Lifelong Learning College

Online work experience opportunities to enhance your personal statement.

Looking to gain some work experience to add to your personal statement or CV?✍️
Access online work experience opportunities in industries like medicine, engineering, law, tech and more. Get started: https://bit.ly/3WaHGaU

Happy birthday to Sir Tim Berners-Lee FRS, born in 1955. In 1989, whilst at CERN, Berners-Lee joined hypertext with the internet and developed the World Wide Web.

2025 applications now open!

Discover courses at universities across the UK and start your 2025 application on the UCAS Hub🎓: https://bit.ly/37ntpwK

It’s MS awareness week.

It’s MS Awareness Week.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a lifelong condition which can affect the brain and spinal cord, causing a wide range of potential symptoms, including problems with vision, arm or leg movement, sensation or balance.

For more information on symptoms and treatments, visit nhs.uk/conditions/multiple-sclerosis/.

Droplets 😷🤢😷

Prior to a sneeze the:
A. Vocal folds are abducted
B. Vestibular folds are adducted
C. both
D. neither

To learn more about the vocal and vestibular folds check out this video https://youtu.be/fuqUB3HvC9Q?si=9ukW8HHNYUmMGk82&t=1405

Subscribe to the Human Anatomy Education channel to receive updates and community posts https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_jGNnK94Pbfp-LRK5w_diA

On 24 March 1882, German physician Robert Koch announced the discovery of the bacterium that causes tuberculosis (TB) - a date marked by today.

In the 1800s, it is estimated that the disease caused a quarter of all deaths in Europe. Koch's discovery opened the way for diagnosis and cure, and during the 1900s, the mortality rate declined drastically due to research and the introduction of antibiotics.

One of the founders of bacteriology, Koch was awarded the 1905 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his discovery.

Learn more: https://bit.ly/49bojCE

In 1928, Alexander Fleming discovered the green mould he was working with produced a substance that could kill many common bacteria that infect humans. He called this new, exciting substance "mould juice".

It took him a couple of months to come up with a better name and on 7 March 1929, he named it penicillin.

It’s Endometriosis Awareness Month.

Endometriosis is a condition where tissue similar to the lining of the womb starts to grow in other places, such as the ovaries and fallopian tubes.

Find out more about the symptoms and treatment options here: nhs.uk/endometriosis

Model of the blood vessels in the human body :)

Fun fact: There are 62,000 miles of blood vessels in your body - the same distance it would take to circle the world twice over.

Learn more about the circulatory system: http://bit.ly/1LZtoPR

Image from the Bodies Revealed exhibition
http://bit.ly/1Rc4zAq

A neurotransmitter transmits signals from one neuron (nerve cell) to another "target" neuron, muscle cell, or gland cell. Nobel Prize laureate Arvid Carlsson's research into neurotransmitters revealed, for the first time, how a brain disorder worked.

Carlsson discovered in the 1950s that dopamine is a transmitter in the mammalian brain and described its role in our ability to move. This led to the realisation that Parkinson's disease is caused by a lack of dopamine and his experiments became the scientific basis for the successful therapy against Parkinson's disease.

In 1963, he found that the medications which ease the symptoms of schizophrenia and other psychotic diseases take effect by reducing the influence of dopamine in the brain. Further, his work has had great importance for the treatment of depression, and he has contributed to a new generation of antidepressant drugs.

Image: Wellcome Collection, Arran Lewis

Counting down the ten most popular graphics for the tenth anniversary of Compound Interest!

In at #9 is this graphic on the elements found in the components of our mobile phones, first published in 2014 and still one of my personal favourites!

Link to PDF download in the comments.

Relevant work experience or volunteering can help give you the edge on your UCAS application.

Volunteering with NHS England helped me narrow down what I wanted to do. With the skills i've learned, I'm now applying to university to become a paramedic.🎓🚑

I joined the St John NHS Cadets programme to help understand and gain insight into the NHS. I wanted to strengthen and build on the skills I have too.
Also, I knew I wanted to work in the NHS but wasn’t sure what role to pursue. Being an NHS cadet with St John has helped me narrow down what I wanted to do. - Sumia Mohammed, NHS Cadet

Learn more about volunteering and work experience: https://bit.ly/34nkolM

Tips for assignment success

"EUREKA!!!!” - Kary Mullis first successfully copied or “amplified” small segments of DNA on 16 December 1983.

“One Friday night I was driving, as was my custom, from Berkeley up to Mendocino where I had a cabin far away from everything off in the woods. My girlfriend, Jennifer Barnett, was asleep. I was thinking…”

PCR is a method that made it possible to copy a large numbers of DNA fragments in only a few hours. This makes PCR very useful for forensic science, for example, as it means that very small amounts of DNA found in blood or hair samples, could be enough to reveal a person's identity.

In his Nobel Prize lecture, Mullis gives an entertaining account of his journey that resulted in a powerful invention. Read 1993 chemistry laureate Mullis’ story: https://bit.ly/2IvhYKG

Check out where you chosen uni falls in the league tables.

Free Virtual Event Wednesday 20 December

The story of insulin on World Diabetes Day.

Before the discovery of insulin, individuals with diabetes faced limited life expectancies. This was because medical interventions were lacking, and there wasn’t much doctors could do.

By 1920, scientists had established that diabetes resulted from an insufficient production of insulin in the pancreatic islets. However, attempts to extract insulin from pancreatic cells proved unsuccessful.

However, Frederick Banting suggested a different way to isolate insulin. He met with scientist John Macleod to formulate a plan.

Banting, along with his research assistant Charles Best, initiated a series of experiments.

In 1921, they successfully isolated insulin from a dog's pancreas.

The critical next step was to apply this extract to treat diabetes and their experiments were first met with failure, but they persisted.

By November 1921, they achieved a milestone: keeping a diabetic alive on their insulin extract for 70 days. In December, they welcomed biochemist James Collip to the team, with the specific goal of refining and concentrating the insulin extract.

In January 1922, the first person received an insulin injection. Fourteen-year-old Leonard Thompson's high blood sugar levels had dropped, but he still had high levels of ketones. After Thompson's first injection, Collip worked to purify the insulin extract. Thompson received his second injection on January 23. This time, Thompson's blood sugar levels became near-normal.

In January 1923, Banting, Collip, and Best secured American patents for insulin and its production process. They chose to sell their patents to the University of Toronto for one dollar, exemplifying their commitment to the greater good. In the words of Banting himself, "Insulin does not belong to me; it belongs to the world."

Eli Lilly became the first manufacturer to mass produce insulin, and the first commercial supply of insulin was distributed in late 1923.

Banting and Macleod received the 1923 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Banting split his half of the prize money with Best, and Macleod split the other half with Collip.

Born in 1914 was actress and inventor Hedy Lamarr. As well as acting in 30 films, during the Second World War she co-developed a frequency-hopping guidance system for American torpedoes, the principles of which are used in Bluetooth and WiFi technologies today.

On this day, the discovery of x-rays