The latest news, tips and insights from science and marketing

PRESS RELEASE: Life science marketing communications agency BioStrata has announced a series of new appointments this quarter, as part of its ongoing strategy to further develop its specialist services across public relations and inbound marketing. All five new hires will be based out of BioStrata’s UK headquarters in Cambridge, although its team also spans North America and mainland Europe.

In the spirit of winter cheer, here’s a present to unwrap from BioStrata: seven of the most interesting, quirky or instrumental life scientific advances we read about during the month of December. That’s two more stories than we usually include in our monthly ‘so much science' blog!

As always, our selection was chosen to help you keep up with breakthroughs in the life sciences at one of the busiest times of the year. From new nanotweezers to fresh hopes for heart transplants, there’s plenty to be thankful for this holiday season.

BioBeat is a collaborative innovation platform fostering partnerships between scientists, entrepreneurs and investors. On 15 November we attended BioBeat’s annual summit in the inspiring surroundings of the Wellcome Genome Campus (WGC). Exploring the theme of ‘disrupting biodata healthcare’, the summit brought together thought leaders from across the life science industry to discuss how the convergence of data and biology generates new business opportunities in the life science and healthcare industries. The summit proved to be a popular and successful event—so we’ve put together our highlights for you to enjoy.

As November rolled in, the nights got shorter, the days colder and the rise of the winter cold began. It’s perhaps reassuring then that the month saw so many breakthroughs in infectious disease research. Since we understand how hard it can be to keep up with science’s ever-accelerating cutting edge, we’ve compiled our favourite stories from November, including the most exciting ones from the world of infectious diseases!

Nobel prize season is just behind us, which means the incredible work of the very best and brightest scientific minds has been duly celebrated. This year’s notable winners include Donna Strickland, who earned widespread media attention for becoming the first female winner of the Physics prize for 55 years. She shared half of the prize with Gérard Mourou for their ground-breaking work on pulse lasers back in the 80s, which paved the way for modern laser eye surgery techniques. These awards got us thinking about some other remarkable science that has been celebrated this year—remarkable for other reasons, perhaps…

With gerbils that can actually ‘hear’ light, and mice reared from same-sex parents, October really was a month where science fiction became science fact! As former scientists ourselves, we know how hard it can be to keep up to date with science's many breakthroughs whilst still creating your own. To help, we’ve broken down October’s highlights. Read on to answer that question we know you’ve always had about elephants…

BioBeat is a collaborative innovation platform encouraging partnerships between scientists, entrepreneurs and investors, with the aim of driving forward discovery and development. Successful innovation in biotechnology is increasingly achieved through collaborations in which different groups are brought together to kindle new ideas and inspire novel approaches. Fostering such partnerships will ultimately result in a greater benefit to health, stronger business growth and faster scientific advancement.

September’s been a truly exciting month, with breakthroughs in everything from robotics to dinosaur evolution! As the end-of-year rush begins, we know things can start to pile up, and so we’ve rounded up our favourite science stories from last month, so you don’t have to! Why don’t you grab a cup of tea or coffee, escape the cold, and catch up on last month’s science highlights? This time, things are getting a little spooky…

Life after university… it's a challenge every graduate has to face! And something that really sneaks up on you as you approach the end of your bachelor’s, master’s or doctorate degree. After all, choosing the right vocation is a big step, and a predicament we all face at the end of our studies. It’s certainly something I experienced at the end of my PhD.

At that point, all I knew was that I loved science and wanted it to be the basis of my career, but I did not see myself becoming a lab-based scientist in either industry or academia.

So, I asked myself, "what are my options? What’s out there for someone who wants to apply their scientific knowledge and skill, but perhaps not in the lab?" From a kaleidoscope of advice, thoughts and feedback, I whittled down my focus to specific areas within the commercial side of the life science industry.

At some point in their career, every scientist must decide whether to continue in academia, or to step outside the confines of the lab and make a scientific difference in another role. For me, when I finished my PhD, I knew that I'd completed my academic journey, and wanted to use the skills I had developed in another environment.

A career in science writing had always appealed to me, as learning and communicating about new and exciting science was my favourite thing about my studies. However, I had many questions about what being a science writer would actually involve, and wanted to know if I had the right skillset and experience to become one. 

Since I joined life science marketing specialists BioStrata, I’ve been lucky enough to learn about a wide range of interesting scientific topics (and I get to tell the world about it every day through my writing). This experience hopefully also puts me in a more-informed position to answer some of the questions I had before I started down this career path. So, if you’re thinking about a science writing career, I hope this blog will help clear up some queries that you may have!