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Button for page turning version of Innovation Uk 2009

Button for page turning version of Innovation Uk 2009 Vol.5 Issue 2

"Innovation drives economic progress. For businesses it will mean sustained or improved growth. For consumers, it will mean higher-quality and better-value goods, more efficient services and higher standards of living. To the economy as a whole, innovation is the key to higher productivity."

Andrew Cahn Chief Executive of UK Trade & Investment

Healthcare

Due to the success of Healthcare in InnovationUK, we will be producing a special supplement in April 2010

Healthcare & Medical Innovation Click here for media information

Innovation News

Lancet retracts autism study

UK investigation finds 1998 study linking a routine childhood vaccine to autism and bowel disease flawed

Medical journal The Lancet has retracted a flawed study linking the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine to autism and bowel disease. It comes after Dr Andrew Wakefield, the lead researcher in the 1998 paper, was ruled last week to have broken research rules by the General Medical Council (GMC). The GMC concluded in its report that three researchers led by Andrew Wakefield at the Royal Free Hospital... (Read)

First Chief Scientific Officer for Wales

Appointment signals Welsh focus on science and engineering

The Welsh Assembly has appointed its first Chief Scientific Adviser. Internationally-recognised scientist Professor John Harries is taking up the role to provide scientific advice to the First Minister and the Welsh Assembly Government. This appointment follows a review into the creation of a Chief Scientific Adviser for Wales, which was carried out by Professor Christopher Pollock in 2008. Professor... (Read)

New spray hailed as miracle invention

Silica-based spray has multitude of important uses for homes, hospitals and businesses

A new spray-on glass is being hailed as one of the most important, environmentally-friendly products to emerge from the field of nanotechnology. The non-toxic spray protects almost any surface against dirt and bacteria, whether it is hospital equipment or household surfaces. The spray is based on silica and, when mixed with water or alcohol and sprayed on any surface, it creates a film hundreds... (Read)

Innovation on the high seas

Anti-piracy advice offers a few theatrical surprises

Pirates are once again the scourge of the open seas, although combating them is a little different in the 21st century. In the olden days, the Royal Navy would have simply tied pirates’ hands and feet before throwing them back overboard. But nowadays, even pirates have human rights. Legal niceties mean it is often simpler to disarm culprits and drop them back on to the beach from whence they... (Read)

Beyond the brief

The refreshingly short Queen's Speech points to a set of bills with the real details of the government's plans, says Michael Kenward

Each year, Her Majesty the Queen launches the new parliamentary session in the UK by reading out a speech penned in Number 10 Downing Street. As much as anything, the speech is an opportunity for a bit of a punch-up in Parliament, with parties of all hue taking an opportunity to throw around insults. Being the last before a general election, this year’s post-speech ‘debates’ were... (Read)