Science for Discovery

The 15th Annual Schools Science Conference was held on 18th April 2018 at University of Westminster

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Welcome to
Science for Discovery

The theme of the 15th Schools Science Conference is Science for Discovery

The theme will illustrate that science has always played a vital role in new developments in the NHS; cutting-edge treatments such as gene therapy, new diagnostic tests among others.

With the current financial constraints, planning for the future will have to consider how essential science and scientific development can be delivered in a cost effective manner.

As most people are aware, the NHS is stretched financially more than ever before.
So there is even more necessity for the science of discovery to address how we can treat more patients with better treatments for less money.
Scientists must choose wisely when pursuing pathways for research to ensure that the outcomes will be cost-effective.
An example of this can be found with the Newborn Screening program for babies.
In the UK we currently screen newborn babies for a number of different diseases, including cystic fibrosis, sickle cell anaemia and some metabolic disorders.
A new plan is underway to introduce screening for a rare, and fatal if untreated, disease called Severe Combined Immunodeficiency (SCID).
This leads to babies having a highly defective immune system and around 60% of these babies end up in intensive care in hospitals for long periods before finally dying from infection.
However when we know at birth the baby might have SCID (because an older brother or sister had SCID and it is a genetic condition) we save nearly all the babies using bone marrow transplants or gene therapy as a cure.
Scientists have developed a SCID Newborn Screening test that can be carried out on all newborn babies to find the affected infants shortly after birth and before they become ill.
In this way we hope to both ensure nearly all babies with SCID are treated and survive to become normal healthy adults, and also save the NHS money by avoiding the need for sick babies to have prolonged stays in intensive care units in specialist hospitals.
Maybe you could be the scientist that develops the next test that saves lives …