Last night marked the Access to Understanding 2014 science-writing competition award ceremony. At its heart, the competition is a celebration. It celebrates the commitment and enthusiasm of early career researchers to share scientific advances with an interested public audience.
We are pleased to announce the launch of our first ever People’s Choice Award for the Access to Understanding science-writing competition! This award gives you – the public – the opportunity to read our shortlisted entries and have your say.
The Access to Understanding science-writing competition 2014 attracted over 260 entrants. As an international competition we were thrilled to receive entries from 14 different countries. This map pinpoints the different cities around the world from which we received entries. Over 80% of our entrants were from the United Kingdom- with entries coming from as far north as Aberdeen.
by Emma Pewsey Winner, Access to Understanding 2013 This post is particularly aimed at those of you who are thinking about entering the Access to Understanding competition who have never entered a science writing competition before. Access to Understanding is the perfect first-time competition to enter.
We are thrilled that you are considering entering Europe PMC’s Access to Understanding science writing competition, in partnership with The British Library. If you are an early career researcher and have not already decided this competition is for you, let me remind you of a few elements that make this competition unique.
Access to Understanding is a prestigious, international science-writing competition aimed at PhD students and early career post-doctoral researchers, developed by Europe PubMed Central and The British Library.
by Emma Pewsey (University of Cambridge, UK) Winner of Access to Understanding 2013 X-rays can now be used not only to show where bones have fractured, but also to investigate why these bones break in the first place. Results suggest the possibility of preventing the trauma of thousands of broken hips using drugs already commonly used for treating osteoporosis. Normal healthy bones can be thought of as nature’s scaffold poles.
By Claire Sand (King’s College London, UK) Awarded joint 2nd prize for Access to Understanding 2013 For years scientists have attempted to harness the potential of stem cells for repairing damaged blood vessels. The tendency of stem cells to cause cancer, however, has meant that progress has been limited.
By Ian Le Guillou (University of Cambridge, UK) Awarded joint 2nd prize for Access to Understanding 2013 A mutation that allows cells to grow out of control could also provide a new way to target and destroy cancer cells.
by Nina Rzechorzek (University of Edinburgh, UK) Short-listed for Access to Understanding 2013 How do nerve cells die? Many human diseases involve degeneration of the nervous system – a system of interconnecting nerve cells, allowing us to sense and respond to our environment. All of these disorders are incurable and fatal. Most of them share a common feature – aggregation of abnormal protein within nerve cells.
