Steve, who joined the University on 2 November, will provide strategic, commercial and operational leadership for the (GEIC) and the University's involvement in the (SMMC).

He brings extensive experience of industrial innovation and commercialisation, having previously served as Chief Executive of the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult and, before that, the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC), one of the UK's foremost partnerships between industry and academia. Earlier in his career, he spent more than 20 years with Siemens, holding senior leadership roles in the UK, Europe and China.

The appointment marks an important step in the University's plans to establish a connected national platform for advanced materials innovation, helping businesses access the expertise, specialist facilities and partnerships they need to develop new technologies and bring them to market.

The approach builds on complementary strengths across two locations.

GEIC, based on Manchester's Oxford Road corridor, is an established industry-facing facility supporting the development and commercialisation of graphene, 2D materials and wider advanced materials technologies. It connects companies with technical expertise, industrially relevant equipment and the University's research capabilities.

SMMC, developed by Rochdale Development Agency (RDA) and operated by Ģ����Ƶ, is a new innovation and specialist manufacturing scale-up centre at the heart of the Atom Valley Innovation District in Rochdale. Its base build was completed in October, with specialist fit-out and operational preparations underway ahead of opening in 2027.

Together, the centres will provide a clearer route for businesses to move from technical challenges and product development through validation, prototyping and manufacturing readiness towards scale-up and commercial adoption.

This approach also builds on the successful national collaboration model developed through the Centre of Expertise in Advanced Materials and Sustainability (CEAMS), which connects businesses with existing specialist expertise and facilities across the UK. Rather than duplicating national innovation assets, CEAMS makes it easier for companies to find and access them, bringing together the right capabilities around their needs.

The University is also lead delivery partner for the £16.4 million Atom Valley Innovation District programme, supported by UK Research and Innovation's Local Innovation Partnerships Fund (LIPF), a flagship £500 million UK Government programme investing in regional innovation economies across the country. This investment will accelerate the development of an advanced materials and manufacturing ecosystem around SMMC, supporting business innovation and the growth of the wider cluster.

As Managing Director, Steve will lead the development of the centres' commercial and operational strategy, building industry partnerships and attracting new business activity while strengthening connections with regional and national innovation partners.

The role sits within Unit M, the University's innovation directorate, and supports the university's Manchester 2035 strategy in its ambition to become Europe's most inclusive and impactful innovation ecosystem.

Professor John Holden, Vice-President for Civic Engagement and Innovation, and Chief Executive of Unit M at the University of Manchester, said: “Steve brings an exceptional combination of industrial leadership, commercial experience and a strong track record of working across industry and academia. His experience at the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre and Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult makes him particularly well placed to lead the next phase of development for GEIC and our role within SMMC.

“Steve's leadership will be central to our ambition to create the UK's most connected advanced materials cluster, building on GEIC's achievements and realising the potential of SMMC to support manufacturing innovation and industrial growth.

“Working with partners including Rochdale Development Agency, we've made significant progress in developing SMMC at Atom Valley. Steve's appointment will help us build on that investment, connect it with GEIC's established strengths and create new opportunities for businesses to innovate, scale and grow.”

Councillor Daniel Meredith, Rochdale Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Housing said: “The Sustainable Materials & Manufacturing Centre is a major investment in Rochdale's future and a cornerstone of our ambitions for Atom Valley. We've worked closely with the University of Manchester to bring the centre to this stage, and Steve's appointment is an important step towards realising its full potential.

“His experience of working with industry and developing successful innovation partnerships will be invaluable as we look to attract new businesses, investment and skilled jobs to Rochdale. We want Atom Valley to become a place where advanced manufacturing businesses can establish themselves and grow, and SMMC will have a central role in making that happen.”

Steve Foxley said: “The UK has some extraordinary strengths in research and engineering, particularly around advanced materials, but the challenge is making sure those strengths translate into successful businesses, competitive industries and real economic growth. That's something I've been passionate about throughout my career, and it's what attracted me to this opportunity at Manchester.

“GEIC has already built a strong reputation for working with industry, and the development of SMMC at Atom Valley creates an opportunity to take that capability further. By connecting the expertise, facilities and partnerships across both centres, we can help businesses overcome some of the practical challenges of developing, testing and scaling new technologies.

“I'm looking forward to working with the teams, our industry partners and the wider innovation community to build on what's already been achieved and make a real difference to UK manufacturing.”

Ģ����Ƶ’s John Rylands Library has taken a selection of its historic Coptic and Ethiopian manuscripts out of the library and into the community, giving hundreds of people the rare opportunity to encounter their heritage first-hand.

The special exhibition - held on 1 November at St Mary & St Mina Coptic Orthodox Church in Stockport - attracted more than 400 visitors and their children, many of whom travelled from across the UK to see manuscripts dating back as far as the tenth century.

The event brought together curators, academics and members of Greater Manchester’s Coptic community, many of whom had previously had little opportunity to engage directly with the library’s extensive collection of manuscripts written in Coptic - an ancient Egyptian language.

The event was organised by Dr Ibrahim Saweros and Dr Jeremy Penner, and formed part of , a two-year research project led by Dr Sarah Parkhouse at Ģ����Ƶ.

Funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), the project aims to bring manuscript research into conversation with the knowledge and experiences of the communities whose histories are represented in library and museum collections.

Visitors were provided with an exhibition booklet and had the opportunity to speak with the project team about the manuscripts, their history and their significance. The enthusiasm of the congregation - particularly younger visitors - demonstrated the potential for cultural institutions to build meaningful relationships with communities whose heritage they preserve.

For many attendees, the experience was more than an opportunity to see historical artefacts - the manuscripts offered a tangible connection to the language, faith and traditions of previous generations, and a chance to explore how those traditions have evolved over the centuries.

The project hopes that this encounter will be the first of many, as libraries and museums look for new ways to make their collections accessible and relevant to the communities whose histories they hold.

Among the manuscripts on display were biblical texts, Coptic liturgies and a Holy Week lectionary, alongside two parchment manuscripts from Egypt’s White Monastery containing sermons by St Shenoute of Atripe, a hugely influential fifth-century monastic leader.

Visitors were also able to see fragments of an ancient Coptic translation of the Gospel of Matthew, written on papyrus, and an eighteenth-century Ethiopian manuscript recounting the life and miracles of St George.

The encounter offered a rare opportunity to explore these objects in the setting of a living religious community, connecting centuries of written history with traditions that continue to be practised in Greater Manchester today.

“There is something quite remarkable about a manuscript written centuries ago finding itself once again among people who know its prayers, recognise its saints and continue its traditions,” said Dr Jeremy Penner, Senior Curator at the John Rylands Library.

Lecturers and students have significantly different perceptions of how much generative artificial intelligence (AI) is being used in university studies, according to new research from Ģ����Ƶ and Spain’s Universidad del Pais Vasco/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea.

The study found that academic staff perceived students to be using AI tools such as ChatGPT for their studies much more extensively than students reported themselves. Researchers say the findings highlight a gap in understanding between staff and students, at a time when universities are grappling with how best to respond to the technology.

A gap in understanding

The research examined how academic staff and students perceived their own use of generative AI tools, as well as their views of how the technology was being used in higher education.

The study surveyed 45 academic staff and 86 students in a School covering social science disciplines at a UK research-intensive university. The questionnaires were conducted between April and June 2024.

When asked about students’ use of AI for academic purposes, staff gave an average rating of 5.23 on a seven-point scale. Students’ own responses produced an average of 3.11.

The researchers caution that students may have underreported their use of AI, but say the difference nevertheless points to the limited information staff may have about how students use these tools in their studies.

AI use can be difficult for lecturers to identify, particularly when they see only the final version of an assignment rather than the process through which it was produced. Students may also use AI independently of their interactions with teaching staff, leaving academics with an incomplete picture of their working practices.

Different attitudes towards AI

The research also found that students were generally more positive than staff about the potential benefits of generative AI.

Students rated the technology more highly in terms of its likely contribution to academic performance, including helping them learn about their subjects, increasing productivity and reducing workloads. They also felt more strongly than staff that appropriate conditions and support were in place to help them use AI tools.

Among the uses identified in the survey, students reported using generative AI to find answers to questions and assignments, generate written work, and translate or improve the grammar of their writing.

The researchers suggest that the immediate appeal of AI tools may lie in their ability to produce and improve text. However, they argue that universities need to understand the range of ways students use the technology, rather than assume that its role in academic work is straightforward.

The study also found considerable variation in staff members’ familiarity with AI. While 63 per cent of academic staff respondents had used at least one generative AI tool in the six months before the survey, some had limited practical experience of the technology. Only 14 per cent had a paid subscription to an AI tool.

The authors argue that the challenges posed by AI in higher education cannot be resolved simply by providing technical training or improving students’ AI literacy. Instead, universities need to consider how staff and students understand the technology, what they believe it can do, and how those beliefs shape its use.

Rethinking the response to AI

The researchers say that assuming students are using AI primarily to circumvent assessment rules risks creating a relationship based on distrust. While acknowledging that AI can be used in ways that undermine academic integrity, they argue that universities need a more nuanced understanding of students’ practices.

They suggest that teaching and assessment should evolve in response to the capabilities of generative AI, with staff and students better supported to explore its appropriate educational uses.

The authors also stress that the research offers a snapshot of a particular institutional setting at a specific point in time. As AI tools continue to develop rapidly, perceptions and patterns of use may change, and further research with larger samples is needed.

What the experts say

“There is a tendency for the debate about AI in universities to focus on the risks of cheating or the promise of transforming education, but the reality is more complex,” said Dr Mark Carrigan, Senior Lecturer in Education at Ģ����Ƶ and one of the study’s authors who has also recently on this topic. “Our findings suggest that staff and students have quite different perceptions of how AI is being used, making it difficult for universities to develop effective responses based on assumptions rather than a clear understanding of students’ experiences.”

Publication details

This research was published in: Frontiers in Education

Title: Still emerging: understanding Generative AI use in Higher Education

DOI: 10.3389/feduc.2026.1885253

URL:

Ģ����Ƶ has appointed Professor Lee Pugalis as Director of the (MEC).

MEC is the University’s home for enterprise and entrepreneurship, working with students and graduates from every discipline. Through its strategy, Manchester 2035, the University has committed to supporting entrepreneurship for all and to becoming the university of choice for starting a company or social enterprise. Lee will lead MEC in making that ambition a reality: building students’ entrepreneurial skills and employability, supporting ventures that create jobs and social impact, and turning research into innovative businesses.

“Manchester has always been a city of innovators, and the Masood Entrepreneurship Centre plays a vital role in nurturing the next generation of founders, changemakers and problem-solvers. I’m thrilled to lead the centre at such an exciting time, working with our fantastic team, students and partners to make entrepreneurship truly open to all.” Professor Lee Pugalis, Director of the Masood Entrepreneurship Centre

Lee joined MEC as Deputy Director in August 2023 and has led the centre as Interim Director since January 2026, guiding it through its transition into Unit M. He takes up the role at a time of strong momentum. The number of start-ups launched each year has more than doubled over the past three years, growing at an average of nearly 30% annually, with a record 81 new start-ups launched in 2025/26. The alumni ventures MEC has helped develop have secured more than £495 million in investment over the past five years. In 2025/26, MEC also supported over 520 early-stage entrepreneurs in the first year of its new four-pathway model, and 1,790 students enrolled across 30 course units representing all three faculties.

MEC has supported student and graduate entrepreneurs for over 25 years. Its professional services team has now moved into , the University’s gateway to innovation, working alongside academic colleagues based within the world-leading Innovation, Management and Policy division at (AMBS).

As Director, Lee will lead MEC’s team of around 30 academic and professional services colleagues, bringing together its curricular and co-curricular activity. He will deepen MEC’s partnership with AMBS, strengthen links with faculties and schools, and scale opportunities so that all 47,000 of the University’s students can take part, whatever their discipline. This includes partner-enabled learning, through which students work with employers, public bodies and community organisations as part of their course for credit.

“Lee’s appointment is excellent news for the Masood Entrepreneurship Centre and for Alliance Manchester Business School. He brings a strong track record of leadership, collaboration and a clear commitment to making entrepreneurship accessible to students from every discipline. Under his direction, MEC will strengthen its deep roots within AMBS while extending its reach and impact across the University through Unit M. I look forward to working with Lee as we equip more students and researchers with the skills, confidence and connections to turn bold ideas into ventures that deliver economic and social value.”
Professor Ken McPhail, Head of Alliance Manchester Business School

MEC is also home to the University’s flagship student entrepreneurship competitions, which offer equity-free funding and support to student and graduate founders. In 2026, 29 finalists were selected from around 200 applications to compete for 11 awards across four tracks, sharing a record £200,000 prize pot. Eligible applications were up 48% on the previous year.

MEC hosted three events at the University’s inaugural Innovation Festival this year, attracting more than 300 attendees:

· Ideas Unlocked: an interactive workshop introducing entrepreneurship and innovation to students, whatever their experience

· Partner-Enabled Learning Exchange: a session exploring how to embed industry partnerships into enterprise and entrepreneurship education

· Manchester Venture Builder Demo Day 2026: delivered with Venture Cafe Manchester, where emerging University founders pitched to investors, mentors, alumni and ecosystem leaders

Lee’s appointment comes as the University delivers A Powerhouse of Innovation, its plan to become Europe’s most inclusive and impactful innovation ecosystem by 2035. With entrepreneurship embedded across the curriculum and co-curriculum, MEC will help develop the innovation-savvy entrepreneurs and workforce of the future, creating jobs, ventures and impact for Manchester and beyond.

Find out more about MEC and how to get involved on the .

Discover more about .

Final-year medical student Megan Mcgillin was providing medical cover at the event two weeks ago when a 35-year-old runner suddenly fell to the ground after crossing the finish line.

Recognising the signs of cardiac arrest within seconds, Megan immediately raised the alarm and began life-saving chest compressions while calling for additional help.

As the wider medical team arrived, she continued working calmly under pressure, helping to apply defibrillator pads before handing over to colleagues leading the resuscitation effort.

The runner had suffered a cardiac arrest and required extensive emergency treatment before his heart could be restarted.

He was rushed to A&E and later transferred to intensive care, where he has since made a strong recovery.

In a heartwarming twist, the grateful runner has now met Megan in person to thank her for the role she played in saving his life.

For Megan, who is in the final year of her medical training, the dramatic rescue was an unforgettable reminder of why she chose a career in medicine.

The life-saving incident is not the first time she has found herself in the spotlight.

In 2023, Megan led a campaign to raise awareness of organ donation during changes to Northern Ireland's organ donation laws and was recognised with an Inspirational Young Woman of the Year award.

Speaking about what happened, Megan said: "When the runner collapsed, my training immediately kicked in and I focused on doing the basics as quickly and effectively as possible.

“It was a real team effort involving a number of healthcare professionals working together under pressure.

“I'm incredibly grateful that the outcome has been so positive and that he's recovering well.

“Meeting him afterwards was very emotional and a powerful reminder of why we dedicate ourselves to learning these skills and helping others."

Professor Margaret Kingston, Director of Undergraduate Medical & Dental Studies from The�� University of Manchester Medical School said: "Megan responded with remarkable professionalism, composure and skill in an extremely challenging situation, and everyone involved is delighted to hear that the runner is making a good recovery.

“The dramatic rescue highlights how the skills learned by future doctors can make the difference between life and death when every second counts.”

has launched a new ten-year Strategy setting out the next phase of growth and development for Manchester’s Knowledge Quarter.��

Covering one square mile south of Manchester city centre, the Oxford Road Corridor is one of the UK’s most significant concentrations of research and innovation. It supports more than 104,000 jobs and generates £7.8 billion in annual economic output��

The Oxford Road Corridor Strategy 2026–2036 builds on decades of collaboration between the major institutions that shape this part of Manchester. Over almost two decades of formal partnership, more than £2.8 billion of public and private investment has been aligned across the area. During that period, more than 60,000 jobs have been created and annual economic output has increased by £4.6 billion.����

Alongside major physical change, the Corridor has continued to evolve as a vibrant and distinctive part of the city, with a diverse cultural offer central to its identity.��

The Strategy focuses on how the Corridor can make more of its exceptional concentration of research, talent and economic activity. It sets out how partners will support businesses and attract investment, while continuing to improve the quality and connectivity of the area.��

Future growth will build on established strengths in health and life sciences, digital and technology, advanced materials and the creative industries.��

Major development is already taking shape across the Corridor, from Sister at its northern end to the continued expansion of Citylabs and Manchester Science Park in the south. The Strategy also looks ahead to the transformation of Manchester Piccadilly and Oxford Road stations, alongside better connections with surrounding communities.

An independent assessment underpinning the Strategy estimates that the development pipeline could support around 15,800 additional jobs and generate £1.9 billion in GVA per annum, alongside an estimated 2,200 construction jobs per year.

The Strategy was launched at the Royal Northern College of Music at an event hosted by journalist and author Andy Spinoza, bringing together partners and stakeholders from across Manchester and Greater Manchester.

Professor Duncan Ivison, Chair of the Oxford Road Corridor Board and President and Vice-Chancellor of Ģ����Ƶ, said: “We have an extraordinary concentration of research and talent within the Oxford Road Corridor, but its real strength comes from the relationships between the institutions and organisations based here.

“The partnership has been built over decades and has helped transform this part of Manchester. This Strategy is about what comes next. We want to strengthen the Corridor’s international position and create the conditions for businesses and ideas to grow, while ensuring more people benefit from that success.

“The opportunity over the next decade is significant, and we will achieve far more by continuing to work together than any institution could achieve alone.”

Councillor Garry Bridges, Leader of Manchester City Council, said: “The Oxford Road Corridor has made an enormous contribution to Manchester’s growth, and the new Strategy gives us a clear direction for the next decade.

“We want Manchester to continue creating highly skilled, well-paid jobs in sectors where we can compete internationally. Increasingly, people can build careers here that a generation ago might have meant leaving Manchester to pursue elsewhere.

“The challenge now is to build on that success and attract further investment. Just as importantly, people and communities across the city need to be able to access the opportunities being created.”

Professor Linda Merrick CBE, Principal of the Royal Northern College of Music, said: “The Oxford Road Corridor brings together an exceptional concentration of institutions and talent within one part of the city. What makes it particularly distinctive is the opportunity to work across institutional boundaries and connect world-class education and research with Manchester’s wider ambitions.

“The new Strategy gives us a shared direction for the next decade, and the RNCM is proud to be part of a partnership with such a strong international outlook and commitment to the future of this place.”

Esme Ward, Director of Manchester Museum, said: “Culture is fundamental to the identity of the Oxford Road Corridor. It is part of why people come here, how they experience the area and how the Corridor connects with Manchester’s communities and the wider world.

“The new Strategy recognises the value of that cultural ecology and the role it can play over the next decade, not only in making this a vibrant and distinctive place but in supporting creative talent and the wider economy.”

Chris Oglesby OBE, Chief Executive Officer, Bruntwood, said: “The Oxford Road Corridor is the UK exemplar of what can be achieved through long-term partnership between the private sector, universities, the NHS and the City Council, delivering wider benefits for Manchester.

“Bruntwood has had a relationship with the Corridor spanning more than 20 years and we’ve seen first-hand how sustained investment and collaboration have helped transform the area. The next decade is about building on that momentum, creating the conditions for innovative businesses to start and scale here, and helping Manchester continue to compete internationally.”

The Strategy’s vision is to drive the growth of an internationally renowned, inclusive and sustainable place where knowledge, business and culture transform lives. It will provide the shared framework for the partnership’s activity and investment through to 2036.

Homework set by primary schools could be reinforcing educational inequalities by rewarding families who have more time and resources to spend helping their children, new research from the University of Manchester suggests.

The study argues that homework is not simply an educational activity carried out by children at home. It also requires parents to invest their time, knowledge and resources, potentially giving some children an advantage over others. Researchers found that parents can face very different demands on their time, particularly when they are balancing homework with work, childcare and other family responsibilities.

Yet schools may treat parents' ability and willingness to spend time on homework as a measure of how well they are supporting their children's education. The researchers argue that this can create a ‘deficit’ view of parents, in which families who have less time or fewer resources are perceived as less engaged with their children's education.

When homework becomes a parental responsibility

Homework is often presented as a way for children to practise what they have learned at school. But the researchers argue that it also creates expectations about how parents should use their time, examining the process through which homework is set by a teacher, completed by a child with parental involvement, and then returned to the teacher.

This creates an opportunity for parents to invest time in producing work that can subsequently be recognised and rewarded within the education system. The researchers use the sociological theories of Pierre Bourdieu to argue that this investment can become a form of cultural capital - the time and knowledge available to families can be converted into educational advantage.

Not all parents have the same amount of time

The study highlights the very different circumstances in which parents are expected to support homework. One parent, referred to as Emma in the paper, describes trying to help her children despite working until 8pm. She says that doing homework late at night can be extremely difficult and argues that homework should be regarded as a ‘bonus’ if parents are able to do it, rather than something automatically expected of every family.

Emma also describes the experience as potentially ‘shaming’ for parents who do not understand the homework themselves. The researchers argue that this illustrates how apparently neutral expectations about parental engagement can have very different consequences depending on families' circumstances.

A parent with flexible working hours, financial resources and confidence with schoolwork may be able to provide substantial support, while a parent working long or irregular hours may have much less time available, even if they are equally committed to their child's education.

Are parents being judged on how they spend their time?

A central argument of the paper is that schools can develop implicit ideas about the ‘proper’ use of parents' time. The researchers describe these expectations as part of the educational field's ‘doxa’ – beliefs that become so taken for granted that they appear natural or unquestionable.

This can mean that spending time on educational activities is treated as evidence of being a good or committed parent, while parents who cannot or do not engage in the expected ways may be judged as lacking commitment. The researchers argue that this can obscure the structural reasons why parents have different amounts of time available.

The ‘colonisation’ of family life

The paper builds on previous research describing homework as a ‘colonisation of the home by school’. The researchers argue that homework does not simply extend learning beyond the classroom; it can also give schools an influence over how families are expected to spend their time together.

This is illustrated by the views of one teacher, Mrs Higgins, who describes homework as an opportunity for parents and children to spend time together. She also argues that parents have a responsibility to prioritise their children's education and suggests that schools sometimes have to compensate when parents are not sufficiently involved.

The researchers argue that this illustrates a tension between two very different understandings of homework. For teachers, it can be seen as an opportunity to support learning and strengthen parent-child relationships, while for some parents it can represent an additional demand on already limited time and a judgement about whether they are using that time ‘properly’.

A hidden advantage for families with more resources

The study also highlights an apparent contradiction in how parental involvement can operate. Families with greater financial resources may be able to overcome a lack of time by outsourcing educational work, for example through private tutoring. This means that having limited time does not necessarily prevent more affluent parents from ensuring their children receive substantial educational support.

Families with fewer financial resources may instead have to choose between spending their own limited time on homework and other demands such as paid work, childcare and household responsibilities. The researchers argue that inequality is therefore not simply about how much parents care about their children's education, but also about who has the resources to turn that commitment into educational advantage.

Why simply removing homework may not be enough

The researchers argue that eliminating homework would be desirable as a school-directed parental engagement practice, but caution that this would not automatically remove inequalities. Other forms of parental engagement could emerge to take its place and continue to reward families with greater resources.

Instead, the authors argue that schools need to examine the assumptions underlying parental engagement and develop practices that recognise the different circumstances in which families live. They call for schools, teachers and researchers to better understand families' experiences and to develop approaches that legitimise non-dominant experiences, rather than treating them as evidence of parental failure.

Making the invisible visible

The research uses a detailed case involving a parent, a teacher and the first author, who was herself a parent at the school. The authors argue that this unusual perspective allowed them to examine how different people could experience the same homework practice in very different ways.

The first author describes a moment when she realised that homework was being used not only to develop children's academic skills but also as a way of encouraging a particular form of parental behaviour. The researchers describe this as a moment in which something that had previously appeared natural became visible as a social practice shaped by power and class.

They argue that recognising these hidden assumptions is an important step towards challenging educational inequalities.

What the experts say

“We need to be careful about assuming that a parent who spends more time helping with homework is necessarily more committed to their child’s education,” said Dr Emilia Howker. “Some parents simply have more time and resources available to them. When schools reward that investment, we risk turning differences in family circumstances into differences in children’s educational opportunities.”

Publication details

The paper was published in: British Journal of Sociology of Education

Title: Time for homework: doxic expectations on parents’ use of time in the home-school relationship

DOI:

URL:

The sheds new light on why blood pressure rises so dramatically in the condition and could point towards entirely new ways of treating it.

Preeclampsia affects between 2% and 8% of pregnancies worldwide and is linked to serious complications including stroke, organ damage, premature birth and stillbirth.

At present there is no cure other than delivering the baby and placenta, often forcing doctors to bring pregnancies early to protect the mother.

But now the researchers have identified a key failure in the way small arteries regulate blood flow in women with the condition.

The team recruited patients at Saint Mary’s Hospital (SMH), part of MFT, and compared tiny arteries from pregnant women with and without preeclampsia. The researchers discovered that a vital natural relaxation mechanism was severely disrupted in those with the disease.

The vessels were taken from the omentum — a fold of fatty tissue inside the abdomen that helps protect and support the abdominal organs — and placed under pressure in a laboratory to study their functioning.

Healthy blood vessels rely on microscopic bursts of calcium, known as "calcium sparks", to tell the muscle in artery walls to relax and prevent excessive constriction.

But in women with preeclampsia these calcium sparks were dramatically reduced, with levels falling by as much as 75% at normal physiological pressures.

Investigating the samples at , small artery research labs at UoM, led by Professor Adam Greenstein, Clinical Scientist and Consultant Geriatrician at MFT, researchers also found evidence that the cells' calcium stores were depleted and less able to refill themselves, preventing the vessels from generating the signals needed to relax properly.

This loss of an important pressure-balancing mechanism could help explain why blood vessels remain abnormally constricted in preeclampsia, driving dangerous increases in blood pressure.

The team also tested HBD2, a naturally occurring immune-system molecule that helps the body fight infection."

Although the molecule – known as a peptide - did not restore the faulty calcium sparks, it was still able to relax blood vessels by activating a different part of the same pathway.

The finding raises the possibility of future treatments that bypass the damaged mechanism altogether and directly encourage blood vessels to relax.

Researchers say such approaches could eventually help control maternal blood pressure, prolong pregnancy and reduce the need for early delivery.

Study lead author from Ģ����Ƶ, who is an Honorary Consultant in Obstetrics at the Maternal and Fetal Health Research Centre at SMH, part of MFT said: "Preeclampsia remains one of the most serious complications of pregnancy and the only definitive cure is delivery of the baby and placenta.

“Our study reveals, for the first time, a major defect in the way tiny maternal blood vessels regulate their own relaxation.

Dr Worton, who is also a researcher in the Integrative Cardiovascular Medicine Theme at the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre: Manchester, continued: “We found that a critical calcium signalling pathway is profoundly impaired, but also showed that blood vessels can still be relaxed through alternative mechanisms.

“These discoveries provide promising new targets for therapies aimed at controlling blood pressure and improving outcomes for mothers and babies.

“Further studies are now needed to explore whether drugs targeting these newly identified pathways could safely be developed for use during pregnancy.”

The research was made possible by collaboration between the Maternal and Fetal Health Research Centre, the cardiovascular sciences research group and the MAViS (Manchester Antenatal Vascular Service) clinic, which provides specialist care for more than 300 women per year, whose pregnancies are complicated by preterm pre-eclampsia.

from Ģ����Ƶ, a study author and Consultant Obstetrician at the Maternal and Fetal Health Research Centre at SMH, said: “This research demonstrates the power of collaborative research across MFT and Ģ����Ƶ. This research, and access to human samples from women with a rare disease, is only made possible by the contribution of our research practitioners, research and specialist midwives working alongside our scientists within the university, to advance our understanding and improve care.”

• The study was funded by the Tommy’s Maternal and Fetal Health Research Centre, Alzheimer’s Society, the British Heart Foundation and the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre (BRC): Manchester.

• Maternal Microvascular Calcium Sparks Are Reduced in Preeclampsia is published in the journal

The two organisations have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) focused on collaboration to create new opportunities for young people and to tackle issues around biodiversity and nature.

Manchester Museum will draw on Science Gallery Bengaluru’s work with students, specifically through its Mentorship Initiative, to build innovative programmes for young people, focused on learning, mentorship and the development of creative pathways.

In its commitment to the Anthropocene, Science Gallery Bengaluru’s Nature Lab, as part of the pioneering Public Lab Complex, will collaborate with the Manchester Museum’s world-class conservation initiatives to serve as a two-way bridge between biodiversity and nature-related research and public engagement.

Esme Ward, Director of Manchester Museum, said: “Bengaluru is a city driven by creativity and innovation, where there’s a tangible sense of care for the natural world and a commitment to creating opportunities for future generations.

“The people and ideas I experienced on a previous visit there have helped to shape the work we do at Manchester Museum and there’s a strong sense of shared purpose between our two organisations. Science Gallery Bengaluru does an incredible job of inspiring young people and we’re excited to build on that in creating an even brighter future for communities here in Manchester.”

Dr Jahnavi Phalkey, Director of Science Gallery Bengaluru, said: “At Science Gallery Bengaluru, we value research-based engagement and new ways of bringing science to the public. Our Nature Lab, part of the pioneering Public Lab Complex, is one way we continue to explore our commitment to the Anthropocene.

“Visiting Manchester Museum and seeing how it puts community spaces into practice offers a valuable point of connection between our institutions. We are delighted to collaborate with Manchester Museum and explore how our two institutions can learn from each other.”

The MoU was signed during an event at Science Gallery Bengaluru, organised as part of the Greater Manchester Mission to India and attended by Professor Duncan Ivison, President and Vice-Chancellor of Ģ����Ƶ, and Bev Craig OBE, Mayor of Greater Manchester.

This partnership builds on work Manchester Museum has done through its award-winning South Asia Gallery, a British Museum partnership, which is the first permanent gallery in the UK to celebrate the experiences and contribution of the South Asian diaspora. The Museum has also previously partnered with the Indian Music Experience Museum in Bangalore on the RhythmXChange project, which looked at rhythm as a shared language, working with young musicians from India and the UK.

During the mission, Ģ����Ƶ announced plans for a new centre, focusing on education, research and innovation, in Bengaluru. The proposed centre will provide a permanent platform for the University to deepen its engagement with one of the world’s most dynamic education, research and innovation ecosystems. It will help to bring together academic expertise, industry knowledge and entrepreneurial talent to address shared challenges and create opportunities for students and researchers in India.

A student from Ģ����Ƶ is preparing to climb Africa’s highest mountain to raise money for young people with cancer, drawing on his own family’s experiences of the disease.

Next August, 30 year old Joseph Mooney from Whitefield will take on the challenge of trekking up the 5895 metre Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania to raise funds for Teenage Cancer Trust, a charity supporting young people facing cancer.

For Joseph, the challenge is deeply personal - he lost his grandfather to pancreatic cancer in 2022, his mother and sister have both survived ovarian cancer, and his uncle is currently receiving treatment for lung cancer at Manchester Royal Infirmary and The Christie.

Joseph is planning a series of training hikes over the next nine months, including revisiting the UK’s Three Peaks - Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon - ahead of the expedition. He climbed Ben Nevis in 2024 and first hiked Snowdon as a teenager. He also plans to hike the Rock of Gibraltar when visiting his mother, who lives there.

Earlier this year, Joseph completed a multi-day trek through Morocco’s Atlas Mountains - but he says Kilimanjaro will be the biggest and toughest challenge he has faced.

His passion for hiking is also closely connected to his own wellbeing. Joseph says spending time in nature, hiking alone and getting outdoors help him manage his mental health and provide a welcome sense of perspective.

“Cancer has affected my family in so many ways, and it is a cause that is very close to my heart,” he said. “Having lost my grandad and seen my mum and sister come through cancer, with my uncle currently undergoing treatment, I know how much the disease can affect not just the person diagnosed but their whole family. I wanted to do something positive with those experiences and take on a challenge that could make a difference to other people going through something similar.

“Hiking is also something that means a lot to me personally. Getting out into nature and pushing myself on a trail can do wonders for my wellbeing. Kilimanjaro will be the biggest and hardest trek I’ve ever done, but knowing I’m doing it to support young people with cancer will make it all worthwhile.”

Teenage Cancer Trust provides specialist nursing care and support for teenagers and young adults with cancer, including through specialist hospital units and services across the UK. Joseph hopes to use his training hikes to raise awareness of the charity as well as funds, wearing a Teenage Cancer Trust T-shirt on the trails and talking to fellow hikers about its work.

He is appealing to the University of Manchester community and the wider public to support his fundraising effort. Donations of any size will help him work towards his fundraising target and support the charity’s work with young people affected by cancer.

Support Joseph’s fundraising

To donate to Joseph’s Kilimanjaro challenge, visit his JustGiving page:

Joseph will be posting about his training and his climb on Instagram:

International pressure intended to encourage democratic reform can sometimes strengthen the very governments it seeks to hold to account, according to new research from Ģ����Ƶ.

The study examined Zimbabwe's decision to withdraw from the Commonwealth in December 2003, finding that the move was driven less by a rejection of international institutions in principle than by the ruling party's determination to remain in power.

Why Zimbabwe left the Commonwealth

Zimbabwe was suspended from the Commonwealth in 2002 amid concerns about its presidential election and democratic standards. When the suspension continued following a Commonwealth meeting in Abuja, Nigeria, in December 2003, President Robert Mugabe's government announced its withdrawal.

But the research, by Dr Arthur Shirichena of Ģ����Ƶ and Pofela Ndzozi of Lupane State University in Zimbabwe, argues that withdrawal was a strategic political choice.

The authors examined documentary evidence, including Commonwealth and Zimbabwean government records, parliamentary material and contemporary reporting, to understand the decisions behind the country's departure.

They argue that meeting the conditions for reinstatement – including improvements to elections, media freedom, judicial independence and political violence – risked weakening ZANU-PF's control.

The government continued to pursue a return to the Commonwealth while that appeared possible on terms it could accept. Once the Abuja outcome made that prospect less realistic, leaving became a way to protect its domestic position rather than accept reforms that might undermine it.

Turning criticism into a defence of sovereignty

The study finds that the government also used international criticism to reinforce its political narrative at home.

By presenting the dispute as an attack on Zimbabwe's sovereignty and its anti-colonial liberation struggle, ZANU-PF could portray external pressure as foreign interference. The government could also cast domestic opponents who called for reform as aligned with outside interests.

This helped the ruling party mobilise political support and shift responsibility for Zimbabwe's international isolation onto its critics.

The authors argue that this strategy served the interests of the ruling coalition, even if withdrawal reduced Zimbabwe's diplomatic access and standing. The government's political survival, rather than the country's wider national interest, was the central consideration.

Lessons for international pressure today

The research highlights a challenge for governments and international organisations seeking to encourage democratic change: diplomatic isolation does not automatically lead to reform.

Where leaders see international demands as a threat to their hold on power, they may reject those demands, challenge the legitimacy of their critics or use the dispute to rally domestic support.

The authors caution that the Zimbabwe case does not provide a universal explanation for how governments respond to international pressure, but say it shows why the likely domestic political consequences of diplomatic action need to be considered alongside its intended goals.

Publication details

The research was published in
The Round Table: The Commonwealth Journal of International Affairs.

Title:
Zimbabwe’s withdrawal from the Commonwealth: a foreign policy analysis through the logics of consequences and appropriateness

DOI:


URL:

Nicola will join the University Executive and lead our finance function, bringing a wealth of experience, strategic insight and a deep understanding of the higher education sector as we continue to deliver From Manchester for the world and ensure the University’s long-term financial sustainability.��

Nicola joins us from the University of Liverpool, where she is currently Chief Financial Officer with responsibility for finance, procurement, strategic planning and strategic change, as well as serving as Executive Lead for Sustainability. During her career, she has led major finance transformation programmes, strengthened institutional financial planning and performance and helped shape investment, partnership and sustainability strategies to support long-term success. ��

With more than 25 years’ leadership experience, including over two decades in higher education, Nicola has built a reputation for combining strong financial stewardship with collaborative leadership and informed decision making. She brings a proven ability to navigate complexity in large organisations and respond proactively to challenging external environments.

This appointment also marks a welcome return to Manchester. Between 2005 and 2017, Nicola held a number of senior finance roles at the University, including Deputy Director of Finance, Head of Faculty Finance for Medical and Human Sciences, Head of Management Accounts and Financial Controller. She therefore joins us not only with extensive experience in the sector, but also with an understanding of our people and our values. Earlier in her career, she worked in professional practice with Baker Tilly, EY and Grant Thornton.

Nicola is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants and holds a BSc in Mathematics from Newcastle University and an MSc in Applied Mathematics and Fluid Mechanics from Ģ����Ƶ.

Please join us in giving Nicola a very warm welcome back to Manchester. We look forward to working with her and wish her every success in the role.

Professor Duncan Ivison, President and Vice-Chancellor, said: “Nicola brings a wealth of experience, sector insight and a strong track record of financial leadership and the opportunities and challenges facing the sector today. Having previously had a number of senior roles at Manchester, she also knows the University well and shares our commitment to the ambitions we’ve set out in our strategy. I am delighted to welcome Nicola back to the University and look forward to working with her.”

Nicola Davies said: “I am delighted to be returning to Ģ����Ƶ as Chief Financial Officer. Having both worked and studied here, Manchester is an institution I know well and care about deeply. I am looking forward to working with colleagues across the University to build on its strong foundations, support its strategic ambitions and ensure that our financial planning and investment continue to deliver real impact for our students, staff, city and wider communities.”

Nicola will take up the role on Monday 8 February 2027.

A simple daily blood test could help critically ill sepsis patients come off antibiotics sooner, potentially reducing drug overuse and helping tackle the growing threat of antibiotic resistance, new research shows.

The study, led by researchers at University of Manchester and Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust, and mainly funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), involved 2,760 patients in 41 intensive care units across the UK and is published in the journal

They found monitoring levels of a blood marker called procalcitonin (PCT) prompted doctors to consider stopping antibiotics significantly earlier than another commonly used marker, C-reactive protein (CRP).

The ADAPT-Sepsis trial examines how doctors respond to automated advice generated from daily blood tests designed to guide decisions on when antibiotic treatment could safely end.

The new data adds to the evidence already gathered through the ADAPT-Sepsis research programme. This process evaluation provides the final piece of the puzzle on whether the approach could be adopted across the NHS.

Sepsis is a life-threatening condition caused by the body's overwhelming response to infection and is responsible for thousands of deaths every year.

Patients often receive prolonged courses of powerful antibiotics because doctors are understandably cautious about stopping treatment too soon in severely ill patients.

But unnecessary antibiotic use can fuel antimicrobial resistance, increase side effects and add to healthcare costs.

The researchers found that procalcitonin-based guidance generated "stop antibiotics" recommendations nearly two days earlier than guidance based on CRP – a significant reduction.

Though doctors were more likely to follow advice generated from CRP testing, the earlier signals produced by procalcitonin offer greater potential to cut the total amount of antibiotics patients receive.

CRP testing more closely reflects existing prescribing habits and tends to recommend continuing standard care.

More than 17,000 blood samples and pieces of treatment advice were analysed during the trial.

The most common reason doctors chose not to follow recommendations to stop antibiotics was existing microbiology guidance recommending fixed treatment durations.

Other reasons included concerns about ongoing severe illness, persistent fever and raised inflammation markers.

Principle researcher Professor is Vice Dean for health and care partnerships at Ģ����Ƶ and Professor of critical care medicine at the Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust.

He said: "For decades, intensive care doctors have faced an impossible balancing act.

“Nobody wants to stop antibiotics too early and risk a patient's life, but continuing them unnecessarily also carries real dangers for individuals and society.

“What our study shows is that simple biomarker tests can provide an additional layer of reassurance when making these difficult decisions.

“The challenge now is helping healthcare teams feel confident acting on that information so patients receive exactly the treatment they need, for exactly as long as they need it."

He added: “Blood-test-guided antibiotic stewardship could become an important tool in the fight against antimicrobial resistance if implemented alongside existing clinical guidance and prescribing frameworks.

“T�������� findings provide new insight into how hospitals could safely reduce antibiotic exposure in some of the sickest patients in the NHS while helping preserve the effectiveness of life-saving drugs for future generations.”

Professor Rupert Pearse, Chair of the NIHR-HTA commissioning committee, said: "NIHR-funded research like the ADAPT-Sepsis trial plays a key role in tackling the threat posed globally by antimicrobial resistance.

"The study team's results help to provide vital evidence for medical professionals, giving them a greater understanding of how best to treat sepsis patients and, crucially, identify when it is safe for antibiotic treatment to be halted."

The trial is funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Applied Research Collaboration Greater Manchester (ARC-GM), the NIHR Manchester HealthTech Research Centre in Emergency and Acute Care and the NIHR Manchester Biomedical Research Centre (BRC), in collaboration with The Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust and Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust.��

• The paper Delivery and adherence of biomarker-guided antibiotic treatment protocols in the ADAPT-Sepsis clinical trial: an in trial descriptive process evaluation of daily procalcitonin- and C-reactive protein-guided protocols is published in he journal . ��DOI https://doi.org/10.1111/anae.70439

The study offers a powerful reminder that survival is only the beginning of recovery.

Published in the journal , the study evaluated the Enhanced Rehabilitation Programme (ERP), a specialist multidisciplinary rehabilitation service established following the 2017 Manchester Arena attack.

The programme provided intensive, personalised support for survivors who were still struggling with the physical and psychological consequences of their injuries more than a year after the event.

The researchers from the Universities of Salford and Manchester, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT) and Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust, found that participants experienced substantial improvements in physical recovery, confidence, fitness, mental wellbeing and overall quality of life.

Survivors described achieving goals they once thought impossible, from walking without aids and reducing pain medication to returning to work, pursuing further education and rebuilding their independence.

While advances in trauma care mean more people than ever survive devastating injuries, many continue to live with long-term physical, psychological and social consequences that can persist for years after discharge from hospital.

The ERP brought together physiotherapists, psychologists, occupational therapists, surgeons, sports scientists and rehabilitation specialists to address the complex challenges faced by major trauma survivors, at the renowned Manchester Institute of Health and Performance.

Participants consistently reported that the programme's personalised, holistic approach, and elite sport environment, helped them regain confidence, restore function and rebuild their lives.

Patients described how the programme shifted their focus from simply coping with injury to actively “training like an athlete”, pursuing future goals and aspirations.

The study identified several important lessons for the future of trauma rehabilitation:

• Recovery after major trauma must address psychological and social wellbeing, not just physical injuries.
• Personalised goal-setting and progress tracking help maintain motivation and confidence throughout recovery.
• Multidisciplinary rehabilitation allows patients with complex injuries to receive coordinated support tailored to their individual needs.
• Despite the overwhelmingly positive experiences reported by participants, the study also highlighted concerns about what happens when specialist rehabilitation ends.
• Both patients and clinicians expressed anxieties about maintaining progress and accessing ongoing support through existing NHS services, with some describing a feeling of stepping off a rehabilitation "cliff edge" once the programme concluded.

, Professor of Reconstructive Plastic Surgery and Regenerative Medicine at Ģ����Ƶ and Consultant Trauma Surgeon at MFT, said: "This study is ultimately a story about resilience. The survivors we worked with faced life-changing injuries and experiences, yet many went on to achieve things they never thought would be possible. We saw people regain independence, rebuild confidence, return to work, improve their fitness and ultimately adopt a new healthier mindset.

"What was clear from both patients and clinicians is that recovery after major trauma involves much more than healing physical wounds. Psychological wellbeing, confidence, identity and social participation are all fundamental parts of rebuilding lives after injury.”

Professor Wong, who is also a Dermatology Theme researcher at the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre (BRC): Manchester which supported the study, added: "Our findings show that structured, multidisciplinary rehabilitation can make a real difference, but they also highlight an important challenge. Recovery doesn't end when someone leaves hospital, and access to rehabilitation does not always provide the specialist input required.

"This is an opportunity to celebrate the extraordinary courage and determination of survivors of trauma, while recognising that many continue to need support long after their immediate injuries have healed. If we want to improve long-term outcomes, we must ensure that trauma survivors have access to sustainable rehabilitation pathways that support them throughout their recovery journey."

Paul Price, a Manchester Arena attack survivor who took part in the Enhanced Rehabilitation Programme at the Manchester Institute of Health and Performance (MIHIP) over two years, said: “The NHS saved my life and put me back together, but it was the support and specialist care I received at MIHIP that gave me the means to carry on living.

“The programme helped me rebuild not just physically, but mentally and emotionally, and showed me that recovery could mean more than simply coping — it could mean finding a way forward.”

• The programme was funded through the We Love Manchester Emergency Fund and Greater Manchester Clinical Commissioning Groups, with support from the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre (BRC): Manchester.
• The paper The enhanced rehabilitation programme for significant musculoskeletal injuries from the Manchester arena bombing – A process evaluation study investigating patients’ and physiotherapists’ experiences is published in Physiotherapy�� DOI
• Image: view of the floral tribute in Manchester. Credit: Tomasz " Kozlowski

A study of more than 6,000 people in the UK and Sweden suggests that although scientists are generally regarded as credible, their status as experts is more contested when they discuss issues such as health, education and employment.

Researchers from Ģ����Ƶ and KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden found that scientists were perceived as more credible than government officials, but were no more credible - and in some circumstances less credible - than businesspeople and campaigners.

The findings challenge the assumption that scientific expertise automatically gives academics greater credibility when they contribute to wider public debates.

Scientists don't automatically have the advantage

The researchers wanted to examine whether people actually regard scientists as more credible than other groups when presented with the same claims about society.

Rather than simply asking people whether they trust science, the study used a survey experiment in which participants were asked to assess statements attributed to different types of experts. These included an academic scientist, businessperson, government official or issue advocate.

The statements covered technological and non-technological issues, allowing the researchers to examine whether the identity of the person making a claim affected how convincing it appeared.

The study involved nationally representative samples of adults in the UK and Sweden. Data was collected online, with 6,198 complete responses ultimately included in the analysis. Each participant assessed 8 different combinations of statements and expert types.

Technology makes a difference

The researchers found a clear difference depending on what scientists were talking about.

When discussing the societal consequences of technological developments, scientists' credibility increased relative to other expert groups. But when the same set of experts was discussing non-technological social issues such as health, education or employment, businesspeople and issue advocates were perceived as more credible than scientists.

The researchers suggest this may reflect the different ways people understand scientific expertise. Technology-related questions may be seen as areas where scientists possess particularly relevant specialist knowledge. Wider social questions, by contrast, can involve competing values, political judgements and forms of knowledge outside academia.

Why might people distrust scientists?

The researchers considered three potential sources of distrust. People were asked whether they viewed university scientists as being:

• closely allied with vested interests rather than independent;
• ideologically driven rather than open-minded; or
• insufficiently focused on issues relevant to society.

Around 56 per cent of all respondents agreed with at least one of these statements: 37 per cent viewed scientists as influenced by vested interests, 37 per cent considered them ideologically biased, and 33 per cent believed scientific knowledge had limited relevance to the types of societal issues examined in the study.

The researchers found that these three forms of distrust were associated with the credibility disadvantage experienced by scientists.

They also found that the specific credibility gap between technological and non-technological issues was largely driven by people who expressed these concerns.

Rethinking the role of scientific expertise

The researchers say the findings highlight the difference between public trust in science in general and the credibility of scientists when they act as experts in specific public debates.

The study suggests that people may broadly support science while being more selective about whether they regard scientists as credible sources of advice on particular social questions.

“Scientists are increasingly expected to contribute to debates about some of the biggest challenges facing society, but our findings suggest that this does not automatically translate into greater credibility,” said Professor Cornelia Lawson from Ģ����Ƶ. “This presents an important challenge for universities, scientists and research funders seeking to ensure that research has an impact beyond academia.”

The research was conducted by Anders Broström of KTH Royal Institute of Technology and Cornelia Lawson and Mabel Sanchez Barrioluengo of the Manchester Institute of Innovation Research, Alliance Manchester Business School, Ģ����Ƶ.

Publication details

This research was published in:

Research Policy

Full title of the paper:
Contested credibility: Public perceptions of scientists as experts

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The proposed Centre in Bengaluru will provide a permanent platform for Ģ����Ƶ to deepen its engagement with one of the world’s most dynamic education, research and innovation ecosystems. It will help to bring together academic expertise, industry knowledge and entrepreneurial talent to address shared challenges and create opportunities for students and researchers.

Building on Ģ����Ƶ’s successful Partner-Enabled Learning (PEL) model in the UK, the centre in Bengaluru will create opportunities for students to gain practical experience through internships, work placements and industry-led projects.

The PEL model aims to close skills gaps by embedding real-world projects with employers, public bodies and community organisations into degree programmes, ensuring students graduate with practical experience as well as academic knowledge. It focuses on developing skills such as adaptability, problem-solving, collaboration and employer engagement through credit-bearing projects and micro-internships.

Ģ����Ƶ has established relationships with leading businesses and industry partners across India, including organisations such as Reliance, Tata and Infosys, alongside a wider network of technology companies. The Centre will build on these connections to strengthen industry engagement and create new opportunities for students and researchers.

The announcement comes as Ģ����Ƶ joins the first-ever Great North Mayoral Mission to India, taking place from 12 to 16 October 2026. The mission brings together universities, businesses, civic leaders and cultural organisations from across the North of England to forge new connections, build lasting relationships and share expertise with India.

Bengaluru has been identified as the preferred location for the Centre due to its position as one of India’s leading hubs for higher education, technology and innovation. The city is home to some of the country’s foremost universities and research institutes, alongside a thriving community of global businesses and technology companies. Many already collaborate with Manchester’s academics and graduates, providing a strong foundation for the University’s future presence in the city.

The announcement marks a significant step in the University’s ambition to strengthen its global presence, as set out in its strategy, From Manchester for the World. It builds on decades of collaboration with partners across India and will create new opportunities to tackle global challenges by connecting Manchester’s expertise with India’s dynamic research, technology and innovation communities.

The Centre was announced at a special event at the Science Gallery Bengaluru, which featured alumni and leaders from sectors such as culture and business. The Mayor of Greater Manchester, Bev Craig also attended and there were panel discussions on innovation and culture led by President and Vice-Chancellor of Ģ����Ƶ, Professor Duncan Ivison.

Professor Ivison said: “There is an incredible depth to Manchester’s relationship with India across education, business and culture. Our new Centre will be at the heart of deepening those relationships and I’m very excited to see what we can give, and what we can learn over the coming years.”

Ģ����Ƶ has international centres in Dubai, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Singapore.

The proposed Centre aligns closely with the University’s International Delivery Plan, which places global engagement as a key objective of Manchester 2035. The plan recognises that international partnerships will be central to delivering world-leading research, creating new educational opportunities, strengthening innovation ecosystems and ensuring Manchester remains a partner of choice around the world.

Ģ����Ƶ was the first in the UK to establish a joint PhD programme with an Indian institution, launching its dual award PhD with IIT Kharagpur in 2021.

It also established collaborations with institutions including the Indian Institute of Science Bangalore, BITS Pilani in fields of engineering and computer science, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific research and the Manipal Academy of Higher Education.

This visit forms part of the University's Challenge Accepted fundraising and volunteering campaign, which has included launch events in Delhi and Mumbai.

The inaugural Innovation Festival ended on a high at the Nancy Rothwell Building, where five ventures went head to head in the Coller AI Competition final, pitching live for a £100,000 equity investment from the Jeremy Coller Foundation.

LanthaGen Bio Ltd won with an AI platform that designs metal-capturing proteins computationally, helping recover valuable metals from electronic waste and onshore the UK's critical-mineral supply. CTO and co-founder Dan Healy led the pitch, and accepted the award alongside CSO Ellie Goulding, which was presented by Investment Principal Harry Kalms.

Nearby, Prime Minister Andy Burnham addressed a local summit, calling for the UK to become the world's leading "innovation nation" and praising the University's role in Manchester's innovation story. Organisers confirmed the festival returns 1–5 November 2027.

Amid the buzz of the Nancy Rothwell Building, five finalist ventures pitched live for a £100k investment at the Coller AI Competition final today. Each team applies AI to a different social challenge: LanthaGen Bio Ltd pitched their platform for combining biomolecules and machine-learning modelling to identify candidates for selectively recovering valuable metals from electronic waste—‘urban mines’—and help onshore the UK’s critical-mineral supply. SenseVale pitched smart glasses that help blind and partially sighted users navigate more independently.

Spore Sense pitched an AI-enabled system that reduces pesticide use by detecting crop disease before symptoms appear. Health Equity Chain pitched a treatment analyser that helps prostate cancer patients understand where they stand among people like them. Finally, Forkprint pitched models that analyse food business data to track greenhouse gas emissions and develop lower-carbon recipes.

LanthaGen Bio Ltd wins, turning electronic waste into a UK mineral supply

took home the prize—presented by Investment Principal Harry Kalms from the Jeremy Coller Foundation—securing the six-figure equity investment for its AI platform that simulates how proteins and peptides bind metals, allowing new metal-capturing proteins to be designed computationally rather than found by trial and error. The approach drastically shortens development while cutting the energy, chemicals, plastic and solvent waste of repeated screening — supporting UK efforts to recover valuable metals from electronic waste and onshore critical-mineral supply. CTO and co-founder Dan Healy led the pitch, with Healy and CSO and co-founder Ellie Goulding accepting the award. The prize adds to £2.4 million in grant funding already secured, allowing their six-person team to build sustainably towards future development.

"We were pitching against the best of the best, which makes it just so exciting—it feels amazing,” Healy shared, adding encouragement for others who might be dreaming of a venture in the future, “Your idea doesn't have to be perfect... we really believed in this and it had some scientific integrity behind it. You really just go from that."

“The three co-founders at LanthaGen Bio each bring their own set of skills... they have such a positive, candid attitude. They've faced stumbling blocks, they've pivoted their thinking, but they are willing to talk to everybody, to absorb the information, and to work out which advice to listen to.” — Aline Miller, Associate Vice-President (Enterprise), University of Manchester

A week that showcased Manchester's role in building an Innovation Nation

As the University’s inaugural Innovation Week closed, Prime Minister Andy Burnham called for the UK to become the world's leading "innovation nation" at a , praising the University's role in Manchester’s innovation story. Friday wraps five days of activity, with the festival hosting more than 25 events across 17 venues, including 116 speakers, 21 new ideas pitched, and over 3,000 registrations. For the University of Manchester’s President and Vice-Chancellor Duncan Ivison, the week capped 18 months of work: "We've created a new innovation agency, set up a first ever £10M Founders Fund, and launched an innovation hub on Oxford Road... I think the festival sends a big message that innovation is a huge part of our future." As the week came to a close, organisers, confirmed the event will return next year, 1–5 November 2027.

Announcements and developments

• Atom Valley takes shape: The Festival’s final day also marked a major milestone in Rochdale, where the base build of the Sustainable Materials and Manufacturing Centre (SMMC) is now complete. It will give businesses in advanced materials and manufacturing access to specialist space, facilities and expertise, helping them move from concept to commercial application. Ģ����Ƶ is lead delivery partner for the centre’s innovation ecosystem, working with Rochdale Development Agency, the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, Innovation Greater Manchester and UKRI. The SMMC is forecast to generate £107 million in economic value over ten years. “Atom Valley is an exciting opportunity and key to our plans to bring good growth to every postcode in Greater Manchester.” — Bev Craig, Mayor of Greater Manchester

Manchester 2035: voices from the Festival

“Having more startups based in the north would be great. We're quite passionate about putting our roots of a company down here.” — Ellie Goulding, CSO and co-founder, LanthaGen Bio Ltd

“Innovation can breed social mobility. I'd love to see more opportunities for entrepreneurs from working class backgrounds, as queer and female founders.” — Dan Healy, CTO and co-founder, LanthaGen Bio Ltd

“We have worked with over 1,500 people across the city region over the last three years to help them explore and enter into careers in AI. That is a civic responsibility... By 2035, we'll be awash with it.” — Liz Scott MBE, Coller AI Competition judge and Chief Executive Director, Turing Innovation Catalyst

The 30,000 sq ft centre is the first major physical development within the Atom Valley Innovation District (AVID), a 25-acre hub for advanced materials and manufacturing in Rochdale, bringing together businesses, researchers, investors and innovation partners in one location.��AVID provides an environment where organisations can innovate, grow and commercialise new technologies, strengthening Greater Manchester's position as a leading centre for advanced materials and manufacturing.��

Completion of the building represents a major milestone for years of partnership working between Rochdale Development Agency (RDA), Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), Ģ����Ƶ and wider innovation partners.

RDA has led the physical development of the SMMC, working with partners to secure investment and position advanced materials and manufacturing as a priority opportunity for Rochdale and Greater Manchester. The next phase will see work move from construction towards specialist fit-out ahead of bringing the centre into operation in 2027.

The RDA brought together partners from industry, academia and government to establish the Centre of Expertise in Advanced Materials and Sustainability (CEAMS) in 2023. Since then, businesses have been able to connect with a national network of specialist expertise, facilities and innovation support through the CEAMS partners, including Ģ����Ƶ, the Henry Royce Institute, National Physical Laboratory (NPL), CPI and NCC.

CEAMS has already supported more than 90 companies, developing new products and processes and demonstrating the value of a more connected innovation ecosystem.

The SMMC will provide a permanent physical gateway into the UK’s renowned advanced materials and manufacturing network. It will offer advanced materials and manufacturing businesses access to specialist space, facilities, expertise and the CEAMS national network of innovation support, helping them move from concept towards commercial application.

The development of the SMMC building has received £15.2 million from the UK Government's Towns Fund, £15m from the GMCA’s Good Growth Fund and £10 million from the Greater Manchester Investment Zone.

The next phase for the innovation district has received a further major boost through £16.4 million from the Local Innovation Partnerships Fund (LIPF), a flagship UK government programme delivered through UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) in partnership with GMCA and Innovation Greater Manchester (IGM), investing £500 million to strengthen regional innovation economies across the country. Ģ����Ƶ is the lead delivery partner for the programme, working with RDA and the CEAMS consortium of national innovation partners to activate the ecosystem around the SMMC. Independent analysis forecasts that the centre will generate £107 million of economic value over ten years, delivering a 2:1 return on public investment while helping to attract new businesses, inward investment and high-value employment into Atom Valley.

Councillor Daniel Meredith, Portfolio Holder for Regeneration and Housing at Rochdale Borough Council, said: “The building completion of the Sustainable Materials & Manufacturing Centre is fantastic news for Rochdale residents. This landmark facility will help create new employment opportunities, support the development of high-value skills and ensure local people can benefit from some of the most exciting advances in modern manufacturing and materials science.

“We've worked hard to position Rochdale at the forefront of innovation and advanced manufacturing, and the SMMC is a clear example of that ambition becoming reality. It's a major investment in our future, creating opportunities for local businesses, attracting new employers and helping to build a stronger economy for generations to come.”

Professor John Holden, Vice-President for Civic Engagement and Innovation at Ģ����Ƶ, said: “Completing the base build is a major achievement and testament to the partnership that has brought the SMMC this far. The opportunity now is to bring that physical investment to life by drawing together businesses, research, expertise and innovation in a way that creates lasting value for Rochdale, Greater Manchester and the UK.

“The University is the lead delivery partner charged with delivering the innovation ecosystem that will accelerate the growth of the advanced materials and manufacturing cluster already in the region, connecting our research strengths with businesses and national partners to help new ideas develop, scale and reach the market at pace, and attracting over £60 million in private sector investment. The SMMC and wider Atom Valley Innovation District is a crucial part of our commitment to driving innovation-led growth right across Greater Manchester.”

Charlotte Deane, UK Research & Innovation senior sponsor for Greater Manchester said: “Greater Manchester has outstanding strengths in advanced materials and manufacturing. This £16.4m Local Innovation Partnerships Fund (LIPF) investment backs those strengths by connecting businesses with a national network of expertise and support to turn world-class research and innovation into economic opportunity by powering the growth of an advanced materials focused cluster of companies on the Kingsway Business Park.

“The SMMC and the wider Atom Valley Innovation District show the potential of universities, industry and

civic partners working together to support innovation-led growth, unlock new supply chain opportunities, create new jobs and strengthen the region’s ability to attract and grow innovative businesses.”

Mayor of Greater Manchester Bev Craig said: “Atom Valley is an exciting opportunity and key to our plans to bring good growth to every postcode in Greater Manchester. The completion of the SMMC building is a major milestone for what will become a nationally significant hub for innovation.

“We’re providing space for businesses and connecting them with investment, world-class research, facilities and support within the wider Atom Valley Innovation District. In practice, that means more opportunities for our businesses to grow, attracting new investment to this part of Greater Manchester, and more high-value jobs for our residents.”

The milestone was announced during a week where Ģ����Ƶ hosted its inaugural Innovation Festival, to showcase Manchester's vibrant, globally connected innovation ecosystem and bring together researchers, students, entrepreneurs, partners, investors and civic leaders to explore how ideas become impact.

Where earlier days celebrated what Manchester is building, Thursday looked outwards. The first Cambridge x Manchester Partnership Innovation Summit filled Sister to the brim with founders, researchers, investors and policymakers from both cities. Panels explored the partnership’s mission to ‘supercharge innovation-led growth’, with speakers from the University, Arm, Northern Gritstone, No. 10 North, UKRI and the British Chambers of Commerce.

Six Manchester founders pitched their innovations in lightning talks, and Bev Craig, Mayor of Greater Manchester, gave the keynote before closing remarks from University of Manchester President and Vice-Chancellor, Duncan Ivison and Shaun Grady, UK Chair of AstraZeneca. The Investor Summit continued the conversation on growth capital in the afternoon. In the evening, University of Manchester founders pitched to investors, mentors and partners at Manchester Venture Builder Demo Day, also at Sister, while Holiferm’s co-founders shared how they built their biotechnology company at The Founders Playbook at Manchester Museum.

Co-opetition: the experiment linking two innovation powerhouses

Opening the summit, Faye Holland, Partnership Director of the Cambridge x Manchester Partnership, argued that the UK's challenge may be less about talent or funding than about systems. The partnership is the UK's first deliberately designed cross-city innovation partnership, with three objectives: driving economic growth, building for global growth, and making sure that growth is good growth that reaches communities beyond the innovation economy. Duncan Ivison, President and Vice-Chancellor of Ģ����Ƶ, said the UK too often gets caught in binaries, such as north versus south, and needs to "multiply our relationships, not narrow them" to compete globally.

“What typically happens is we compete. Our postcodes compete, our councils compete, our combined authorities compete… I wonder why we don't use the word co-opetition, where we bring collaboration and competition together in a really positive way… We only have three years from start to finish to prove that this model can actually work.” — Faye Holland, Partnership Director, The Cambridge x Manchester Partnership

“Cambridge and Manchester are not rivals; they are increasingly one ecosystem, and the UK innovation economy, as a whole, is stronger for it.” — Shaun Grady, UK Chair, AstraZeneca

Six ventures, five minutes each: Manchester’s ideas take the stage

Six lightning talks showed the kind of companies the partnership wants to help scale. Hosted by Dr Karim Bahou, Head of Innovation at Sister, the founders pitched for the audience’s vote. Alongside pitches from N:SYM and Nanoco, Spore Sense, which spun out of the University just four weeks ago, has developed a sensor that detects crop disease before symptoms appear. Silveray has invented flexible digital X-ray film for inspecting pipes and welds, an industry still largely reliant on analogue film. CircKit is helping fashion brands design waste out from the start, and Fava Health is bringing genomics into everyday healthcare for better personalised treatment.

“There is still a major imbalance in where innovation capital flows within the UK… Around 80% of venture capital still remains within London, Oxford and Cambridge… A big part of the opportunity is making it easier for founders to move between these two ecosystems, and share deal flow across both of these regions.” — Dr Karim A. Bahou, Head of Innovation, Sister

Competing with the world, not each other��

A panel chaired by Fiona Tuck of Metro Dynamics asked what Britain’s innovation economy still lacks. Professor Dame Jessica Corner, Executive Chair of Research England, said the UK is too small to treat its regions as separate innovation ecosystems, with capital “stuck” in the places that are already well resourced. Harriet Gordon, Deputy Director at No. 10 North, said the UK’s real competition is Boston, Silicon Valley and Paris: for investors, the choice is rarely Manchester or Liverpool, but Manchester or Munich.����

In her keynote, Bev Craig, Mayor of Greater Manchester, said regions need to “complement each other, not just compete with each other”, and set out a vision of good growth that people can feel in their daily lives.��

“Simply creating growth to impact on someone’s bank balance, without seeing the number of jobs increase and the quality of someone’s life improve, is just growth for growth’s sake.” — Bev Craig, Mayor of Greater Manchester��

Announcements and developments��

• The Cambridge x Manchester Partnership will launch an “innovation passport” by the end of the year, giving founders and researchers easier access to office space, accelerator programmes, investors and corporate partners across both cities.
• A joint investment prospectus for Cambridge and Manchester is on its way, Shaun Grady, UK Chair of AstraZeneca, told the summit, urging investors to “get in early”.��

Manchester 2035: voices from the Festival��

“I would hope that eight- and nine-year-olds growing up in Ardwick and Brunswick, right next to us, or a young person growing up in Rochdale, not only see the University as part of the place they live, but see it as theirs in some way.” — Duncan Ivison, President and Vice-Chancellor, Ģ����Ƶ��

“By 2035, I’d expect to see Graphene in many products, from shoes to clothing to computers to tyres to aircraft – not in there because it’s Graphene, but because it’s adding competitive advantage.” — James Baker, founder, Baker Graphene, and former Chief Executive, Graphene@Manchester��

Demo Day��

On Thursday evening, the Masood Entrepreneurship Centre and Venture Café Manchester hosted Manchester Venture Builder Demo Day 2026 at Sister. University of Manchester founders from the Venture Builder programme took to the stage to pitch ventures they had spent months testing and refining. They ranged from Remi, a platform that helps therapists manage clients and build personalised exercises, to a student startup growing organic bananas and drying them with solar power. Investors, mentors, alumni, corporate partners and a delegation from Hartford in the US then joined the founders for a showcase and networking reception, continuing the outward-looking theme of the day.��

“I’ve made more progress in the paste ten minutes of networking here than in the past 30 days of cold emailing and cold LinkedIn messaging!” — Jacob Katz, founder, AMBS, BSc Management with Strategy, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship��

"Innovation doesn't happen just because you have a great idea… Getting people that have money, people that have technology, people that know how to do business – you can't do it on your own, but you can pull them together into one location." — Gene Goddard, Chief Business Investment Officer, Metro Hartford��

Around the Festival��

Away from Sister, Sow the City shared community-led social innovation at Growing Change event, and showcased funded projects at Inclusive Innovation for People and Planet. Beyond the Hearing Loop explored how Auracast audio technology could benefit deaf, hard-of-hearing and neurodivergent communities, and the University and national initiative, E3M met to discuss social enterprise innovation in public services.��

Coming up��

The Festival closes on Friday 9 October with the final of the Coller AI Competition, where University of Manchester AI startups pitch live for a £100,000 equity investment from The Jeremy Coller Foundation.����

In the first study of its kind, published in , the scientists show how changes in this gene can cause a much milder disease than previously known

They identified that in 14 patients with retinitis pigmentosa, it was caused by certain combinations of faults in a gene called IDUA.

The gene is normally associated with mucopolysaccharidosis type I (MPS I), a rare disorder that can cause severe physical disability, heart problems, skeletal abnormalities and shortened life expectancy.

Yet several of the patients in the study showed no signs of the disorder despite detailed medical assessments and follow-up into their forties, fifties, sixties and seventies.

Their failing eyesight was the first and sometimes only clue to an underlying health problem.

The findings suggest some people with retinitis pigmentosa may actually have an extremely mild form of a metabolic disease that has gone unrecognised for decades.

The discovery expands our understanding of MPS I and reveals that the condition can exist in a much milder form than previously thought.

None of the patients carried the combinations of severe genetic faults normally seen in classic MPS I.

Instead, they carried milder combinations of gene faults in IDUA.

Through a series of lab experiments, the scientists found these milder faults act in different ways - some directly reducing the enzyme's activity, others disrupting the gene's splicing instructions - but in each case leaving behind only a tiny fraction, as little as 0.5 to 2 per cent, of normal function.

The scientists suspect this tiny amount of residual activity may be enough to protect most organs from damage while leaving the retina vulnerable.

One theory is that the eye may be especially sensitive to defects in the body's cellular recycling machinery because of its exceptionally high energy demands.

The findings could have implications for genetic screening programmes designed to identify rare diseases, including MPS I, in newborn babies.

And they also underline the importance of including IDUA and related metabolic genes in genetic testing for inherited retinal diseases.

Lead author from Ģ����Ƶ said: "This study shows that the same gene can cause dramatically different disease outcomes, depending on how much of its related enzyme activity remains.

“In some patients we found almost no evidence of the devastating multisystem disorder typically associated with IDUA - their disease appeared confined to the retina, the mildest presentation we've seen to date.

“These findings broaden the recognised spectrum of disease, improve diagnosis for patients with inherited blindness, and provide important clues about why the retina appears especially susceptible to even very small reductions in enzyme function.

“We hope they will help clinicians identify hitherto unrecognised cases of IDUA-related disease and pave the way for future treatments aimed at preserving vision before irreversible damage occurs.”

• The paper Hypomorphic IDUA genotypes are associated with retinitis pigmentosa in individuals without syndromic mucopolysaccharidosis type I , published in ,�� is available at DOI: 10.1016/j.ajhg.2026.09.008

Children as young as five can engage meaningfully with complex ideas about human rights, new research from Ģ����Ƶ suggests.

The study explored how children aged five to nine understood human rights through their engagement with Dreams of Freedom, a picturebook based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Dr Rebecca Simpson-Hargreaves found that children were able to interpret ideas about rights through their own experiences, cultural knowledge and conversations with other children - challenging assumptions that human rights are too complex for young children to understand.

Children develop their own ideas about rights

The research found that children did more than simply identify or explain the rights presented in the picturebook.

When invited to create their own rights pages, children came up with ideas including the “Freedom to protect wildlife”, the idea that “Men and women should have the same rights”, and the “Freedom to love”.

Other contributions focused on empathy and kindness, having choices, rest and play, fairness and protection.

Dr Simpson-Hargreaves says these responses show how children can interpret human rights through everyday experiences of care, fairness and belonging, rather than only through formal definitions of rights.

Children question the adult world

The research also found that children were capable of reflecting critically on the relationship between children and adults.

Some children questioned whether adults really understand children's perspectives and why adults' views are often given greater weight. This included one Year 4 pupil who said: “Adults think that because they run the country that they know best.”

The researchers say such responses demonstrate children's awareness of power relationships between adults and children.

Giving children different ways to speak

The research involved interviews, focus groups and creative activities with children in three primary schools.

Using a picturebook alongside discussion and drawing allowed children with different reading, writing and speaking abilities to express their ideas in different ways.

The research found that the whole picturebook provided a stronger basis for children's deeper reasoning than using isolated extracts. The open-ended format gave children opportunities to interpret the material for themselves and develop their own ideas.

The findings suggest that providing children with genuine opportunities to discuss complex issues can reveal forms of reasoning that may otherwise be overlooked.

“Picturebooks can provide a valuable starting point for these conversations, particularly when children are given the space to lead discussions and explore ideas in their own ways.”

Publication details

Title:
Investigating Children’s Perceptions of Human Rights Values Through the Picturebook Medium

URL:

Ģ����Ƶ celebrated the very best in collaboration and knowledge exchange on Wednesday 7 October at the inaugural Partnership Excellence Awards, recognising the people, projects and organisations delivering outstanding impact through partnership working.

Held at the Whitworth Art Gallery as part of the University's Innovation Festival, the awards brought together academics, researchers, professional services colleagues and their external partners and collaborators for an evening of celebration. The inaugural awards attracted more than 120 nominations, with 25 partnerships shortlisted across eight awards. They were organised by the Business Engagement and Knowledge Exchange team, led by Dr Louise Bates, Director of Business Engagement and Knowledge Exchange, and hosted by compere Adam Lovell.

Welcoming guests, Professor John Holden, Vice-President for Civic Engagement and Innovation, said partnership runs through the University's Manchester 2035 strategy. “No matter how good we are as a university, we can only have the scale of impact we want by working with others,” he said. Over the past year, he added, the University has created 191 new business partnerships, around one for every working day, and now ranks first in the UK for contract research with small and medium-sized enterprises.

The awards, Professor Holden said, were about “recognising the people and relationships that make those projects possible… We all know that partnership working depends on brave people.”

This year's winners demonstrate the impact of collaboration across research and innovation, business growth, social enterprise, regional development and strategic industry engagement.

Strategic Alliance Excellence

🏆 Boots / No7 & Prof. Michael Sherratt and Dr. Abigail Langton

The long-standing partnership between Boots / No7 and Ģ����Ƶ was recognised for its outstanding contribution to skin science and evidence-based skincare. Over more than two decades, the collaboration has translated world-leading research into products used by millions of consumers while generating significant research outputs, investment and innovation.

Regional Partnership Excellence

🏆 United Utilities & Prof. Timothy Foster

United Utilities was recognised for a long-standing collaboration with the University covering areas including integrated water management, digitisation, robotics, sustainability and skills development. The partnership has helped inform major regional initiatives and continues to support innovation and economic growth across the North-West.

Research Collaboration Excellence

🏆 FUJIFILM & Prof. Alan Dickson

The partnership between FUJIFILM and the University was recognised for advancing bioprocessing and biomanufacturing research through the Centre of Excellence in Bioprocessing 2.0. The collaboration has supported researchers and PhD students, generated high-quality publications and strengthened the translation of research into industrial applications and novel biological medicines.

Social Enterprise Excellence

🏆 One World Together & Prof. Nicola Banks

One World Together received the award for its partnership with the University to support changemaking education, community engagement and social impact. The collaboration has secured funding to work with schools across Greater Manchester, provided valuable opportunities for students, and supported community-led organisations both in the UK and internationally.

Small Business Partnership Excellence

🏆 Saraco Industries Ltd & Prof. Sarah Cartmell and Prof. Andrew McBain

Saraco Industries Ltd was recognised for a highly successful partnership that has combined academic expertise with industrial innovation to develop plastic-free clinical disinfection wipes for healthcare applications, while strengthening the company's research and development capability. The collaboration has evolved through multiple projects and demonstrates the long-term value of university-SME partnerships.

Academic Business Engagement and Knowledge Exchange Champion

🏆 Dr Thomas Bannan

Dr Thomas Bannan was recognised for an extensive portfolio of partnerships that translate atmospheric science into public, environmental and economic benefit. His work spans collaboration with local authorities, industry, policymakers and communities, including leadership of air quality initiatives, Innovate UK projects and the £1.3 million RAMMIC Retrofit Innovation Centre.

Business Partnership Rising Star

🏆 Dr Milo Harries

Dr Milo Harries received the Rising Star Award for his work with Leeds City Council and the Aire Resilience Company, using creative and participatory approaches to engage communities around climate resilience and natural flood management. His work has helped strengthen cross-sector collaboration and support the growth of the Aire Resilience Company as a Community Interest Company.

Partnership Excellence of the Year

🏆 Saraco Industries Ltd & Prof. Sarah Cartmell and Prof. Andrew McBain

The evening's highest accolade, Partnership Excellence of the Year, was awarded to Saraco Industries Ltd in recognition of the depth, longevity and impact of its collaboration with the University. Through multiple collaborative projects, the partnership has combined expertise in bioengineering, microbiology and materials science to drive innovation, support business growth and develop new healthcare solutions with real-world impact.

An evening of partnership

The winners' trophies were designed and manufactured by students in the University's Makerspace, reflecting the creativity and collaboration at the heart of the celebration. The shortlist was reviewed by a panel of 21 judges from academia, leadership, professional services and innovation.

Rising Star category shortlisted nominee Dr Amy Worth had partnered with Eli Lilly and Company for a decade to study the complex neuronal circuitry that underpins the actions of GLP-1 drugs to combat diabetes, obesity and cravings for alcohol. She and lab group lead Professor Simon Luckman said that trust is at the heart of the partnership. “We’ve built it up over 20 years, so now there is very open and honest exchange.”

For Dr Joanne Tippett, whose RoundView project was also shortlisted, a good partnership requires: “It takes the ability to try something out and find out it doesn't work and learn from that and keep going and iterating on an idea.”

Congratulations to all finalists and the many colleagues, support staff and external partners whose commitment and collaboration underpins the success that these Partnership Excellence Awards celebrated in style.

Wednesday was the Festival’s busiest day yet. At Manchester to Market, spinouts supported by Ģ����Ƶ Innovation Factory showcased their work on the ground floor of University Place, from AI-guided enzyme engineering to virtual reality healthcare training and research-led theatre.

A short walk away in Whitworth Hall, the Powerhouse of Innovation Showcase brought together the teams, programmes and partners that help those ideas grow, including a new collaboration between the Innovate UK Innovation-to-Commercialisation of University Research programme (ICURe) and the .

In the evening, the inaugural Partnership Excellence Awards at the Whitworth celebrated the partnerships behind the University’s impact. The evening’s highest accolade, Partnership Excellence of the Year, went to Saraco Industries Ltd, Professor Sarah Cartmell and Professor Andrew McBain, whose collaboration has developed plastic-free clinical disinfection wipes for healthcare.

From enzymes to the stage: Manchester’s spinouts step into the spotlight

Manchester to Market filled the ground floor of University Place with spinouts supported by Ģ����Ƶ Innovation Factory, whose portfolio now numbers around 84 companies worth an estimated £400–500 million. The ventures exhibiting were at very different stages. Among them, Imperagen uses an AI-led robotic lab to engineer enzymes for manufacturers. GiFT, an electromagnetic guidance system for tracheostomy procedures, improved needle accuracy fourfold in trials on mannequins, and its team estimates it could save the NHS around £50 million a year. Not every venture was a technology: Tiny Human Dramas turns anthropological research into short pieces of theatre.

“If it hadn’t been for the Innovation Factory, I wouldn’t have known I belonged in this space… In the arts, a little bit of attention and a little bit of funding goes a long way. The more of us that are in this scene, the more it’ll feel like this is innovation, of a particular kind.” — Megan Rose Donnelly, Lecturer in Social Anthropology and founder of Tiny Human Dramas

The innovation ecosystem backing Manchester’s bright ideas

The Powerhouse of Innovation Showcase in the Whitworth Hall brought together some 25 of the teams, programmes and partners that help ideas grow across the University, and one new collaboration showcased one way in which those pieces can connect. The Innovate UK ICURe programme, ran across the North from Ģ����Ƶ, helps “commercially curious” academics find out whether there is a real market for their research by getting out and talking to potential customers, investors and regulators. Starting later this month, ICURe’s latest local endeavour will bring cohorts of materials researchers at the Henry Royce Institute together with business mentors and potential customers, adding commercial know-how to the equipment and expertise Royce already opens up to researchers, spinouts, and SMEs.

“The best part of this job is, without a shadow of a doubt, talking to these entrepreneurial leads and seeing their personal development growth… to see the light bulb come on above their head.” — Veronica Ferguson, Head of Regional Hub Operations Manager, Innovate UK ICURe

“Don’t put risk-averseness in front of innovation… In order to innovate, in order to keep moving, we’ve got to expand our boundaries… We’ve got to have the freedom to think, the freedom to challenge, the freedom to question and test. Those are the core fundamentals.” — Saeed Adam, Client Relations Manager, Executive Education, Alliance Manchester Business School

Inaugural Partnership Excellence Awards celebrate Manchester's collaborators

The University celebrated its most impactful collaborations on Wednesday evening at the inaugural Partnership Excellence Awards, held at the Whitworth Art Gallery as part of the Innovation Festival.

Organised by the Business Engagement and Knowledge Exchange team, directed by Dr Louise Bates, the awards drew more than 120 nominations. The joyous event brought 25 shortlisted partnerships together, adding an extra layer of connection between academics, industry, public sector and community collaborators.

Congratulations to everyone, especially each category winner:

• Regional Partnership – United Utilities with Prof. Tim Foster, Department of Civil Engineering and Management.
• Social Enterprise Partnership – One World Together with Prof. Nicola Banks, Global Development Institute, School of Environment, Education and Development.
• Strategic Alliance – Boots/No 7 with Prof. Michael Sherratt and Dr Abigail Langton, School of Biological Sciences.
• Small Business Partnership – Saraco Industries Ltd with Prof. Sarah Cartmell and Prof. Andrew McBain, Department of Materials and School of Biological Sciences.
• Research collaboration – FUJIFILM with Prof. Alan Dickson
• Academic Business Engagement and Knowledge Exchange Champion – Dr Thomas Bannan.
• Business Partner Rising Star – Dr Milo Harries.

The multidisciplinary partnership with Saraco Industries also won the Partnership of the Year Award. The relationship began with an award-winning Knowledge Exchange Partnership in 2021 that advanced materials science, biophysics and microbiology expertise into the business, enabling development of plastic-free clinical disinfection wipes that met stringent EN standards. The partnership deepened with further projects to on formulation development and collaboration on a clear, data-driven R&D roadmap. A second KTP is now developing bacteriophage-infused wipes for healthcare applications.

Professor John Holden, Vice-President for Civic Engagement and Innovation, said: “Partnership working depends on brave people.” The University applauds all the pioneers and risk-takers nominated for these awards.

Read the full awards story story.

Announcements and developments

• On Tuesday evening, the University celebrated the completion of William Kay House, putting innovation at the heart of campus and creating a new home for .

Manchester 2035: voices from the Festival

“If by 2035 we can tangibly say that, through the things we’ve supported, we have improved quality of lives, through environmental and social impact, I would feel extremely proud.” — Catherine Headley, Chief Executive Officer, Ģ����Ƶ Innovation Factory

“I’d love one of our spinouts to get to the scale where they’re employing 10,000 people. It’s about jobs, and the impact that has. For me, that’s what it’s all about.” — Nic Gowland, Portfolio Director, Ģ����Ƶ Innovation Factory

“Next month we’ll use it in patients in hospital… This could actually save people’s lives.” — Professor Andy Weightman, Professor of Medical Mechatronics, Ģ����Ƶ, on his hopes for the GiFT guidance system

Around the Festival

Beyond the core events, the Masood Entrepreneurship Centre hosted an Enterprise Educators UK exchange event on partner-enabled learning, bringing together academics, University colleagues, students and industry representatives to explore how industry partnerships can be built into enterprise and entrepreneurship education. At Contact Theatre, Creative Manchester’s Re-imagining Innovation: The Value of Creative Practices, part of The Cultural Welcome festival, explored how creative writers and artists approach ideas about innovation – a fitting companion to the theatre of Tiny Human Dramas at Manchester to Market.

Coming up

On Thursday 8 October, the brings founders, researchers, investors and policymakers to Sister / Renold Building (8.45am–1.30pm), followed by the invite-only Investor Summit (1.30pm–5pm).

University founders then pitch at , also at Sister (5pm–8.30pm), while Holiferm’s co-founders share their story at , Manchester Museum (5pm–7pm).

Fringe events include:

• Social Enterprise Innovation in Public Services

A placement programme at Ģ����Ƶ is giving accounting and finance students the opportunity to apply what they have learned to real-world problems, while providing practical support to local charities.

The Social Responsibility Placement Programme led by Dr Nooch Kuasirikun, Associate Professor at Alliance Manchester Business School, was launched in summer 2025 to connect postgraduate accounting students with registered charities in Manchester.

The programme has grown from two charities taking part in its first year to five in its second, with students volunteering around one day a week over a four-to-six-week period between late June and July.

Their work has included helping charities organise financial information, analyse expenditure and donations, improve reporting and develop tools to support their financial management.

Practical help for charities

Participating charities have praised the students for their professionalism, reliability and ability to work independently while responding to the organisations' needs.

In one case, students helped a charity organise a year's worth of expenditure and work through four years of donations in preparation for a Gift Aid claim.

Another group developed a new tool designed to save staff time, improve financial reporting and help the charity identify potential financial risks at an earlier stage.

For the students, the placements have provided an opportunity to see how their accounting knowledge can be applied outside the classroom.

Several students have highlighted their satisfaction at seeing work they had produced being used by organisations in the community. One student said it was particularly rewarding to know that a dashboard they had created would continue to be used by the charity after their placement had ended.

The placements have also enabled students to develop practical skills including Excel automation and data processing, while gaining experience of working with organisations operating with limited resources.

Accounting with a social purpose

Working with charities has given the students an insight into some of the different pressures involved in managing finances in the voluntary sector, where financial sustainability has to be balanced with an organisation's social mission.

Dr Nooch Kuasirikun, who leads the programme, said the experience demonstrated the wider contribution that accounting expertise can make.

The programme is expected to expand further, with the organisers hoping to involve more Manchester charities and students in future placements.

Charities interested in taking part in the next programme, which is due to take place in June and July 2027, can contact Kirsty.Hutchison@manchester.ac.uk and/or nooch.kuasirikun@manchester.ac.uk to discuss potential accounting tasks that students could undertake.

The research, funded by The Christie Charity and led by scientists at Ģ����Ƶ, aims to transform how doctors detect breast cancer that develops during or just after pregnancy, which is often discovered late when the cancer has already spread, which leads to poorer survival rates.

Breast cancer is the most common cause of cancer-related death in women aged 35–64 in the UK, and is increasing twice as fast in women under 50 compared to women over 50. While breastfeeding is generally associated with lowering the long-term risk of developing breast cancer, risk rises during pregnancy and after giving birth and gradually falls over the following decade.

The study, called BRACELET-BM, has started recruiting participants at the Nightingale Centre in Wythenshawe, part of Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT). One of the first mothers to donate breast milk is married mum-of -three, Hannah Brennan, 31, from Glossop in Derbyshire who has a 12-month-old baby girl, Ada, as well as a five-year old daughter and a two-year-old son.

The registered midwife who is currently studying for a PhD at Ģ����Ƶ said: “As soon as I saw the research team were looking to recruit women who were breast-feeding, I wanted to do it. As I’m doing my doctorate, I’m passionate about people being involved in research. My paternal grandmother died aged 51 from breast cancer and sadly I never met her. However, I was named after her and I’m told I look like her so I’m doing this for her as well as my two daughters.

“Participating in the BRACELET-BM study was really straight-forward. I just gave a blood sample and donated some breast milk and answered a few questions. As a midwife I feel it’s really important to help other women, so if my small contribution can benefit other mothers in the future, I’m just glad to be able to make a difference and would encourage other breastfeeding mums to take part.”

Pregnancy-Related Breast Cancer, diagnosed during pregnancy or shortly afterwards, occurs in approximately 1 in 3,000 pregnancies in the general population. Among women at very high risk of breast cancer, such as BRCA gene carriers, rates have been reported as high as 1 in 50 pregnancies. Between 35-50% of breast cancer cases in women under 55 years of age are within 10 years of having a baby and 5% of breast cancer in women under 45 are within a year of giving birth. Better breast cancer screening is needed especially in younger women.

The BRACELET-BM study is led by Dr Niki Flaum from Ģ����Ƶ, in partnership with Dr Florent Mouliere at the CRUK National Biomarker Centre. Professor Sacha Howell, consultant oncologist at The Christie NHS Foundation Trust and MFT is a co-lead on the study.

Dr Niki Flaum who is also a consultant oncologist at The Christie NHS Foundation Trust said: “There is an urgent need to find better, more reliable ways to detect breast cancer in women during and after pregnancy. We believe breast milk may provide a unique and non-invasive window into what is happening inside the breast. We know surprising little about the genetic changes to breast milk, as this bio-fluid has been remarkably under-researched until now.

“Pregnancy-related breast cancer is more likely to be diagnosed at a later stage, when the cancer has already spread, and survival outcomes are significantly worse compared with women of the same age who have not recently given birth. Diagnosis is particularly challenging because breast imaging during pregnancy and lactation is often unreliable.

“Thanks to The Christie Charity’s support, Manchester has the opportunity to lead internationally in developing a completely new approach to breast cancer detection. If reliable methods for detecting cancer-related DNA in breast milk can be found, we hope future research will test whether this approach could be developed into a screening tool for women with breast cancer or those at high risk.”

Initially the study will recruit 40 lactating women, 25 with general population risk and 15 from a high-risk category where there is a family history of breast cancer. Researchers will collect breast milk and blood samples from patients at the Nightingale Centre and Saint Mary’s Hospital, also part of MFT, to develop a Manchester Breast Biofluid Biobank with more than 200 samples available for future research.

The team within the Cancer Research UK National Biomarker Centre, part of the University of Manchester will analyse the samples of fluid.

Dr Florent Mouliere, who leads a research team at the Cancer Research UK National Biomarker Centre in Manchester where the samples of breast fluid are being analysed said: “Scientists in our laboratories have identified tiny fragments of genetic material shed by cells in some samples of breast milk that have been donated for this study. The DNA structure is unique in breast milk, and we now understand what this DNA looks like which is a major step forward.

“We now need to focus on the main aim of this study, which is to explore how best to collect the samples, work out if they can be safely frozen in a domestic freezer (which would be a convenient method for a nursing mum), what time of day is best for a sample to be collected, and if other factors such as an infection in the mother or baby would affect the sample results.” An international study (September 2023) showed that circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) could be detected in breast milk, but the best methods for collecting, processing and storing breast milk for this purpose have not yet been established.

Alongside donating blood and breast milk samples, participants will complete questionnaires and interviews to assess how acceptable this approach is, ensuring any future screening method is practical as well as effective.

Lousie Hadley, chief executive of The Christie Charity, said “We are very pleased to be able to fund this important research which could improve early detection of breast cancer in high-risk women, including BRCA carrier, enable screening specifically for pregnancy-related breast cancer and help predict risk of postpartum breast cancer. It would also provide reassurance for high-risk women wishing to breastfeed, who are currently often advised to stop early so MRI screening can resume.

“This support is part of The Christie Charity’s commitment to providing £30 million of much-needed funding by 2030 to enable our brightest researchers to make game-changing discoveries right here in Manchester. We are very grateful for the continued support of all our donors in helping us reach this goal.”

The initial feasibility study for BRACELET-BM was funded by Prevent Breast Cancer, Cancer Research UK and the Academy of Medical Sciences.

For more information on how to take part in this research and donate breast milk and a blood sample should email the-christie.bracelet-BM@nhs.net or call 0161 918 7694. Anyone wishing to donate to The Christie Charity can visit Help support research at The Christie Dr Niki Flaum and Professor Sacha Howell are both part of the Cancer Prevention and Early Detection Theme at the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre (BRC): Manchester, which aims to develop screening strategies and biomarkers to identify cancer and cancer risk sooner.

A national survey of Ukrainian residents has provided one of the clearest estimates to date of the psychological impact of the ongoing war.

Published today in the , the peer-reviewed study analysed data from a nationally representative survey of civilians living in government-controlled regions of Ukraine.

It provides new estimates of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and complex PTSD (CPTSD), finding that 31.2% of respondents met the criteria for one of these mental health conditions.

People living in conflict zones face a heightened risk of traumatic experiences such as physical violence, forced displacement and the loss of loved ones. PTSD can develop after experiencing or witnessing trauma, causing persistent symptoms including intrusive memories, anxiety, irritability and sleep problems. CPTSD is a related but more severe condition that typically follows prolonged or repeated trauma, such as chronic abuse or captivity.

The findings indicate that PTSD and CPTSD are common among Ukrainian civilians living through an active and ongoing war.

'This study is the result of two teams bridging disciplinary boundaries and adapting their research approaches in a wartime context,' said Professor Olga Onuch from Ģ����Ƶ. 'With two of us being Ukrainian, it was not only urgent but personal. Studying trauma experiences and PTSD and CPTSD in a nationally representative sample allows us to give back to our professional and personal communities and facilitate better policy and response mechanisms. We do this work out of a shared sense of the social responsibility of science to society.

“Understanding PTSD and CPTSD - and war exposures more broadly - in a nationally representative sample during an ongoing war is vital for political, economic and societal life in Ukraine. Knowing these patterns can help communities, governments and international actors prepare immediate support and plan for longer-term needs.

Co-author Professor Volodymyr Kulyk, from the Department of Social Sciences at Kyiv School of Economics, adds: “It is important to keep in mind that PTSD and CPTSD are not limited to veterans or people close to combat zone but also are widespread among other categories of people heavily affected by the war, such as Internally Displaced Persons, people who suffered from missiles and drones attacking their cities and towns far from frontline, and those taking care of wounded or traumatized people.”

Involved in the study was – what the authors themselves describe as – “an unusual collaboration” of mental health researchers and social scientists. All had a specific interest in the impact of psychological trauma in Ukraine, on both mental health and sociopolitical outcomes.

The study grew out of research at Ģ����Ƶ examining identity, democracy and social resilience in wartime Ukraine. This work, led by Professor Onuch as part of the Identity and Borders in Flux (IBIF) project, highlighted the need for a stronger understanding of trauma and war experiences. It led to a wider international, interdisciplinary collaboration involving researchers from Manchester, King’s College London, Kyiv School of Economics, The George Washington University, the Centre for East European and International Studies (ZOiS) and Combat Stress. The research was then developed through the Conflict and Cooperation in Eastern Europe (KonKoop) network.��

Assembling a truly interdisciplinary team enabled rare access – in the current circumstances – to a robust, national representative sample, which (via a telephone survey) assessed lifetime exposure to traumatic events, war-related traumas, and symptoms of trauma-related mental health conditions.

From the total sample of 2,504 adults, the results showed:

• Most participants reported high levels of exposure to lifetime and war-related traumatic events, including fires or explosions, shelling, destruction caused by the war, and the injury, displacement, disappearance or death of family members or other loved ones.
• 31.2% of respondents met the criteria for PTSD (25.2%) or CPTSD (6%)

Factors associated with a greater likelihood of PTSD or CPTSD included being female, older age, lower educational attainment, previous military service, displacement due to the war, and a greater number of lifetime traumatic events and war-related stressors.

Being single was the only factor specifically associated with CPTSD rather than PTSD.

Because data were collected at a single point in time during an active conflict, the findings represent a snapshot of the population’s mental health rather than how symptoms change over time.

“One finding we found particularly interesting was that PTSD was much more common than Complex PTSD in this representative national sample,” says lead author, child and adult clinical psychologist, Dr Emma Facer-Irwin, who is a clinical lecturer at KCL. “This may suggest that psychological responses to ongoing war do not always fit neatly into models developed in post-conflict settings. When the threat remains active and unpredictable, the ways people experience and adapt to traumatic stress may be different, and this is an important area for future research.'

Professor Kulyk adds: “As pressure on Ukraine’s health system grows and uncertainty around future humanitarian support increases, understanding the prevalence of PTSD and complex PTSD is essential for planning both immediate and long-term mental health services. Further research will be essential to understand how the psychological impact of the war develops among the general population evolve as the conflict continues.”

As a limitation of their research, the authors note that the study relied on self-reported symptoms – which may be influenced by how participants interpreted the survey questions.

The next area of research they are looking to tackle is to improve understanding of the potential effects of trauma on political attitudes.

Publication details

This research was published in:
European Journal of Psychotraumatology

Title:
Prevalence of exposure to lifetime and war-related traumas, PTSD and complex PTSD in a sample from the Ukrainian general population

URL:��


DOI:
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A new test to identify cells collected from urine and vaginal fluid could help rule out womb and other cancers in most women who experience bleeding after the menopause, find University of Manchester researchers.

Their study published in Lon 22/09/26 say the test could potentially reduce the need for invasive hospital investigations, easing anxiety during what can be a distressing time for many women.

The research team, also based at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT) and supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR)Biomedical Research Centre (BRC): Manchester, showed that the new test can detect womb cancer, also known as endometrial cancer, with high accuracy.

Postmenopausal bleeding currently triggers urgent investigation for possible cancer, often involving a series of uncomfortable, invasive and costly tests, even though most women will not ultimately receive a cancer diagnosis.

Further work from the group, also published in the same journal today, showed that current tests are poorly calibrated for people from Black ethnic backgrounds, leading to health inequalities in diagnosis, treatment and patient outcomes.

However, the new test was particularly effective at detecting aggressive and advanced cancers, and performed exceptionally well in Black women, who are twice as likely to die from womb cancer as White women in the UK.

The researchers say the new test could therefore help to reduce health inequities and improve outcomes for previously disadvantaged groups, including those who are unable to tolerate routine procedures.

The test could eventually be used in primary care and other community settings, helping speed up diagnosis and provide reassurance for many women.

Womb cancer affects nearly 10,000 women in the UK each year, but only 5–10% of women investigated for bleeding after the menopause will have cancer.

Despite that, most undergo invasive hospital tests that can be uncomfortable, costly and sometimes need repeating.

Previous studies led by Manchester researchers have suggested cancer cells can be detected in urine and vaginal fluid samples.

The DETECT study - as it is known - was designed to assess whether these simple, non-invasive tests could accurately identify women at risk while safely reassuring others.

The study involved 1,864 women attending hospitals *with postmenopausal bleeding, making it one of the largest evaluations of this approach to date.

Before having their routine clinical investigations, participants provided a urine sample and a vaginal fluid sample, which were examined for abnormal cells by specialist cytopathologists who did not know the women’s diagnoses.

A total of 115 women were found to have cancer, including 99 cases of womb cancer and a smaller number of other pelvic cancers.

When urine and vaginal cytology (cell sample) results were combined, the test correctly identified more than 80% of cancers and achieved a negative predictive value of 98.8% for womb cancer, meaning women with a negative result were highly unlikely to have the disease.

The vaginal test performed slightly better than the urine test alone, although both showed promising diagnostic accuracy.

The test detected almost all aggressive cancers, identifying 95.8% of high-grade tumours and 96.4% of cancers that had already spread beyond the uterus.

It also picked up 100% of cancers in Black women with 96% specificity, meaning that the test showed near perfect performance in this small subgroup of women.

The findings suggest the approach could become a valuable triage tool, helping clinicians decide which women need urgent invasive investigations while providing reassurance for many others.

Lead researcher Professor from Ģ����Ƶ and Honorary Consultant in Gynaecological Oncology at MFT, said: “Bleeding after the menopause is understandably alarming for women because it can be a sign of cancer, but the vast majority of those investigated will not have the disease.

“At the moment, many women face invasive, uncomfortable tests that can be stressful as well as costly for health services before cancer can be ruled out.

“Our study shows that a simple test using urine and vaginal samples could help identify the women most likely to have cancer while safely reassuring many others much earlier in the diagnostic pathway.

“If further studies confirm these findings in routine practice, this approach has the potential to transform care for thousands of women every year.”

Prof Davidson, who is also Cancer Prevention and Early Detection Theme Co-Lead at the NIHR BRC: Manchester, added: “Further studies are now needed to assess how the test would perform in routine clinical practice and whether it can reduce the number of invasive procedures women undergo.

“If successfully introduced into healthcare settings, the test could offer a faster, less invasive and more patient-friendly route to diagnosing womb cancer.”

• The study was funded by The Jon Moulton Charity Trust and the women were recruited from gynaecology clinics at seven hospital sites across North West England: St Mary’s Hospital, Trafford General Hospital, Wythenshawe Hospital, Royal Oldham Hospital, North Manchester General Hospital, Fairfield General Hospital and Tameside Hospital.
• The paper Urine and vaginal cytology for endometrial cancer detection in women with postmenopausal bleeding: the Developing Tests for Endometrial Cancer detection (DETECT) diagnostic accuracy study is available here: DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/

Publication details

The study was published in xxx journal.

DOI: http://xxx.

Three new Future Leaders Fellowships are empowering Manchester researchers to tackle very different scientific challenges – from predicting extreme ocean waves to designing miniature biological factories to wearable health technology that transcends health inequalities – with potentially far-reaching consequences.

Backed by a combined £5.4 million from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), Dr Samuel Draycott, Dr Lukas Hughes-Noehrer and Dr Richard Obexer are among the recipients of its 2026 Future Leaders Fellowships (FLF) awards. The funding will support four years of ambitious research in fields spanning ocean engineering, biotechnology and digital enabled health.

The Future Leaders Fellowships: at a glance

• How well we understand the ocean matters increasingly for the infrastructure we build, the energy we generate and our response to climate change. is investigating what happens when waves break in the complex conditions found in the ocean, with real implications for how we design offshore wind farms and other marine infrastructure, and for improving the accuracy of climate and ocean models that predict how the sea absorbs and releases carbon dioxide and other gases.
• Across Manchester's communities, is taking research directly into patients’ homes – creating a real-world test environment to help make wearable health technologies a routine part of cancer care. He's working to discover whether continuous data from wearable devices can help NHS clinical teams support patients through cancer surgery, and how to make sure this new model of care reaches everyone, including those at risk of digital exclusion.

• Meanwhile, in another laboratory in Manchester, has been looking at the world on a different scale – exploring how nature packages enzymes inside tiny structures in living cells. He’s working to discover whether those same principles can be engineered to manufacture medicines, recycle carbon and produce valuable chemicals more efficiently.

Dr Samuel Draycott: Wavebreak

Offshore wind farms, ships and other marine structures all need to withstand the most powerful waves the ocean can produce, but many engineering models simplify the sea in ways that don’t fully reflect real-world conditions. This potentially affects how accurately we can predict the forces these structures will face.��

Recent work by Dr Draycott and collaborators, published in Nature, . Through this fellowship, Dr Draycott and his colleagues will build on this research to recreate even more realistic ocean conditions in their laboratory, combining waves travelling in different directions with currents that change speed with depth, as they do in the real ocean.��

The team will study what happens when waves break and what happens in the seconds afterwards, including how they move particles such as microplastics and phytoplankton, draw air into the ocean and transfer gases such as CO2 between the sea and atmosphere. This could improve our understanding of everything from pollution and marine ecosystems to the ocean’s role in absorbing carbon from the atmosphere.��

Dr Draycott, Senior Lecturer in Ocean Engineering in the Department of Civil Engineering and Management, University of Manchester, said:��
“We’ve long relied on simplified models to understand how waves behave, but the real ocean is much more complex.

“This matters because engineers use estimates of extreme waves when designing offshore wind turbines, ships and platforms, so a better understanding of wave breaking could help us improve the safety and efficiency of this infrastructure. These are crucial industries, with the UK aiming to increase its offshore wind capacity to at least and a sector already employing tens of thousands of people .”��

The research, funded with £1.67m from UKRI, will take place in the University’s new Hydrodynamics Laboratory, using high-performance computer simulations and laboratory experiments to measure how waves break, how much air they draw into the water, and how they move particles.

Dr Lukas Hughes-Noehrer: Manchester Digital Health Living Lab

Wearable devices can monitor vital signs such as heart rate, activity and sleep, providing clinicians with valuable data to inform on-going patient care. The NHS 10 Year Health Plan identifies them as one of its “5 Big Bets” for transforming healthcare, but their use across the health service remains patchy, with benefits not reaching all communities equally. Through his fellowship, Dr Lukas Hughes-Noehrer will establish the Manchester Digital Health Living Lab, a real-world testbed where patients, families, community organisations, clinicians, researchers, industry partners, and local government work together to design and evaluate wearable-enabled care.

The £2.4m-UKRI funded programme is built around three strands. The first will work with communities to understand what helps or hinders people in adopting wearables, with a focus on accessibility, trust, usability and digital inclusion. The second will develop secure systems that connect wearable data to electronic health records and explore how continuous streams of patient-generated data can be transformed into clinically meaningful real-time information to support care. The third will embed a wearable-enabled clinical trial, working with approximately 800 patients undergoing lung and hepato-pancreato-biliary surgery to trial adoption and evaluate their potential to improve health outcomes.

Findings will help shape the future use of wearable technologies across healthcare and inform the development of digitally enabled hospitals and care pathways in Greater Manchester and beyond.

Dr Hughes-Noehrer, Lecturer in Mobile and Wearable Health Technology in the Division of Informatics, Imaging, and Data Sciences, and Lead for Computational Medicine at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust said:

“As someone who works at the intersection of healthcare and research, I see first-hand how health inequalities can affect who benefits from new models of care and emerging technologies. Wearables have huge potential to provide more personalised, proactive support, but only if everyone can access, use and trust them. By working directly with our communities in Manchester, I want to build a model for wearable-enabled care that is fair, safe and trusted, and that other places in the UK and beyond can follow.”

Dr Richard Obexer: De Novo Biomolecular Condensates for Programmable Assembly of Enzyme Cascades

Inside our cells are tiny droplets that act a little like miniature factories. Without being surrounded by a membrane, they can bring particular proteins and enzymes together, allowing chemical reactions to happen faster and more efficiently.

These structures known as ‘biomolecular condensates’, occur widely inside living cells, and Dr Richard Obexer is exploring whether we can recreate this natural trick, then engineer it to make useful products more efficiently.

His new fellowship, funded by £1.3m from UKRI, will enable him to combine AI-powered protein design with a laboratory process inspired by natural evolution, to rapidly test thousands of protein variations. The aim is to create molecules that can encourage these droplets to form around a much wider range of enzymes, while controlling what happens inside them. This could give researchers unprecedented control over the conditions inside each biological factory.

The team will initially test their approach by building a five-enzyme system to manufacture islatravir, an anti-HIV drug that’s currently made using conventional chemical synthesis. Next, they will explore whether a ten-enzyme system could turn CO2 and methanol into starch, potentially creating a route for converting captured carbon into useful materials. Finally, they’ll rebuild a biosynthetic pathway in bacteria to produce trunkamide, an anti-cancer compound that has proven difficult to manufacture at a useful scale.

Dr Obexer, BBSRC Discovery Fellow in Chemical Biology and Biological Chemistry, in the Department of Chemistry, University of Manchester, said:

“Nature has already evolved incredibly efficient ways of organising chemistry inside cells, and we’re now asking whether we can recreate and engineer these to build tiny biological factories for ourselves. If we can combine that with AI-designed proteins, we could make entirely new manufacturing processes possible, from medicines to ways of turning captured carbon into useful products.”

The three-year appointment will support research, teaching and knowledge exchange at the intersection of artificial intelligence, creative practice, copyright and digital provenance. It builds on a collaboration initiated through Creative Manchester, beginning with Melchior’s two-day visit to the University in May 2026.

An artist, composer and creative technologist, Melchior has spent more than 25 years exploring how music, science and emerging technology can reshape creative experience. His projects range from pioneering an artist website with David Bowie and helping shape Björk Digital and the Vulnicura VR album, to Massive Attack’s Fantom app and Mezzanine DNA experiment. He is founder of Genotone and creator of The Logos, a cathedral-scale collaborative installation with MIT that transforms signals from deep space into spatial sound.

He also advises UK government technical working groups on AI and copyright convened by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. In this work, he represents organisations whose combined membership includes around 30,000 artists: the Music Managers Forum, Featured Artists Coalition and Association for Electronic Music.

Building on “Proof of Human”

Creative Manchester welcomed Melchior to the University in May 2026 for a programme of public engagement, student learning and interdisciplinary exchange around AI and creative authorship. Colleagues from Computer Science, Law and Humanities joined representatives from Greater Manchester’s creative sector to explore the challenges and opportunities generative AI presents for the creative and intellectual property sectors.

At the centre of the visit was “Proof of Human: AI, Copyright, and the Fight for Creative Authorship”, a public lecture held at SISTER in Manchester’s innovation district. Melchior examined how creative work can be attributed, protected and rewarded as generative AI becomes more widely used, making the case for reliable systems that verify authorship and trace the provenance of creative material.

He also led a masterclass for undergraduate and postgraduate music and composition students on moving music from studio to release while maintaining provenance and control of intellectual property. The visit created opportunities for collaboration across Computer Science, the School of Law and the School of Arts, Languages and Cultures.

Connecting expertise across disciplines and sectors

As Honorary Professor, Melchior will work with colleagues across the University over the next three years to develop research, teaching and knowledge exchange focused on AI, creativity and authorship. He will contribute to collaborative research into provenance technologies and their practical application within creative ecosystems, helping to translate emerging technical approaches into policy, industry and cultural contexts.

He will also support student learning through guest lectures, workshops and the co-supervision of PhD projects. The appointment will help shape interdisciplinary opportunities connecting computing, music, law, archives and public policy, while providing a foundation for future funding bids and longer-term partnerships in responsible and trustworthy AI.

September visit and podcast

Melchior will return to the University from 21-25 September 2026 for an engagement programme celebrating his new role. He will deliver a seminar for the Department of Computer Science and take part in research and knowledge exchange meetings with colleagues from across the University. The programme will explore potential collaborations connecting computing, the creative industries, policy and the cultural sector.

The visit will coincide with the release of a podcast episode on creative ownership, featuring Melchior in conversation with Parvathy Nair, a postgraduate researcher in AI and patent law. Part of a series on the ethics of AI in the cultural and creative industries, the episode considers how artists can retain ownership of their work within the current technological and regulatory landscape.

Supporting Manchester 2035

The collaboration aligns with From Manchester for the world, the University’s strategy to 2035. The strategy seeks to define what a great university looks like for the 21st century by creating knowledge for the public good, locally and globally. By connecting computer science with the creative industries, cultural organisations, law and policymaking, the appointment supports the University’s commitments to interdisciplinary research, partnership, responsible AI and translating research excellence into practical impact.

“Creative work is becoming fluid. It can be copied, transformed and recombined at machine speed, while authorship and ownership struggle to keep up,” said Andrew. “This appointment is an opportunity to bring computer scientists, artists, lawyers and policymakers together to build practical systems that keep identity and provenance attached to creative work.”

"I am delighted to welcome Andrew Melchior as Honorary Professor in Computer Science here in Manchester," said Professor Andrew Stewart, Head of the Department of Computer Science. “He has a unique perspective at the intersection of AI, provenance, and creativity drawn from deep technical knowledge. Andrew’s particular lens is critical in helping us navigate the AI challenges and opportunities we face with respect to creative authorship. I very much look forward to his research collaborations and teaching contributions, both within the Department of Computer Science and, more broadly, across our University.”

Andrew has a remarkable ability to bridge worlds that do not always naturally come together, from computer science and policy to music, the arts and the creative industries," said Professor Michelle Phillips, Director of Creative Manchester and Professor of Music. “At a time when artificial intelligence is reshaping how creative work is produced, shared and valued, his expertise offers an important perspective on how we can protect and support human creativity.”

“His visit to Manchester earlier this year sparked valuable conversations between researchers, students, policymakers and creative practitioners, demonstrating the potential for genuinely interdisciplinary collaboration. We are delighted to build on that momentum through this appointment and look forward to developing new research, learning and engagement opportunities together over the coming years.”

Ģ����Ƶ has been recognised for the strength and breadth of its subject-level performance in the 2026 ShanghaiRanking’s Global Ranking of Academic Subjects.

The results reflect the depth of Manchester’s impact across a wide range of disciplines. Ten subjects are ranked among the top 50 worldwide, including five in the global top 25 across each of the University’s faculties. Geography remains in the world top 10, while Dentistry and Oral Sciences is ranked 13th, Physics 16th, Metallurgical Engineering 18th and Textile Science and Engineering 25th.

Completing the University’s global top 50 subjects are Biotechnology, ranked 29th, Mechanical Engineering 40th, Sociology 46th, Library and Information Science 48th and Political Sciences 50th.

Professor Duncan Ivison, President and Vice-Chancellor of Ģ����Ƶ, said: “These results are a welcome recognition of the quality and reach of academic work taking place across Ģ����Ƶ, with top 25 subjects spanning all three faculties.

“Rankings don’t measure everything we value, but are useful tools for reflecting on where progress is being made and where further work is needed, particularly in an increasingly competitive global higher education environment. The real value lies in using that insight to drive meaningful improvements in research, teaching and innovation, helping us deliver on our ambitious strategy - Manchester 2035”

Several subjects have climbed the table in this year’s rankings. Sociology returned to the global top 50, rising from the 101–150 band to 46th. Textile Science and Engineering moved from 30th to 25th, while Biotechnology rose from 33rd to 29th. Mechanical Engineering improved from 43rd to 40th.

Other areas also recorded progress. Mathematics, Artificial Intelligence and Psychology all saw substantial gains in the rankings, while Civil Engineering and Communication also improved.

The longer-term picture shows sustained momentum in several disciplines. Biotechnology has moved from the 151–200 band in 2023 to 36th in 2024, 33rd in 2025 and 29th this year. Mechanical Engineering has progressed from 76–100 in 2023 to 40th in 2026. Mathematics has improved in each ranking since 2023, moving from 151–200 to 51–75.

The University is now ranked in 49 subject areas, compared with 48 in 2025 and 43 in 2023. The results span disciplines across Natural Sciences, Engineering, Life Sciences, Medical Sciences and Social Sciences, reflecting the breadth of activity taking place across Manchester.

ShanghaiRanking’s Global Ranking of Academic Subjects assesses universities across 57 subjects using nine objective indicators covering faculty, research output, research quality, impact and international collaboration.

Each year, the ranking includes subjects from approximately 2,000 universities across some 100 countries and regions.

For more information, visit the website.

will receive £95 million for research into advanced materials to help deliver the National Materials Strategy, launched in February 2026.

The Royce will continue its world-leading work to keep the UK at the forefront of advanced materials research and turn scientific discoveries into commercial products. The institute's work helps to create solutions to some of the key issues facing our society, including developing lighter, more efficient battery technology or using AI to design a new alloy that could replace scarce rare-earth materials used in electrical equipment. It works closely with businesses to commercialise new tech quickly and fuel growth in the UK.

The Rosalind Franklin Institute, a research centre dedicated to developing new technologies to address health challenges, will also receive a £67.7 million investment to build on its pioneering work in next-generation imaging, engineering, biology and diagnostics.

Science Minister Chris McDonald said: “We have world leading science research in the UK that pushes the boundaries of knowledge. It is the foundation of our mission to reindustrialise the country, creating good, well paid jobs by developing new technologies and growing British companies.

“The Rosalind Franklin Institute and the Henry Royce Institute are world leading in their fields. Combining biological knowledge, advanced physics and materials development to understand how the cells in our bodies function, and can be repaired and treated with precision medicines.

"The research gives our country a competitive edge, so long as we commercialise it in industry. Developing new medical technologies and treatments and bringing them to market is good for jobs and good for health, making a real impact on people's lives."

Turning research into reality

Executive Director for the Strategy Directorate at the Engineering and Physical Science Research Council (UKRI), Dr Kedar Pandya, said: “The Rosalind Franklin Institute and Henry Royce Institute have a proven track record of turning public investment into research that advances knowledge, improves lives and drives growth.

“This continued funding from UKRI builds on that success. It will give researchers the tools and resources to answer some of the biggest questions in the health and advanced materials industries, keeping the UK at the forefront of global science and engineering.”

These two institutes are turning brilliant science into real-world impact, and contributing to the UK’s leadership in two vital sectors – life sciences and the advanced materials industry, both of which are among the eight high growth sectors targeted for support in the government’s Industrial Strategy.

Their world-leading facilities, anchored at Harwell in Didcot for the Franklin and Manchester for the Royce, will provide new equipment and infrastructure for scientists, industry partners and as well as working closely with businesses across the country.

Already, Royce’s battery development facility has supported Molyon, a University of Cambridge spin-out, in creating a new generation of lithium-sulphur batteries that are lighter, more sustainable and can store twice as much energy as current models. The breakthrough has helped Molyon raise $4.6 million in seed funding to bring the technology to market.

This is just one example of how these institutes support connections between cutting edge research and British businesses, helping to make sure that the UK’s scientific excellence translates into jobs, new investment and economic growth in every part of the country, as set out in the government's 10-year Industrial Strategy. This funding is delivered through UK Research and Innovation, with the intention to deliver the greatest possible impact.

Professor Paul Monks, Chair, Henry Royce Institute said: “The achievements of the Henry Royce Institute demonstrate what can be accomplished when the UK brings together outstanding people, facilities and institutions around a shared national purpose, but ultimately the measure of our success is in the outcomes that this enables.

“This renewed investment is both a recognition of what the Royce Partnership has achieved and a huge vote of confidence in its future. Advanced materials underpin almost every technology that will shape a more sustainable and prosperous economy, and our next phase will be increasingly focused on translating our national capability into tangible outcomes for the economy, society and the environment.

“By deepening our national and international impact and forging stronger connections between research and industry, we want to ensure that great materials science leads to real-world innovation, while keeping the UK at the forefront of advanced materials.”

Professor Sarah Sharples, Vice-President and Dean of the Faculty of Science and Engineering and Member of the Royce Governing Board, said: "We are living through a period of profound technological and societal change, and meeting the challenges and opportunities that brings depends on strong partnerships between universities, industry and government.

"Royce demonstrates the power of that approach. By bringing together outstanding expertise, facilities and industrial partners from across the UK, it has built a world-leading advanced materials innovation ecosystem that translates extraordinary research into the technologies and businesses that will shape our future.

"As the lead partner and home of the Henry Royce Institute, Ģ����Ƶ is proud to play a convening role at the heart of this national partnership and all it has achieved. This renewed investment will strengthen the UK's position as a global leader in advanced materials and help ensure that discoveries made in our laboratories continue to deliver benefits for the economy, society and the environment."

The exact timeline of the recent Nepal flooding disaster is becoming clearer. At 8:37am, instruments recorded what was initially interpreted as an earthquake near ����貹��’s border with China. Seven minutes later, CCTV recorded the Gyirong Port border post being destroyed by a massive debris flow and flood.

flood authorities learned about the incident at about 9:00am and sent out an emergency SMS alert at about 9:15am. But by that time, Nepal was already deep into a major disaster.

The 38 minute gap between the tremor being detected and the emergency alert is striking. But it would be wrong to assume ����貹��’s authorities could simply have acted on the initial signal: at the time, it appeared to be a small earthquake, rather than a much rarer mountain collapse. The flood also arrived too swiftly for water-level sensors: they went almost immediately from recording normal levels to being destroyed.

The more interesting question is what a better-integrated warning system might have made possible. Could seismic readings, satellite images and other observations have been combined quickly enough to recognise what was happening and alert people further downstream?

Existing early-warning systems have often been designed around particular hazards such as regular rain-caused floods or . But this disaster was neither a Glof nor a regular flood. Instead it appears to have involved a rare, large-scale collapse of rock and ice, which turned into a devastating debris flow and flood.

As a of a strikingly similar flood in India last year argued, this type of hazard is largely absent from existing warning frameworks. As , such events are likely to happen more often.

Cascading mountain hazards that cross borders

In July 2025, a glacial lake in Tibet burst and swept down into Nepal, killing at least nine people and leaving around 20 missing in Nepal. Eleven people were also officially reported missing on the Chinese side.

After the flood, Nepal and China agreed in principle to share real-time information about floods, landslides and glacial lakes. However, despite ����貹��’s foreign minister during a visit to China in May 2026, no formal agreement has been signed.

Across the Himalayas and Hindu Kush mountain ranges, rivers, weather systems and infrastructure frequently span national boundaries. Our shows a hazard that begins in one place can have lethal consequences – and create new warning requirements – far downstream.

A warming climate is by thinning glaciers, thawing permafrost and destabilising slopes, even if climate change isn’t the sole explanation for every disaster. Meanwhile roads and hydropower projects are putting more people and infrastructure in threatened valleys.

Cooperation has to come before the disaster

Some cross-border early-warning arrangements already exist between Nepal and its neighbours, particularly for recurring floods. But sudden, cascading events such as the recent disaster pose a different challenge. A warning has value only if it travels the whole distance – from a sensor in the mountains, through scientific agencies, national and local authorities, to households in the valleys and plains below, in the minutes that matter.

Community-based flood warning already works in parts of ����貹��’s Koshi basin, where upstream gauges and trained local volunteers buy downstream villages precious time. A regional early warning system would have to link these community-level systems with national and cross-border monitoring, so that information can move from the source of a hazard to the people at risk. That means agreeing in advance what should be shared, how warnings should be passed between countries and agencies, and what action they should trigger.

That requires institutional changes and political commitment, as much as new technology. The region’s existing water treaties were written to divide flows and manage dams and barrages, not to govern cascading hazards in the high mountains. Governments could establish permanent bodies responsible for Himalayan rivers and their associated hazards. Featuring both scientists and policymakers, and linked to counterparts in neighbouring countries, these public bodies would be mandated to share data, jointly monitor glaciers, lakes and slopes, and coordinate warnings across borders.

The aim would be to make cooperation routine and sustained between disasters, rather than improvised in a crisis when events may unfold too quickly for international debate. None of this requires neighbours to resolve their wider disputes; it asks only that disaster warning be ring-fenced as shared humanitarian infrastructure that keeps working unabated.

The technologies for predicting and monitoring high-mountain hazards are improving fast. We now need more international scientific and policy cooperation, and warning systems capable of turning these observations into rapid action.

By , Senior Research Fellow and Lecturer in Environmental Management, ; , Lecturer in Disasters and Global Health, Humanitarian and Conflict Response Institute, ; , Assistant Professor, Department of Geography, , and , Associate Professor, Department of Geomatics Engineering,

This article is republished from under a Creative Commons license. Read the .

University of Manchester scientists have uncovered a hidden role for immune cells in the womb, opening the door to new treatments for infertility, miscarriage and other reproductive conditions that affect millions of women worldwide.

The findings are a breakthrough in our understanding of women's reproductive biology, one of the most under-researched areas of medicine, despite infertility and pregnancy complications affecting millions of families.

The researchers hope their findings will accelerate efforts to develop targeted therapies for a range of conditions in urgent need of advancement, including recurrent miscarriage, IVF implantation failure, uterine fibrosis (scarring) and non-cancerous growths in the womb called fibroids.

Using mouse models and samples from women, specialised white blood cells called monocytes, they found, play a vital role in keeping the uterus healthy throughout the menstrual cycle.

Their findings, published in Nature Immunology today, reveal that these cells manage inflammation, repair tissue and maintain the womb lining, challenging long-held assumptions about how the uterus regulates itself.

They showed that during a healthy menstrual cycle, large numbers of monocytes move from the bloodstream into the uterus at specific times each month.

Once there, they are able to promote inflammation when needed or help repair and rebuild tissue.

Monocytes, they add, are essential for normal tissue turnover in the womb, though when missing, the uterus developed abnormal tissue structures and scarring causing problems with reproduction, with the mice having fewer pups per litter.

Using mouse models to track how immune cells in the womb develop over time, they determined that once recruited to the womb, monocytes turn into two different types of specialised immune cells (macrophages), one causing inflammation and one promoting tissue repair .

The findings were particularly striking in women with Asherman Syndrome, an often undetected condition in which scar tissue forms inside the uterus and can cause infertility, recurrent miscarriage and pregnancy complications.

The team discovered unusually high numbers of inflammatory monocytes in women affected by Asherman’s syndrome. Rather than rising and falling naturally throughout the menstrual cycle, the cells remained persistently elevated and clustered around specialised glands in the lining of the womb.

The study suggests this abnormal immune activity in mice may contribute to the development of fibrosis and scarring inside the uterus.

The work could help identify new treatment strategies, such as blocking inflammatory pathways or targeting molecules that control the movement and behaviour of monocytes, which aim to restore a healthy immune balance in the womb.

Dr , senior author of the study from Ģ����Ƶ, said: "For many years we have known surprisingly little about the immune cells that live and work within the uterus.

“Our study shows that one type of immune cell - monocytes - are not simply bystanders but essential for maintaining a healthy womb.

“When their behaviour becomes disrupted, normal tissue repair processes can go wrong and scarring may develop.

She added: “We hope these findings will pave the way for new treatments that improve fertility and reproductive health for women affected by inflammatory womb conditions."

“The lack of knowledge in this area reflects the historic underfunding and low prioritisation of women’s health.

“One critical consequence of this is the dramatic decline in global fertility rates, set to transform global population patterns.”

• The DOI for the paper is 10.1038/s41590-026-02651-y and is available

The pupils most at risk

• Pupils receiving SEN support were more than twice as likely to be suspended as pupils without SEN, while those with an EHCP also had more than twice the odds of suspension.
• Pupils eligible for free school meals were nearly two and a half times more likely to be suspended than those who were not eligible.
• Pupils reporting higher levels of peer pressure and experiences of bullying victimisation were more likely to be suspended.
• Pupils who reported they had used any substance in the past 30 days were nearly three times more likely to be suspended than those reporting no recent substance use, in part because substance use is itself direct grounds for suspension under DfE guidance.

What could help prevent suspensions?

• School belonging, satisfaction with academic attainment and positive relationships with school staff were all associated with lower odds of suspension.
• Stronger emotion regulation was also associated with lower suspension risk.
• Suspensions are associated with multiple overlapping individual and school-level factors, highlighting the need for preventative approaches that address underlying needs rather than relying solely on disciplinary measures.

The research used data from the #BeeWell programme, a youth wellbeing measurement programme led by Ģ����Ƶ in collaboration with Anna Freud, a children’s mental health charity, and the Gregson Family Foundation.

The #BeeWell survey captures young people's wellbeing alongside factors that can influence it, including school experiences, health behaviours, peer and family relationships and neighbourhood characteristics. Survey responses can be linked with administrative data held by participating local authorities, allowing researchers to examine young people's experiences alongside information about suspension and exclusion.

The researchers analysed data from 19,064 pupils in Years 8 and 10 across 69 mainstream secondary schools in Hampshire and Southampton during the 2023/24 academic year. Around six per cent of pupils in the study had been suspended at least once during the academic year.

Looking beyond suspension and moving towards engagement

“Our findings show that suspension is not simply about what happens in an individual classroom or about a young person's behaviour in isolation,” said lead author Dr Stephanie Cahill. “Pupils' experiences of disadvantage, their relationships with peers and staff, their sense of belonging and their additional educational needs all form part of a much more complex picture.

The researchers say the findings highlight the importance of early intervention and preventative support, particularly for pupils experiencing disadvantage or additional educational needs.

Supportive relationships between pupils and school staff, as well as a strong sense of belonging, may play an important role in helping young people remain engaged with education.

The study also highlights the importance of understanding the different pathways that can lead to suspension– a one-size-fits-all approach is unlikely to work for all pupils.

The researchers caution that the study identifies associations rather than causal relationships. Further research is needed to understand the mechanisms underlying these patterns and how schools can most effectively intervene to prevent suspensions.

“We recognise that the current climate within education has meant that many teachers are working under very challenging conditions and that often ‘blanket’ approaches are taken due to limited capacity,” said Professor Neil Humphrey. “In order to ensure more work can be done to understand individual pathways and prevent suspensions, there needs to be increased support for schools from the government.”

You can find helpful resources from #BeeWell on school belonging

Publication details

The study was published in the British Educational Research Journal.

DOI:

Professor Konstantinos Stathopoulos is a leading corporate governance scholar whose research examines how companies are governed and how corporate decision-making affects different stakeholders. His work has a particular focus on executive compensation and the ways in which poor governance practices can affect stakeholder wealth. More recently, his research has examined the interests and influence of stakeholders, including employees, in corporate decision-making and governance.��

He is Vice President of the International Corporate Governance Society, Chair of the Corporate Governance Special Interest Group of the British Accounting and Finance Association and an Otto Mønsted Visiting Professor at Copenhagen Business School. He was Editor-in-Chief of Corporate Governance: An International Review from 2019 to 2024.

Professor Andreja Zevnik is an interdisciplinary scholar whose research explores political resistance, protest, race, identity and marginalisation.

Her work draws on psychoanalysis, continental philosophy, and postcolonial theory to examine how political identities and forms of resistance are produced. Her recent research has focused particularly on the racialisation and political mobilisation of Roma communities in Europe, Black Lives Matter and other forms of anti-racist political mobilisation. Her research with colleagues has also helped to raise awareness of antigypsyism and strengthen political representation and advocacy among Roma communities in Slovenia.

“Our newest Fellows represent some of the most influential voices in social science today,” said Will Hutton, President of the Academy of Social Sciences. “Their work is expanding knowledge, challenging assumptions and generating insights that are informing and even redefining decision making across government, business, education and civil society.”

“I am delighted to welcome these leading experts to the Academy, and look forward to working with them to raise the profile and impact of the social sciences across the UK and beyond.”

Key points

• In the age of AI, business communications start to look more alike.

• The researchers generated AI-augmented twins of more than 26,000 real-world crowdfunding campaign descriptions. Across the resulting AI-augmented versions, there was substantially less variation than across the original human-written narratives. Among other differences, the AI-rewritten pitches varied 43% less in how abstract their language was, and variation in length and writing quality fell by around 80%.

• As AI makes polished communications easier to produce, audiences likely develop more demanding expectations about the quality of these communications.

• Business owners may increasingly need to provide evidence for the claims they make about their businesses, as audiences become less willing to rely on plausible-sounding statements alone.

• Cultural competence and storytelling skills could even become more valuable, rather than less, as it becomes more challenging to craft effective business communications in the age of generative AI.

What the experts say

"Generative AI can support entrepreneurs in many aspects of storytelling, but it cannot substitute for the cultural understanding required to navigate an increasingly complex evaluative environment," said lead author Dr Karl Taeuscher from Ģ����Ƶ’s Alliance Manchester Business School. "Business owners will still need to understand their audiences, recognise cultural expectations and know how to position their businesses in ways that are both credible and distinctive."

The researchers caution that the study presents a plausible scenario rather than a prediction, as both AI technology and social norms surrounding its use are changing rapidly. The analysis of AI-augmented crowdfunding descriptions is intended to illustrate the research’s central argument rather than to test it.

Publication details

The research was published in the journal Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice.

DOI: .

Key findings

• Presenteeism is no longer simply about going into work while sick - people can now work while unwell from home or elsewhere.
• Digital technology can make it harder to switch off, with employees potentially feeling pressure to remain available through email, messaging platforms and other workplace technology even outside normal working hours.
• Mental health needs to be recognised alongside physical illness when considering why people work while unwell, as existing research has focused heavily on physical sickness.
• Working while ill can take different forms - from completing a normal working day remotely to doing only urgent tasks or checking emails intermittently.
• Employers should consider whether workers have flexibility to reduce their hours or workload when ill, rather than treating working while sick as an inherently good or bad behaviour.

Presenteeism is no longer just about physical presence

The researchers propose redefining presenteeism as the “behaviour of attending work in the state of suboptimal health, with varied location choices and degree of engagement”.

This means that presenteeism should be understood not simply in terms of whether someone turns up to work, but also where they work, what health problem they are experiencing and how much effort they put into working.

The authors argue that existing approaches to measuring presenteeism are too narrow because they generally focus on how often people go to work despite being ill, or on the extent to which illness affects their productivity. Instead, they propose a three-dimensional framework based on health, location and engagement.

Eight ways of working while unwell

The first dimension considers whether presenteeism is triggered by a physical or mental health problem. The second considers whether someone works on-site or remotely. The third considers whether they work a full schedule with normal levels of engagement or reduce their hours and effort. Together, these dimensions produce eight different forms of presenteeism.

For example, an employee with a physical illness might go into the workplace and work a full day, while another might stay at home and only deal with urgent requests. Someone experiencing anxiety or depression could similarly work either remotely or on-site, with either full or reduced engagement.

The researchers say this approach could help distinguish between situations where working while ill may be harmful and situations where employees are able to adapt their work in ways that allow them to protect their health while meeting essential responsibilities.

The paper also highlights concerns about inequality in access to flexible working. Remote working is not available to everyone, meaning that some workers may be able to adapt their working arrangements when ill while others have little choice but to attend their workplace.

What the experts say

“The world of work has changed dramatically, but our understanding of what it means to work while sick has not necessarily kept pace with this transformation,” said Professor Cary Cooper, 50th Anniversary Professor of Organisational Psychology and Health at Ģ����Ƶ. “Technology has given people much greater flexibility over where and when they work, but that flexibility can become a trap if employees feel they have to be available all the time.”

Making flexibility work for employees

The authors argue that future research should examine whether giving employees greater control over their location, working hours and workload can make presenteeism a more adaptive behaviour. They also call for greater attention to mental health-related presenteeism, which they say has been relatively neglected by existing research.

The researchers stress that working while sick should not automatically be regarded as either positive or negative. Instead, they argue that understanding how someone works while unwell - and the circumstances surrounding that decision - is essential to understanding its effects on health and performance.

The paper concludes that organisations need to strike a balance between maintaining performance and protecting employee wellbeing as digital technology continues to reshape the workplace.

Publication details

The paper was published in journal Health Psychology Research.

DOI:

It is the culmination of over a decade of international collaboration by of Ģ����Ƶ, Professor Juan Ruso of the University of Santiago de Compostela in Spain and Dr Natalia Hassan of the Metropolitan Technological University in Chile.

The discovery could have far reaching implications on the treatment of clotting disorders like haemophilia or the healthcare for patients on blood thinners like warfarin, as scabs forming on the surface of blood are vital to sealing a wound and keeping the site free of infection.

It could also explain aspects of how a lung can collapse in acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), as fibrinogen disrupts the oily layer that keeps the airways open during breathing.

It may also transform the design of biosensors that allow people to monitor how their blood is performing, as the sensors rely on understanding how proteins disrupt those surfaces.

For more than twenty years the field has relied on a ‘single tilting layer’ model for fibrinogen where the long protein molecules lay flat on the surface at first and then leaned upright as more of them arrive.

But the new study, published in the on today (20/08/25), shows the benchmark model missed that fibrinogen stays lying flat and builds multiple layers that stack like sheets of paper. These layers grow thicker and more complete as more molecules arrive.

This new information helps to explain how the long protein molecules line up on the surface of blood where fibres called fibrin form the basis of the scab, a solid film formed during evaporation of fluid at the blood surface, that seals a wound.

The scientists used an advanced technique called neutron reflectometry at the part-UK-funded Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL) in France, where Dr Campbell was formerly based.

The team demonstrated that this behaviour holds true across multiple ranges of concentration and in very different solution conditions, showing the mechanism is not a rare quirk but a universal feature of fibrinogen when it contacts air.

Principal investigator Dr Campbell explained: "It's never easy challenging an established model of how molecules behave in nature.

“But through using the advanced technique neutron reflectometry on the FIGARO instrument at the ILL research facility, we could see the structure of these protein surfaces in more detail than scientists had seen before.

“Although lab data recorded in the past was compatible with the concept of a ‘single tilting layer’ model, our new data show multiple layering as a fundamentally different way of working.”

Dr Glenn Coope, a former PhD student at Ģ����Ƶ but now based at Lund University in Sweden, said: "When the covid-19 pandemic struck, I spent time analysing structural data of how fibrinogen gathered at liquid surfaces while working from home.

“Then after returning to work at the University, I applied additional experimental methods.

“It’s almost like we now have a full circle moment, as our findings may help scientists to understand better the behaviour of fibrinogen in the lungs of patients suffering from ARDS, a condition that tragically claimed so many lives during the pandemic.”

Dr Campbell added: “Our discovery sheds new light on how scabs form on the surface of an open wound, where fibrinogen works in a protein‑rich zone to stop bleeding.

“Having better understanding of the structure of fibrinogen at liquid surfaces can only help in the search for new and better treatments for patients whose wound refuse to heal.”

• The paper Redefining Fibrinogen Self‑Assembly at the Air–Water Interface: An Intriguing Story with Multiple Layers is published in Journal of the American Chemical Society. DOI
• Other researchers from the University of Manchester and Institut Laue-Langevin contributed to the study

In a survey of 4,270 adults from across the UK, the researchers found that 79% had already used some form of self-monitoring, ranging from tracking blood pressure and blood sugar to monitoring fitness, diet, eyesight, hearing and mental wellbeing.

Published in the journal the findings suggest self-monitoring could play a major role in helping people spot health problems earlier and take greater control of their wellbeing.

The study was part-funded by a National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Senior Investigator award to lead researcher Professor Kevin Munro and was supported by the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre: Manchester’s Hearing Health Theme.

The results chime with the Governments aspirations for health monitoring technologies to be part of routine care to support proactive health monitoring and preventative action.

The study also found that 86% of respondents would be willing to monitor at least one aspect of their health if recommended by the NHS.

Trust in the technology was high, with between 70% and 94% of participants saying they trusted the results produced by self-monitoring tools.

More than three-quarters (78%) said they would be happy for their results to be sent automatically to their GP.

The researchers say the findings highlight growing public support for a future in which patients can play a more active role in managing their health from home.

People who used self-monitoring said the main benefits included increased awareness of their health, a greater sense of control, easier access to information, more balanced conversations with healthcare professionals and improved psychological support.

However, the study also revealed that participants reported concerns including anxiety, obsessive testing, confusion about results, poor motivation to continue monitoring and worries about technology.

And between 14% and 38% of people said they would take no action if self-monitoring identified a potential problem, depending on the health issue being monitored.

Younger adults and people with higher levels of education were more likely to use self-monitoring, while men, older adults, those living in deprived areas and people with lower education levels were less willing to do so.

The researchers say these differences risk creating new health inequalities if self-monitoring becomes a larger part of healthcare in the future.

Lead researcher from Ģ����Ƶ said: "Our findings show that self-monitoring of health is already a normal part of life for many people across the UK and that there is strong public enthusiasm for doing more of it in the future.

“Self-monitoring has huge potential to support earlier detection of problems, encourage preventative action and help people take greater control of their health.

Professor Munro, who is also an NIHR Senior Investigator added: “However, we must ensure that nobody is left behind and that these technologies are introduced in ways that are accessible, understandable and equitable for all sections of society.

“Nevertheless, self-monitoring could help transform healthcare through more proactive and preventative approaches though further research is needed to ensure it can be used effectively and fairly alongside traditional clinical care.”

• The paper Use, trustworthiness and willingness to self-monitor health and personal wellness: a UK population survey is available . DOI 10.1186/s13690-026-02035-6
• Image created with AI

Key findings and recommendations

• China’s state support for green industries is effectively subsidising the global transition to a low-carbon economy.

• China has become dominant in the so-called ‘new three’ green technologies - batteries, electric vehicles and solar power.

• Attempts by countries such as the US and EU states to compete with China could slow the adoption of green technologies and increase the cost of decarbonisation.

• Governments increasingly face four broad choices - compete with China, cooperate with it, accept Chinese dominance, or abandon parts of the green transition.

• The UK should strengthen cooperation with China on green technologies rather than trying to compete directly.

• The UK should continue to avoid tariffs on Chinese green technologies and seek Chinese investment in UK manufacturing.

A global climate dilemma

The report says China now occupies a leading position across many of the technologies needed for the green transition including solar, wind, batteries, hydrogen and electric vehicles. Its dominance has helped drive down the cost of these technologies, but this has also created growing geopolitical and economic tensions.

“China’s dominance of green technology presents a fundamental dilemma for governments,” lead author Dr James Jackson of Ģ����Ƶ’s Sustainable Consumption Institute. “The world needs these technologies to decarbonise, but efforts to compete with China risk making the transition more expensive and more difficult.”

The authors argue that countries should focus more heavily on cooperation - particularly where access to affordable green technologies is essential to meeting climate targets.

Opportunities for the UK

The report identifies green technology as an opportunity to improve UK-China relations following a period of strained diplomatic ties. It recommends that the UK should seek closer trading relationships with China, while maintaining the ability to challenge Beijing on other issues such as human rights.

Among its recommendations, the report says the UK should encourage Chinese EV manufacturers to establish production facilities in Britain, while using the country’s expertise in financial services to support investment in green technologies. It also recommends that the Bank of England consider measures used by China’s central bank to support the development of green industries.

Publication details

is published by Ģ����Ƶ. Dr Jackson is the lead author, alongside Mathias Larsen of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics.

The kidneys have a vital role in continuously clearing toxins from the body. AKI is a common clinical syndrome in which the kidneys stop working properly. It affects up to 1 in 5 people in hospital, usually as a complication of a severe illness or major surgery. 1 in 3 people with AKI experience it recurrently. Researchers highlight multiple missed opportunities in optimising continuing care after hospital discharge.

Funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and supported by the NIHR Patient Safety Research Collaboration (PSRC): Greater Manchester this is the first major investigation of post-discharge care for people with AKI to cover widespread care in general practices (GPs) across England. The study was published in today (12 August).

Researchers analysed the healthcare of more than 209,000 patients in England who had been discharged from hospital after an episode of acute kidney injury (AKI), using records from over 1,400 general practices (GPs). They found that the recommended clinical guidelines for continued follow-up care were often not followed, suggesting that AKI is not receiving sufficient attention at handover from hospitals to primary care.

Why follow-up care after AKI matters

Even after hospital discharge, people who have had AKI remain at a high risk of poor outcomes, including emergency hospital readmission, recurrent AKI and other acute severe illnesses, the development of lasting chronic kidney disease, and major adverse cardiovascular events.

Current recommendations are that when a patient who has experienced AKI is discharged from hospital back into the community, primary care should have a central role in supporting recovery, ensuring safe follow-up, and minimising the risk of worsening health. However, the study identified multiple gaps in post-AKI care as patients transition across care settings.

In the study, only 19% of hospital AKI episodes were documented in primary care records within 30 days of discharge using the recommended codes for AKI. The proportion was even smaller among people aged under 60 years and those who had major surgery.

The study evaluated not just documentation, but also clincal action. Despite regular contact with primary care healthcare professionals, many people did not receive simple recommended blood and urine tests to assess kidney health. Younger individuals and those without already known and documented health concerns were least likely to receive tests. Yet, these are often people who stand most to gain, because early action can help prevent avoidable health problems being stored up into the future.

The study concluded that improvements in the sharing of discharge information and follow-up after AKI could help identify people at risk sooner and improve outcomes for those transitioning from hospital to community care.

, GP and Professor of Primary Care at Ģ����Ƶ and NIHR Greater Manchester PSRC, said: “Despite a decade of improvement initiatives in the UK, little was known about how closely primary care follows clinical guidelines after an episode of acute kidney injury.

Our study highlights the urgent need to implement kidney health strategies more effectively across both primary and secondary care. Improving post-AKI care requires greater adoption of a ‘kidney mindset’ and better integration of kidney health into existing services, helping to improve outcomes for patients transitioning from hospital to community care.”

Prof director of the NIHR Greater Manchester PSRC, said: “Patient safety depends on delivering the right care at the right time, particularly during transitions between healthcare settings. This study highlights significant opportunities to strengthen the follow-up care offered to patients after AKI, providing valuable evidence to inform future improvements in care for this population.”

Key recommendations for strengthening post-discharge care for AKI patients:

• Improve communication and sharing of information at discharge, to ensure that arrangements for follow-up care after AKI do not become lost during transition across care settings.
• Strengthen the implementation of kidney health strategies across primary and secondary care, including clear discharge arrangements and case-specific guidance on discharge summaries.
• Better resource these implementation strategies to strengthen follow-up care across multiple areas, such as early and ongoing patient engagement; coordination across care interfaces; and protocols to ensure clear delegation of responsibilities.
• Improve the identification and monitoring of kidney disease after AKI, including routine recording of AKI diagnoses and recommended blood and urine tests.

Podcast recommendation – Lost in Transition: How Care Gaps Impact Patient Safety

Transitions in care are high-risk moments for patient safety, whether from hospital to home, mental health settings to the community, or between healthcare services. An episode of the Voices for Safety podcast explored research insights into how to make transitions across care settings safer for patients. Prof Tom Blakeman, co-author of this post-discharge AKI study, is one of the guests in this special episode, sharing insights into AKI follow-up care.

The paper Examining variations in adherence to guideline-recommended post-acute kidney injury care in primary care in England: A population-based cohort study, published in BMC Medicine, is available at

Key findings

• AI adoption is heavily concentrated in London, the South East and larger businesses, meaning its economic benefits could reinforce existing regional and productivity inequalities

• The country lacks the computing and energy infrastructure needed to deliver the Government’s ambitions, which could consume more than a quarter of the UK’s electricity

• Poor-quality, fragmented data and outdated IT systems could hamper AI adoption across government

• Skills shortages are holding back AI adoption, particularly among smaller businesses and in the public sector, despite years of government investment in digital skills

• AI is not a ‘magic bullet’ for Britain’s economic and public-service problems, and rapid expansion could create new environmental, social and governance risks

Unequal benefits and risks

Researchers Nathan Critch and Darcy Luke say years of short-term and fragmented policymaking by successive governments have left the UK with significant infrastructure and capacity gaps which could undermine Labour’s plans.

The Government’s AI Opportunities Action Plan includes plans to increase UK AI computing capacity twentyfold by 2030, develop AI Growth Zones, establish a National Data Library and expand the use of AI across government and the wider economy.

The researchers warn that the benefits of AI are unlikely to be shared evenly across the UK without policies specifically designed to encourage wider adoption.

Only 15% of UK businesses had adopted at least one AI technology in 2022, with adoption particularly concentrated among larger companies. AI adoption was highest in IT and telecommunications and legal services, while it was much lower in hospitality, health and retail - sectors which employ large numbers of people.

AI firms and businesses using AI are also heavily concentrated in London and the South East.

The study argues that this creates a risk that AI will make already productive businesses and regions even more productive, while areas and sectors which have struggled with low productivity are left further behind.

UK lacks infrastructure for AI boom

The UK currently has only around 3% of the world’s computational power - much of which is not optimised for AI - leaving the country dependent on cloud computing provided by large technology companies.

The researchers warn that expanding computing capacity will place enormous demands on the UK’s energy infrastructure. They estimate that a twentyfold increase in UK computing capacity could increase the energy consumed by AI infrastructure from around 3.6 terawatt-hours (TWh) in 2020 to 72 TWh – more than a quarter of the UK’s total electricity consumption.

This creates a tension between the Government’s AI ambitions and its commitment to reaching net zero, particularly given constraints in the electricity grid and limited energy storage capacity. The researchers also highlight the water required to cool data centres as a potential environmental constraint.

Poor data and outdated technology

The study identifies the quality and accessibility of government data as another major obstacle. A National Audit Office survey found that 62% of responding government bodies identified a lack of access to good-quality data as a major barrier to implementing AI. Government data is often held in fragmented systems and legacy IT infrastructure, while data held by local authorities can be siloed across incompatible systems.

The researchers argue that these problems will make it difficult to deliver the Government’s plans for AI-enabled public services without significant investment in underlying digital infrastructure. They also warn that the public sector faces persistent digital skills shortages, with problems particularly acute in local government.

Skills shortages could limit AI adoption

Despite a relatively strong range of AI-related training in the UK, demand for AI skills continues to outstrip supply.

Smaller businesses are particularly disadvantaged because larger companies can offer higher salaries and attract workers with scarce AI expertise. The researchers also highlight a lack of in-work training, vocational education and further education provision compared with the emphasis placed on higher education.

These problems could limit the Government’s ambitions to use AI to improve productivity across the economy and make public services more efficient.

Decade of AI policy leaves UK with major gaps

The researchers argue that Labour’s approach is part of almost a decade of increasingly active government policy on AI, stretching back through the Conservative governments of Theresa May, Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak. They describe this pattern as “hyperactive incrementalism” - characterised by short-termism, fragmentation, limited evaluation and repeated policy initiatives.

While the UK has developed an internationally significant AI sector, the researchers say this should not be confused with widespread adoption of AI across the economy.

Successive governments have focused heavily on developing the UK’s AI sector, they argue, but have been less successful at encouraging businesses and public services across the country to adopt AI. The result is a significant gap between the Government’s ambitions for AI and the infrastructure, skills and organisational capacity needed to deliver them.

AI is not a ‘magic bullet’

The researchers argue that there is currently little evidence that AI can, by itself, deliver the broad improvements in productivity, government efficiency and public services envisaged by policymakers.

They also warn that rapid AI expansion could create new problems, including threats to data protection and civil liberties, surveillance, deskilling and unemployment, and increased environmental pressures.

What the researchers say

“AI adoption is currently concentrated in the businesses, sectors and regions that are already among the most productive,” said Darcy Luke from The University of Edinburgh’s BRAID (Bridging Responsible AI Divides) Research Programme. “Without policies that encourage much wider adoption, there is a real risk that AI will reinforce existing inequalities rather than reduce them.”

The researchers conclude that while Labour’s plans represent the most comprehensive attempt by a UK Government to harness AI, the scale and depth of the barriers involved mean that AI may ultimately become “another problem for an already problem-laden government, rather than the solution it is hoped to be.”

Publication details

The paper was published in the journal The Political Quarterly.

DOI:

Key findings

• Urban canals reduce daytime temperatures by an average of around 0.8°C within their immediate surroundings, typically 20–50 metres away from the water
• Cooling is strongest during spring and early summer, reaching around 1.2–1.4°C
• During heatwaves, canals can lower nearby temperatures by 1.5–2.3°C
• The cooling effect substantially reduced the number of hours when people in the vicinity of canals would experience moderate and high heat stress
• Around 6.2 million people live within one kilometre of Britain's urban canal network, meaning millions could potentially benefit from these cooling effects

Using a new energy balance model, developed by researchers in the Geography, Planning and Engineering departments, the research simulated the thermal behaviour of more than 2,300 canal sections across Great Britain and Ireland over an entire year.

The researchers found that while canals produce a small warming effect overnight because water retains heat longer than surrounding surfaces, this effect is relatively minor compared with the cooling benefits during the day.

Improving health and wellbeing

The researchers also assessed how canals affect thermal comfort during hot weather.

Their modelling showed that incorporating the cooling effect of canals reduced the number of hours classified as posing moderate heat risk by around 58%, while hours of high heat risk fell by around 74%. In many locations, canals eliminated periods of extreme heat risk altogether, although the researchers caution that this is partly counter-balanced by rising humidity, which also influences people's comfort during hot weather.

The findings suggest canals could help reduce heat-related illness, improve wellbeing and encourage people to stay active and walk and cycle during hotter weather, in turn allowing access to nature and reducing carbon emissions through active transport.

"As climate change makes heatwaves more frequent and intense, cities need every available tool to help people stay safe and comfortable,” said lead author Dr Matt Tomkins. “Our research shows that canals, which were originally built to power the Industrial Revolution, could now play an important role in helping cities adapt to climate change.”

"The cooling effect is modest on an average day, but during heatwaves it becomes much more significant, reducing nearby temperatures by more than two degrees in some locations. Even relatively small reductions like these can make an important difference to people's health and wellbeing during periods of extreme heat."

Supporting climate-resilient cities

The researchers say that alongside urban heat regulating services, which have been estimated to provide economic benefits of by reducing losses in labour productivity caused by hot days, the studied canals could play a role in reducing carbon emissions, both through enabling active transport during hotter periods and potentially reducing the demand for energy-intensive air-conditioning.

“Accessible blue and green spaces result in wider health and wellbeing benefits for society” says co-author Dr. Joanne Tippett. “The cooling that canals offer could help more people to stay active and access these spaces even during hot days. This highlights the importance of not only protecting our urban canals, but also thinking about how to increase signposting and access, connectivity with other green infrastructure, and wider awareness of these vital networks of urban cooling”.

They emphasise that canals are not a complete solution to rising urban temperatures, but argue they should form part of a wider package of climate adaptation measures alongside parks, trees, sustainable drainage and other forms of green and blue infrastructure.

The study also provides a new modelling approach that could be applied more widely to assess how similar waterways contribute to cooling in other cities around the world, and to complement insights gained from field-based measurements, modelling, and satellite-based observations.

Publication details

The study was published in Nature Communications.

Funding, data, and support for this project was provided by the Canal and River Trust, with the research generously supported thanks to funds raised by Postcode Lottery players.

DOI:

The researchers analysing the records of more than 1.4 million people found that social prescribing – where patients are referred to support such as community groups, exercise schemes or financial advice – was linked to an early rise in healthcare use, followed by a small drop in GP appointments.

The study was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and published in eClinical Medicine.

Social prescribing became a key part of NHS plans in 2019, with thousands of link workers recruited across England to connect patients with community support.

It has become a central part of NHS efforts to address the wider social factors that influence health, including loneliness, housing problems, debt and inactivity.

Despite the scheme's rapid expansion, until now there has been little robust evidence showing whether social prescribing affects NHS demand, healthcare use or costs.

The findings come from one of the largest studies of its kind, using anonymised NHS records from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD), covering around a quarter of England’s population.

The research team compared 168,699 patients referred to social prescribing between July 2019 and April 2022 with more than 1.3 million similar patients who were not referred.

In the first six months after referral, patients receiving social prescribing had an average of 2.25 more contacts with healthcare services than those who were not referred – a rise of around 24%.

The increase was largely driven by more visits to primary care services and attendance at planned outpatient appointments in hospitals.

This, they say, may reflect patients becoming more proactive about managing their health and seeking help for conditions that might previously have gone untreated.

But by one year after referral, the picture had changed.

The increase in healthcare contacts had fallen substantially and patients referred to social prescribing were attending slightly fewer GP appointments than those who had not been referred.

Despite the higher number of healthcare interactions, the overall cost to the NHS was virtually unchanged.

The study found healthcare costs were less than 0.1% higher among referred patients, a difference researchers described as clinically insignificant.

The small increase in spending was mainly linked to additional secondary care admissions.

Lead author from Ģ����Ƶ said: “Our findings suggest that social prescribing may encourage people to engage with healthcare services in the short term, particularly with planned and preventative care.”

“Importantly, we found that this increase did not translate into meaningful increases in overall healthcare costs, and by one year patients were having slightly fewer GP appointments.”

“This could indicate that social prescribing helps direct people towards more appropriate forms of support while reducing pressure on general practice.”

She added: “Better integration between social prescribing data systems and electronic health records will be needed to understand whether patients who fully engage with these services gain even greater benefits.”

Charlotte Osborn-Forde , CEO of the National Academy for Social Prescribing added: "There is now strong evidence that social prescribing leads to improved wellbeing and that it can support people with a range of health conditions.

"This research provides useful analysis of how referrals to link workers affected healthcare use during the COVID pandemic, potentially leading to a long-term fall in GP appointments.

"It also shows the need for further exploration of how to account for the unmeasured social needs that lead to a referral for social prescribing, and better data on support received after the referral, to track the impact of social prescribing more robustly."

• The paper "Changes in healthcare use and cost associated with referrals to social prescribing link workers in England: a matched case-control cohort study” is published in eClinical Medicine. DOI

And opening windows during hot weather, they show, almost certainly exacerbates the problem of indoor air pollution caused by the fires.

The University’s Canalysed real time indoor air-quality records from 23 Greater Manchester homes monitored between 1 and 26 July 2026, during two periods of wildfire activity in the nearby Pennine hills.

Every monitored home in the Cystic Fibrosis Trust funded study exceeded the World Health Organization’s 24-hour guideline for fine particle pollution on 17 July, when outdoor smoke levels peaked.

The preliminary analysis, which has not yet undergone peer review, also showed when households opened widows as temperatures climbed to over 33C , the problem seemed to get worse.

, based at Ģ����Ƶ and the National Centre for Atmospheric Science (NCAS), led the analysis of PM2.5, particles produced by smoke small enough to travel deep into the lungs, where they can harm health.

During the wildfires, overnight bedroom PM2.5 spiked from an average of 2.7 micrograms per cubic metre to 7.8 with windows closed and 11.8 with windows open. Closing windows reduced exposure, but levels remained 2–4 times higher than normal.

In some homes, concentrations in the bedroom overnight rose to well over 100 micrograms per cubic metre, many times higher than the levels normally recorded in those homes.

Levels of indoor-generated pollution, such as volatile organic compounds and carbon dioxide, actually fell during this period as participants opened windows to cool their homes, allowing the outdoor pollution in.

The researchers say that following the UK Health Security Agency’s guidance on wildfire smoke by staying indoors and closing windows should help reduce the pollution.

Levels, they say, did not rise as much in homes where windows appear to have remained closed though this did not prevent all outdoor smoke pollution from getting in.

The researchers are also currently working on a Greater Manchester Local Innovation Partnership funded study, the Retrofit Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Innovation Centre to investigate measures that may help further combat indoor pollution, for example during periods of wildfire, and during intensely hot weather.

That could include the use of air purification and integrated ventilation systems, improved sleeping arrangements and other measures.

One of the researchers from Ģ����Ƶ, said: “These findings show the difficult challenges that people face during periods of wildfires and high environmental temperatures.

“Following the simple but often repeated instruction of going indoors and shutting the windows will only give you some protection from wildfire smoke, and keeps heat in the home. Both smoke and heat can make breathing worse for those with chronic lung conditions.

“During July’s fires, in every home we monitored we found the effects of smoke was present indoors at potentially harmful concentrations levels, especially during periods when the heat forced people to open windows.

“We saw this in homes up to 60km away from the wildfires on the moors outside Manchester.”

, lead Environmental researcher for the group said: “The findings support advice to close windows while smoke levels are high, but show that this cannot completely prevent smoke infiltration and may increase the risk of overheating.

“The challenge is that this advice can be difficult to follow during very hot weather, particularly in homes that are prone to overheating.

“We need clearer, evidence-based guidance that helps households reduce exposure to both smoke and heat. I hope this new data can support these decisions.

“We are now investigating practical measures, including air filtration and approaches to keeping homes cool, so that people - especially those with existing respiratory conditions - have better options during future extreme events such as these.”

Dr Bannan added: “Wildfire smoke contains tiny particles and gases that can irritate the lungs and make respiratory conditions such as cystic fibrosis, asthma and COPD worse.

“Exposure to wildfire smoke can increase symptoms including coughing, wheezing, breathlessness and chest tightness, and may trigger severe flare-ups that require medical treatment.

“That is why people with existing respiratory diseases as well as children, older people and other immunocompromised people are also at greater risk of respiratory infections, hospitalisation and other serious health complications during wildfire events.”

Dr Sharon Weinberg, a clinical research fellow at Ģ����Ƶ added:

said: “While our study examines the impact of PM2.5 on lung health, poor air quality affects far more than the lungs.

“Elevated PM2.5 exposure is known to increase the risk of cardiovascular events—including heart attacks, strokes, and thrombosis.

“It is also associated with headaches and migraines, highlighting that the health consequences of air pollution extend well beyond people with chronic respiratory disease.”

Laura Beattie, who has cystic fibrosis and is taking part in the study, said: “I found it really hard during the heatwave and the wildfires.

“You could see and smell the smoke for days, and it made my breathing worse. I was more breathless, and had to restrict myself to staying indoors. I also noticed that my sputum went dark from the smoke - I've never seen it like this before.

“We can all see wildfires becoming more common, and research like this is so important for people like me with chronic lung conditions.”

• The is still recruiting people with CF across the UK, including in the Manchester and Merseyside regions where the air quality monitoring is included as an optional part of the study. The Pulse-CF Innovation Hub is part of the Translational Innovation Hub Network for CF Lung Health & Infection, funded by Cystic Fibrosis Trust and LifeArc. Though these findings are not yet peer reviewed, the research team felt it was in the public interest to release the figures.

Their discovery, published in the world leading journal on 04/08/26, centres on activated dendritic cells, a specialised population of immune cells that orchestrate the body’s attack on cancer.

To make the discovery, the researchers developed the first mouse models capable of specifically labelling or removing activated dendritic cells.

This allowed them to determine exactly how activated dendritic cells contribute to anti-cancer immunity.

The models are expected to accelerate research into activated dendritic cells across cancer, infections and autoimmune diseases.

Until now, scientists have struggled to understand precisely how activated dendritic cells contribute to anti-cancer immunity because suitable models did not exist.

Using the new models, the team showed that activated dendritic cells are indispensable for effective anti-cancer immune responses.

Without them, cancer-killing T cells could neither be efficiently activated nor maintain their strength once inside tumours.

As a result, both spontaneous immune control of cancer and the efficacy of immunotherapy were impaired.

First author Maria Koufakis said: “Modern immunotherapies rely on strong and coordinated immune responses, yet many people still do not benefit from these treatments.”

“If we can find ways to boost activated dendritic cells, we may be able to strengthen the immune system’s response to cancer and help more patients benefit from immunotherapy, including some whose cancers currently resist treatment.”

Senior author said: “Activated dendritic cells do not just launch the anti-tumour immune responses, they are also essential for sustaining them within the tumour itself.

This changes how we think about their role and opens up new opportunities to improve cancer immunotherapy.”

The work was funded by Cancer Research UK, with additional support from the European Molecular Biology Organization and the Italian Association for Cancer Research UK.

Research Information Manager at Cancer Research UK, Dr Marianne Baker, said: "Immunotherapies that harness our immune system to beat cancer are saving lives, but we don't yet understand why they work for some people and not others.

“The models developed as part of this study could help scientists unlock ways to boost these revolutionary treatments via dendritic cells, a type of immune cell.

“We need more research to get there, but this work could help to solve unanswered questions in cancer immunotherapy and beyond."

• Image: ��Ai-rendered 3D��representation of activated dendritic cell with a coral-coloured nucleus, highlighting the use of the new reporter model. The nucleus of the cells of interest has been labelled scarlet.

• CCR7⁺��activated dendritic cells are essential for spontaneous and immunotherapy-driven anti-tumor immunity, published in Immunity is available . DOI �ٰ���:��

The study was carried out in collaboration with the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) and was made possible through the assistance of Emudu Trekkers and members of the Idu Mishmi community, the traditional custodians of the Dibang Valley. The research was funded by a Walters Kundert Fellowship from the Royal Geographical Society (UK).

This study provides the first dated glacial chronology for the Dri Valley in the remote eastern Himalayas, filling a major gap in understanding glacier evolution in one of the least-studied sectors of the Himalayas and providing an important benchmark for future studies of regional climate change.

Key findings

• The Dri Valley glacier reached almost 100 km in length, making it one of the largest glaciers yet documented in High Mountain Asia.
• It extended from altitudes of around 5,300 metres to as low as 1,300–1,500 metres above sea level, giving it one of the lowest known glacier termini in High Mountain Asia.
• The glacier was 80 km in length around 19,600 years ago.
• By around 12,000 years ago, the glacier had retreated to altitudes above 3,250 m and was less than 20 km long.
• Today, its largest surviving remnant is less than 5 km long.

Reconstructing the past Himalayan landscape

Researchers examined the landscape of the Dri Valley for geomorphic evidence left behind by the ancient glacier, including U-shaped valleys, moraines and distinctive bedrock features created by the movement of ice.

The research combines detailed field observations with satellite mapping and digital elevation models to build a picture of the former ice extent and identify locations where exposed rock could provide evidence of past glacier movements.

These features provide a record of how the glacier shaped the landscape as it advanced and retreated, but establishing when those changes occurred required highly sensitive dating techniques.

“The Dri Valley preserves an exceptional record of past glaciation, but until now we had no reliable way of placing these landforms into a timeline,” said Dr Shashank Nitundil of Ģ����Ƶ, who led the research.

Using rocks as natural clocks

The researchers collected 63 samples from boulders and exposed bedrock surfaces across the Dri Valley. This is the first application of cosmogenic nuclide dating on the southern slopes of the Himalayas east of Mount Everest.

The samples were analysed for cosmogenic radionuclides – rare isotopes produced in rocks exposed at the Earth's surface by cosmic rays.

The team focused on beryllium-10 (¹⁰Be), which accumulates in quartz-bearing rocks while they are exposed to cosmic radiation. When a glacier covers a rock surface, production of the isotope is effectively halted and eventually reset due to glacial erosion. When the ice retreats and the rock is exposed again, ¹⁰Be begins to accumulate. Measuring its concentration allows researchers to determine when the ice disappeared.

The measurements were carried out using accelerator mass spectrometry at the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO), allowing the team to detect the extremely small quantities of ¹⁰Be needed to establish the timing of past glacier change.

“The huge size of the former glacier in the Dri Valley hints at similar extensive ice cover in neighbouring valleys and the presence of one of the largest contiguous ice masses in the Himalayas. Until now little has been known about the extent, timing and palaeoclimatic significance of the former glaciers in this region and the exciting results of this research have been made possible because of a major international collaboration between the University of Manchester, ANSTO and local support from members of the Idu Mishmi community” said Professor Philip Hughes of Ģ����Ƶ, who co-supervised the research and has had long-term collaborations with Dr David Fink at ANSTO.

Understanding monsoon-driven glacier change

The Dri Valley sits within a region dominated by the Indian Summer Monsoon, which delivers some of the highest precipitation across the Himalayas, making it an important natural laboratory for understanding how monsoon-fed glaciers respond to climate change.

The study shows that abundant monsoon precipitation alone was not enough to sustain this giant glacier. Instead, its growth and retreat were shaped by the interplay between temperature, precipitation and topography.

The findings suggest that once temperatures rise above a critical threshold, increasing precipitation falls as rain rather than snow. This reduces glacier accumulation and, at the same time, can accelerate ice loss through melting meaning heavy precipitation does not necessarily protect these glaciers from warming.

The study adds to growing evidence that the response of Himalayan glaciers to climate change is not uniform. Glaciers in different parts of the mountain range are influenced by contrasting combinations of snowfall, temperature, elevation and seasonal climate patterns.

As well as being climatically significant, the Dri Valley and surrounding region form part of a recognised Himalayan biodiversity hotspot, adding further importance to understanding how its glaciers and the water resources they feed are likely to change.

Understanding how Himalayan glaciers responded to past climate change provides an important long-term benchmark for improving projections of how these glaciers may respond to continued global warming in the future.

Publication details

The paper was published in journal Quaternary Science Reviews. The international research team included Dr Shashank Nitundil, Dr Christopher Darvill, Prof Abi Stone, Dr David Fink, Prof Philip Hughes, Dr Matt Tomkins and Dr Krista Simon.

DOI:

Sixty years after the 1966 World Cup final, the most famous football in England's history has been examined as never before. NXCT at Ģ����Ƶ and the National Football Museum have produced the first 3D X-ray scans of the Slazenger Challenge 4 Star used at Wembley on July 30, 1966 – rendering, in extraordinary detail, both its 25-panel hand-stitched leather exterior, and the degraded latex bladder sealed inside it since the day England won the World Cup.

It is a portrait of a vanished craft. Each Challenge 4 Star took two-and-a-half hours to stitch by hand at the Slazenger works in Horbury, near Wakefield, and had to meet strict specifications. 14 to 16 ounces in weight, 27 to 28 inches in circumference. The ball earned its place in the final by winning a blind test of more than 100 footballs at The FA's headquarters. The now iconic orange was not a stylistic flourish, but a practical stand-out effect for the monochrome television sets of 1966.

Set against the ball used in this month's 2026 World Cup final, the scans make sixty years of progress impossible to miss. The Trionda is built from four thermally bonded panels of polyurethan, polyester, viscose and synthetic rubber, and carries an inertial measurement unit sensor that tracks every contact and position change. In 1966, the technology was a needle and thread.

The ball's journey to its casing at the National Football Museum is just as fascinating as the final it was used in. After England's 4-2 win in front of some 97,000 spectators, Helmut Haller – who had scored the opening goal – carried it back to Germany, claiming tradition entitled the first scorer to keep it. It stayed there for 30 years, until a consortium of the Mirror Group, Virgin, and Eurostar bought it for £80,000 and repatriated it ahead of Euro '96. The initials on its surface belong to Uri Geller, who signed it for luck as a pre-tournament publicity stunt.

Today, the ball sits on permanent display in the 'England on the World Stage' section of the National Football Museum, alongside Hurst's hat-trick shirt and other objects from the final. The museum marks the anniversary on Thursday 30 July with a programme of talks from its Visitor Experience team on the 1966 tournament and the final itself.

Dr Matthew Lawson, who performed the scans in the NXCT, said: "X-rays are a fantastic tool to non-destructively see inside objects, this technique has been used a lot in cultural heritage previously but never to look inside such a nationally significant football!

"Although a football is mostly air on the inside, we were able to see the makeup of the leather panels, the stitching and the perished air bladder in amazing detail thanks to X-ray computed tomography. Everyone at the NXCT in the University of Manchester would like to thank the National Football Museum for this exciting opportunity to scan such an artefact and to hold it in our own hands!"

Tim Desmond, CEO of the National Football Museum, said: "This is the most famous football in the country and, until now, nobody had ever properly looked inside it. What the scans give us is a window into how the game was made in 1966, the materials, the methods, the craft of a ball stitched by hand in a Yorkshire factory. It's also a measure of just how far the technology has travelled to reach the Trionda of 2026.

"We're a museum committed to educating ourselves and others, and to translating objects behind glass into stories people can get inside. As such, my thanks go to the University of Manchester for their expertise and curiosity that have created such a brilliant insight for our visitors and beyond. If you haven't seen it already, come and witness a slice of history for yourself."

The studies, published in on 29 July, were performed using mouse models of this largely incurable disease by a team from the Centre for Nanotechnology in Medicine and the Geoffrey Jefferson Brain Research Centre at Ģ����Ƶ.

Glioblastoma is the most common and most aggressive brain cancer in adults and currently has no cure. Neurosurgeons will typically first remove the tumour, before treating the patient with chemoradiotherapy 4 to 6 weeks later. Because glioblastoma cells infiltrate deep into healthy brain tissue, some will always remain after surgery, fuelling the near‑inevitable return of disease, most times regrowing at the rim of the surgical resection.

The research, spearheaded by postdoctoral associate at Ģ����Ƶ Dr Lorena Fernandes, showed experimentally that the blood‑brain barrier is disrupted after surgery, opening two short‑lived therapeutic windows at the resection margin — immediately after the operation and again 48–72 hours later. Using different mouse models and performing precise neurosurgery to remove the growing glioblastoma tumours from their brains, the team tracked fluorescently labelled, liposomal nanoparticles injected into the blood stream during the time-windows identified. The particles homed in on the resection margin with remarkable precision while other brain regions with an intact barrier showed almost no uptake.

Lipid nanoparticle medicines are based on tiny lipid-based nanoscale carriers that can ferry different cancer drugs (such as chemotherapies, radiotherapies, mRNA therapies) directly to tumours so the medicine targets the cancer cells alone. They are used to treat different types of cancer, but until now they have not been shown to be effective against this difficult to treat disease.

Chemotherapies have also largely failed in this disease due to poor crossing of the blood-brain barrier, and minimal amounts can reach the few cancer cells left over from surgery. By loading these liposome nanoparticles with the chemotherapy drug doxorubicin, the team was able to exploit these newly identified post-operative windows to achieve precise delivery in the brain, exactly where needed. Across different mouse models, a single injection of this liposomal drug was able to suppress recurrence and control the disease with little toxicity.the first half of your story here.

Principal Investigator , CRUK Career Development Fellow at Ģ����Ƶ said: “For the first time, we’ve shown that glioblastoma surgery briefly exposes a vulnerability we can exploit. If treatment is timed during specific windows we identified, it is able to halt the disease significantly before it regrows.

“We suggest that the hours and days immediately after surgery may hold the key to stopping glioblastoma from returning.

“It also raises the possibility that other established medicines could be redeployed in smarter, more strategic ways.”

Co-Principal Investigator of the studies, from Ģ����Ƶ and the Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology in Barcelona said: “The study has the potential to open a new frontier in postoperative cancer care.

“We propose the re-framing of post-operative treatment that uses the latest nanoparticle-based medicines, including lipid nanoparticle drugs, immunotherapies, or genetic therapies, to target the rim of the surgical resection, which is the area of the brain where the tumour generally recurs, compromising survival.

“We hope and actively fund-raise for the next stage in the development of this technology to move on from preclinical mouse models and trial this potentially redefining therapeutic approach in patients.”

• The study was funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and the Rosetrees Trust both in the UK, and the Severo Ochoa Centres of Excellence programme in Spain.
• The paper Targeting therapeutic nanoparticles to the glioblastoma resection margin by 6 harnessing post-operative blood-brain barrier disruption is published on on 29 July. DOI

Key findings

• Many older residents want to "age in place" in the communities where they have built their lives, but many feel excluded from discussions about the future of their neighbourhoods.
• Residents expressed concerns that regeneration could lead to gentrification, exclusion and division, and questioned whether new homes and amenities would benefit existing communities.
• Community spaces, local shops and faith settings provide vital social infrastructure, helping older people maintain social connections and access informal support.
• Everyday encounters between people from different ethnic, cultural and generational backgrounds help create belonging, familiarity and continuity as neighbourhoods change.
• The researchers warn that regeneration should protect and strengthen existing communities, with investment directed towards community organisations as well as new buildings and infrastructure.

North Manchester is undergoing one of the largest programmes of urban regeneration in the country. The £6 billion North Manchester Strategy includes the redevelopment of North Manchester General Hospital, a new mental health facility and the Victoria North housing development, while other major schemes are planned across the area.

Victoria North alone is expected to deliver up to 15,000 new homes over 15 to 20 years, and has been selected as one of the Government's New Towns Initiative sites.

What the researchers say

The researchers say the scale of investment presents a major opportunity to improve health and wellbeing, but warn that the benefits must be shared with the communities already living in the area.

"Regeneration could potentially bring enormous benefits to communities, but it is vital that we don't lose sight of the people who already live in these places,” said Dr Camilla Lewis from Ģ����Ƶ's Manchester Urban Ageing Research Group. "Older people have deep connections to their neighbourhoods and have built up knowledge, relationships and networks over many years. These are valuable assets for regeneration, not obstacles to it.”

The research found that community organisations and volunteers play a significant role in supporting older people, particularly from ethnically minoritised backgrounds, helping to reduce the effects of social isolation, poor health, financial pressures or language barriers

Community spaces also provide opportunities for interaction between people from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds, helping to maintain a sense of connection as neighbourhoods change.

The researchers warn that these forms of ‘social infrastructure’ can be overlooked when regeneration focuses primarily on physical development.

They are calling for investment to be directed towards existing community organisations alongside new housing and infrastructure, and for regeneration to be designed collaboratively with older people.

"Regeneration needs to start by understanding what is already valuable about a place - its people, its relationships, its cultural diversity and the spaces where communities come together,” said Dr Niamh Kavanagh from Ģ����Ƶ. "Our research shows that these everyday connections matter enormously to older people. They can provide a sense of belonging and continuity at a time when neighbourhoods are undergoing profound change.”

"The challenge is to make sure that regeneration strengthens these connections rather than unintentionally disrupting them.”

The report recommends that future regeneration should be equitable, embedded within existing communities, designed collaboratively with older people, culturally sensitive and supported by sustained investment in social infrastructure.

The researchers say the lessons from North Manchester are relevant to the wider UK as cities and towns respond simultaneously to an ageing population, housing pressures and major programmes of urban development.

The study was carried out over 12 months and involved 41 interviews with older residents, community organisations and regeneration stakeholders, two focus groups and four creative co-production projects involving more than 50 older people. The research focused primarily on Cheetham Hill and Crumpsall, while also considering the wider North Manchester area.

Publication details

Read the full Ageing, inequality and urban regeneration: Collaborative research with older people living in North Manchester report .