Report lists UK universities' triumphs in medical research

The so-called ‘Big Ideas for the Future’ report looks at 100 research projects from all fields, including science, social sciences, engineering and the arts and humanities.

One interesting aspect of the report is that it covers a number of important developments in the medical field that UK university researchers are involved in.

It highlights, for example, the efforts at University College London to grow human organs that can be used in transplant operations. Researchers there are doing this by using nanomaterials, nanocomposite biomaterials and stem cells. So far, the team has successfully developed coronary artery bypass grafts, a heart valve, nose, ear, trachea, vascular bypass and lachrymal duct.

Another highlight covers the work of Durham University researchers who are using a combination of chemically tailored, low-molecular-weight gels and microemulsions to grow organic crystals of active pharmaceutical ingredients, or drugs. By combining the use of gels and microemulsions, their technology is a green, low-temperature, recyclable alternative to traditional pharmaceutical development.