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Achievements

Sir Richard Gregory In this section you can read summaries of achievements by MRC-funded researchers over the last decade, listed by year. These have been selected from more than 2,000 MRC research findings that are published each year in peer-reviewed scientific journals.

2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001


Prion disease could be combated with monoclonal antibodies  - 2003
UK scientists have made established proof of principle that the development of prion disease can be prevented in mice using monoclonal antibodies.

Gene mutations found to cause rare eye condition  - 2003
Mutations in a gene called SOX2 have been identified as one of the causes of babies being born with bilateral anophthalmia (without eyes) and could control the development of the eye.

Sex education alone not enough to affect teenage behaviour  - 2003
One of the world’s largest studies on the impact of sex education delivered by teachers shows that well-designed programmes are better received by 13-15 year-olds, but do not necessarily affect the decisions they make about sex.

Hope for people with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy  - 2003
A new approach which effectively patches over genetic defects offers hope of treatment to people with the terminal illness, Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Ovarian cancer survival improves with chemotherapy after surgery  - 2003
The combined results of two clinical trials have shown that women with early ovarian cancer have a better chance of survival after surgery if they are treated immediately with platinum compound based chemotherapy.

Screening men for abdominal aneurysms can reduce mortality  - 2003
Research shows that abdominal ultrasound screening in men for abdominal aortic aneurysms reduces mortality by 52 per cent.

Genetic makeup linked to anti-social behaviour in men  - 2003
Research shows that the presence of a specific gene increases the likelihood of a maltreated male child developing anti-social behaviour.

Oesophageal cancer survival rates improved by chemotherapy before surgery  - 2003
Giving chemotherapy before surgery to patients with cancer of the oesophagus lengthens their lives.

Ovarian cancer drugs evaluated  - 2003
Treating women who have ovarian cancer initially with standard chemotherapy drugs is as effective as adding the drug paclitaxel (Taxol) to those treatments and causes fewer side effects.

Development of asthma linked to specific gene  - 2003
A gene, known as ADAM33, has been found to be one of the causes of the development of asthma.

Children as young as eight benefit from dental braces  - 2003
Children as young as eight who have prominent front teeth can benefit physically, socially and psychologically from having dental braces fitted.

Smoking causes half the tuberculosis deaths in Indian men  - 2003
Half the male tuberculosis deaths in India are caused by smoking, and three quarters of the smokers who become ill with tuberculosis would not have done so if they had not smoked.