Strictly Science: Exhibition celebrating 100 years of MRC achievements
A free interactive exhibition celebratinga century of progress led by the Medical Research Council (MRC) opens to the public today.Running from 5thto 14th April at Imperial College London,theexhibitionStrictly Scienceinvites visitors to engage in the past, present and future of medical research. The public can watch scientists conduct century-old experiments and interact with contemporary neurotechnologists investigating the brain. This is a rare opportunity to learn about the enormous contribution taxpayer revenue has made, and continues to make, to medical practice in Britain and worldwide.
The origins of the state funding for medical research can be traced back to 1911, when Parliament passed the National Insurance Act, introduced by David Lloyd George, then Chancellor of the Exchequer. This helped tackle the tuberculosis epidemic, creating a national fund for medical research with a penny per working person per year. When the cure for TB was discovered in 1944, the MRC conducted the first ever large-scale randomised controlled trial to assess the antibiotic streptomycin on patients. This established an international blueprint for drug testing, still in use today.
The exhibition showcases key historical achievements including MRC’s role in:
- helping to reduce the death rate of tuberculosis in the UK by 99.5%. In 1911 the epidemic had killed almost 50,000 people in England and Wales. In 2011 approximately 250 TB-related deaths were recorded.
- supporting the development of the first anti-typhoid vaccine by Sir Almroth Wright, which saved the lives of over 100,000 soldiers in WWI from death by disease.
- identifying vitamin-deficiency diseases and the curative potential of vitamins: Dame Harriette Chick showed that cod-liver oil and sunshine cured rickets (Vitamin D deficiency) in malnourished children in postwar Vienna
- pioneering the first Therapeutic Substances Act in 1925, which set international drug safety standards, through the work of Sir Henry Dale
Strictly Science, a collaboration between UK design studio Haberdashery and the MRC Clinical Sciences Centre features a series of interactive installations across three main zones, inviting members of the public, young and old alike, to explore the significant past and current achievements of the MRC, and to speculate on the future of medical science.
A century-old laboratory installation reenactsseminal experiments by Henry Dale, Almroth Wright and Harriette Chick, on the nervous system, war-wound treatment and vitamin-deficiency disease, respectively. A contemporary neurotechnology lab invites visitors to play with interactive experimental tools – Wii balance boards, eye-trackers, and a motion capture suit – used by Imperial College London’s Dr Aldo Faisal to investigate how the human brain works.
A sound installation explores our hopes and fears for the next century. Featuring opinions from Melvyn Bragg, Susan Greenfield, Jon Snow, Robert Winston and many more, alongside those of UK primary school children, the exhibit asks ‘What will the world be like in 2113’? Future booths invite visitors to share their views and contribute to a growing archive of future perspectives.
Strictly Science not only celebrates 100 years of progress in medical research, but accentuates how knowledge gained through basic research shapes our life in general, from culture and commerce to politics.
Strictly Science opens daily10.00 – 18.00from5 – 14 April 2013 in the Exhibition Road foyer of Imperial College London, South Kensington
For more information go to www.strictlyscience.mrc.ac.uk
