been held back – lacking the finances and resources to effectively regenerate their urban areas – but at the same time whilst “more money” is often the call to action, without insight from those who are tasked with reimagining and reinventing town and city centres how can local authorities possibly make informed decisions about related spending and expenditure?

Priorities for the future of town centres

New research from the Institute of Economic Development (IED) and Lichfields planning consultancy published at the start of this year identified some clear priorities for the future of town centres – and critically where financial support should be targeted by local authority leaders. Economic development and regeneration professionals reported that leisure and culture (48%), food and beverage (41%) and independent retail (35%) are “very important” to driving football in town centres – and independent retail (34%), leisure and culture (34%) and residential (28%) to repurpose vacant space.

When asked about underpinning strategies for supporting successful town centres of the future, a strong independent retail offer (52%), a year-round programme of cultural events (48%) and family-friendly activities (45%) were perceived to be “very important”. Also scoring highly as weighted averages were improvements to the built environment and public realm, and broader economic development interventions to raise the prosperity of the local area.

In contrast, respondents were less convinced about the effectiveness of current interventions in positioning town centres for success in the future. Whilst the majority rated business support to grow independent retail/food and drink offer as “very effective” (32%), only 13% said the same about business improvement districts and 17% about the various planning levers available to local areas. Enterprise arcades, with easy in/easy out terms, low rents/rates and business support, were seen more favourably.

Financial support to deliver positive change

Both the Future High Streets Fund and the Towns Fund recognise that financial support is needed to deliver positive change by ensuring a greater diversity of uses and repurposing vacant spaces. But the value of this research is it provides on-the-ground intelligence from economic development and regeneration professionals on key strategies for underpinning successful town centres of the future. It also suggests that practitioners do not consider some of the tools and levers available to them to be effective as policy-makers might have hoped.

Of course we would have expected the UK government to outline in its Levelling Up White Paper plans for further financial (and indeed legislative) devolution of powers to enable local authority leaders to deliver regeneration policies tailored to the needs of their specific areas. We called for replacing the current system of one-year financial settlements for local governments with a rolling three-year settlement, to provide greater reassurance and confidence in investment, and at an increased level.

A need for place-based budgets

However, beyond providing local authorities with increased finances, there is a need for place-based budgets and these should be implemented at a town level. This approach will ensure that each local authority works with its towns and that locations are not overlooked. None of the work suggested is at the expense of wider economic development initiatives: place-based activity at the town level is not instead of the interventions the local authority or combined authority may make but should be planned alongside this work to complement that activity.

Towns have, in many cases, existed as a thriving central locations for generations and have reinvented themselves over time. Most recently the drivers of planning and taxation policies, changes in the structure of retail and the pandemic have accelerated what are very dark days for town centres. It may be small comfort to retailers and hospitality businesses today but the coming decades are likely to reinforce the importance of our towns. Those local authorities that focus their spending on developing an attractive built environment and a sense of place are likely to be the areas which recover the fastest.

Blended learning: Strategic, not a reactive approach to change

February 4, 2022

blended education, zoom learning — © Andrey Khokhlov

Tatjana Babrauskienė from the European Economic and Social Committee, Workers’ Group (Group II), walks us through blended learning, underlining a strategic rather than reactive approach to change

What is blended learning (b-learning)? Blended learning, or blended education, sounds like an innovative methodology, but has in fact existed since the 1960s and includes an appropriate mixture of distance learning, classroom and online learning. The task of the teacher in b-learning is to correctly redistribute the material through these channels, according to the individual needs of the learner.

How can it best be achieved?

Due to the rapid development of new and innovative technologies, the format of b-learning today is very different from what it was half a century and even a decade ago and is not at all like the online lessons that replaced school for children during the pandemic, because blended learning is not just about moving half of the lessons to Zoom.

Blended learning is a whole system, a well-thought-out educational methodology that has been independently and intensively developed over the past ten years. At the same time, while previously mainly used in higher education, we can now observe that the COVID-19 pandemic made a strong push towards faster implementation of b[1]learning in secondary education.

Why now? Why such acceleration?

The world is changing. Young people are becoming more active and mobile. They are also becoming more demanding and independent. They want to get quick results, but convenience, comfort and safety are also important to them. Blended learning provides all of this. Blended learning allows education to be flexible while, if properly applied, maintaining traditionally high quality. Modern technologies and support for b-learning, which was also reinforced by the closure of educational institutions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, make classes more effective, pushing the boundaries of the classroom. In the 21st century, you can’t limit people to rigid schedules: if you get sick or go on holiday, miss a lesson – that’s it, you fall behind the group

Are there any potential threats or disadvantages? Many educational experts are also pointing out the disadvantages of blended learning. There are significantly fewer of them than advantages; however, they do exist and should be taken into consideration when implementing this system in any education institution:

B-learning implies a uniform IT literacy of teachers and students, which is often very difficult to achieve. In addition, all participants in the education process should be well versed in all the features of the blended learning platform.
B-learning requires proper technical support, as well as sufficient funding to create training programmes, test modules and videos.
B-learning can sometimes be limited by the capabilities of the available technology, internet connectivity, etc.
B-learning can lead to overwork for teachers. The teacher adopting blended learning has to pick the right syllabus, the right ratio between face-to-face and online learning, and what is best for the individual learners’ knowledge – there’s no universal recipe for it.

Why is it so important and what is its potential?

Without a doubt, b-learning is the future. First of all, because this format is aimed at people who are not tied to one place, those who know how to work and communicate online, but at the same time appreciate personal relationships and offline meetings, as well as people who love to travel a lot.

In a recent article, World Economic Forum contributors reminded us that natural disasters and pandemics like COVID-19 can be a tipping point for the creation and rapid adoption of innovation.

Even though almost all countries have sanctioned the return to school full-time, we need to embrace disruption, because it will continue – whether it’s COVID-19 phase two, volcano eruptions, bushfires and floods, new technologies or economic downturns and funding cuts. These scenarios require contingency planning and taking a strategic rather than reactive approach to change.

Offshore wind energy in Taiwan

February 4, 2022

taiwan offshore wind, renewable energy — © Cycv

Simon Faulkner, Country Manager/Lead Project Manager at Wood Thilsted, sheds light on offshore wind energy in Taiwan

It would be somewhat insulting to refer to Taiwan’s Formosa 1 (F1) offshore wind farm as a ‘guinea pig’, but as Asia rapidly embraces the benefits of green energy, this important ‘first’ for the island is one from which developers here, and the rest of the continent, can learn a great deal from. F1’s 128MW (powering approximately 130 households per year) is soon to be followed by F2 (376MW) – and later the proposed F3, which with a possible 2GW, could generate sufficient clean power for the equivalent of around 1.5 to 2 million Taiwanese homes.

These three projects alone show how the previously untapped winds on the west coast of Taiwan can play such a huge role in the move away from fossil fuels. And there’s more, with at least another five offshore wind projects here already in the construction phase, ranging from 110MW to 900MW.

Taiwan’s route to greater energy security

These major investments are a key part of a massive shift away from Taiwan being dependent on the vast majority of its energy on foreign suppliers. As an island that experiences the impact of global warming from ever-worsening typhoons, floods and sea levels that could damage its densely populated west coast, Taiwan’s route to much greater energy security includes the goal to reduce CO2 emissions by 50% by 2050. The offshore wind power target of 20.5GW by 2035 has put the industry here on a very firm footing for at least another decade.

And as we continue to evolve, improve and set standards in what is Asia’s prime location for offshore wind, there should be no shortage of developers wanting to become involved, of which TotalEnergies is a notable new name. Stability always sits well of course with investors, and with very good business models to date, interest from Taiwanese and European banks has been strong enough to take us far enough down the right path that any future change of government shouldn’t alter the course.

With the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)’s victory in Taiwan in 2016 came a much different climate and energy policy; a big shift away from nuclear power – especially after seeing the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011 – to an expansion of green, renewable energy. Our colleagues in America are now in a similar position, where a leader and their party see the bigger picture and understand that there is everything to lose by continuing with the ‘dirty’, planet-harming status quo, and everything to gain by being part of the global transition to clean energy.

Offshore wind careers & regulatory certainty

Political will is crucial, as is education, especially to dispel the mountain of online disinformation that has become part of today’s world. Credit must go to developers in Taiwan who have worked extremely hard to get out and meet with communities to explain first-hand what offshore wind represents – and to allay any fears or myths that have been generated online. We recently conducted a successful seminar at the National Taiwan University for civil engineering master’s degree students; raising awareness of offshore wind career opportunities; encouraging young people to come into our industry. Hopefully, this is happening all over the world. It needs to.

There is a global shortage of suitable candidates; true of many industries, but we are currently accelerating faster than we can bring people in. Some might say that this is a great problem to have (!) – but new recruits are vital, as is attracting those from the oil and gas industries, whose skills and experience can play a big part in the future of offshore wind, and help boost local support industries. We shall certainly conduct more seminars to spread the good word about offshore wind, because the desire to learn more about it and become involved in its shaping is definitely there.

Compared to a few years ago, offices here were dominated by Europeans, but today we see far more of a mix of nationalities, with a notable increase in Taiwanese colleagues. Due mainly to lack of experience, the establishment of the supply chain is trickier here than it is in the U.S., but this is all part of the learning curve. Hopefully, respective governments in this part of the world will be consistent in realising that regulatory certainty is in everyone’s interests.

Offshore wind farms in Asia

Overall, the future in Asia looks very bright indeed. It is a fast-moving, challenging and exciting time, with Japan and South Korea catching up fast with Taiwan’s offshore wind. There’s also recent interest from major developers in the Philippines – and there is great potential too in Vietnam. And then there’s….China, which works very differently from the rest of Asia, especially with it preferring to keep matters firmly in[1]country. With seven offshore wind farms now connected to the grid, the Chinese have already overtaken the UK in its offshore wind power generation – and with a proposed 300-plus projects, the scope is truly mind-boggling.

Levelling Up promises £3 billion on drug enforcement

February 4, 2022

Neighbourhood crime is at the heart of the policy, with the UK promising to cut homicide, serious violence and more by 2030

In the highly anticipated Levelling Up White Paper by the British Government, clause 3.4.3. proposes the government’s plan to dismantle crime and criminal enterprises.

Their endeavours lie most notably in tackling drugs and organised crime – as well as reform the asylum system with a “tough” new border regime.

Highlighting that most of the issues arising from crime disproportionately effect areas with higher ethnic minorities, it was noted that nearly a quarter of all neighbourhood crime in 2018-19 was concentrated in just 5% of local areas – which appears to be the main focus.

The Levelling Up White Paper states: “Crime erodes social capital, deters investment and job creation, entrenches poverty and undermines prospects for young people.”

“Crime erodes social capital, deters investment and job creation, entrenches poverty and undermines prospects for young people.”

Dismantling criminal enterprises

Creating 20,000 new prisons, the government aims to sequester burglary, robbery and vehicle theft, anti-social behaviour, and violence against women and girls as its primary objectives.

Numerous initiatives are being posed, such as the Safer Streets Fund. This funding will support practical interventions in local areas suffering disproportionately from crime, with a maximum bid size of £500,000 per year. This fund aims to work with local communities and businesses at the outset of bid development and during the lifetime of projects.

Following from the December 2021 ten-year Drugs Strategy, illicit drug use will be disassembled through three priorities: breaking drug supply chains; delivering a world-class treatment and recovery system; and achieving a generational shift in the demand for drugs.

The funding for this goes to drug enforcement, treatment, and recovery, with around £3 billion for the next three years, including nearly £900 million of additional funding targeted to places in the most need. Their goal is to prevent 1,000 deaths, close over 2,000 county lines and contribute to preventing three-quarters of a million crimes by the end of 2024-25.

Finally, working with Project ADDER (Addiction, Diversion, Disruption, Enforcement and Recovery) – which addresses issues of drug misuse – Project ADDER has been extended up until March 2025, taking the total amount of investment to over £100 million in 13 areas including Blackpool, Newcastle, and Norwich.

Digital monitoring to expand via electronic tagging

With these strategies already in place, the government has already reduced their re-offending programmes, rough sleeping services, integrated offender management and current electronic tagging, moving to tighter monitoring by Integrated Offender Management schemes, which incorporates both prison leavers and prolific neighbourhood offenders on community sentences.

The Integrated Offender Management Strategy provides intensive supervision by police and probation services for offenders of neighbourhood crime, with now an additional £183 million, they are to expand electronic monitoring that will almost double the number of people monitored by 2025.

Over the next three years around 10,000 robbers, thieves and burglars will have to wear GPS tags that monitor their movements and can be screened against recorded crime.

Additional to monitoring people on community sentences, alcohol monitoring tags for prison leavers who have offended after drinking will be introduced – inspired by the effort made in Wales in November 2021, which is to begin in England in summer 2022.

Their electronic monitoring will reach organised criminals who facilitating illegal immigration and other illicit activity ranging from drug and firearms trafficking to serious violent crime.

Benefitting from unpaid work placements

The Beating Crime Plan is to continue also, investing £93 million over the next three years to increase the amount of unpaid work that offenders deliver to around 8m hours per year – around 1.75m hours higher than at any time since comparable records began in 2015-16.

This initiative will set out to clean up and level up local streets, estates, alleyways, and open spaces, as seen in October 2021, with the national partnership with the Canal and River Trust which made offenders clear litter, tidy tow paths and maintain public spaces along waterways.

Some success from this has been seen in South Yorkshire, where offenders undertook 2,500 hours of unpaid work to transform a derelict building into a community centre for disadvantaged young people. This initiative goes hand in hand with their plan to further Youth Rehabilitation Orders, encompassing any juvenile crime which is committed.

Safer neighbourhoods for who?

Amidst the anticipation of the White Paper, many MPs have questioned the economic authenticity of the bill, stating that the current cabinet are mort invested in their internal politics than the actual “levelling up” of the country – highlighting the deprived areas of the North and Midlands which have long gone disregarded under the economic geography of the UK.

Additionally, no new plans have been introduced in the White Paper to promote women’s safety on the Safer Streets fund, despite stating their focus on gender violence, and despite numerous serious cases encompassing gender violence this year – as seen with the case of Sarah Everard and continuous drink spiking nationally.

Another factor of concern is the number of police leaving their jobs every year, as seen with 1,158 voluntary resignations in the year ending March 2012 to 2,363 in the year ending March 2020. It could be argued that a police system reform would benefit cutting crime rather than rehashing numerous former policies with newer branding from the government.

Finally, there has been a significant increase in knife attacks under the current cabinet, seeing an increase in Surrey by 598%, Sussex by 259% and Norfolk by 183%, which has also failed to be addressed in this paper under the crime clause.

Campbell Robb, Nacro chief executive, said: “We know tackling poverty and inequality is key to levelling up. For over 50 years Nacro has been embedded in communities helping some of our nation’s most vulnerable people through our housing, education, and justice services.

“We see a huge amount of unmet need in our country. We need radical change to the systems that support people and significant funding to address this need, not just ambitions and slogans.

“Until there is the right support, opportunity, and funding in place for everyone to succeed, regardless of the circumstances, we cannot truly claim to be levelling up.”

After numerous scandals provided by the British government this year – including topics of drug misuse and illegal parties in Parliament – many could wonder whether the long awaited Levelling Up plan has finally arrived to conceal the numerous illegal ordeals which have occurred these last few parliamentary years.

Following a decade of austerity, the government evidently have more to tackle in lowering crime than drugs and anti-social behaviour, or the reform of illegal immigration under Brexit ideological planning.

COVID-19 variants and vaccines

February 4, 2022

covid-19 variants, covid pandemic — © Miroslav Pavicevic

Academic Research Scholar Dr Wendy Purcell, places the spotlight on COVID-19 variants and vaccines

COVID-19, an infectious respiratory disease caused by the virus SARS-CoV-2 first recognised in December 2019 with an outbreak in China’s Hubei province, has since spread rapidly across the globe. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared it a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on 30th January 2020 (1) and a pandemic by 11th March 2020. (2) By early 2022, there were 329 million cases and over 5.5 million deaths worldwide, with many millions still suffering severe illness and economic hardship. (3)

With herd immunity thought to require 73 to 84% coverage in a population, (4) the WHO’s World Vaccine Week 2022 needs to call for inclusive access to vaccines to afford everyone the protection against developing COVID-19. This is a public health imperative.

COVID-19 vaccines

Worldwide scientific research by universities and pharmaceutical companies enabled the development of vaccine candidates in record time, with UK regulators the first in the world to grant emergency use authorisation for the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine in December 2020. (5) Other vaccines have since been approved with vaccination programmes rolled out globally with around 4 billion people vaccinated by January 2022. However, this represents just 50% of the world’s population, and it’s unevenly distributed – over 80% of people in Spain and South Korea are vaccinated while less than 5% are in Nigeria and Uganda.

While already struggling with vaccine distribution, African nations faced further difficulty after South Africa’s discovery of the Omicron variant in November 2021. (6) Within hours of reporting the variant to the WHO, many Western countries announced travel bans on southern African countries, some of which had yet to report a case. Many claimed this revealed continuing discrimination against the continent. These travel bans not only impacted the global fight against the pandemic, with South African scientists unable to import the chemicals needed for their COVID-19 research, they may also have repercussions on governments willingness to share public health information. Rather than close down a country for reporting a new variant, let’s applaud their vigilance and tackle the problem rather than ‘shoot the messenger’.

While public confidence in COVID-19 vaccines is increasing, so-called vaccine hesitancy remains a public health concern. (7) For others, the issue is still one of limited access to vaccines. The current patchwork of global public health measures and vaccination status create an ideal environment for new variants to emerge. While some variants such as Omicron appear to be more contagious, there is nothing yet to suggest they cause worse disease or that they might evade some of the protection afforded by a COVID-19 vaccine. (8) Continuous monitoring for the persistence of immunity post-vaccination and effectiveness against emerging variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus will require sustained focus and adaptation of vaccination programmes.

COVID-19: New variants emerge

While vaccination offers an important level of protection against the ravages of COVID-19, it’s not a magic cloak of invisibility. As new variants emerge, whether Delta, Omicron or a new Greek letter, we are learning how vaccines developed against the original (the so-called ‘wild type’) are performing – and they are doing quite well.

Those who are double-jabbed or even boosted can still become infected and if so, transmit it to others. (9) However, what’s important is that fully vaccinated persons have outstanding protection against severe illness from COVID-19, essentially bringing the risk of hospitalisation and death to near zero – they are protected. Scientists are busy tweaking the vaccines to tailor them to the new variants and so building up our own personal immunity with boosters may become as routine as an annual flu jab. Will there be COVID-19 cases in the near future? Even as the vaccine programme progresses, there will still be COVID-19 cases in the near future. So, when will this end? Well, there are different sorts of endings with different potential timelines.

One is an epidemiological end when herd immunity is achieved, i.e., when the proportion of society immune to COVID-19 is sufficient to prevent widespread, ongoing transmission. Vaccines are important in achieving herd immunity. Another end is a transition to a form of normalcy where we can resume our routine lives. Here too, vaccination helps. The two ends are related. In some places, we may have to wait on herd immunity to be reached before we can return to normal. However, in those places with effective public health protective protocols – namely, wearing a face[1]covering/mask appropriately, proper hand hygiene and maintaining physical distancing with an ongoing need for contact tracing where appropriate, the end can come before herd immunity is reached. (10)

While the Delta variant was worrying, Omicron, while also extremely transmissible, appears milder so that infections or cases are routine but hospitalisations are generally down. (11) By infecting so many people so quickly, Omicron is also speeding us from a pandemic toward an endemic future (12) where everyone left has some immunity – meaning we’ll be living with rather than dying from COVID-19.

References

(1) https://www.who.int/news-room/commentaries/detail/transmission-of-sars-cov-2-implications-for-infection-prevention-precautions

(2) https://www.who.int/dg/speeches/detail/who-director-general-s[1]opening-remarks-at-the-media-briefing-on-covid-19—11-march-2020

(3) https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/ 17th January 2022

(4) https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.07.31.20166298

(5) https://www.pfizer.com/news/press-release/press-release[1]detail/pfizer-and-biontech-achieve-first-authorization-world

(6) https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc2119270#:~:text=In%20early%20November%202021%2C%20the,1.617

(7) https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and[1]diseases/coronavirus/covid19-vaccine-hesitancy-12-things-you-need-to-know

(8) https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/more/scientific-brief[1]sars-cov-2.html

(9) https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/more/science-and[1]research/scientific-brief-emerging-variants.html

(10) https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/healthcare-systems-and[1]services/our-insights/when-will-the-COVID-19-pandemic-end

(11) https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2022/01/omicron[1]mild-COVID-pandemic-reset/621207/

(12) https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/01/covid-19-long-term[1]peace-future-look-like/?utm_source=sfmc&utm_medium=email&u tm_campaign=2765136_Si-WeeklyNewsletterV5-Live-10-012022&utm_term=&emailType=Strategic%20Intelligence%20Weekl y&ske=MDAxMFgwMDAwNExoeHBwUUFC

The UK’s doomed Medical Cannabis (Access) Bill

February 4, 2022

Senior Associate, David Hardstaff and Partner, John Binns of BCL Solicitors LLP, explore the UK’s doomed Medical Cannabis (Access) Bill

It is becoming difficult to remember a week in UK- parliamentary politics that wasn’t defined by some sort of alleged scandal or drama. Against this backdrop, you may wonder how any actual work is done over and above the daily fighting of fires and attempts at political survival. For UK-based patients struggling to access much needed cannabis-based medicines, it has been difficult to be heard over the white noise of the daily news cycle. A notable and recent example of this is the ‘talking out’ of the Medical Cannabis (Access) Bill, a Private Member’s Bill sponsored by Labour MP, Jeff Smith.

All controlled drugs in the UK are scheduled according to their potential harm and medical or therapeutic use. 2018 saw the apparent legalisation of medicinal cannabis in the UK, through the rescheduling of cannabis-based medicines from Schedule 1 (controlled drugs with little or no medicinal or therapeutic use) to Schedule 2 of the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001. Heralded as a watershed moment within patient and industry circles, the move had broad political support across party lines. However, over three years since the change in the law, the consensus that underpinned it has waned.

Barriers to patient access

Significant barriers to accessing cannabis-based medicinal products are baked into the existing legal and regulatory framework. Further barriers exist due to the lack of funding through the UK’s National Health Service (NHS). The most commonly cited cause is the perceived lack of evidence from UK-based research into the efficacy of cannabis-based medicines. Doctors, who might otherwise be in a position to refer suitable patients to specialists able to prescribe cannabis-based medicines, feel under-equipped through a lack of UK- generated evidence. This chicken and egg problem has highlighted the UK medical establishment’s overreliance on UK-based research in circumstances where the global pool of evidence is significantly more advanced.

The starkest example of the problem is tied to funding. Since the creation of the definition of ‘cannabis-based product for medicinal use in humans’ (or CBPM) in 2018, and its inclusion in Schedule 2, only a handful of prescriptions have been funded through the NHS. Either patient access was not properly considered when changes to the law were made; or, as a cynic might suggest, the change in the law was only ever intended to be superficial.

A modest and practical solution

The Medical Cannabis (Access) Bill aimed to increase patient access to medicinal cannabis through two primary changes to the current regime. Firstly, the Bill would require the General Medical Council (GMC) to keep a register of General Practitioners (GPs) who may prescribe cannabis-based products in England. It would also enable GPs to prescribe medicinal cannabis products in circumstances where currently only consultants could prescribe.

“All controlled drugs in the UK are scheduled according to their potential harm and medical or therapeutic use. 2018 saw the apparent legalisation of medicinal cannabis in the UK, through the rescheduling of cannabis-based medicines from Schedule 1 (controlled drugs with little or no medicinal or therapeutic use) to Schedule 2 of the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001.”

Secondly, the Bill would establish a Commission to propose a framework for the assessment of cannabis- based medicines and their suitability for prescription in England, and to make recommendations of measures to overcome barriers to access to cannabis from the NHS in England for medical reasons. If established, the Commission would have to consider including in the framework evidence from observational studies, conventional controlled trials, and other countries in which cannabis-based medicines are more widely available.

The Bill was to have its Second Reading in the House of Commons on 10 December 2021 but was ‘talked out’, a process similar to filibustering. The development is widely considered to be terminal to the Bill’s future prospects, a reality acknowledged by its key supporters.

Opportunities missed

Why have the Bill’s seemingly reasonable proposals failed to garner support from the UK Parliament? The reality is that despite the apparent support for medicinal cannabis products, cannabis itself has always been a polarising issue in British society and politics. Despite a huge body of evidence from other countries of its efficacy in treating a wide range of health problems, this humble plant has struggled to be taken seriously as a medicinal product in the UK. Important debates concerning the decriminalisation of cannabis users, and how to control the cannabis economy, have highlighted long-held fears that accepting cannabis as a medicine might be the ‘thin end of the wedge’ when it comes to a much wider relaxation of drug laws. The same fears have complicated what should really be a fairly anodyne process of medical research, development and regulation.

The early failure of the Bill does not bode well for UK- patient access in the short to medium term. In politics, the squeaky wheel gets the grease; and so, to cut through as it did in 2018, the medicinal cannabis lobby must rethink how to get its message heard.

The Africa connection

February 4, 2022

Finding sustainable battery materials to keep Europe’s electrification clean, its conscience clear and its energy transition on track

Africa plays a critical role in supporting the shift to carbon neutrality, with the region rich in the mineral and metal reserves needed to build batteries. But how can miners reposition themselves to be the supplier of battery-grade minerals to the European market?

A lot of conversations around the energy transition are taking place across Europe and Africa and while the common goal of net zero unites these two regions, the individual needs of each is different.

Mainland Europe is nearly fully industrialised. Its focus has shifted from mining locally to the beneficiation of raw materials in other countries for products like electric vehicle (EV) battery anodes and cathodes. But as the demand for processing battery minerals rises, the need for cleaner energy and green minerals and metals across Africa is gaining momentum.

Given the complex and varied circumstances across the African continent, how can battery-grade material be mined sustainably at the pace required?

Finding a stable supply of battery material

There are currently more than 200 battery gigafactories in construction across the world, including 25 announced Li-Ion factories in Europe. EVs are a large contributor to this growth.

According to the European Economic and Social Committee’s Strategic Action Plan on Batteries, the demand for EV batteries is expected to surpass 200 GWh per year by 2023 and reach around 400 GWh by 2028. This will create a demand for minerals for which there is not enough supply.

For Europe to meet its future demand for energy transition materials it needs a greater security of supply from sources it either owns or can manage through long-term agreements. It also needs products made with low-carbon materials from low-impact mines to meet environment, social and governance (ESG) expectations.

A 2020 report by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre offers a forensic analysis of the risks and opportunities within the battery supply chain. It highlights The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Mozambique and South Africa as sources of the minerals and metals currently in the European battery supply chain, as well as the risks associated with each country, including the environmental challenges.

sustainable batteries, battery materials — Caption: Hotspots in the production of battery materials, considering mining stage. This group includes important EU suppliers of one or more materials for batteries but come with high risk levels. Source: European Commission JRC report.

All eyes on Africa

With proven reserves and vast, unexplored regions, Africa has the potential to supply battery-grade materials to Europe, while also providing economic growth opportunities for local communities.

But there are still things that need to be done in order to capitalise on this demand. Miners across Africa will need to meet the requirements of international investors and incorporate low-energy strategies that meet global safety and productivity standards.

There are several vulnerabilities in the critical minerals supply chain that may hinder adequate supply, leading to greater price volatility if supply proves fragile. These risks include a high geographical concentration of production and processing led by non-Western governments, long project development lead times if traditional processes are followed, declining resource quality, growing scrutiny of ESG issues, and exposure to climate risk in high water stress areas.

Considering all these challenges, the one at the forefront is the energy used to power a mine.

How fast can Africa catch up?

African-based miners will need to start with emissions reduction across the mining value chain if they’re to sustainably meet the needs of the European batteries market. This includes reducing the energy intensity of a mine site.

However, creating capital to reinvest in renewable energy infrastructure will take forethought and planning. The reality is that margins are tight, and miners across Africa will need to create new capital if they’re to confidently invest in low-emission solutions like wind farms or solar power.

One solution is to go further down the beneficiation stream. Currently, material passes hands several times before it gets to the component level. Compressing supply chains presents opportunities for African miners. Other than lithium, most resources travel well, and can be purified locally into high-value materials and shipped to the European batteries market.

For example, South Africa has around 70% of the world’s manganese. With the right investment, the country could become a leading electrolytic manganese producer.

This is something that’s gaining traction, with three advanced studies for electrolytic/high-purity manganese facilities currently being undertaken. The same applies to electrolytic cobalt and nickel sulphate. African-focused investment has been slow over the last five years, but it’s progressing quickly as miners look to supply a more beneficiated product that feeds directly into the batteries manufacturing process.

A higher-value product creates a better margin for the local producer to invest in renewables. This is something we are seeing happen in pockets, with miners adding solar facilities to generate green electricity.

Complex mining solutions needs a diversified partner

Finding the right partner with end-to-end process experience is important to produce battery grade material for European manufacturers.

We have completed more than 200 projects involving graphite, nickel, manganese, vanadium, lithium and cobalt mining.

We’re able to see this through the intermediate processing steps by helping our customers refine and convert raw materials into active material. This includes graphite anode facilities, from mining through to anode precursor, and we’ve completed work for several cathode precursor producers of Li-ion NCM material and electrolyte.

This type of experience has allowed us to deliver both anode and cathode precursor projects with some directly integrated with mining and mineral processing.

A brighter future for Europe and Africa

As Europe pushes forward with its decarbonisation plans, its relationship with Africa has never been more important as it races to build capacity and secure a sustainable supply chain.

Meeting these challenges to position for growth will require a step change in how resources are developed and operated. It will also require coordination and cooperation between governments at all levels, investors, operators, equipment suppliers, service providers, end users and communities to accelerate the development of critical minerals while at the same time managing the needs of all stakeholders.

Being in extreme conditions: Hot pressurised liquid carbon unveiled

February 4, 2022

Emiliano Principi, Senior Scientist of the FERMI free electron laser facility, explains recent advances in the study of carbon driven to extreme temperatures and pressures through intense ultrashort laser light shots

Research on materials in extreme conditions of temperature and pressure, namely greater than thousands of degrees Kelvin and hundreds of thousands of bars, is crucial for scientific and technological progress. Knowing how matter behaves in extreme thermodynamic conditions helps researchers to comprehend the interior of planets and stars, design reusable orbital class rockets and space vehicles, develop future nuclear fusion reactors.

Ubiquitous but elusive

Frontier research on extreme conditions matter regularly involves carbon or carbon alloys. Carbon is an extremely versatile atomic element that can aggregate in many solid forms with diverse, and sometimes opposite, features. Familiar polymorphs of carbon are graphite and diamond. But other allotropes of carbon either exist in nature or can be synthesised in the laboratory such as graphene, fullerene, carbon nanotubes, lonsdaleite, amorphous carbon, and more. This unique polymorphism, combined with the outstanding lightness and extremely high melting temperature makes carbon and carbon-based compounds attractive to researchers.

Emiliano Principi, Senior Scientist

Among the diverse condensed forms of carbon that are stable under high pressure and temperature, the liquid phase is probably the most difficult one to analyse in the laboratory. In many extreme conditions experiments, materials are compressed and heated in special diamond anvil cells. Unfortunately, trying to pressurise and melt a carbon specimen using those devices likely leads to the breakage of the anvils that are made of carbon as well. Moreover, at low pressures, hot carbon tends to sublimate thus reaching the vapour phase without passing through the liquid form. Therefore, the study of the response of solid carbon to high temperature and pressure culminating with the melting is both intriguing and extremely complex.

A unique light source

The FERMI free electron laser (FEL) in Trieste (Italy) is a unique large-scale facility delivering intense ultrashort flashes of light in the extreme ultraviolet range, i.e. between the X-rays and the visible light spectral regions. This kind of light pulses lasting a few tens of femtoseconds (one millionth of a billionth of a second) can be fruitfully used to take snapshots of important dynamic physical quantities thus monitoring subtle electronic and atomic properties of matter. The FERMI FEL is, therefore, a remarkable tool for innovative studies on extreme conditions materials.

A specific experimental setup operating at the beamline EIS-TIMEX of FERMI has been designed to generate and investigate liquid carbon specimens under controlled conditions. The beamline is equipped with an additional intense femtosecond pulsed laser operating in the visible range that has been used to pressurise and melt an amorphous carbon foil of submicrometric thickness in a region of about 20 microns. Indeed, materials exposed to ultrashort intense light pulses can reach extremely high temperatures (greater than 10000 K) in a very short time scale. For several hundreds of femtoseconds, the hot sample volume usually remains constant, leading to a temperature-driven increase of pressure.

Too fast to expand

This approach, termed “isochoric heating”, permits creation of the desired extreme conditions on carbon for a limited time interval of about 300 femtoseconds. After this lapse of time, the carbon specimen begins to expand and finally vaporises. The FERMI FEL light pulses are short enough to “take a picture” of the laser-excited carbon sample prior to its irreversible explosion, allowing scientists to analyse the carbon liquid phase under controlled thermodynamic conditions. After exposure to the intense laser shot, the sample is moved by a few tens of microns on a contiguous fresh portion ready to be illuminated by another laser flash. This procedure is repeated hundreds of times.

The data analysis, corroborated by theoretical calculations carried out at the University of Kassel (Germany), indicates that the liquid carbon sample resulting from laser-driven isochoric heating had reached a temperature of about 14000 K and a pressure of 500000 bar. Under those conditions the atomic structure of liquid carbon is different from that of typical liquid metals and looks rather weird. Indeed, carbon atoms are not randomly distributed in the sample volume, surprisingly they are arranged in long chains. This structural rearrangement peculiar of the atomic structure in liquid carbon can explain its macroscopic behaviour and allows scientists to predict the properties of carbon in extreme conditions.

This research paves the way for future investigations on materials under high pressure and temperature, invigorating the field using innovative FEL light sources and hopefully stimulating novel challenging experiments based on the isochoric heating approach.

References

Original scientific article: E. Principi et al. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 125, 155703 (2020): https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.125.155703

FERMI free electron laser lightsource: https://www.elettra.eu/lightsources/fermi.html

EIS-TIMEX beamline: https://www.elettra.eu/lightsources/fermi/fermi-beamlines/eis-timex/eis-timex.html

FELs of Europe newsletter: https://www.fels-of-europe.eu/sites/site_fels-of-europe/content/e212752/e214606/e309255/10thNewsletterFoEJan2021.pdf

Phys.org: https://phys.org/news/2020-09-liquid-carbon-characterized-free-electron.html

Research Outreach: https://researchoutreach.org/articles/understanding-atomic-electronic-structure-solid-density-liquid-carbon/

Please note: This is a commercial profile.

How technology partners can help tackle the public sector talent gap

February 4, 2022

healthcare transformation, public sector talent gap

Simon Collinson, Head of UK Public Sector at Salesforce, explains how technology partners can help tackle the public sector talent gap, including a look at healthcare transformation

The UK is currently facing a gap between accelerated digital transformation and digital skills necessary for the jobs of today and the future. By 2030, nine out of 10 UK workers will need to learn new skills to perform their current role proficiently, at a cost of £1.3 billion a year. That’s according to our research in partnership with IDC, which makes clear that without appropriate action to upskill and reskill the workforce, we run the risk of undermining economic growth.

This year, 65% of global GDP will be driven by digitised products and services and a lack of skilled tech workers will hold back economic growth and resilience. Bridging the gap is an imperative that will require the partnership of businesses and Government to ensure everyone has the opportunity to participate in the digital economy.

The great resignation and digital skills

The public sector is under increased pressure to digitally transform due to the pandemic and keep pace of digital-first services. In this work-from-anywhere world, the job market is at a turning point with many looking to change roles or careers. In order to address the digital skills gap, we need to look beyond the traditional pool of talent, instead opening up to untapped pockets of new talent.

To help attract and retain the right people, the government needs to show that it is moving away from legacy IT and embracing cloud, social and mobile – these are the technologies that people want to work with and build their careers on, to fundamentally change the lives of our citizens.

The good news is that we are already beginning to see a wave of talented private sector employees coming forward and actively choosing to pursue careers in the public sector. The downside is that people are often reliant on personal networks in order to navigate the challenging public sector recruitment process. This can exclude talent without those networks and act as an inhibitor to getting the right people in the right roles.

In order to tackle the digital skills gap, the public sector must start from within. By concentrating efforts on upskilling the entire workforce, Public sector organisations can create new opportunities for existing employees looking for new challenges and also demonstrate to external recruits that a career in the public sector offers many opportunities.

Spotlight on healthcare transformation

Continued widespread innovation will mean that core digital skills are becoming as important as reading and writing. In fact, two thirds of the nation’s job seekers feel they would benefit from digital skills training. In healthcare, it’s not just frontline medical workers that need to adapt to new technologies. Digital transformation will affect everyone from managers, support staff and other healthcare professionals, to care workers and family carers.

In the age of telehealth, healthcare providers’ digital delivery of medical support and advice services has demonstrated that transformation projects that once took years, can be undertaken in a matter of months. We’ve seen healthcare organisations use technology to provide new services for patients and access to specialist consultants from the safety of their homes. By shifting to digital, organisations are reimagining their services entirely to be more sustainable and flexible for patients, personnel, and constituents alike.

Digital technologies will help bring patients and care teams closer together, and meet the needs of a continuously advancing systems. But in order to see true value, a digital-minded and skilled workforce is required.

Addressing the training and reskilling imperative

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to the skills challenge, but government and business must work together as an integral part of the solution. Partnering with providers that can provide trusted digital expertise, advice and training platforms to help governments and citizens accelerate their commitment to upskilling will be essential. For instance Salesforce’s training platform, Trailhead, takes participants from a low level of technical knowledge to skilled digital roles in as little as six months. These programmes can be designed to help identify, match, equip and empower sections of a population with key skills that align with government priorities.

The use of low-code platforms will help attract a new audience into the government’s talent pool. The benefits of digital upskilling with low-code platforms is that former service leads, administrators, customer experience heads, and marketing leads can all be equipped for these newly digital roles. A “clicks not code” approach, enables people without a formal technical background to pursue digital career paths.

To stay competitive on the global stage, the UK public sector needs to take a lead in enhancing digital literacy across the board – not only in advanced fields like digital quantum computing and AI, but across all aspects of business and society. To make that shift, we need to focus on digitally upskilling our citizens across industries and from all walks of life.

Understanding equality in light of gender bias in society

February 4, 2022

Alison Kriel, Founder, Above & Beyond Education, describes the importance of understanding equality in light of gender bias in society

A child’s journey into the world of limiting beliefs and gendered attitudes begins from the moment of gender reveal parties or the placing of a blue or pink cap on a newborn’s head. It is the start of a lifetime of subliminal messages that boys ‘do’ and girls ‘look pretty.’ We are light years away from the elimination of gender bias in society.

Gender bias in society

By the time the baby toddles into a toy shop, they know whether they go to the blue corner filled with wonderful toys for boys to develop their skills as doers and builders, or the pink corner for girls to develop their role of perfect homemaker and babyminder. By the time our pupils start preschool at the age of three, boys already have the foundation of creative thinking skills developed to design and build houses wearing clothes that enable them to go out into the world to fight dragons and demons. Girls know they have skills as nurturers and homemakers in houses designed and built by the boys who they follow in their pretty clothes and shoes which prohibit play on an equal basis. Boys arrive willing to take risks, girls with a mindset of perfectionism.

One of the biggest challenges for Early Years staff is to challenge the gender-biased thinking which has formed in the minds of their young pupils through their entire lifespan, acquired through media, advertising, shop layouts and adult role models. School staff have to help them to unlearn that girls are born to have a limited mindset and boys are encouraged to have a limitless mindset.

An understanding of gender equality

If we are to ensure that every child is given the opportunity to reach their full potential, it is critical that an emphasis is placed on readdressing the subliminal messages received by every child to develop an understanding of gender equality. This is an essential aspect of the early years foundation stage (EYFS) curriculum. Children need to understand what gender bias is and to learn to see that gender inequality is a problem in our society. This is done through a carefully considered curriculum, non-gendered play activities, gender-neutral toys, books that challenge stereotypes, positive role models (‘We can’t be what we can’t see’), and adult use of language and expectations to debunk the myth that gender bias towards boys is acceptable.

Raising awareness of bias is just the beginning. As they grow older, our pupils need to understand their responsibility to themselves to put aside limiting factors, and to recognise that they have a role to play in seeing the bias in the world around us. Pupils can challenge bias, and be the change they want to see in the world by having high aspirations and by being the best role model they can be. They need to learn to be part of redressing the balance and become part of the solution.

Gender diversity

It is well researched and evidenced that diverse teams perform better. The most successful companies in the world actively embrace diversity. Studies into diversity in the workplace have found that for every 1% increase in gender diversity, company revenue increases by 3%, and increased ethnic diversity increases revenue by 15%. The better the representation of rank diversity, the bigger the success, the greater the profit. A workforce that knows there is opportunity for development makes a strong team as they recognise their potential within. We also know that countries that have the most openness to equity, diversity and inclusion are also the richest, happiest countries with the lowest crime rates.

Schools that are ambitious for the future success of their pupils and have a desire for them to work in senior leadership roles in globally successful companies, who want their pupils to contribute to a country which is rich, happy, and peaceful will actively support their pupils’ understanding of inclusion, equity, diversity and belonging. They will want their pupils to be JEDI warriors (Justice, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion) and will do that by making those values the cornerstones of their hidden and measured curriculum. Successful execution will be evidenced through low exclusion rates, a closed gap in attainment between all groups, and resourcing which enables every pupil to access learning equitably. Students will demonstrate their understanding of the immorality of exclusion, marginalisation, disparity, and inequalities in access through their learning and social behaviours. This is at the heart of all happy schools where every student has raised self-esteem because they feel accepted, valued, and know they are successful.

A school that puts diversity, equity, and inclusion at the heart of what they do will take conscious actions in ensuring that those values permeate through all that they do. Through the active recruitment of a diverse staff who understand their role in the active elimination of discrimination and violence; a curriculum which enables every child to feel successful and develops their understanding of the world and their role in eliminating bias; non-gendered uniform policies; carefully considered playtimes and learning environments. Deliberate leaders who take conscious actions to eliminate inequity and marginalisation to create a culture of belonging and success builds communities of pupils who will go out into the world with high aspirations. Those leaders know that their work goes well beyond tick box data, the digital divide and technology. They know it is about being human- centred.

How structural geologists help forecast volcanic eruptions

February 3, 2022

Craig Magee, NERC Independent Research Fellow at the University of Leeds illustrates the important role of structural geology in improving volcano forecasting

Over 800 million people live near volcanoes. To keep people safe and secure, we need to be able to reliably forecast when, where, and how volcanoes might erupt. Importantly, before many eruptions occur, we see tell-tale signals warning of imminent activity. These warning signals can include subtle elevation changes in local topography or an increase in earthquakes. Yet forecasting eruptions is extremely difficult because every volcano is unique: warning signals at one volcano may differ to those at another, and even warning signals that herald different eruptions at the same volcano can vary. By improving our knowledge of volcanoes, through the support of organisations like NERC, we can constrain the probabilities of when, where, and how volcanoes might erupt.

Under pressure

As batches of molten rock (magma) inject up through the crust, they often get stuck. Here, the magma begins to cool and crystallise, slowly forming into a ‘mush’ that contains crystals, some fluid magma, and bubbles of released gas. By increasing the volume of magma and gases in the system, its pressure can build and may eventually drive an eruption. This pressurisation is controlled by the magma properties (chemistry and physics) and the composition and structure of the surrounding (host) rock. The uniqueness of volcanoes arises because all magmas are different and there is a near-infinite combination of host rock composition and structure beneath volcanoes. These differences in the magma and host rock affect when, where, and how volcanoes might erupt, and also dictate the style of any eruption warning signals.

The role of structural geology

Structural geologists study how rocks deform through space and time, and how they are reshaped and rearranged by these processes. When magma starts to inject and accumulate beneath volcanoes, it creates space for itself by pushing away (deforming) the surrounding rock. Even though the magma may be located at depths of several kilometres or more, the force it exerts on the overlying rocks can be enough to break them and/or push them and the ground surface upwards. We monitor volcanoes by using:

Satellites or ground-based tools to measure millimetre-scale changes in surface elevation.
Seismometers to find earthquakes generated as magma breaks (fractures) the host rock.

These techniques can tell us if a volcano is active, but not if an eruption will happen. However, by measuring the products of magma-driven host rock deformation, we can start to estimate where magma is located and how much there may be. This information on what is going on beneath a volcano is critical to eruption forecasting.

Dykes and dyke-induced faults

Monitoring deformation signals is one aspect to improving eruption forecasting, but we also need to understand the relationship between magma injection, accumulation, and deformation to properly interpret signals. This is where my NERC-funded research as a structural geologist comes in. I currently study dykes, which are the main pathways for magma to move through the crust. Dykes are vertical sheets of magma that are usually several metres to tens of metres wide, several kilometres high, and tens to hundreds of kilometres long. To make space for itself, a dyke will push away the rock to either side, causing extension. Before many dykes reach the surface, their injection drives extension of overlying intact rock. This extension can pull apart and crack the overlying rock, creating two fractures (faults) that can be seen at the surface and are inclined towards and meet at the top of the dyke, forming a ‘V-shaped’ pattern. At the surface, these faults appear as two parallel cracks with the ground and rock in-between them having slipped down and subsided. We call these cracks ‘dyke-induced faults’, because they were generated by dyke injection at depth, and can see them in volcanic areas on Earth (Hawaii, Iceland, Ethiopia, etc.) and other planets (Mars). The formation of dyke-induced faults can occur before and during eruptions.

What can dyke-induced faults tell us about volcanic systems?

We often measure the distance between a pair of dyke-induced faults and the extension across them at the surface, to estimate the depth and thickness of the underlying dyke. These estimates are useful because they could help tell us how close magma is to the surface and how much magma there is. However, although we can see dyke-induced faults at the surface, and we can recreate them in sandbox or computer models, we do not actually know how they connect and relate to natural dykes. So how do we know our estimates are correct?

I found a series of dykes and dyke-induced faults, buried beneath sediments offshore north-west Australia, that are imaged in seismic reflection data. (1) The seismic reflection technique can produce ultrasound-like images of Earth’s subsurface in 3D. With this data, I have been able to measure the ancient surface expression of the dyke-induced faults and from these, estimate underlying dyke properties. Yet unlike other studies, I can also directly measure the underlying dykes. This allows me to compare the fit between estimates of dyke properties and the actual dyke properties. From my results, it seems that how we typically estimate dyke properties from the surface expression of dyke-induced faults is not always accurate. (2) This is because the composition and structure of the host rock is variable and affects how faults grow, such that they do not have a true ‘V-shape.’ Future research will explore how we can modify our methodologies to improve the accuracy and reliability of dyke properties estimated from dyke-induced fault surface expressions.

References

(1) Magee, C. and Jackson, C.A.L., 2020. Seismic reflection data reveal the 3D structure of the newly discovered Exmouth Dyke Swarm, offshore NW Australia. Solid Earth, 11(2), pp.579-606.

(2) Magee, C. and Jackson, C.A.L., 2021. Can we relate the surface expression of dike-induced normal faults to subsurface dike geometry?. Geology, 49(4), pp.366-371.

Please note: This is a commercial profile

Prospects for minimally invasive and optimally effective cancer immunotherapy

February 3, 2022

Representation of CTL attacking a tumor cell © Meletios Verras

Here, Professor of Biochemistry, Microbiology & Immunology at the University of Saskatchewan, Peter Betscher, explains how he is dedicated towards realising Robert North’s vision

Several forms of cancer immunotherapy have been recently developed. They are of proven promise and very exciting. The underlying strategies exploit our understanding that immunity is naturally generated against cancers. They seek to enhance the generation of, or to create, protective, cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL), able to kill cancer cells.

I suggest the unprecedented increase in immunological information at the molecular and cellular levels has perforce led to a neglect of older observations and considerations at the level of the system. Prominent among these are Robert North’s on tumour immunology, published in the 1980s. North addressed two questions at the level of the system: do tumours induce protective immunity and, if so, why are they not rejected? In general, valid considerations/observations at the level of the system provide a context for appreciating the significance of cellular/molecular considerations and observations. Invalid ideas at the level of the system provide an invalid context.

North was clearly inspired by the possibility of realising cancer immunotherapy. His motivation came from the existence of “concomitant tumour immunity”, as I shall describe. North’s approach and findings greatly influenced me. It is a propitious time to consider how recent, innovative forms of immunotherapy can be placed in the broader picture, developed by North and earlier investigators.

Figure 1

This melding should pave the way for even more effective cancer therapy. I first summarise the recent advances in cancer immunotherapy. I then outline older studies on protective immunity against animal tumours and its regulation. Lastly, I speculate on what prospects might arise from such a melding.

Modern strategies of immunotherapy

Checkpoint blockade

Activated T cells, including CTL, express surface antigens not expressed by naïve T cells. Among these are CTLA-4 and PDI that, on interacting with their ligands, generate feedback, inhibitory signals on the further activation of the T cell. Blocking these feedback interactions, referred to as “checkpoint blockade”, constitutes dramatic treatment of cancer in several clinical settings. One drawback is the variability in efficacy. Another is that considerable inflammatory, autoimmune side-effects may occur, particularly with blockade of CTLA-4. This is altogether not surprising as CTLA-4-deficient mice die at a young age from autoimmunity.

Chimeric antigen receptors

Researchers have transfected into a patient’s T cells expression vectors, coding for “chimeric antigen receptors”, and then given these T cells back to the patient as treatment. These receptors allow the transfected T cells to interact with antigens expressed on cancer cells and to give rise to CTL able to kill them. This approach has resulted in some spectacular results. However, the approach is somewhat invasive and expensive. It does not attempt to harness the patient’s protective immunity and, for this reason, is not further discussed here.

Figure 2

Classical studies

Vaccinating animals against transplantable tumours

A normally lethal dose of tumour can be implanted into the skin and excised nine days later. This excision prevents progressive tumour growth. Such excised mice resist a normally lethal challenge about a month after excision. Adoptive transfer of protection by lymphocytes but not by serum shows this protection to be due to cell-mediated immunity and is tumour-specific. Susceptibility in other studies was shown to be often associated with a predominant antibody response. George Klein wrote in 1968 of vaccination: “It will be important…to achieve the objective…a stimulation of cell-mediated rejection with minimal risk of antibody enhancement.” These insights are at the level of the system.

Concomitant immunity

An animal given a lethal dose of a tumour, usually in the skin, is often able to reject a similar challenge at a second site implanted nine days after the first. This “concomitant immunity” is tumour-specific and due to protective T cells, as demonstrated by adoptive transfer. Despite this, the initial tumour implant grows progressively, for reasons to be shortly discussed.

North’s and our related studies

North was convinced that understanding how concomitant immunity is regulated would provide clues for effective immunotherapy. He showed that mice, implanted with a lethal dose of tumour, first generate protective CTL (concomitant immunity), but this generation declines as tumour-specific suppressor CD4 T cells appear, leading to progressive tumour growth, see Figure 1. North examined responses to several tumour types and uncovered the same pattern. His solution to the paradox of concomitant immunity and progressive tumour growth was: “too little (concomitant immunity), too late.”

The pattern of response uncovered by North seems “familiar.” Antigen most often first induces a cell-mediated response, that is down-regulated as IgG antibody is produced and Th2 cells are generated, though a sufficiently low dose of antigen only generates a cell mediated, Th1 response, see Figure 2. We showed that lethal challenges of two tumours North employed first generate an exclusive Th1 response. The response evolves to gain an increasing Th2 component, with increasing tumour-specific IgG antibody production, and with the ratio of IgG1/IgG2 isotypes also increasing. As discussed previously in Open Access Government, similar patterns are seen in most people infected by HIV-1 and in the response of mice to, for example, Leishmania major.

Repetitive administration of appropriately low doses of a protein antigen not only induces exclusive cell-mediated immunity. It can guarantee such a response on a subsequent challenge with a high dose that results in antibody in naïve animals, as Parish showed in the late 1960s. We found infection with low numbers of L major parasites generates a Th1 imprint, and so resistance to a challenge with a high number that generates a predominant Th2 response and disease in naïve mice. We carried out similar experiments with tumours. These observations are the basis of the “low dose vaccination strategy.” This framework also provides a simple explanation for the efficacy of excision priming to achieve tumour resistance. The tumour is removed at a time when cell-mediated immunity is optimal; its removal undermines the evolution of the response towards a Th2 mode.

Improving Cancer Immunotherapy

As noted above, a low antigen dose leads to an exclusive, primary Th1 response. We demonstrated that deceasing the antigen load in patients with an on-going Th1/Th2 response can modulate the response towards a Th1 mode. The decrease in load must be appropriate; we argue that, if the decrease is too great, all immunity is lost. An appropriate decrease is one that results in a predominant Th1 response, associated with predominant IgG2 antibody production, as discussed elsewhere, see Open Access Government.

Perhaps much human cancer is associated with ineffective immunity containing a detrimental, Th2 component, associated with production of cancer specific IgG1 antibodies. Surgery and chemotherapy reduce the antigen load. Thus, such treatments have the potential to increase protective immunity if the drop in antigen load is appropriate in degree. This briefly indicated protocol parallels one, described elsewhere, see Open Access Government, for treating HIV-infections. An examination of the levels of different IgG isotypes, among anti-cancer antibodies, will likely be useful as an indicator whether checkpoint blockade will be effective. It may well be that therapy is ineffective if immunity contains a significant Th2 component. The confirmation of such a correlation would provide a context for designing combined therapy, such as chemotherapy, and checkpoint blockade when the response has been modulated to a protective, predominant Th1 mode.

A very recent publication (Frontiers in Immunology, 2021 12, article 764596) that appeared since this was drafted, demonstrates that resected samples of primary, human lung tumours show a predominance of infiltrating Th2 cells. I find this very exciting.

Please note: This is a commercial profile.

TED Gen: The Combined heat and power revolution

February 3, 2022

Here, TED Generation (TED Gen) explains how to improve the economic and environmental future of your business – using Combined heat and power (CHP) to decrease energy costs and rewrite carbon footprints

When it comes to climate change, the European Commission has promised to deliver carbon neutrality by 2050. Thousands of businesses, small and large, are changing the way that they use energy. There is a huge push to make energy part of a circular economy, instead of drawing from a costly source that cannot be replaced.

But how can we translate the policies of politicians and scientists into a tangible change for our own businesses?

TED Gen: The people who can make your business greener

Combined heat and power (CHP) is an energy efficient technology that generates electricity and captures the heat that would otherwise go to waste. This thermal energy can then be used, meaning that financial savings happen from the first moment of system replacement.

TED Gen are at the forefront for pushing CHP, with no capital investment required for them to work with you.

TED Gen funds, installs and operates CHP systems that deliver heat and power where it is generated, providing immediate and sustainable savings for clients. Be it a retro fit, new build or introducing CHP to an established and operating business – they can make it more energy efficient and cheaper to run. Sizes range from 30kwh up to 5gwh, meaning they can adapt to work on a large industrial scale right down to care homes, whilst ensuring it matches the locations aesthetics and acoustic requirements.

In the past twelve months, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, TED Gen have delivered over 10gW’s of electricity and 172 gW’s of heat. They can also prove that there will be on-going savings of up to 40% occurring at any time, as long as their experts have had a chance to optimize the performance of the equipment involved. TED Gen further promise a partnership – they don’t want to make one interaction but continue to update the necessary equipment to maximise any benefits of economy and environment as time goes on.

The Co-gen energy agreement (CEA)

With the CEA agreement, TED Gen will cover the full cost of installation, operational costs, full on-going costs of service and maintenance, install billing grade meters and you will have the option to either continue your agreement or terminate it at the end of your contract.

Adapting a 300-year-old building to CHP

Seaham Hall is a Hotel and Spa originally built in 1791. As a classically old piece of architecture, the building may have seemed implausible to adapt with CHP technology. In fact, one of the leading arguments against the plausibility of a carbon neutral future is the presence of old buildings – whether in London, Paris or Budapest. These buildings do not have to be left behind in the green revolution, nor be extremely expensive to run.

TED Gen analysed the site data for Seaham Hall, carrying out a full energy review exercise across both the hotel and the Spa leisure facility. Based on the analysis of the Half Hour electrical grid data provided, TED Generation proposed a 100KW CHP unit be installed at the hotel and another 100KW CHP unit to be installed at the Spa.

Based on the high electrical demand, the units could look to continually run 365 days of the year. After allowance for service downtime, this would generate; 170 kWe/hr annual generation of electricity (1,004,000 kWh’s), 226 kWth/hr annual generation of heat (1,320,000 kWh’s), for 17 hours per day.

The benefits of CHP

Using CHP, the hotel will have access to up to 419,000 kW’s of clean electricity and 538,000 kW’s of clean heat per annum, delivering carbon savings of up to 143 Tonnes CO2 per annum. Additionally, the hotel will save up to a total of over £191,900 in direct savings over the life of the Agreement.

In the Spa, the CHP will provide up to 575,000 kW’s of clean electricity and 782,000 kW’s of clean heat per annum, creating carbon savings of up to 207 Tonnes CO2 per annum and will generate direct savings of over £260,900 over the life of the Agreement.

The transformative turnaround of Seaham Hall proves that no building of any age should be left behind by the Combined heat and power revolution – least of all, the small businesses that are looking for ways to change. Contact us to understand how we can help you step into the green future.

*Please note: This is a commercial profile

Physical activity to prevent chronic diseases

February 3, 2022

Dr Deborah Lee from Dr Fox Online Pharmacy, considers the role of physical activity to prevent chronic diseases

This article explores the extent to which regular physical activity helps improve your overall health, fitness, and quality of life and how it helps to reduce the risk of chronic conditions like type-2 diabetes, heart disease, cancer, depression and anxiety plus dementia.

Lack of physical exercise has been formally classified as a major cause of chronic disease and death. Research suggests physical inactivity is equally as harmful to health, as a poor diet and smoking. These facts may come as a surprise to some. But when you think about it, it’s not surprising at all. Our bodies were meant to be used, and just like anything in life, you use it or lose it.

In a 2018 detailed and comprehensive review of the health benefits of exercise, the authors report there is ‘overwhelming evidence’ from over 100,000 medical publications, that regular physical exercise prolongs our natural lifespan and prevents more than forty chronic diseases.

Cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF)

Exercise is the best way to improve cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF). This is measured by improving the maximal oxygen uptake, VO2max. Each unit of metabolic improvement results in a 12% reduction in mortality. In one 2010 study, men with a low CRF who increased their fitness over an eight-year period, reduced their risk of death by 50%. However, this was also true in reverse, as those who transitioned from high to low CRF, increased their risk of mortality by 50%.

When we exercise, this improves our ability to transport oxygen by improving cardiac output. It also facilitates the diffusion of oxygen within working muscle tissue, enhancing the growth and development of capillaries, and augmenting the myoglobin muscle content. In addition, exercise leads to an increase in the density of mitochondria and improves mitochondrial efficiency in providing energy output.

Type-2 diabetes (T2D)

Type-2 diabetes (T2D) is also inexorably linked to a lack of physical exercise. In a large 2006 Chinese study, 110,366 men and women with abnormal glucose tolerance and at high risk of T2D, were randomly assigned to one of four groups; controls, diet only, an exercise, and a diet plus exercise group, and followed up for six years. T2D developed in 67.7% of the control group, compared to 43.8% in the diet group, 41.1% in the exercise group and 46% in the diet plus exercise group. Statistical analysis revealed that the exercise group had the greatest significant reduction in the risk of T2D – an overall risk reduction of 46%.

Why should this be? Insulin resistance is the prime underlying cause of T2D. In T2D, there is plenty of insulin, but cells have become insensitive to it, hence glucose is not taken up inside them, and they are relatively starved of glucose. However, in those with insulin resistance, when they exercise, this problem is bypassed, because skeletal muscle cells take up glucose through a separate pathway that does not require insulin. Indeed, glucose uptake is increased more than 50-fold in exercising muscle.

This is one-way exercise helps improve blood glucose control and facilitates weight loss. Increasing physical exercise is seen as a vital tool for combatting the current T2D epidemic.

Mental health

Numerous studies have demonstrated the benefits of increased physical activity on brain function, in both cognition and mental health. Physical exercise reduces

the risks of conditions such as depression, anxiety, Alzheimer’s Disease and Parkinson’s Disease. Exercise results in an increase in brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) – a protein responsible for the growth, differentiation, and synaptic connections of neurons. BDNF is important for neuroplasticity – the construction of new neuronal pathways.

Other factors are also important. For example, exercise increases levels of insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1), a hormone that acts as a cell-signalling molecule and has a prime role in brain development and ageing. Exercise also leads to an increase in the concentration of brain neurotransmitters including dopamine, glutamate, serotonin and noradrenaline – all of which produce a natural high and elevate mood.

Cancer

Robust evidence exists to support the fact that increased exercise reduces the risk of cancer. This applies to thirteen different cancers, including breast, bladder, colon, kidney, oesophagus, endometrium and stomach.

It is difficult to single out physical inactivity from being overweight or obese, as these often go hand in hand. However, the medical literature supports a very

convincing link between both these factors and an increased risk of cancer. What seems to be important is maintaining an appropriate balance between calorie input and energy expenditure, as this is vital for the primary prevention of cancer.

As an example, in 2001, being overweight or obese, and/or physically inactive, was estimated to cause 26% of colorectal cancers worldwide. Yet physical activity is a modifiable risk factor, along with diet, smoking, addictive behaviour and poor sexual health. Men and women with a BMI of over 40, have a 52% and 62% respective increased risk of dying from cancer, as compared to those with a BMI of less than 25.

Probable explanations include the following. Exercise lowers levels of hormones such as oestrogen and other growth factors which are important for the growth and development of cancers. It also reduces insulin resistance and improves glucose metabolism, thus improving cellular function. Increasing physical activity also lowers levels of chronic inflammation and reduces oxidative stress, which is known to be associated with DNA mutations. Exercising regularly helps to combat obesity – obesity itself being a risk factor for cancer.

To what extent is lack of exercise a major cause of chronic diseases today?

Heart disease

The British Heart Foundation reports that 5 million deaths from heart disease around the world are caused every year due to lack of physical exercise. This accounts for one in six UK deaths.

Type-2 diabetes

Physical inactivity is thought to account overall for 7% of the cases of T2D in Europe. Being overweight or obese accounts for 65%-80% of new cases of T2D – but physical inactivity and being overweight or obese often coexist. Furthermore, only 34% of young people aged 13-15 are doing enough exercise to meet current recommendations.

Mental health

In a 2018 American study of 1.2 million adults, on average, study participants reported experiencing 4.3 poor mental health days per month. Those who did regular exercise, however, had one and half days fewer poor mental health days every month than those who did not exercise, meaning exercise resulted in a 43% reduction in poor mental health. The authors recognised the numerous benefits of exercise on mental health, but these included, in particular, the positive effects of social interaction, connecting with others and the consequent improvement in emotional resilience.

The Alzheimer’s Society reports that taking regular physical exercise in middle age can reduce your risk of developing Alzheimer’s Disease by around 45%. Regular exercise in older people has also been shown to improve cognition, memory and brain processing speed.

Cancer

Cancer is most often not caused by bad luck. However, whereas many people recognise smoking and obesity as risk factors for cancer, they are often unaware of the equal importance of a lack of physical exercise.

In a 2015 study from a head and neck cancer clinic, those who reported a lack of physical activity were more likely to have a malignancy compared to those who took regular exercise, irrespective of their BMI or smoking history.

What are the health benefits of exercise for those with a chronic disease?
How can exercise improve a chronic condition?

Let’s take exercise and T2D. Those with diabetes tend to have weaker muscle power, take fewer steps, and have lower CRF. But exercise, even a gentle exercise such as walking, in small amounts, can have demonstrable benefits.

Numerous studies have shown that walking reduces the risk of T2D. From the Nurses Health Study, those who walked at a normal walking pace had a 20%-30% reduced risk of developing T2D. In another study, diabetics who walked at least two hours per week had a 39% lower all-cause mortality and a 34% reduction in death from cardiovascular disease than those who were sedentary. Other studies have linked an increased number of steps taken per day with a lowered risk of heart disease. Taking 8,000 to 10,000 steps per day was found to reduce the risk of developing metabolic syndrome.

In one 2005 Japanese study, the authors introduced a list of easy to incorporate, common sense, exercise goals into daily life. They asked the study participants to walk for 30 to 40 minutes every day, to take the stairs, not the lift, to cycle for 30 minutes at the weekend, and get off the bus one stop earlier and walk the last route home. By doing this, participants reduced their risk of T2D by 67.4%.

In terms of managing T2D, walking when combined with dietary modification, has been shown to lower insulin resistance and help facilitate weight loss.

It doesn’t have to be walking. Anything that gets you up out of a chair and moving is a form of activity that can be measured in terms of metabolic equivalent. Here’s a list:

Walking very slowly – 2
Walking slowly – 2.8
Walking moderately – 3.5
Walking briskly – 4.3
Walking very briskly – 5
Climbing stairs slowly – 4
Climbing stairs fast – 8
Gardening – 3.8
Mowing the lawn – 5.5
Housework – washing up – 1.8 – 2.5
Cooking – 2- 3
Childcare – 2
Elderly care – 2.3 – 4

Your basal metabolic rate is 1 MET. So, you can see that just getting up and getting busy in the home starts to increase your metabolic energy consumption.

Non-exercise thermogenesis (NEAT)

NEAT is the energy your body expends when you are not taking physical exercise. The important thing to note is that NEAT has been shown to increase by 25% in the seven days after taking a single episode of exercise. Studies have shown that those living in rural areas have higher levels of NEAT than those who live in cities. It may be due to the lifestyle issues associated with more walking in a more rural environment.

NEAT is affected by other factors including diet, daily exercise and the living environment. It is also under the influence of hormones such as thyroxine, leptin, reproductive hormones, and orexin. Research has also identified specific genes, for example, genetic variations of the dopamine D2 receptor gene and melanocortin-4 receptor gene, both of which affect the motivation to exercise.

Current UK exercise recommendations

UK adults are currently recommended to undertake 150-minutes per week of moderate-intensity exercise

(MIT). This is exercise sufficient to quicken your pulse and make you feel a bit sweaty and out of breath. This should be done in intervals of 30-40 minutes a day, on four or five days per week. An alternative is 75 minutes of vigorous exercise twice a week.

MIT options include walking, jogging, cycling, swimming and dancing.

To lose weight, however, it is advisable to increase your exercise regime to 300 minutes per week – that’s 60 minutes a day, five days a week. Remember this does not have to be done all in one go, it could be two half sessions a day, or three, twenty-minute sessions, for example.

High-intensity training (HIT) is an alternative fitness option. It involves intense episodes of vigorous exercise lasting 10-60 seconds, followed by a recovery period, and repeated up to 10 times. This is a specific type of exercise designed to improve wellbeing and physical fitness.

To what extent does physical activity contribute to the prevention and management of mental health conditions in children, adolescents and adults?

Getting enough physical exercise has long been recognised as vital for the health and wellbeing of children, including for their mental health.

A 2019 systematic review of 26 different studies concluded that exercise was associated with lower levels of depressive symptoms and depression, as well as increased self-confidence and self-esteem. The best outcomes were noted after regular, supervised, group activities.

In young people, depression and anxiety are common in those who do not participate in regular exercise and spend a lot of time online. In one 2015 Chinese study, 16.3%, 15.9% and 17.3% of students were suffering from anxiety, depression and psychopathological symptoms, respectively. Both low physical activity and high levels of screen time were linked to poorer mental health.

In the COVID pandemic in 2020, 94,000 fewer children were taking enough physical exercise, compared to pre-pandemic levels. The worst affected age group were seven to nine year olds where only 38% were getting enough exercise. Black children were also severely affected with only 36% getting enough exercise.

During the pandemic children’s screen time also increased considerably. In one survey children aged under 14 were spending approximately 23 hours a week on their smartphones or computers. Excess screentime is linked to a less healthy diet, obesity, poor sleep and poorer mental health. Parents are recommended to restrict screen time, take an interest in what their children are doing online, have screen- free mealtimes, leave mobile phones switched off and outside the bedroom door at night, and encourage them to do some more physical exercise.

Older adults have many barriers to exercise. They often lack confidence, worrying they will do themselves an injury, feel self-conscious, may suffer from chronic health problems such as arthritis that makes exercise painful, may already suffer from depression linked to inertia and may lack the finances to pay for a gym membership or exercise classes. In fact, all these barriers can be got around.

Many gyms and leisure centres run exercise sessions, especially for older people. The NHS funds exercise in that the GP can prescribe exercise as a treatment. Many conditions, including arthritis, are improved by exercise. One good example is hydrotherapy, and indeed swimming, for those with osteoarthritis of the knee. Encouraging older people to exercise has many advantages for both physical and mental health.

Taking part in exercise is also a very effective way to combat loneliness. Data suggests that over the longer term, being lonely is just as serious a risk to older people’s health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. However, a recent American study reported on a group of 50-104 year-olds, who were enrolled in a variety of evidence-based exercise classes. After six months, loneliness had reduced by 6.9% and social interaction had improved by 3.3%. In addition, participants were shown to reduce their risk of falls.

One of the best forms of exercise for older people is dancing. This can help improve both physical and mental health.

In a 2009 review in the Journal of Aging and Physical Activity, the authors reviewed 15 training and three cross-sectional studies and concluded there was substantial medical evidence that dancing can significantly improve aerobic power, lower body muscle endurance, strength and flexibility, balance, agility and gait. There is also some evidence that dancing can improve bone mineral density, and muscle power, as well as reduce falls, and risks from cardiovascular disease.

In 2005 McKinley and colleagues reported on a group of frail, elderly with Parkinson’s Disease who had been randomly allocated to either a group learning Argentine Tango or to a group who were walking, as a form of exercise. Although both groups showed improvement in a timed ‘sit to stand’ test, the Argentine Tango group showed greater improvements in balance and walking speed.

Further work in patients with Parkinson’s Disease showed that a twice a week, 10-week Tango Couse, resulted in greater improvements in balance than those in a traditional exercise group. Moreover, the Tango Group were enthusiastic and wanted to continue dancing, and many of the traditional exercise group wanted to join the dance class!

What are the consequences of physical inactivity/sedentary behaviour?

Don’t underestimate the negative effects of spending long hours sitting at your desk. Prolonged sitting has been recognised as a new health hazard. It is estimated that each hour over and above sitting for seven hours a day, increases your risk of premature death by 5%. Those who sit more at work, tend to sit more at home. And lounging around watching TV for long periods has a negative effect on your physical and mental health and overall muscle strength. Prolonged sitting doubles your risk of type-2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, increases your risk of cancer by 13%, and your risk of dying from cancer by 17%. Scientists regard sitting as being on a car journey, but when you sit for long periods, you put your car (your health) in reverse. The other sad fact is that no amount of physical exercise done before or after prolonged sitting can counteract the negative effects of sitting for long periods.

“Those who think they have not time for bodily exercise will sooner or later have to find time for illness.”

The UK’s Chief Medical officer recommends breaking up long periods of sitting with one to two minutes of physical activity. You can also move more at work by using a stand-up desk for two hours a day, having standing meetings, walking around while taking phone calls, setting an alarm for regular movement breaks, and taking the stairs.

Final thoughts

Exercise is better for the human body than any pill. Yet, why is it so unpopular?

So often we hear people saying they don’t have time for exercise. I loved this quote from Edward Stanley, the Earl of Derby who in 1873 said, “Those who think they have not time for bodily exercise will sooner or later have to find time for illness.”

References

Quasicrystals research

February 3, 2022

Time quasicrystals show an oscillating pattern in time

Here, Professor of Physics Zbigniew M. Stadnik at the University of Ottawa, explores research into the unusual physical properties and potential applications of Quasicrystals

Solids are traditionally divided into two groups: crystalline and amorphous. The dramatic discovery of an icosahedral Al-Mn alloy in 1984 by Daniel Shechtman (the 2011 Nobel Prize in Chemistry) extended this dichotomous division by introducing the notion of quasicrystals (QCs). These compounds possess a new long-range translational order, quasiperiodicity, and non-crystallographic orientational order associated with the classically forbidden fivefold, eightfold, tenfold, and twelvefold symmetry axes. One of the central problems in condensed-matter physics is determining whether quasiperiodicity leads to novel physical properties that are significantly different from those of crystalline and amorphous materials.

QCs indeed exhibit some unusual physical properties. Perhaps the most noteworthy is a simple electrical resistivity ρ. For some QCs, ρ is orders of magnitude larger than ρ of constituent elements of a QC (the Al-Fe-Re QC can even be considered an electrical insulator). For QCs composed of metallic constituents, the temperature dependence of ρ is surprising; it increases with decreasing temperature at low temperatures, contrary to what is expected for a metallic system. Furthermore, the ρ of a QC increases with improved sample quality, which cannot be explained within our traditional understanding of the physical mechanism of ρ. Other electrical and heat transport physical properties of QCs also exhibit various anomalies. There are a plethora of theoretical explanations of these anomalies. It seems fair to state that our understanding of these anomalies and their relation to quasiperiodicity is only fragmentary.

A single-grain icosahedral Ho-Mg-Zn quasicrystal is shown over a mm scale [Fisher et al., Phys. Rev. B59, 308 (1999)].

The electronic structure of solids determines many of their fundamental physical properties. The significant finding in that area was the discovery of a theoretically predicted pseudogap in the density of states (DOS) at or around the Fermi energy in many QCs. This pseudogap, via a Hume-Rothery-type electronic mechanism, is one factor responsible for stabilising the quasiperiodic structure in QCs. Some theoretical studies also make a surprising prediction of a fine, spiky structure of DOS around the Fermi energy, which is seemingly the signature of quasiperiodicity. However, convincing experimental evidence for the existence of such spikiness is still lacking.

The magnetism of QCs is similar to that of crystalline or amorphous compounds in that all known QCs are either diamagnets, paramagnets, or spin glasses. An essential experimental discovery was the observation that the nature of the spin-glass state in QCs is different from that found in the canonical spin glasses of crystalline or amorphous systems. Numerous theoretical studies suggest that long-range magnetic order (antiferro- magnetism, ferromagnetism, etc.) ubiquitous in crystalline and amorphous systems should also occur in QCs. Yet, to date, no such magnetic order has been discovered. Could its absence be the consequence of quasiperiodicity?

QCs have hitherto been found as synthetic solids in more than a hundred systems and few natural minerals. Recently, it has been demonstrated that they can also form in some soft-matter systems, such as liquid dendritic systems, polymeric star systems or self-assembled nanoparticle (colloidal) systems. Another recent development was that quasiperiodicity could be realised in so-called photonic QCs. These are artificial quasiperiodic heterostructures constructed from two or more types of dielectric material; they are a quasiperiodic equivalent of photonic crystals. Enormous research interest in these photonic QCs stems from their significant potential applications in the field of modern optics. Perhaps the most exotic realisation of quasiperiodicity occurs in time QCs; these are the quasiperiodic analogs of time crystals. Time QCs, which have been realised experimentally, are quasiperiodic structures in time that form spontaneously in quantum many-body systems.

Because of their low friction, high hardness, and low surface reactivity, Al-Fe-Cu QCs found their first technological application, which later was discontinued, as coatings in non-stick frying pans, aiming to replace Teflon. Tiny particles of QCs can harden steel, which can be used in needles for acupuncture, surgeon and dental instruments, or razor blades. More generally, to overcome their inherent brittleness via the presence of a ductile matrix, QCs can be used to reinforce Al-matrix composites. There are other potential applications of solid QCs, especially photonic and possibly time QCs. This, however, requires significant developments and seems far from realisation on a mass scale. It appears that technological applications of QCs have not yet come of age.

Please note: This is a commercial profile

How DNA technology helps control the premium quality of Thai Hom Mali Rice

February 3, 2022

Professor Dr Apichart Vanavichit, at the Rice Science Center, explains how DNA technology can create a high-quality Thai Jasmine Rice

Products of the poor

Hom Mali rice has been widely grown in one of the poorest land on the largest lowland rain-fed paddy field in the Northeast of Thailand. With its low soil fertility and lack of irrigation system in the Northeast of Thailand, low productivity contributed to high price. As a consequence, the short supply of Thai Rice has often been cited as the primary cause of intentional product admixture.

Export performance

Jasmine rice is one of the world’s most iconic fragrant rice and important export product from Thailand, since the rediscovery of the local landrace named Thai Hom Mali Rice about 56 years ago. From 2010-2019, Thailand exported 1.4 MT on average of the Thai Hom Mali Rice rice which accounted for 18% of the total volume. Thai Hom Mali and Basmati rices have been the most expensive white rice in the world. Cooked Thai Hom Mali rice imparts the natural aroma with its soft, tender, and excellent aftertaste. There is no doubt the Thai Hom Mali rice has won five times the World’s Best Rice Competition since 2009. The main reason could be how Thailand designs effective quality control measures on the Thai Hom Mali Rice started from seeds to serving.

Setting up the National Hom Mali Rice Standardisation

As such, Thai Hom Mali rice has been entangled in adulteration by lower quality white rice with similar physical appearance at both local and international markets. Contaminations can take place unintentionally and intentionally. The first source of contamination is originated by farmers’ saved seeds. Shared combined harvesters have been the second major cost of unintentional contamination.

Post-harvest contaminations were more complicated because many stakeholders including local milling, exporters, and importers are involved. To mitigate such deceptive practices, Thailand Ministry of Commerce (MOC) established the national standardisation for the Thai Hom Mali Rice under the brand name “Thai Hom Mali Rice” for export. Genetic purity of at least 92% is agreed on as the minimum threshold for the premium quality of Thai Hom Mali Rice based on unintentional contamination on farming practices.

Why genetic purity is the gold standard for quality control in rice

Thai Hom Mali Rice, officially named as Khao Dawk Mali 105 (KDML105), was genetically purified from one of the local landraces of Jasmine rice in 1959. From the original version, RD15 was developed further from KDML105 by mutation breeding via gamma irradiation. The two varieties are considered the Thai Hom Mali Rice as their grain quality is indistinguishable.

DNA Technology

The application of DNA technology to regulate authenticity of Thai Hom Mali rice has been widely recognised as the key to support the regulation of standardisation for export. With high accuracy, specific molecular markers for the Thai Jasmine Rice were deployed to determine its genetic purity and admixtures. The DNA Technology Laboratory has developed its in-house state-of-the-art single-grain molecular techniques at low cost for quantification of genetic contamination.

The service was open to all rice exporters to acquire official certificate of authenticity of the Thai Hom Mali Rice. The DNA Technology Laboratory can only provide the most accurate solution to the problem. Since 2012, DNA Technology can provide more than 54,472 Jasmine rice samples, totally 10.5 million polymerase chain reactions, were performed. A new facility was set to provide up to 50,000 samples yearly enough to accommodate 2 million tons of premium Thai Hom Mali Rice for export (Figure 1).

Figure 1

Post-auditing Systems of Thai Hom Mali Rice

To deploy DNA Technology in a competitive export platforms of Thai Hom Mali Rice, the Department of Foreign Trade (DFT, MOC) has improvised post-auditing systems involving on local millings and exporters using sensitive DNA Technology in full-scale. Farmers sell their rice paddy to certified local millings for processing. The certification was implemented and authorised by provincial governments and subsequently granted “Thai Hom Mali Rice” Thailand trademark by the DFT for the right to export (Figure 2). Exporters on the other hand can be audited by the DFT to directly buy Jasmine rice from farmers for processing and export under the national brand.

DNA Technology play vital tools for local millings and exporters in the determination of genetic purity of the harvested rice from farmers before processing. In order to monitor the authenticity of the Thai Hom Mali Rice, the DFT frequently sampled export-ready rice from exporters’ warehouses or even on the shipments and rushed for 24-hours auditing for rapid purity test provided by the laboratory. Even at customers’ shelve in export markets, Thai Hom Mali Rice can still be monitored by Thailand international consulate offices for determination of genetic purity to prevent admixture outside Thailand.

Economic Impacts

Such a strict regulation of quality assurance program resulted in improved genetic purity of Thai Hom Mali Rice. In 2012, the genetic content above 92% of the Thai Hom Mali Rice was accounted for 56%. Eight years later, the percentage was improved to 66% (DNA Technology Laboratory). The economic impacts of such a DNA-based auditing scheme was studied on the hypothesis that improved genetic purity affects export price and volume. During the eight years period between 1992 to 2000, the export volume has increased annually at 279,000 tons with the combined eight-years export incomes of 86,117 million Baht more than before implementing the DNA-based auditing system. Farmers’ income was also increased annually to 1,280 million Baht or 11,521 million Baht in the eight years span.

Figure 2

The Next Vision

The DNA-based post-auditing systems are improvised on different classes of exporting premium Thai rice including pigmented Riceberry, Aromatic-soft, and Soft rices. However, customers are also looking for cheaper and faster technologies to determine genetic purity practically tested on outdoor and on-farm conditions. In response to the new needs, DNA Technology Laboratory has now acquired new molecular technologies for even more accuracy, very high throughput, and at low cost to serve exporters and improve competitiveness of the premium Thai rice in global markets.

References

Vanavichit A, Kamolsukyeunyong W, Siangliw M, Siangliw JL, Traprab S,Ruengphayak S, Chaichoompu E, Saensuk C, Phuvanartnarubal E,ToojindaT,and Tragoonrung S.2018.Thai Hom Mali Rice: Origin and Breeding for Subsistence Rainfed Lowland Rice System. Rice (2018) 11:20.

Tragoonrung, S. 2018. The 10 Years DNA Technology Laboratory. http://dnatec.kps.ku.ac.th

DNA TECHNOLOGYLABORATORY PROVIDING GENETIC PURITY TESTING OF ALL BIOLOGICAL SUBSTANCES AND FOOD STUFFS

http://dnatec.kps.ku.ac.th

*Please note: This is a commercial profile

Why nuclear energy is not clean or green

February 3, 2022

Dr Chanda Siddoo-Atwal, primary biochemist of Moondust Cosmetics Ltd, examines the realities of nuclear energy

Right now, the climate crisis across the world is as urgent as ever. The landmark IPCC Report, compiling seven years worth of evidence, suggests that human intervention is definitively escalating global warming. So, the time is beyond nigh for an international energy infrastructure that is renewable and green.

While some countries are moving to invest in new, renewable technologies, others are proposing to use technologies which are rendered not-so-green under further examination.

Nuclear fission, an incredibly potent reaction, is considered by some Western countries to be the meaningful way forward into green energy. The devastation that follows nuclear violence, or nuclear waste, is a factor that is not appropriately considered in some calculations of reaching zero-carbon by 2030.

Did you know that nuclear waste impacts marine systems? According to Dr Siddoo-Atwal, the Irish, Baltic and Northern Sea are host to a range of slowly unfolding nuclear consequences.

Ecosystems which appear healthy are simply hosting a future crisis. Radioactive liquids and gaseous waste is an integral part of creating nuclear energy, which will directly impact the lives of people living nearby. Currently, the pandemic has highlighted how terrible public health can be when respiratory health is already degraded by air pollution – with some inner city areas across the world registering high levels of virus-related death, in contrast to communities living in less polluted zones.

Now, studies also find evidence of increased Leukaemia in Irish children living near a modern-day nuclear processing facility.

This incidence of cancer in both children and adults is directly connected to the existence of nuclear facilities, which suggests a dark future for those living in any proximity to such an institution.

To find out the specificities of the science behind this connection, what nuclear fission really means, and more – look no further.

Building resilience & strengthening your cyber procurement

February 3, 2022

Elizabeth Giugno, Head of Category – Cyber Security at Crown Commercial Service (CCS), details the importance of the public sector building resilience & strengthening their cyber procurement

The public sector has seen a significant increase in cyber-attacks since the beginning of the pandemic. This is due to the move to home-working on unsecured networks and opportunistic cybercriminals.

The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) is the UK’s technical authority for cyber security incidents. The NCSC’s annual review in November 2021 showed an increase in national incidents to 777, an increase of almost 10% from the previous year, with ransomware posing the most serious threat. Ransomware attacks are where cybercriminals use malicious software to block access to computer systems and threaten to release the organisation’s sensitive data unless the ransom is paid.

“The public sector has seen a significant increase in cyber-attacks since the beginning of the pandemic. This is due to the move to home-working on unsecured networks and opportunistic cybercriminals.”

A cyber-attack is hugely detrimental as it can cause loss of data and reputational damage, as well as the cost of recovery to the organisation. Supply chains are also now being targeted by cybercriminals, making it increasingly difficult for organisations to mitigate risk.

For government bodies, cyber security isn’t only a challenge – it’s an obstacle to digital transformation. The stakes are sky-high: hacking public-sector information might imperil national security and citizens’ trust.

5 steps to building resilience:

Building cyber resilience is about strengthening cyber security to increase confidence and ensure that, in the event of an attack, not only can organisations continue to operate but that they will recover quickly.

As threats continue to increase in frequency and sophistication, so must our preventative measures, which should include:

1. Understanding critical assets

The first step to building resilience is having a strong understanding of your critical assets. These are resources that are fundamental to maintaining operations. Ask yourself: if an attack happened today, what impact would it have? What are our critical assets?

A government’s critical assets are often the data it holds, so you need to know how this will be protected from an attack. Managing back-ups are an essential part of this process – rapid recovery is dependent on how regularly back-ups are carried out.

2. Incident response plan

A thorough incident response plan will ensure your organisation can recover quickly from attacks.

A response plan collects together the coordinating functions which guide, inform and support the response process. It encompasses a number of aspects, including triaging and categorising an incident through to escalation procedures and core response.

3. Creating a strong cyber security culture

Phishing emails, which dupe staff into opening them exposing the organisation to phishing attacks have become more frequent during the pandemic.

It’s essential that employees understand cyber threats, the potential risk, and their role in mitigating incidents. Increasing awareness and providing training can all assist in building cyber resilience.

4. Keeping up-to-date with emerging cyber threats

New advanced threats are being discovered daily. Resilience is also increasing your understanding of the threat landscape. Taking a proactive approach is essential to allow for methods to be adjusted before they affect services.

As threats continue to increase in frequency and sophistication, so must our knowledge and preventative measures.

5. Business continuity disaster recovery plan

All organisations should have sufficient business continuity disaster recovery (BCDR) methods in place to make sure that you can resume normal operations in the event of an attack. It should include a complete approach to keeping your team productive during a cyber-attack.

The BCDR plan builds resilience by reducing the risk of data loss and enhancing operations, detailing emergency contacts and key staff.

Steps to strengthening cyber defences through the procurement process

With cybercriminals targeting supply chains and recent attacks such as SolarWinds, procurement can be an increasing concern for the public sector.

Criminals often target the weakest link within supply chains. It is imperative, therefore, that the procurement process mitigates these risks.

CCS worked in partnership with the NCSC to develop the Cyber Security Services 3 dynamic purchasing system (DPS). It provides a central route to buy NCSC assured services to help you improve your security function.

The DPS allows you to filter for NCSC assured services. You can also access suppliers who are not NCSC assured but hold alternative cyber security credentials.

The advantages to using NCSC assured suppliers are that they will have:

Met the NCSC’s standards and can be trusted to act in NCSC’s name.
A proven track record in delivering high-quality consultancy services.
Demonstrated a clear understanding of current and potential cyber threats and techniques and potential effective mitigations.
Been independently and rigorously assessed.
Shown that they act with integrity and objectivity.
Protect the customer’s confidentiality and integrity and comply with relevant laws and regulations.
A commitment to continuously improve the services offered to meet evolving customer needs.

One of the biggest supply chain challenges can be a supplier’s understanding or competence when it comes to cyber security. Accreditation is increasingly important for the public sector in strengthening cyber defences within the procurement process. Buying through a framework such as the Cyber Security Services 3 (CSS3) DPS, ensures that your suppliers have had vetting checks such as Cyber Essentials.

Cyber Essentials is a government-backed scheme that allows organisations to carry out a cyber self- assessment, and provides an understanding of the organisation’s security levels. This will mean that your supplier has taken steps to safeguard their business against cyber threats and will assist in strengthening cyber defences within your supply chain.

How can CCS help?

Do you have a cyber security requirement? We have a dedicated cyber security team that can help you protect against the increasing complexity of cyber- attacks. For more information about Cyber Security Services 3, you can:

Visit our agreement webpage
View our on-demand webinar on what you can buy and how to buy through the agreement
Contact our experts by completing our online form

Marcin Nowacki, Member of the EESC, Employers’ Group (Group I), charts the energy transition to carbon neutrality that cannot happen without nuclear & coal

The instability of the European energy system is slowing the transition to carbon neutrality

Increase purchasing power on the market for gas

The energy mix of the future

Crown Commercial Service (CCS) describes here what we need to know about managing Tail Spend effectively in the public sector

CCS’s Tail Spend Solution framework

Achieving maximum commercial value

Nigel Wilcock, Executive Director of the Institute of Economic Development, lifts the lid on the findings of new research on town centre regeneration

Priorities for the future of town centres

Financial support to deliver positive change

A need for place-based budgets

Tatjana Babrauskienė from the European Economic and Social Committee, Workers’ Group (Group II), walks us through blended learning, underlining a strategic rather than reactive approach to change

How can it best be achieved?

Why now? Why such acceleration?

Why is it so important and what is its potential?

Simon Faulkner, Country Manager/Lead Project Manager at Wood Thilsted, sheds light on offshore wind energy in Taiwan

Taiwan’s route to greater energy security

Offshore wind careers & regulatory certainty

Offshore wind farms in Asia

Neighbourhood crime is at the heart of the policy, with the UK promising to cut homicide, serious violence and more by 2030

Dismantling criminal enterprises

Digital monitoring to expand via electronic tagging

Benefitting from unpaid work placements

Safer neighbourhoods for who?

Academic Research Scholar Dr Wendy Purcell, places the spotlight on COVID-19 variants and vaccines

COVID-19 vaccines

COVID-19: New variants emerge

References

Senior Associate, David Hardstaff and Partner, John Binns of BCL Solicitors LLP, explore the UK’s doomed Medical Cannabis (Access) Bill

Barriers to patient access

A modest and practical solution

Opportunities missed

Finding sustainable battery materials to keep Europe’s electrification clean, its conscience clear and its energy transition on track

Finding a stable supply of battery material

All eyes on Africa

How fast can Africa catch up?

Complex mining solutions needs a diversified partner

A brighter future for Europe and Africa

Emiliano Principi, Senior Scientist of the FERMI free electron laser facility, explains recent advances in the study of carbon driven to extreme temperatures and pressures through intense ultrashort laser light shots

Ubiquitous but elusive

A unique light source

Too fast to expand

Simon Collinson, Head of UK Public Sector at Salesforce, explains how technology partners can help tackle the public sector talent gap, including a look at healthcare transformation

The great resignation and digital skills

Spotlight on healthcare transformation

Addressing the training and reskilling imperative

Alison Kriel, Founder, Above & Beyond Education, describes the importance of understanding equality in light of gender bias in society

Gender bias in society

An understanding of gender equality

Gender diversity

Craig Magee, NERC Independent Research Fellow at the University of Leeds illustrates the important role of structural geology in improving volcano forecasting

Under pressure

The role of structural geology

Dykes and dyke-induced faults

What can dyke-induced faults tell us about volcanic systems?

Here, Professor of Biochemistry, Microbiology & Immunology at the University of Saskatchewan, Peter Betscher, explains how he is dedicated towards realising Robert North’s vision

Modern strategies of immunotherapy

Checkpoint blockade

Chimeric antigen receptors

Classical studies

Vaccinating animals against transplantable tumours

Concomitant immunity

North’s and our related studies

Improving Cancer Immunotherapy

Here, TED Generation (TED Gen) explains how to improve the economic and environmental future of your business – using Combined heat and power (CHP) to decrease energy costs and rewrite carbon footprints

TED Gen: The people who can make your business greener

The Co-gen energy agreement (CEA)

Adapting a 300-year-old building to CHP

The benefits of CHP

Dr Deborah Lee from Dr Fox Online Pharmacy, considers the role of physical activity to prevent chronic diseases

Cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF)

Type-2 diabetes (T2D)

To what extent is lack of exercise a major cause of chronic diseases today?

Heart disease

Type-2 diabetes

Mental health

Cancer

What are the health benefits of exercise for those with a chronic disease? How can exercise improve a chronic condition?

Current UK exercise recommendations

What are the consequences of physical inactivity/sedentary behaviour?

What are the health benefits of exercise for those with a chronic disease?
How can exercise improve a chronic condition?