• Question: Do you think your work has an impact on society and how?

    Asked by glacierbunnys to David, Rebecca, Simon, Verity, Wei on 16 Jun 2011. This question was also asked by charlotte1998, kerry101, bellej97, sambo1112, hopeh001.
    • Photo: Rebecca Handley

      Rebecca Handley answered on 14 Jun 2011:

      Yes definitely! My job is to reduce the number of infections a bacteria causes each year. Treating infections costs the NHS a lot of money, and people can die from complications from these infections. I like to think my research in the long term will help save lives and save money that the NHS can use on other things.

    • Photo: Wei Xun

      Wei Xun answered on 14 Jun 2011:

      Hi there!

      That’s a great question!

      You might not know this, but some of the decisions the governments around the world make which affect their citizens are not always based on science, or if they are, scientific evidence only play a small part.

      I can give you an example of the re-classification of illegal drugs by the last government. The government commissioned a study to see how much harm each drug causes in this country, fully expecting that illegal drugs such as LSD and cannabis and ecstasy to do a lot of harm. But the academic, Prof Nutt who did the study compared these to what we might not think as obvious drugs: alcohol and tobacco. It turns out that alcohol was more harmful for us as a population, simply because it’s so widely used by everyone that more people can be affected, directly and indirectly. So prof Nutt was sacked by the department of health, and the report was pretty much ignored as it wasnot popular for the politicians to appear weak against drugs.

      You can read more about it here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11660210

    • Photo: David Armstrong

      David Armstrong answered on 16 Jun 2011:

      so far my impact has been pretty limited -although other scientists are now using some of the techniques I developed as part of my PhD. I hope that one day some of my research (even if it is just a little part) gets used in a fusion reactor – that would really be a great impact to have made!

    • Photo: Verity Nye

      Verity Nye answered on 16 Jun 2011:

      For the specific things I’m working on right now I would say no. Yet the field I work in can and has made an impact on society. Exploring the deep ocean has already provided benefits for our everyday lives. These include new medical treatments, improved fibre-optic technology, better enzymes for industry and domestic products, and novel cosmetic ingredients. Who know what we’ll find in the future and what potential impact our findings will have?

    • Photo: Simon Trent

      Simon Trent answered on 16 Jun 2011:

      Im closely looking at how ADHD arises in children and young adults and if it turns out that the enzyme Im looking at in the brain is involved, then it could have huge implications in drug development and how we view the disorder. The upshot of this is that a problem that can be really detrimental to the sufferers themselves, their family and the people surrounding them may be avoided. For instance, children with ADHD are often disruptive at school and this not only affects themselves but the rest of their class-mates

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