20 June 2013

Celebrate 100 years of medical breakthroughs funded by you

Nearly half (44 per cent) of people in Scotland don't know their taxes fund medical research, according to a new YouGov survey run by the UK's oldest research council, the Medical Research Council (MRC). The results of the on-line survey of 2,190 UK adults were announced today on the official one hundredth birthday of the MRC, which boasts 29 Nobel Prize winners and a host of medical breakthroughs, all funded by the public purse.

To celebrate 100 years of life-saving science, MRC research centres across Scotland are opening their doors - inviting the public in or bringing their science out to local communities to showcase the fruits of their labour. A range of different events, talks, experiments and exhibitions will be held today and over the next two weeks to tell the hidden story of health improvements funded by the Scottish taxpayer through the MRC and to introduce the remarkable scientists who make it all happen.

Scottish people are the most likely to know how big a contribution they've made to improving our health through their taxes, compared with other areas across the UK. 56 per cent of people know they're taxes fund medical research in Scotland compared with the lowest UK figure in the East Midlands of only 41 per cent. Only a quarter of people in Scotland say they've met a medical research scientist, despite the fact that life changing science often happens right on their doorstep. When asked which disease or condition they would study if they were a medical research scientist, people in Scotland gave a full spectrum of issues close to their heart, with cancer and dementia being the most common.

Sir John Savill, Chief Executive of the Medical Research Council, said, 'It's important for people to know how crucial their own money has been in uncovering health improvements that have saved millions of lives. If I asked the person on the street, 'did you know you've helpedinventthe MRI scanner and DNA fingerprinting,or helped make skin grafts work or proved the link between smoking and cancer?' - he'd probably look blankly at me. And these discoveries are just the tip of the iceberg of what the taxpayer has funded- through the MRC - over the course of its history. On the MRC's100 year birthday today, I'd like everyone to celebrate their own contribution to making the UK a world leader in medical research. Long may MRC-funded research continue to have such an impact on the health and wealth of the UK and beyond.'

Here are just a few of the events taking place in Scotland over the MRC centenary celebrations:

Events in Dundee

• 21 June - 'I Am Breathing' documentary to be screened at Dundee Contemporary Arts followed by a short presentation and question and answer session on motor neurone disease. A collaboration between Dundee Contemporary Arts and the MRC Protein Phosphorylation and Ubiquitylation Unit, College of Life Sciences, University of Dundee.
• 24 June - 'Understanding cancer' morning session at MRC Protein Phosphorylation and Ubiquitylation Unit, College of Life Sciences, University of Dundeewith talks by three researchers, a Q and A session, and a tour of the research facilities hosted by Professor John Rouse, Dr Vicky Cowling and Dr Ian Ganley.
• 26 June - MRC Protein Phosphorylation and Ubiquitylation Unit, College of Life Sciences, University of Dundee. 'Parkinson's disease', organised in collaboration with Parkinson's UK. An opportunity for patients and families to hear about the exciting research being undertaken in Dundee followed by a tour of the research facilities.

Detailed information about the range of events happening in locations across the UK is available at www.centenary.mrc.ac.uk/events.

For further information or to request an interview please call the MRC Press Office on 0207 395 2345 or e-mail press.office@headoffice.mrc.ac.uk

Notes to Editors

1. The Medical Research Council has been at the forefront of scientific discovery to improve human health. Founded in 1913 to tackle tuberculosis, the MRC now invests taxpayers' money in some of the best medical research in the world across every area of health. Twenty-nine MRC-funded researchers have won Nobel prizes in a wide range of disciplines, and MRC scientists have been behind such diverse discoveries as vitamins, the structure of DNA and the link between smoking and cancer, as well as achievements such as pioneering the use of randomised controlled trials, the invention of MRI scanning, and the development of a group of antibodies used in the making of some of the most successful drugs ever developed. Today, MRC-funded scientists tackle some of the greatest health problems facing humanity in the 21st century, from the rising tide of chronic diseases associated with ageing to the threats posed by rapidly mutating micro-organisms. www.mrc.ac.uk. The MRC Centenary Timeline chronicles 100 years of life-changing discoveries and shows how our research has had a lasting influence on healthcare and wellbeing in the UK and globally, right up to the present day. www.centenary.mrc.ac.uk

2. All figures are from YouGov Plc.

3. Scottish city specific data from the YouGovSurvey for the MRC Centenary:

Edinburgh
The figures have been weighted and are representative of adults in Edinburgh (aged 18+).
* Of the 200 people asked in Edinburgh - do you think the following statement is true or false: 'UK taxpayers fund medical research in the UK'- 43% of people answered 'False' or 'Don't know'.
* Of the 200 people asked in Edinburgh - Have you ever met a research scientist, 38% of people said yes.
* Of the 200 people asked in Edinburgh - If you were a medical research scientist which one area (e.g. medical condition, disease etc.) would you choose to do medical research in? The most common answers were cancer (33%) and dementia (8%).
* Of the 200 people asked in Edinburgh - Before taking this survey had you heard of the Medical Research Council (MRC)? 70% said they had.

Glasgow
The figures have been weighted and are representative of adults in Glasgow (aged 18+).
* Of the 100 people asked in Glasgow - Do you think the following statement is true or false: 'UK taxpayers fund medical research in the UK' 40% of people answered 'False' or 'Don't know'.
* Of the 100 people asked in Glasgow -Have you ever met a research scientist, 37% of people said yes.
* Of the 100 people asked in Glasgow -If you were a medical research scientist which one area (e.g. medical condition, disease etc.) would you choose to do medical research in? The most common answers were cancer (30%) and dementia (11%).
* Of the 100 people asked in Glasgow - Before taking this survey had you heard of the Medical Research Council (MRC)? 62% said they had.

Dundee
The figures are NOT representative of adults in city (aged 18+).
* Of the 90 people asked in Dundee do you think the following statement is true or false: 'UK taxpayers fund medical research in the UK' - 48% of people answered 'False' or 'Don't know'.
* Of the 90 people asked in Dundee -Have you ever met a research scientist 38% of people said yes.
* Of the 90 people asked in Dundee -If you were a medical research scientist which one area (e.g. medical condition, disease etc.) would you choose to do medical research in? The most common answers were cancer (28%) and dementia (9%).
* Of the 90 people asked in Dundee - Before taking this survey had you heard of the Medical Research Council (MRC)? 52% said they had.

4. Key MRC fundedbreakthroughs over its 100 year history
1916 Rickets is caused by a lack of vitamin D
1929 The importance of vitamins for growth and health
1933 Discovery of the flu virus>br /> 1940s Development of penicillin as a drug
Randomised controlled trial design pioneered
1946 First ever British cohort study - following the lives and health of a group of people born in one particular week in 1946 for 66 years.
1953 Structure of DNA unravelled
1956 Smoking causes cancer proven
1960s Skin graft breakthrough (Nobel Prize)
Clinical trials of radiotherapy for cancer.
Clinical trials of chemotherapy for leukemia.
1970s Invented MRI scanners
Invention of of monoclonal antibody production
1970s/1980s High blood pressure causes heart disease and strokes.
1983 Link proven between asbestos and cancer.
1984 DNA fingerprinting invented
1991 Folic acid cuts risk of neural tube defects and spina bifida.
1995 Deep brain stimulation treatment for Parkinson's disease
2000 Human genome sequenced
2001 Statins cut risk of strokes and heart attacks
2002 Hib disease eradicated in The Gambia
2007 Discovery that thin people can be dangerously fat on the inside
2010 Cooling prevents brain damage in new-borns.

5. YouGov General Omnibus Survey - Total sample size was 2190 adults, of which 199 were in Scotland. Fieldwork was undertaken between 13th-15th May 2013. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all UK adults (aged 18+).

6. YouGov City Bus Survey - Total sample sizes were 200 adults in Edinburgh / 100 in Glasgow/ 90 in Dundee. Fieldwork was undertaken between 13th - 18th May 2013. The survey was carried out online. The figures for Glasgow and Edinburgh have been weighted and are representative of all adults in Glasgow/ Edinburgh (aged 18+)

7. When asked the question do you think the following statement is true or false : 'UK taxpayers fund medical research in the UK' the following percentage of people answered 'False' or 'Don't know':

Location % of people unaware UK taxpayers fund medical research
East Midlands 59%
South West 55%
Yorkshire and the Humber 54%
South East 54%
East of England 51%
West Midlands 50%
North West 50%
London 49%
North East 49%
Northern Ireland 48%
Wales 46%
Scotland 44%

For media enquiries contact:
Roddy Isles
Head, Press Office
University of Dundee
Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN
TEL: 01382 384910
E-MAIL: r.isles@dundee.ac.uk
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