Celebrate 100 years of medical breakthroughs funded by you

Over half (55 per cent) of people in the South West don't know their taxes fund medical research in the UK, according to a new YouGov survey run by the UK's oldest research council, the Medical Research Council (MRC).

The results of the online survey of 2,190 adults in the UK were announced today (Thursday 20 June) on the official one hundredth birthday of the MRC, which boasts 29 Nobel Prize winners and a host of medical breakthroughs, all funded by the public purse.

To celebrate 100 years of life-saving science, MRC research centres up and down the UK are opening their doors - inviting the public in or bringing their science out to local communities - to showcase the fruits of their labour. A range of different events, talks, experiments and exhibitions will be held today and over the next two weeks to tell the hidden story of health improvements funded by the taxpayer through the MRC and to introduce the remarkable scientists who make it all happen.

According to the YouGov survey, only 13% of people from the South West have met a medical research scientist, despite the fact that life-changing science often happens right on their doorstep. When asked which disease or condition they would study if they were a medical research scientist, people from the South West gave a full spectrum of issues close to their heart, with cancer and dementia being the most common.

Of the 205 people surveyed in Bristol, which houses two MRC research centres and the ALSPAC study - a long-term health research project also known as 'Children of the 90s' study - 44% of people had no idea that their taxes fund medical research in the UK.

Sir John Savill, Chief Executive of the Medical Research Council, said: "It's important for people to know how crucial their own money has been in uncovering health improvements that have saved millions of lives.

"If I asked the person on the street, 'did you know you've helped invent the MRI scanner and DNA fingerprinting, or helped make skin grafts work or proved the link between smoking and cancer?', they would probably look blankly at me. And these discoveries are just the tip of the iceberg of what the taxpayer has funded - through the MRC - over the course of its history.

"On the MRC's 100 year birthday today, I'd like everyone to celebrate their own contribution to making the UK a world leader in medical research. Long may MRC-funded research continue to have such an impact on the health and wealth of the UK and beyond."

The MRC and the University of Bristol are hosting a free pop-up festival of medical science on 20 June at M Shed, inviting the public to learn more about the world-class medical research being carried out to improve human health. Participants will be invited to take part in interactive workshops to discuss the science behind why people smoke and drink, stem cell treatment, kidney failure and the importance of patient and public involvement in research.

Detailed information of the range of events happening in locations across the UK is available at http://www.centenary.mrc.ac.uk/events/