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An embryonic kidney grown in culture for 72 hours. The ureteric bud and branches are shown in green (calbindin); the developing nephrons are red (laminin). Image provided by Dr S.Burn

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Recent Stories in 2010

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Unit visit to Broughton High School: 22 April 2010

As part of the Human Genetics Unit's (HGU) continued commitment to foster links with close neighbours Broughton High School, Researcher Dr Joe Rainger and MRC Regional Communications Manager Hazel Lambert recently visited the school to give careers talks to S2 students.

The aim was to inspire students, who were about to choose their standard grade options, into taking more science subjects. Joe spoke about some of the world-leading research conducted in the HGU in the areas of gene expression modeling and mapping and the uncovering of genes critical to human development.

Hazel illustrated how her scientific background had taken her career on an exciting path, through the tunnels of the Large Hadron Collider, to the coral reefs off Borneo. Hazel illustrated how her scientific background had taken her career on an exciting path, through the tunnels of the Large Hadron Collider, to the coral reefs off Borneo. Both speakers also illustrated how science is all around us in our everyday lives and how having even a basic understanding of science equips people with a more enlightened viewpoint on discoveries and events going on around them. The talks were well received and hopefully inspired pupils to do more than just consider scientific subjects when they make their final course decisions.

Unit scientists add to the fun at Edinburgh International Science Festival:

8 April 2010

More than 1300 kids visited the MRC Lab at the City Arts Centre during the Edinburgh International Science Festival in April. They dressed-up in mini-lab-coats and safety specs, grabbed clip boards for their notes and peppered MRC scientists with their questions and ideas in response to the 6 activities on offer.

PhD students, career development fellows and senior scientists from the MRC Human Genetics Unit were among the 55 MRC volunteers who took time out of the lab to share their expertise.

The MRC HGU activity DNA Sequencing Bracelets introduced the principles of DNA base pairs and of gene alleles: alternative forms of the same gene. Demonstrators showed kids how to match-up beads representing base pairs to make a double stranded DNA bracelet that reflected their own hair and eye gene sequence.

MRC HGU PhD student Emily Pritchard helped visitors to make DNA bracelets at the science festival, she said:

‘‘I really enjoy working at the science festival because it's fun to chat to children about science. They've got some great and sometimes crazy ideas. I'd like to think we're teaching them something and, even if we don't quite get our message across, all that really matters is that the kids are interested and enthusiastic. The most fun part is when a kid asks you a random question and you get to go off on some obscure tangent about really exciting new science.’’

Each activity in the MRC Lab is designed to be fun and to teach some basic principles about science and research. Scientists from all five of the MRC Units in Scotland and several of the MRC and Lifelong Health and Wellbeing Centres volunteered.

New activities for the MRC Lab in 2010 included the Cell Signaling Challenge from the MRC Protein Phosphorylation Unit, a puzzle that uses giant cells and electronic connectors to illustrate how cell communication keeps the body healthy. The MRC Centre for Regenerative Medicine also offered Build your own healthy cell for the first time. Visitors built different types of cells in petrie dishes using Play Doh, an activity that was also popular with adults.