Read Issue 36 of Bioscience Today here: https://reveela.com/publication/1805433/

The King’s Speech earlier this month outlined the new government’s ambitions for life sciences, with the unveiling of a revitalised Industrial Strategy Council.

The aim is to turbo-charge our vital UK sector – already worth over £100 bn to the economy – by making it easier and quicker to draw investment in.

The move can’t come soon enough for the authors of a report (page 7) highlighting the ongoing destabilising effects of recent political and economic upheaval on medicines discovery.

Let’s hope these latest government announcements strip away the uncertainty for R&D and innovation and fully open the sector to the inward investment it so richly deserves.

While around 86% of healthcare spending helps manage chronic disease, only 3% is allocated to disease prevention. But there is another way, says Dr Stuart Grice, co-founder of Fitness Genes. A UK-wide system of genetic testing coupled with heightened awareness of lifestyle risks to health could be a game-changer, he argues (pages 8 to 10), forming the basis of a brand-new preventative health ecosystem.

A teenager has become the first UK patient in history to take part in clinical trials using deep brain stimulation via a rechargeable device to treat his severe epilepsy. The surgery, carried out at Great Ormand Street Hospital, has already reduced the youngster’s daytime seizures by 80%, and vastly improved his quality of life (pages 16-19).

The pioneering team, led by Professor Tim Denison, is committed to designing pioneering research systems to treat complex health conditions, reducing the need for invasive surgeries and life-altering medications.

Meanwhile, the fascinating discovery of a ‘healer’ army – consisting of regulatory T cells – has turned conventional thinking about the immune system on its head.

These white blood cells are to be found on a constant march through the body. Their mission? Finding and repairing damaged tissue, scientists at the University of Cambridge reveal.

It’s hoped that targeted treatments against disease and injury can now harness the power of these industrious little ‘workers’, by making full use of the body’s immune response and prompting faster tissue regeneration. Full story on pages 68-69.

Bioscience Today continues to champion fantastic achievements in UK life sciences with stories like these (and many more page turners).

Let’s hope our new government puts its money where its mouth is, and provides the solid, dependable support the sector needs to keep it up on the world stage where it belongs.

By Karen Southern, Editor in Chief