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Budding writers get brainy in national competition
Three of the UK’s major public-facing brain organisations,
At-Bristol’s ‘Your amazing brain’ website
www.youramazingbrain.org, The European Dana Alliance for the Brain and
The British Neuroscience Association, are delighted to announce the
winners of the first ever National Brain Science Writing Prize.
Created to celebrate the amazing field of brain science, this national
writing competition received a huge level of interest in its launch year,
with entries from students, researchers and scientists from all over the
UK. Although all articles were of a high standard, two winners
particularly stood out in each category.
For the General Prize, Dr Vikki Burns, from the University of Birmingham’s
School of Sport and Exercise Sciences, impressed judges with her report on
Monkeys and the minds of Athletes, an insight into mental imagery
and how it can benefit athletes. She was closely followed by 2nd
prizewinner and Oxford graduate, Eleanor Barrie, who wrote on a similar
theme with Mirror Neurons – the missing link for consciousness.
In the Researcher’s Prize category, Dr William Davies, a postdoctoral
researcher from the University of Cambridge, produced a winning entry for
his article Battle for the Brain. Focussing on imprinted genes, Dr
Davis investigated how genes from your mum and dad fight it out for
supremacy in your brain. Following in 2nd place, fellow Cambridge
postdoctoral researcher Dr Martin O’Neill gave an intriguing insight into
the relatively new research field of Neuroeconomics, in his article My
Money on my Mind.
The judging panel for the National Brain Science Writing Prize
included Dr Penny Fidler - neuroscientist and creator of the Your Amazing
Brain website, Elaine Snell - Senior PR consultant for the European Dana
alliance for the Brain (EDAB) and Yvonne Allen - Executive Secretary of
The British Neuroscience Association.
Dr Fidler comments, “The success of the writing competition just goes to
show how fascinated people are by the exciting and astonishing field of
brain science. We wanted to intrigue people and make them talk, think and
question how amazing their brains are. We also wanted to encourage brain
scientists across the UK to tell the world about their research in a
lively and intriguing way and we’re delighted that three out of the four
winners are scientists.”
Winning entries can be viewed on
www.youramazingbrain.org from Wednesday 30 November and articles will
also feature in The British Neuroscience Association magazine and website.
To contact the At-Bristol Press Office, please call Annabel Iles:
Tel: 0117 915 7152, fax: 0117 915 7200 or email
annabel.iles@at-bristol.org.uk
Note to Editors:
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At-Bristol, a registered
charity, has won 13 awards since opening in 2000 including the Good
Britain Guide 2001’s ‘Family Attraction of the Year’ and ‘Large Attraction
of the Year’ in the England in Excellence Awards South West. It consists
of three attractions:
Explore-At-Bristol - a hands-on science centre, IMAX® Theatre-At-Bristol
- the largest cinema screen in the west of England and Wildwalk-At-Bristol
- a journey from the origins of life to the ends of the Earth.
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It is a Landmark
Millennium Attraction whose principal partners include the Millennium
Commission (£44.3 million), the South West of England Regional Development
Agency (£17.1 million) and Bristol City Council (£15.7 million).
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The Your Amazing Brain website,
www.youramazingbrain.org, is supported by the Wellcome Trust, with
content and design created by At-Bristol. The website is an extension of
Europe’s largest brain exhibition, the Your amazing brain section in
Explore-At-Bristol.
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The Wellcome Trust is an independent research funding
charity established in 1936 under the will of the tropical medicine
pioneer Sir Henry Wellcome. The Trust's mission is to foster and promote
research with the aim of improving human and animal health and it
currently spends over £400 million per annum.
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Dr Penny Fidler is an independent neuroscience and
exhibitions consultant working on a variety of brain-related projects.
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The European Dana Alliance for the Brain is an alliance
of around 140 eminent scientists, including five Nobel laureates, from
24 countries that promote brain research.
www.edab.net
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The British Neuroscience Association is a learned
society that represents the interests of academics, clinicians and
industrialists actively engaged in researching and teaching neuroscience
and neuroscience-related disciplines'
www.bna.org.uk
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The field of brain science (neuroscience) is one of the
most rapidly growing areas in science. It encompasses elements of
biology, medicine, chemistry, physics, maths and psychology and hopes to
find cures for some of the world’s most difficult diseases.
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