Image credit to Understanding Animal Research
Agenda were delighted to be one of the sponsors for last week’s Understanding Animal Research 6th annual Openness Awards and 83rd Stephen Paget Memorial Lecture. Earlier this year Agenda were announced as one of UAR’s first ever Leaders in Openness in Animal Research so we were pleased to be invited to present one of the awards at this year.
Our Managing Director, Ross Millard, presented the award for the ‘Website or Use of New Media Award’ to the University of Reading for their animal statistics media campaign.
Find out more about the awards and a full list of the winners here.
Got Milk? Well yes, actually. Blue, Green, Red…even Orange.
Like many others across the UK, our office runs on a familiar fuel source. Hot Drinks. Barring the odd fancy herbal tea and an alarming increasing rise of decaf options, we’re traditional coffee and tea people. Where the divide comes in is what goes into these drinks. It’s milk of varying colours. It’s a preference issue and it means a lot to people. God forbid you give someone green milk instead of their usual red….
When tackling the drinks round recently, it got me thinking about the benefits of the different types of milk and what if any, should we be having in our drinks?
I’m a black coffee guy and couldn’t go near touch something with any colour milk in it now. I’ve come a long way since the ‘lots of milk and 6 sugars’ days of my youth. It won’t come as a surprise that black coffee from a calorie point of view is significantly better for you then one with milk. Not that I’m a massive calorie counter, I’m just not a big milk in a drink man that’s all.
So, let’s take the annoying anomaly that I am out of the equation for a moment. Let’s also assume that you’re over the age of 2 and are only considering cow’s milk. What colour milk is best?
Skim (Red Milk). That’s what I’m bet you said to yourself didn’t you? Well, you can be forgiven for being wrong as this is what we’ve always been told. Recent studies make a very strong argument that it might always be the healthiest option.
After ‘Skimming’ through the facts, I’ll try to give the ‘Low-Fat’ version of what science has to say. We might not get the ‘Whole’ answer but I ‘diary’ say that you might be ‘mooved’ by the outcome.
Whole milk (blue) has often been considered to be unhealthy due to its saturated fat content and the line of thinking that high saturated fats lead to high cholesterol levels producing an increased risk of heart disease. A cup of Whole milk contains 4.6g of saturated fat which is around 15% of the daily intake guidelines for men and 23% for women. Ergo, guidelines recommend only consuming Semi-Skimmed (green) or Skim.
Only recent studies which demonstrate no significant link to heart disease from eating saturated fat, have got us thinking otherwise. It appears the link to cholesterol and saturated fat is more complicated than what we thought in the 70s. Saturated fat does increase your blood levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, which is known as “bad” cholesterol.
But what is often ignored is that saturated fat also raises levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, the “good” cholesterol. HDL has a protective effect against heart disease
Additionally, not all LDL is dangerous. There are different types of LDL and it’s the very small, dense particles of LDL that have the most damaging effects on the heart and arteries. Interestingly, saturated fat actually changes LDL from the small, dense particles to the large, less harmful particles
Most people avoid drinking Whole milk when they’re in the calorie counting game. This is on the assumption that extra fat and calories will make them gain weight. Well, many studies have found that the opposite may be true. Research has shown association between consuming high-fat dairy products, such as Whole milk, may result in a lower risk of obesity.
One very large study noted that women who consumed the highest amounts of high-fat dairy products were the least likely to become overweight over time (21Trusted Source).
Another study of 1,782 men found that those who had a high intake of high-fat dairy products had a 48% lower risk of developing abdominal obesity, compared to men who had a medium intake.
In the same study, the men who had a low intake of high-fat dairy products had a 53% higher risk of abdominal obesity
I reckon if we put our heads together here, we could formulate an argument that a jumbo bar of Dairy Milk is better for you than having Skim milk on your Coco Pops. Other chocolate and cereal products are available of course…but you wouldn’t want them.
I’m not all anti-Skim though…in fact I have 0 dairy alliances. There are some situations where skim milk may be the best choice for your diet. If you’re following a very-low-calorie diet, for example, the extra 63 calories you will get from drinking a cup (237 ml) of whole milk instead of skim might be more than you can afford. Skim milk also offers the advantage of being a relatively low-calorie source of protein. Both whole milk and skim milk contain around 8 grams of protein per cup.
In fact, skim milk is one of the richest food sources of calcium, providing around 300 mg per cup. This is even higher than the calcium content of whole milk, which is 276 mg per cup. If you need to boost your calcium intake but can’t afford a lot of additional calories in your diet, skim milk is the way to go.
What’s the take home message then. The Whole milk myth of the 70s isn’t supported by science. Skim is good for some people in certain circumstances but for most people Whole milk offers clear nutritional advantages over the other options.
Apologies to all of the cows for this article. I realise I’ve picked apart their business plan of having various product lines of essentially the same thing…
When it comes to recruitment campaigns and finding the right person for the job, do you hire people based on their potential or do you prioritise experience and qualifications instead?
Research from Walters People, reported on by Net Imperative, has found that 58 per cent of employers are now looking at potential rather than qualifications and experience, as demand for skills is currently outstripping supply.
Some 65 per cent of companies expect to see a skills shortage in 2020, particularly in the mid-management and junior/executive levels. And it seems that finding the perfect person for the job in a knowledge/experience-based hire situation does come with a price… the study also found 89 per cent of businesses take more than four weeks to fill a position, but 40 per cent of these hires are unsuccessful.
It can also take anything from a month to a year to reach a decision that the person hired was in fact not the right fit after all.
Commenting on the findings, Walters People director Phill Westcott said: “Hiring based on potential is highlighting an opportunity for employers and employees to learn from each other.
“From my experience high potential employees typically demonstrate more grit, loyalty and enthusiasm for having been given the opportunity. The challenge of the unknown and the excitement of acquiring new skills keeps them motivated and engaged and helps retain them for longer.”
Hiring managers explained that there were several factors that determined someone’s potential – willingness to learn, motivation, engagement, creativity, insights and curiosity.
Mr Westcott went on to say that more employers are now thinking about junior and potential-based hires as they build a “pipeline of talent for the future”. Within six months of being hired, candidates can certainly demonstrate “sound understanding” of the industry and their job, while bringing with them a “fresh approach and eagerness to learn”.
Whether you’re looking for permanent or temporary staffing solutions, it may well be easier to find the perfect candidate by using life science recruiters like Agenda. Our team members are all highly experienced when it comes to recruitment in this particular industry and have been acting as professional temporary and permanent recruitment leaders since 1996.
We can manage all HR-related issues, so there’s no need to worry on that front and you can be assured of the fact that all staff members have undergone rigorous security screening. We offer a more flexible approach to staffing requirements, with 24-hours emergency support available and a strong culture of care where animal technicians are concerned.
If you’d like to find out more about the kind of services we can provide, get in touch with the friendly and experienced team today.
The life sciences industry in the UK is looking strong at the moment, with a new report analysing emerging businesses in the sector around the country showing that we are currently seeing an unprecedented period of growth, thanks in part to changes in the funding landscape.
The BioCity UK Life Science Start-Up Report, which has collected, analysed and interpreted data for more than ten years, looks at the prevalence of startups in the country over the last five years, as well as the broader landscape to assess the quality of these new ventures.
A four-fold increase of investment in early-stage businesses was seen, reaching £2.8 billion, compared to the previous five-year period. There are numerous reasons for this expansion, but the biggest driver was the launch of several significant venture funds able to make large investments in early-stage start-ups.
Another contributing factor was the increasing use of academia and smaller firms by pharmaceuticals as sources of innovation, with the aim being to stop the fall in research and development productivity.
Author of the report and chairman of BioCity Dr Glenn Crocker said: “Both the number of companies starting up and the amount invested in them has taken off. We have seen a 50 per cent increase in the number of companies and a four-fold increase in investment going into them; this will likely result in a substantial increase in the demand for space.
“We estimate that this cohort of businesses alone could require 1.4 million sq/ft of specialist facilities over the next five years. One consequence of this demand growth is that real estate investors are being increasingly attracted to the sector.”
Scotland in particular appears to be faring well, with the report showing that the number of life science startups in the country is the highest ever recorded.
Edinburgh and Greater Glasgow were found to be among the fastest growing locations, although out seems that clusters are being established – some 84 per cent of startups in Scotland are found in just three city regions… Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Greater Glasgow.
Elsewhere, London, the south-east, the east and the north-west of England were found to be the most active areas for life sciences start-ups. Scotland was also found to be the leading centre in the UK for industrial, biotech, environmental, clean and agricultural biotech start-up areas.
Commenting, Dr Crocker went on to say that Scotland is now strengthening its position where arboriculture and fisheries are concerned.
However, venture capital funding for Scotland-based companies is still a challenge, with start-ups in the country receiving three per cent of the total investment made into start-ups in the UK in this particular sector.
Looking for UK life sciences recruitment agencies? Get in touch with us today.
Agenda’s Christmas game has officially launched and we’re getting into the spirit of Christmas by giving away £500 worth of holiday vouchers to two lucky winners! Could there a better way to start 2020 than by booking yourself a FREE holiday?
To be in with a chance of winning all you have to do is help Santa to deliver 30 or more recruitment packages to get your name on the leader board and entered into the prize draw.
Click the link here to get involved!
Agenda’s Christmas game has officially launched and we’re getting into the spirit of Christmas by giving away £500 worth of holiday vouchers to two lucky winners! Could there a better way to start 2020 than by booking yourself a FREE holiday?
To be in with a chance of winning all you have to do is help Santa to deliver 30 or more recruitment packages to get your name on the leader board and entered into the prize draw.
Click the link here to get involved!
When you have vacancies to fill, it can be more than simply an inconvenience in terms of teams being down a member or two of staff and having more work to do. Finding the right people for roles, especially life sciences vacancies that require specialist training, can be a challenge.
But now one organisation has carried out research that shows just how much it’s costing firms who hire the wrong people for a job and subsequently lose them within a year of offering them a job.
OnRec recently shared the findings of a report by Oleeo, which revealed that companies with up to 250 employees are losing 14 per cent of their staff each year. What’s more, 39 per cent of their new hires leave within six months.
As a result, SMEs are spending an estimated £125,347 a year on recruitment that doesn’t pay off.
There are a number of issues with recruitment that are costing employers not only money but also talented staff. Among them are time delays during the recruitment process, poor communication with applicants and a bad online user experience when people are applying for roles.
The news provider explained that candidates who don’t have any concrete information from a prospective employer will consider other offers, and may well take one, if you’re not fast enough to go back to them with your own offer of employment.
Failing to understand people’s career aspirations, and then providing them with the opportunities to progress towards them, is another of the other issues identified by the publication.
One of the most important things for businesses to do is “focus on better candidate engagement in a digital era that demands continuous interaction”.
However, as a business that can be difficult to do, especially if you only have a small HR team. Working with a specialist life sciences recruiter could take much of this pain away and mean that candidates are kept engaged and informed without your HR team having to provide all of the resources.
When it comes to attracting the workforce of the future, namely those who are currently studying life sciences subjects at school and university, Study International recently offered some advice.
The publication revealed that one of the keys to keeping youngsters interested in the field is to give them opportunities to work on applied research projects while they’re studying. Universities should be forging links with businesses, as well as conducting their own research work, to allow this to happen.
It highlighted how the University of Sussex is encouraging students to get involved in research that has an impact in the real world. As well as engaging with projects during term time, they’re encouraged to undertake summer research placements too. This can help them develop valuable skills, as well as giving them work experience.
The news provider commented that this allows students to “gain an in-depth knowledge in their area of life sciences and become skilled in laboratory work and data analysis”.
As an employer, you need to make sure you clearly show applicants how they can develop their skills and progress their careers with you. This will not only help you attract them in the first place, but ensure that they stay working for you in the long term.
Experts from the University of Leeds and Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust are in line to receive £3.5 million to pioneer new radiotherapy technologies, which will include the use of artificial intelligence and imaging technology.
Cancer Research UK has made the funds available over the next five years as part of a UK-wide network known as RadNet, with just seven Centres of Excellence set up to pursue these avenues. As well as the base in Leeds, sites will be located in Cambridge, Manchester, London, Glasgow and Oxford.
Research at the Leeds Centre of Excellence will combine the use of magnetic resonance imaging, artificial intelligence and new drugs with radiotherapy, focusing on those with brain, liver, prostate, rectal and anal cancers.
“Using artificial intelligence analysis of the MRI scans will help us to tailor future treatment for patients and reduce side effects, resulting in new, precise and personalised treatments – and a better quality of life afterwards – in the next five to ten years,” the School of Medicine’s professor David Sebag-Montefiore said.
He went on to say that the Cancer Research UK funding will also help to create 13 new researcher posts and strengthen the city’s position as one of the best destinations to train.
Further research from the University of Leeds recently discovered that vitamin D can help to make melanoma cells less aggressive. The team found that it could influence the behaviours of signalling pathways in melanoma cells in mice, slowing their growth and stopping them from spreading to the lungs.
For help with scientific professionals recruitment, get in touch with us today.
Fireworks are wildly overrated and a hideous waste of money.
Unpopular opinion indeed, however, you can consider me the Ebenezer Scrooge of Bonfire Night. I just don’t get what the big deal is.
The 5th November marks the 414th anniversary of Guy Fawkes and his pals attempt to blow up the Houses of Parliament. Ironically, there’s a few people in there that could with a rocket or two at the moment… 7 out of 10 adults will be celebrating bonfire night and the total spend on fireworks (both public and private displays) is expected to exceed £497m.
I thought I’d do a bit of research and find out if science can help me understand the big deal with a few colours and a loud noise, what am I missing, am I just weird?
According to Daniel Glaser, a neuroscientist and director of Science Gallery London at King’s College, the reason we like them so much is because they scare us. It’s similar to Thunder and Lightning. The bright lights flash and warn us of the impending booming crashing.
All of this anticipation activates a little ball of nerves called amygdala. The part of the brain that detects fear. The lights stimulate an anticipation of threat and the subsequent noise of the firework confirms the perception of danger in our brains. Cue a big of release of dopamine as the reward.
That must just mean that I’m really hard then…that or I’m broken.
As is normally the case in science, the answer to one question leads to another question. Why does something that scares us make us feel happy? In a contrast to the unbridled terror of the unknown, the induced fear from fireworks is controlled. We see the lights over and over again, the brain then anticipates that the noise will follow. In contrast, in thunderstorms we know that thunder will follow lightening but when/how loudly it does is out of our control. This is why animals are often terrified by fireworks as each one catches them off guard.
In Glaser’s research he goes on to say that “People seem to be excited by the anticipation of a slightly scary experience. Fireworks repeatedly set up this expectation. Each flash generates the anticipation of a bang, and that satisfaction seems to be what’s exciting about the display”.
Comparisons can be drawn to music. Techniques in which a note is drawn out as the harmony beneath it changes, has a similar effect. Classical composer like Bach prolonged a note whilst the harmony switched. The suspended note creates tension which compels you to hang on until the next shift in harmony for relief.
The exposure and saturation of colours that we don’t regularly experience is another area of their apparent ‘appeal’. Glaser says ““Fireworks genuinely synthesize new wavelengths of colour. “Basically, chemists have hijacked the system when it comes to fireworks, they can cook up colours outside the spectrum.” Due to the pixels on computer/tv screens, fireworks never have the same impact when we don’t watch them in person. We you see fireworks live; you witness the authentic colour representation which are very different to what you’d see on TV…. not that this changes my mind in any way.
The tick in the box for everyone liking fireworks generally is that the unexpectedness of the colours is captivating for the brain. We’re hardwired not to look away from the light and the bright, rapid firing pigments force us to freeze as the brain investigates the sudden influx of colour and sound.
In conclusion, it looks like there’s quite a few scientific reasons why most people actually do like fireworks then…maybe I’ll dust off the sparklers.
Jobseekers on the lookout for life science vacancies might find it beneficial to attend this year’s LASA Annual Conference, taking place between the 26th and 28th November, as the team from Agenda Life Sciences will be attending and it represents an excellent networking opportunity for anyone keen to further their career in the life sciences sector.
The annual congress takes place in Birmingham, featuring a scientific and educational programme that focuses particularly on CRISPR technology, as well as the latest recommendations and information on the understanding of animal welfare, sentience, 3Rs and influencing human behaviour on experimental design.
A large trade exhibition will also be a big feature, with recent updates in animal care materials and equipment, research equipment and animal use and health programmes. Opportunities to network will also be available, with industry players from around the UK and further afield.
Numerous workshops and talks are being put on over the course of the three days, including a seminar by Charlotte Burn from the Royal Veterinary College, who will be discussing the animal welfare impact and feasibility of commercially available nesting materials for lab mice.
Emilie Da Silva from the University of Denmark, meanwhile, will be on hand to discuss making the move away from animal testing for acute inhalation toxicity testing.
And Elizabeth Fisher, professor of neurogenetics at the Institute of Neurology at University College London, will be giving a keynote speech on humanising mouse models to understand neurodegeneration, sure to be of interest to many of you out there.
Making the right kind of professional contacts can really help you further your career and one of the best ways to make these contacts is by attending industry events. But not everyone is good at networking and it can be daunting to go to your first few events, not sure what to expect. Here are a few top tips to help you make a good first impression.
Researching the attendees is wise as it means you can prepare some key questions and hold interesting conversations with ease. It also means you’ll find it easier to share information about yourself and what you do without it seeming unnatural.
When talking to people, maintain eye contact as you chat and make sure that your body language shows that you’re genuinely interested in what they have to say. This will help you to build up a real sense of rapport, which will make it easier to do business later down the line.
It’s also important that you don’t spread yourself too thin. You won’t have time to meet everyone so don’t even try – it’s more effective to make a couple of real relationships with people than trying to meet as many of them as you can.
Britain is such a big influence in the global life science industry thanks to thriving research and development (R&D) initiatives at its top universities.
When it comes to life science progress, the UK provides some of the most important studies that are then used to help scientists make breakthroughs. Indeed, it publishes 6.4 per cent of international research articles, despite having less than one per cent of the world’s population.
According to the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR), Britain’s university academics are the main reason behind this, particularly as the UK is home to some of the best higher education establishments in the world.
These include The University of Oxford, The University of Cambridge, University College London (UCL) and Imperial College London, which are all in the global top ten, according to the QS World University Rankings.
Having scientists at these – and other British – universities pursuing studies to further R&D, as well as working closely with industry professionals, are big factors that help the UK have an increasingly influential presence in the life science sector.
ICR’s director of the Enterprise Unit Dr Angela Kukula said the institute is the highest-ranked education facility in Britain for many reasons.
She stated: “That’s thanks to a range of factors, relating to our own internal culture – our focus on innovation, translating our discoveries to the clinic, and our cadre of world-leading cancer researchers – and external influences, including a thriving life-science industry in London and the south east of England.”
She also noted the significance of medical research charities, including Cancer Research UK and Wellcome that provide finances to enable more R&D to take place, as well as the NHS, as this helps take treatments from the laboratory to the hospital.
“Many clinical trials that change worldwide clinical practice are only possible here at the interface between UK higher education institutions and our NHS,” Dr Kukula commented.
The government also plays a huge role in encouraging life science developments, as it ploughs money into the sector. It even contributed more to R&D in 2017 than any other country in Europe, second globally only to the USA that year.
This investment is only set to grow, with the government’s Industrial Strategy intending to raise R&D expenditure to 2.4 per cent of GDP over the next eight years.
Of course, impending Brexit could affect the life science sector, just as it could any other industry in the UK.
One of the ways leaving the European Union (EU) could impact R&D is by causing the number of people working in the sector to fall. There have already been signs of this since former Prime Minister Theresa May failed to secure a Brexit deal with the EU last March.
Despite the UK’s employment rate having been rising consistently since June to August 2018, it actually fell by 0.1 percentage points between March and May 2019, according to the Office for National Statistics. This could have been the result of political uncertainty as negotiations for an exit strategy lingered on past the official March 29th deadline.
While this is concerning, Dr Kukala commented that the UK is in a “good position to continue as a leader in life sciences”, regardless of the Brexit outcome.
She stated: “Although Brexit could cause many challenges … the UK’s strengths, from our university sector to our NHS, will not go away.”
This is good news for those looking for life science permanent recruitment. To find out more about a job in this sector, get in touch with us today.
As part of our ongoing commitment to servicing research needs on site, Agenda Life Sciences and Alderley Park Ltd are pleased to announce the following changes to the Block 3 in-vivo team:
Ben Acton takes on the new role as Head of Regulatory Science. This is an important role to both businesses in ensuring compliance across mutliple disciplines. Ben will also take on the responsibility for GLP within the Agenda facility.
Ross Wilkinson, Facility Manager, will remain as point of contact for the facility and will continue to manage the Block 3 in-vivo team. He will also be expanding the team with some new technicians throughout the rest of the year and in 2020 to ensure the facility is staffed for your anticipated growth.
Matt Smith, Deputy Facility Manager, also takes on the new responsibility of NTCO (Named Training and Competency Officer). This enables Agenda to speed up the process of on-boarding new users to the facility and ensures your team are operational quicker.
I hope you will all join me in wishing the team at Agenda Alderley Park success. If you have any questions, please contact Toby Sanders toby.sanders@agendalifesciences.com