Joint winter meeting of anatomical societies in Cardiff, December 19-21st - Earlybird registration extended until Monday 28th November.After this date there will be a £10 surcharge on all registration fees. Please go to: www.anatsocmeeting.co.uk to register. 

The annual prize for the best paper published in the journal Aging Cell in 2010 (Volume 9) has been awarded to Dr. Chen-Yu Liao and co-authors for their paper describing the "Genetic variation in the murine lifespan response to dietary restriction: from life extension to life shortening". Honorable mention also go to runners-up Dr. S. Liang and others for their paper on tumorigenesis in the naked mole rats and Dr. Y. Kanfi and colleagues for their paper on SIRT6 and obesity. 

Congratulations to the following four members who have been awarded Anatomical Society Studentships in support of their research to commence 1st October 2011:
Dr Clare Baker, University of Cambridge
Professor Arthur Butt, University of Portsmouth
Dr Martin Collinson, University of Aberdeen
Professor Jamie Davies, University of Edinburgh 

Congratulations to Drs: Alanna Stanley (NUI, Galway), Kirsty Richardson (Cardiff University), Hannah Shaw (Cardiff University) and Shiby Stephens (Cardiff University) who have successfully completed all four modules of the 2008-10 Anatomical Society/American Association of Anatomists Anatomy Training Programme 

‘The Anatomy of a Rugby Player' is a two minute trailer filmed at Swansea University’s School of Medicine and features Dr Jo Bishop (Lecturer in Anatomy) who takes us through each key player type, explaining why their physique makes them such a great proponent of their sport. read more ...

Professor Darrell Evans of Brighton and Sussex Medical School and a former Honorary Treasurer of the Society has been recruited to the Inside Nature's Giants team to provide expertise on human anatomy for the web content. read more ...

This masters course in Human Anatomy is designed to provide a complete dissection-based, study of the human body, augmented with specific training in preservation and handling of the body, ethics of human dissection and importandly, specific training in how to teach.  For further details, go to the Vacancies page of the website. 

The University of Edinburgh has announced that it has vacancies for fully-funded PhD studentships starting in September 2011.  The deadline for expressions of interest is Wednesday, 15 December 2010.  For further details, go to the Vacancies page of the website. 

Writing in the October issue of the Journal of Anatomy, Anatomical Society Research Student Siobhan Moyes and co-workers found that when Caco-2 cells are grown in an enterocyte-like monolayer in functional association with a compartmentally separate macrophage culture population, transepithelial resistance in the monolayer reduces and uptake of microparticulates increases. You can read more about their findings in the current issue of the journal or you can log on to http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1469-7580 

Monozygotic female twins aged over 50years have provided us with the latest insight into the role of oestrogen in aging-associated loss in muscle tissue. Paula Ronkainen and colleagues have just reported their findings from studies which show that hormone replacement therapy improves muscle tissue during ageing by, among other things, orchestrating a switch from glucose-oriented metabolism to fatty acid utilisation. The full paper is published in the current October issue of Aging Cell which can be accessed online at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1474-9726 

Enjoy... 

There were joint winners of the latest Best Image Prize Award. Dr. Jon Colinson for his image (left) "E16.5 paw muscles" and Mr. Daniel Tams for his image (right) "Neurosphere". More details and larger images here.

 

On 14th December at 21.00 the documentary "Donated to Science" is going to be broadcast on BBC4. This documentary follows several people who donate their bodies to the Otago Medical School for dissection and the students who work on them. When it was shown in New Zealand it changed the way people see anatomy teaching and body bequests. A link to a clip of the film is provided here but you may need to download additional software to view it. 

19th-21st December 2011 at the University of Cardiff. Registration now open 

Congratulations to Helen Meadows and to Seaneen Tennent on being awarded Barclay-Smith Travelling Grants. The awards will go to support their attendance and participation at the Winter meeting of the Society in Cardiff from 19-21 December 2011. 

Applications are currently being invited from prospective supervisors for Research Studentships to commence in October 2012. These Studentships provide basic maintenance and fees for postgraduate students working towards the award of a higher degree in the anatomical and related sciences, including anatomical education research, within British or Irish universities. The closing date for applications is Friday 14 October 2011. Further information and application form here. 

The Royal Society is offering a number of funding opportunities for researchers in the life and physical sciences (excluding clinical medicine). There is a current call for research grants for "seed corn" funding for new projects initiated by research scientists at an early stage of their career (within the first 5 years) with the aim of increasing the availability of specialised equipment, consumable materials and services: deadline is 7 June 2011 (more details here). The deadline for the international exchanges scheme for UK scientists who wish to undertake a collaboration with scientists overseas through either a one-off visit or bilateral travel is 30 June 2011 (more details here). 

The Anatomical Society is seeking to appoint up to 4 Editors-in-Chief for its prestigious publication the Journal of Anatomy. The Editors-in-Chief will be appointed for 5 years in the first instance. The appointments carry academic honoraria. The closing date for applications is 16th May 2011. More information here 

Details of the projects for which recent Anatomical Society Studentships were awarded are now published here. These studentships are due to commence 1st October 2011. 

The Anatomical Society is delighted to announce the award of four new research studentships. Awards to Prof John Aplin (university of Manchester), Dr Gavin Clowry (University of Newcastle), Prof Tom Gillingwater (University of Edinburgh) and Prof Andrew Pitsillides (Royal Veterinary College London) will fund graduate studentships beginning October 2012. These awards are the outcome of the Society’s annual studentship competition open to its members More information here.

 

Deadline for abstracts extended to 31st October. More information  

The Nuffield Council on Bioethics will publish a report on the ethical issues related to body donations on Tuesday 11 October 2011, 14:00-17:00 (lunch from 13:00) at the Royal Festival Hall, Belvedere Road, London, SE1 8XX. Admission is free but must be booked in advance. Click here for details. 

Society member Caitin Rutland has just reported back from the 6th Young Generation European Veterinary Congress held in July 2011 in the School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham. Supported by a Symington grant from the Society, Dr Rutland along with 45 participants from 15 countries presented and shared experiences and ideas in anatomical education and veterinary anatomy teaching. The meeting was also supported by a 2010 Society Departmental Seminar Award. You will be able to read Dr Rutland's report here 

Leonardo da Vinci: Anatomy, The Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace
4 May – 7 October 2012 more information

Ten Drawings by Leonardo da Vinci: A Diamond Jubilee Celebration
A Royal Collection touring exhibition to Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Dundee and Hull during 2012 more information 

The Anatomical Society was recently involved in the Joint Meeting of the Anatomical Societies. Held on the 19-22nd May in Bursa, Turkey. With seven other societies involved it was a great meeting of minds. The society was well represented with individuals presenting research, including PhD students. Further details of the conference including abstracts and photos can be found here. The meeting even made the Turkish national press! Click here 

An important and interesting debate on funding for medical students, bursary support, admissions versus socioeconomic class, provisions for clinical placements and the impact of graduate-entry medical students is outlined here. 

"All research, however good its intentions, necessarily involves risks," Oxford University neuroscience professor Colin Blakemore explained at a workshop on "ethical dilemmas in brain research" held by Parliament’s Science and Technology Options Assessment (STOA) team. However as all speakers noted, that doesn’t make the choices researchers face any easier. More information here. 

The 11th -20th March 2011 is National Science and Engineering week. Many events around the country are being held to highlight how science is related to everyday life. Of course, many events include the anatomical sciences, to find events in your area or to register an event follow this link.
 

Professor Darrell Evans of the Brighton and Sussex Medical School talked briefly with Simon Mayo on his early evening Radio 2 show on 15th February, discussing cartilage and whether or not ears grow as we get older.
 

As part of the Society’s departmental seminar awards series, Dr Jenny Skidmore will be hosting an Anatomical Society seminar and symposium in the University of Southampton on Wednesday 9 May 2012. Keynote speaker Professor Darrell Evans will be presenting a talk entitled “anatomy learning journey”. For more information about the seminar, click here. 

Professor Gillian Morris-Kay edits her final issue of the Journal of Anatomy as Editor-in-Chief this month. The Society and Anastomosis are enormously grateful to Professor Morris-Kay for the long and wonderful service to the journal and wish her well in future endeavours. You can read Professor Morris-Kay’s valedictory editorial in the January issue of the journal at: Wiley Online 

New advice and guidance on making and using clinical healthcare recordings funded by the Strategic Content Alliance for learning and teaching has been launched. Clinical images, videos and other recordings are vital to good teaching and learning within the health care professions but increasingly these are originated outside the institution that wishes to use them which raises a number of legal, ethical and other issues relating to their re-use. Read advice and guidance here  

Nuffield Council on Bioethics have published a report entitled "Human bodies: donation for medicine and research" which considers how far society should go towards encouraging body and organ donations. The report floats the idea that funeral expenses for donors should be paid - as a "form of recognition from society". You can read more here 

The Heads of University Centres of Biomedical Science have warned that a lack of biomedical scientists on one of the subpanels for the research excellence framework has caused "grave concerns" over the credibility of the exercise. You can read more about this in Sarah Cunnane's report published in Times Higher Education here 

Professor Bernard Moxham, our Education Officer, as President of the International Associations of Anatomists (IFAA), has published a "2011 Message to Anatomists and Associations of Anatomists" which can be found in the latest July 2011 IFAA newsletter.  

The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) has launched a call for applications to a new Young Academy of Scotland. The RSE, Scotland’s National Academy of Science and Letters, with a history dating back to 1783, is seeking to encourage the current generation of young academics and professionals to contribute to solving the challenges of the current age. Read more about this at here. 

Your cross-disciplinary grant application has been rejected. Do you wonder if specialist reviewers really grasped its scope? Would you feel more, or less, confident in the process if reviewers were paid? A guide ‘The European Peer Review Guide’ released last week surveys the range of practices in Europe — and offers suggestions for improvement. Read more about this in Nature 473, 17 (2011) or here. 

The EU Clinical Trials Register (more information here) was launched by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). The online register gives for the first time public access to information on interventional clinical trials for medicines authorised in the 27 EU Member States and Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. The database also allows the public to search for information on clinical trials authorised to be carried out outside the EU if these trials are part of a paediatric investigation plan (more information here). 

The deadline for abstracts submission for the Joint Anatomical Societies meeting in Bursa, Turkey 19-22nd May, 2010 has been extended until 28th February.
Full details available here

Applications for Symington bequests for travel to Bursa encouraged.
Further information here
 

The Academy of Medical Sciences has advocated the establishment of a new Health Research Agency to regulate all health research in the UK. In a report entitled ‘A new pathway for the regulation and governance of health research’, the Academy describes the current system as "a disaster stifling medical advances", attributing the blame for the decline in research to beaurocratic processes. You can read their report here.
 

A ‘spiral’ curriculum characterizes the graduate entry medicine programme at Swansea University College of Medicine. Along with a strong offering of graduate programmes in biochemistry, genetics and trauma surgery in the medical school, anatomy in Swansea is host to researchers and clinician educators whose interests include cartilage cell biology, podcast development, and post-traumatic stress disorder. You can read more at www.anatsoc.org.uk/research.aspx 

Performing Medicine provides training to medical students and healthcare practitioners using the performing and visual arts. It consists a series of conversations, performances and workshops inspired by the theme of anatomy featuring brilliant artists, anatomists, medics and thinkers. The President of the Anatomical Society, Prof. Ceri Davies and the previous President, Prof. Susan Standring are contributors. More Information
 

The Bioscience Teacher of the Year Award seeks to identify the UK’s leading bioscience university teachers recognising the invaluable role played by Teachers in Higher Education. The award will be managed by the Society of Biology and the deadline for applications is 2/12/11. Further Details 

Research Councils UK is currently inviting applications to fill a number of vacancies on the governing councils of five of the research councils in 2012. The closing date for receipt of applications is 14 November 2011. Click here for further details. 

Planning for this exciting joint meeting of UK, USA and Spanish Anatomical Societies is well underway. We are pleased to announce a list of confirmed speakers for the Symposium on Motor Neurones and Motor Neurone Diseases, which will be the major component of the meeting. Please see here for further details. 

The UK Department for Education has launched a call for evidence for the National Curriculum Review. All interested parties are being invited to contribute to the review which will lead to the development of the new National Curriculum. A further call for evidence will be issued in early 2012 for phase 2 of the review. You can read more about this here.
 

Society archivist Professor Laurence Garey has written a fascinating historical treatise on the brain, the soul and the mind (Bumps or holes: the seat of the soul). Take for example Descartes description of the pain reflex: "Put your foot in a fire: the flame burns the skin, which pulls a string, which opens a pore in a ventricle letting 'animal spirit' flow through a hollow tube to a leg muscle, and the foot withdraws". You can read the full text of his illustrated exploration of history through Plato, Democritus, Edwin Smith, al Razi, and Broca at Society newsletter 

The NewScientist has published an article that explores the simplicity of stem cells as a means of avoiding the genetic "trickery" favored by current approaches. You can read more here 

The STFC’s Education, Training and Careers Committee have made recommendations on the allocations of forthcoming PhD studentships in light of the comprehensive spending review; favouring university departments which have a proven record of completion within 4 years. Allocations will drop by 10% for departments with 50-69% completion, and will be reduced by 20% for departments with less than 50% completion. Read more here. 
 

The Royal Society have released an update on their funding opportunities, which include Early and Senior Career Fellowships, and Innovation awards. For full details and links

 

The Society of Biology is running a program of research bursaries for biology undergraduates to allow them gain experience in research and encourage them to consider a career in scientific research. The program, which is also open to postdoctoral researchers and new lecturers still in the early stages of their careers, is run in conjunction with a number of research societies and the Nuffield Foundation. 60 awards are available and more details can be found at the Society of Biology webpage. Closing date for application is 5pm Friday 30th March 2012. 

There will be an education symposium at Charles Darwin House in London from March 27-29, 2012 organized by the Society for Experimental Biology in association with the HE Academy. The meeting is open to teachers and researchers and all attendees will be eligible to apply for HEA grants to cover the full cost of their travel (see http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/travel-fund for more details). To register for the meeting, visit the Society for Experimental Biology registration webpage.