Committees

Leading scientists and researchers showcase Scotland’s most innovative projects in Edinburgh as inquiry progresses

6 December 2023

Scotland’s legacy of scientific discovery and innovation is well-known, from Dolly the Sheep to the building of the full-body MRI scanner.

Gathering evidence for its ongoing inquiry into science and Scotland, MPs on the Scottish Affairs Committee held an event this week at Edinburgh’s Climate Change Institute where Scotland’s leading scientific innovators and researchers were given two minutes to present their cutting-edge research in a Dragons-Den style showcase.  

The insights gained on the challenges and opportunities for the growth of Scotland’s science sector will inform recommendations which the Committee will put to the UK Government in a report expected next year.  

With panellists in the fields of biomedicine, physics and environmental science, MPs discussed the importance of diversity in recruitment, how governments can best support the sector, as well as improving public awareness of the career opportunities within it. 

Mitigating climate change with rubber plantations, molecules with the potential to limit damage to the heart and switch off inflammation, and optical fibres for an un-hackable internet were among some of the work presented to the MPs. 

Participating organisations and their showcases included: 

  • Cancer Research UK on the Cancer Research UK Scotland Centre 
  • Generation Scotland (UCL Social Research Institute) on Scotland’s largest family-based cohort study 
  • Royal Society of Chemistry on molecules, mitochondria and medicines 
  • British Neuroscience Association on understanding and targeting the brain changes that cause dementias 
  • University of Dundee on effective drug discovery in a global pandemic 
  • University of St Andrews on helping to accelerate a sustainable transition to low carbon energy generation at sea 
  • Moredun Research Institute on liver fluke study wins for animal and environmental health 
  • Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh on the impact of natural rubber plantations on tropical forests measured for the first time 
  • James Hutton Institute on accelerated evolution of wild-to-domesticated barley 
  • University of Edinburgh on the private life of parasites: sophisticated strategies for survival and reproduction 
  • University of Edinburgh on the Euclid satellite mission: exploring and understanding the dark Universe 
  • University of Glasgow on Scotland’s Role in Driving the Quantum Revolution 
  • University of Strathclyde on photonics Research under-pinning next generation quantum technologies 
  • Heriot-Watt University on programming quantum circuits for light inside an optical fibre

Further information

Image: Pixabay