R&D News & Events

Tech breakthrough paves way for portable medical scanners

The X-prize foundation, which previously awarded a prize to the first commercially viable spaceship in 2004, recently offered a prize for a working Star Trek tricorder-like device, capable of independently diagnosing 15 diseases. However, it appears that hand-held technology capable of diagnosing medical issues by simply scanning a patient may be closer than previously thought.

Full-body scanning devices already exist for airport security, prototype medical scanners and material spectroscopy systems. They use terahertz waves (T-rays), which lie in the far infrared part of the electromagnetic spectrum. At these extremely high frequencies, every molecule has its own unique spectroscopic signature, allowing existing devices to detect cancerous tumours, detect explosives or test integrated circuit chips without destroying them. However, these systems have several drawbacks; large amounts of energy are needed to produce T-rays, and their design requires low temperature operation. These issues make them bulky and expensive to run.

To overcome these drawbacks, researchers from the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) in Singapore and Imperial College London in the UK have used a new ‘nano-antenna’ technique to produce and amplify the T-rays. They shine light of different wavelengths on a pair of pointed, metal electrodes separated by 100 nanometers and placed on a semiconductor wafer. The interaction between the incident light pulses and the electric current passing between the electrodes produces a beam of T-rays with a power output that is 100 times greater than those present in current systems. The beam can also be tuned across a much larger frequency range and operates at room temperature. The lower power requirements of the new method make more portable devices possible.

The multiple improvements that this system makes to current methods for T-ray production mean that portable, high-power medical scanners may not be that far-off. So after mobile phones and tricorders, could we soon be playing our games on holodecks and eating from replicators?

Posted on Monday, 6th February, 2012

Orangutan customs: Revealing the origins of human culture?

Whether it’s enjoying the latest composition of a Chinese street performer or revelling in the entrancing rhythms of a Middle Eastern dancer, it is easy to believe that we humans, as the dominant species on the planet, are the only ones to enjoy “culture.” An exquisitely difficult word to define, culture requires a level of conscious thought that transcends an animal’s basic instincts of survival and, importantly, is passed down from generation to generation, often with notable geographical variations.

This geographical variation is known as cultural plasticity and allows anthropologists to explain how different human ethnicities and races, despite having so much genetic commonality, have their own diverse idiosyncrasies.

There has been evidence, albeit weak, to suggest that members of the animal kingdom are capable of such feats of intellect. This is a point of contention, as some believe that this ability is what separates us from the rest of the animal kingdom.

However, recent work from Swiss biologists challenges this long-held bastion of human ignorance – arrogance one might argue. By meticulously studying over 100,000 hours of footage of 150 wild orangutans they arrive at a startling conclusion. Groups of orangutans living in separate areas of the rainforest have significant differences in behavioural patterns, social structures and interactions, giving rise to the idea that orangutans display a collection of behaviours and mannerisms that could be interpreted as primitive culture.

The study further suggests that the primordial culture seen in these orangutans could have the same evolutionary pathway as our own human behaviour, giving rise to the idea that these behaviours could be genetically predetermined in the great ape family. It is comforting to know then, that despite all of humanity’s triumphs, we still share a bond with these kindred spirits in the Bornean jungle.

Original Paper: Culture and Geographic Variation in Orangutan Behaviour, Current Biology, Vol 21

Photo by Paul Dickson

Posted on Thursday, 12th January, 2012

Chemistry in Your Coffee Cup

Reports abound about the health effects of coffee, depicting it as everything from a dangerous drug to an elixir of life, and a recent study adds further uncertainty to the mix. Scientists at the University of Glasgow have recently quantified what coffee aficionados have always insisted: not every espresso is created equal.

The researchers visited 20 shops in Glasgow’s west end, ordering a single espresso in each. They opted for take-away and brought their coffees back to the lab for analysis by high performance liquid chromatography, a technique for separating the individual components of a chemical mixture. With this approach, they measured levels of chlorogenic acids, a set of antioxidant compounds whose effects on us remain unclear,
and caffeine.

The results showed huge variation in the chemical content of the coffees, with some containing up to six times more caffeine than others. Even taking into account differences in serving size, some still had three times more caffeine per unit volume. Notably, every single coffee analysed contained more than the 50mg of caffeine often cited as standard for a single
espresso shot.

Why the variability? Multiple factors affect coffee’s chemical content, such as whether the beans come from arabica or robusta plants (arabica beans have less caffeine) and the extent of roasting, which breaks down caffeine. The grind’s fineness and the pressure and temperature settings on the espresso machine also affect the final result.

This variability means you could unwitting swallow more caffeine than you intend. Variations in sensitivity from one person to the next mean there is no daily allowance suitable for everyone, but the Glasgow researchers suggest that customers would benefit from information about the contents of their beverages.

On a practical note, supposing you find yourself thirsting for coffee in Glasgow, Beanscene and Starbucks will soothe you with just under 2mg of caffeine per millilitre of espresso (coming out to just 51mg for the smaller Starbucks shot and 77mg for Beanscene’s larger one). Costa Coffee and Heart Buchanan pack the biggest punches, each with more than 6mg of caffeine per millilitre.

This study was recently published in the Royal Society of Chemistry's journal Food and Function.
The paper is freely available here

Posted on Monday, 12th December, 2011

Breaking the Search Engine Sound Barrier

Newly released software is taking on the last challenge in audio searching. The tool, called MediaMined, is an artificial intelligence system that can make sense of what it hears, whether the sounds are speech, music, or even a sound effect like an explosion or creaking door.

These days, it’s easy to take for granted the power of online text searches. With Google and Bing able to find just about anything written online, we may not appreciate how tricky it is for computers to search through pictures, video, and sound. Unlike people, computers cannot easily recognise objects in pictures or identify sounds heard in an audio file. One solution to this problem has been to label files with keywords, but the ideal solution would be to create software that understands content without needing such help.

Created by San Francisco-based Imagine Research and supported by funds from the US National Science Foundation, MediaMined is not the first tool designed to ‘understand’ audio. Voice recognition technology enables software to digest speech andvtools like Shazam and Soundhound’s Midomi and Hound have also come on the scene in recent years and can recognise music. MediaMined, however, extends audio recognition capabilities to all sounds, earning it applicability beyond speech and music.

MediaMined sets itself apart from other sound-searching tools by applying a machine-learning approach. This flexible strategy lets users find sets of similar sounds based on features beyond what might be in the keywords associated with a file. As Imagine Research’s founder and CEO Jay LeBoeuf explained in a recent press release, MediaMined “allows computers to index, understand and search sound- as a result, we have made millions of media files searchable.” With its general applicability, MediaMined could help movie soundtrack makers work more efficiently or, its creators speculate, even help doctors to assess a patient’s cough or wheeze.

Posted on Wednesday, 23rd November, 2011

Synthetic retinas: the gift of sight?

A team of Japanese scientists has managed to create stem cells that re-enact the early stages of mammalian eye development in a culture dish. The exciting bit is that this includes a particularly important part of eye development: retina formation. The team’s work and findings, published in the journal Nature, could help provide methods for treating blindness.

The retina is a thin piece of tissue at the back of the eye. It is responsible for converting light, which has passed through the lens, into electrical nerve impulses. Thousands of these nerve impulses then travel to the brain, where they are processed to form an image. Critical to this activity are the retina's photoreceptor cells; the loss of these cells is the main cause of untreatable blindness. Without them, light that passes into the eye cannot be converted into the signals required to form an image in the brain.

In 2006, a team of scientists from the UK and USA showed that particular stem cells, when introduced into damaged retinas of mice, could help repair the damage. The stem cells they used were ones that had not quite completed their development into photoreceptor cells. While a drawback to this approach has been the limited availability of these cells, this latest advance in simulating retina formation on a culture dish could overcome this problem. The developing synthetic retinas could provide a ready supply of stem cells that are at the required stage of development. It is hoped that once appropriate stem cells are introduced into a blind person’s retina, the cells will divide to produce functional photoreceptor cells, gifting the person with the ability to see.

This article is based on the content presented in a research article in the latest issue of Nature (7th April 2011), titled: ‘Self-organizing optic-cup morphogenesis in three-dimensional culture’. To see the original research article, please visit: http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v472/n7341/full/nature09941.html

To see some videos of the incredible, and rather beautiful, 3D eye cell cultures, please see the ‘Supplementary information’ section at the same link.

Posted on Tuesday, 1st November, 2011

Galactic collisions give the Milky Way its arms

Ever wondered how the Milky Way got its spiral arms? New computer simulations with improved data suggest they may have formed due to multiple bust-ups with another galaxy.

Galaxies are broadly classified into four types: elliptical - from perfect circles to extreme ellipses; spiral or barred spiral (such as our own Milky Way) - containing several spiralling arms around a dense centre or bar; irregular - those galaxies not easily classified into the previous types; and dwarf galaxies - small elliptical or spiral galaxies. It is with a dwarf galaxy called Sagittarius that the Milky Way appears to have had some violent encounters.

A team of astrophysicists, headed by Chris Purcell at the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania, has used improved mass estimates for Sagittarius to run detailed simulations of its galactic travels over the last few billion years. Their findings, published in Nature, suggest that the Milky Way has experienced two collisions with the dwarf galaxy. Before the first collision, 1.9 billion years ago, the Milky Way was a flat disc with a central bar of stars, around which the other stars orbited. After the collision, the simulation shows the outer stars beginning to orbit the central disc in more eccentric elliptical orbits. These orbits begin to group together to form dense clumps in a spiral pattern. Over the next billion years, Sagittarius loops over the centre of the Milky Way to collide with it again. Following this collision, the Milky Way looks incredibly similar to the present day.

The widespread occurrence of galactic collisions in the cosmos suggests this may be how spiral galaxies form. This idea contrasts with previous theories, such as that spiral-shaped ‘density waves’, rotating more slowly than the galaxy’s gas and stars, squeeze the matter into spirals.

Finally, the fight is far from over. A third collision with Sagittarius is predicted soon...in 10 million years.

Posted on Tuesday, 4th October, 2011

Beetle technology gets a grip on medical adhesives

Ouchless, residue-free, and durable: could beetles’ feet hold the secret to better bandages? Researchers from Korea and the US have used the same design that gives beetles their grip to invent a material that sticks to skin without any help from glue. Their work, published this month in the journal Advanced Materials, paves the way toward an improved form of medical adhesive.

Many medical treatments require adhesives that cling to skin to hold tubes or dressings in place. However, most use glue and can leave behind residue, irritate skin and lose stickiness, not to mention how much they can hurt to remove. These inconveniences become more serious for older patients who have fragile skin, meaning that a better material could really improve care.

The engineers took on this problem, but instead of trying to refine the glue, they designed a surface that is sticky on its own. They used PDMS, a non-toxic substance used in contact lenses, shampoo and food, and moulded it so that hundreds of thousands of tiny, mushroom-shaped ‘pillars’ covered every square centimetre. Once pillar size and spacing had been optimised for the texture of human skin, their product performed well in practical tests. It remained sticky after repeated removals and reapplications, left skin unharmed, and caused minimal pain to remove.

The ‘mushroom forest’ arrangement mimics beetles’ feet, where tiny mushroom-shaped hairs allow the beetle to cling to surfaces, taking advantage of forces of attraction on a molecular scale. While it’s not the first time engineers have tinkered with the beetle’s design secret, it is the first time that such an adhesive has been optimised for human skin. Further work is required to produce this glue-free adhesive on a large scale, but if that can be done, then we can expect the beetle-based bandage to stick around.

Read original paper here

Posted on Wednesday, 21st September, 2011

SMEs Missing Out On Tax Relief

HMRC are estimating 150,000 SMEs in UK are not claiming at an average claim of £40k. By our calculation that makes £6bn/year!! Read the full story

Posted on Wednesday, 14th September, 2011

Making light work of scratches and defects

Could it now be possible to create materials that heal in response to light? Research into a new material, recently published in the journal Nature, has made this exciting concept a reality.

Polymers are the basis of plastics and resins. They are molecules that consist of a chain of identical, or similar, molecular units (monomers). DNA is an example of a biological polymer. The properties of the polymers then vary dependent on the combination of these molecular units or monomers.

A team of scientists from Switzerland and the USA have created supramolecular polymers that appear to heal when exposed to intense UV light. The material consists of rubbery polymers linked by metal ions. Just like chlorophyll absorbs sunlight to generate energy for photosynthesis in plants, the metal ions absorb light energy, which converts to heat energy instead. A build up of this heat energy causes the long chains of the polymers to temporarily loosen and then reform, removing any kinks or deformities.

An advantage of this light-healing process in materials such as plastics is that it can be applied much more locally than traditional heat-healing processes. As a result, the reforming process can target sites of damage without interfering with the material’s function. This advance would make repairs to plastics cheaper and easier, making them suitable for a wider range of applications. The technology is in its infancy at the moment, but it could be useful in several areas. For instance, incorporating the polymers into paints and varnishes could keep consumer products, such as mobile phones and iPods, scratch and crack free for longer, reducing waste. Sports car owners may be particularly interested; by making light work of any scratches or defects, it could bring an end to expensive scratch-repair bills.

Picture courtesy Dominique Bersier and Gina Fiore for Adolphe Merkle Institute, Case Western Reserve University, US Army Research Laboratory

Posted on Tuesday, 6th September, 2011

Edinburgh Interactive 2011 …

Games and Software - Finding New Ways to Finance Development
Working closely with UKIE, Brian Williamson, Director of Jumpstart and Euan Mackenzie, Director of 3MRT were invited to explain how R&D tax credits help boost firms’ financial situation and recover money to reinvest in more development.
See their presentation here

Posted on Friday, 26th August, 2011

Jelly with a Memory

We are becoming more attached to our technology, but what if we could actually be attached to it? Until now, a key issue in bioelectronics has been how to take conventional electronics made from hard, unbending materials that tend to perform poorly in wet conditions and place them in the soft, flexible and wet environment of cells or tissues. Now, a team of chemical and biomolecular engineers at North Carolina State University have created a device that may be the first step in fusing electronics with biological systems.

The device has electrodes of gallium and indium metals, both of which are liquids at room temperature, set within a conductive, water-based gel. Its consistency lies somewhere between raw jelly and a bendy ruler. The device has conductive and non-conductive states, which are used to represent a binary system of ones and zeroes. It uses ions (charged molecules) to create the states, in the same way that conventional electronics uses electrons. The device’s memory comes from its ability to store the state after the stimulus (in this case ions) is gone.

To produce a non-conductive state, an electrode is exposed to a positive charge, producing an oxidized layer on the electrode, which is resistive to electricity. For a conductive state, a negative charge is applied, removing the oxidization. The negative charge would normally cause positive charge to move across the electrode, oxidizing it and leaving the device in a permanently non-conductive state. To prevent this, the team changed the chemical composition of one side of the gel. As a result, solely the second electrode determines the state.

The prototype shows great potential for developing biological sensors that would be embedded in the body and allow medics and researchers to continuously monitor biological systems. The electrodes’ malleability and the gel’s biocompatibility mean that the device could perform more robustly in biological environments than its hard, metallic counterparts. Perhaps more exciting is this technology’s potential for mimicking the brain; recent work has drawn parallels between similar types of memory devices and neural systems.

Original paper at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/adma.201101257/pdf

Photo credit: Michael Dickey, North Carolina State University

Posted on Wednesday, 17th August, 2011

Bloodhound Sniffs World Record

In 1898, the wonderfully named Frenchman, Gaston de Chasseloup-Laubat, set the world’s first land speed record when he maxed out his electrical car, Jeantaud Duc, at 39mph. Since that fateful day, generations of brave young men have been pushing themselves and their machines to the limit to better the previous record.

Currently, the jet powered ThrustSSC, engineered by a team from Britain, holds the prestigious land speed record at a mind-boggling 760mph – FASTER than the speed of sound. Unsatisfied with that, the same team is now trying to break the 1000mph barrier and hopes to do so once their new Bloodhound SSC is ready, in 2013.

Achieving these sorts of speeds requires some serious engineering – the Bloodhound has a jet engine taken from a Eurofighter Typhoon, which will accelerate the car from a standstill to around 300mph. A rocket engine will kick in to produce a further 25,000lbs of thrust, accelerating the car to its top speed of 1000mph, while a 750bhp F1 engine is required just to pump enough fuel into the rocket. The Bloodhound should take just 42 seconds to reach its top speed from a standstill – the same time it takes a small family car to reach 100mph. This is unsurprising as the Bloodhound produces power equivalent to 200 Formula 1 cars and, thanks to its carbon fibre construction, weighs less than seven tonnes.

Once the top speed has been achieved, the driver, RAF fighter pilot Andy Green, will cut the throttle and deploy the Bloodhound’s airbrakes, which will decelerate the car to around 600mph. Here parachutes will be deployed, slowing the car further, and finally disk brakes will bring the car to a halt and into the record books.

We wish Andy Green and his Bloodhound SSC team the best of luck. Find out more at We wish Andy Green and his Bloodhound SSC team the best of luck.
Find out more at http://www.bloodhoundssc.com/

Posted on Wednesday, 3rd August, 2011

New research finds neurons tuning out distractions

We don’t realise it, but with every glance we make our eyes take in a staggering amount of visual information. Whether we are crossing a street, watching a football game or strolling through the park, we are met with rich landscapes of visual detail. Still, we have no trouble focusing on what interests us and ignoring the rest. How our brains filter this constant torrent of input is a mystery, but new research from McGill University in Canada has pinpointed neurons involved.

The study, recently published in the journal Neuron by neuroscientists Therese Lennert and Julio Martinez-Trujillo, focused on part of a region in the brain called the prefrontal cortex. This region enables us to plan actions and make decisions, and is important in focusing attention.

To explore how neurons in this particular area, known as the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, respond to distracting information, the researchers monitored neural activity while animal subjects observed two sets of moving dots: the target of interest and the distracter. They found that when distraction was minimal, the neurons suppressed their response to it. Yet, as distraction increased, the neurons responded more and the subjects had greater difficulty focusing on the target.

Lennert explained, “It’s well-established that this brain area is important in attention. What we add is that the suppressive response of that region correlates with behaviour.” Essentially, the subjects’ ability to pay attention rested on how well their neurons filtered out the distractions.

Overall, this work brings insight into exactly why this region of the prefrontal cortex is vital for making sense of our visual world. As a further step, additional study of these neurons could help determine what goes wrong in conditions like attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, where the brain cannot properly filter out unimportant information.

Read the original paper.

Posted on Wednesday, 20th July, 2011

TB, a thing of the past?

Despite huge advancements in sanitation and medicine, tuberculosis remains a scourge of humanity, especially in deprived parts of the world. Last year alone, almost 2 million people died from the illness and this number is set to rise as more deadly strains of the microbe emerge. The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that by 2050, 2 billion people will be carriers – patients that have no symptoms of infection, but nonetheless carry the bug inside their lungs. Around 10% of carriers develop the disease.

This continued prevalence may come as a surprise to many, considering that TB can be cured and vaccines are available. However, the course of treatment is expensive and most effective when given over 6 months, meaning that in the cash-strapped developing world, doctors often prescribe shorter, cheaper but ultimately less effective drugs. Additionally, the BCG vaccine, which many people in the UK received, only protects against TB in childhood – not the much more common adult form.

However, we aren’t fighting a losing battle, thanks to the development of a brand new vaccine. First unveiled in March 2011, it has been highly effective against the adult form of the disease.

What makes this vaccine even more remarkable is that it can protect patients before AND after being infected with the microorganism. This is the first time scientists will be able to safely inoculate a patient after exposure to TB and why this vaccine, called H56, is causing a stir worldwide and heralds a major turning point in the battle against TB.

The hope is that H56 can be distributed worldwide and protect the billions of carriers from developing the illness. However, this is only the first step. The WHO’s ultimate goal is to continue improving vaccines so that by 2050, new cases will number fewer than 8,000.

Posted on Monday, 4th July, 2011

One-way street for light.

The field of nonlinear optics is currently producing many eye-catching (sorry) discoveries, such as visible wavelength cloaking devices. A recent paper in Physical Review Letters continues this trend, presenting a mathematical model for a material that light could pass through asymmetrically.

The optical properties of nonlinear materials vary as light travels through them. These effects have previously enabled optical cloaking, but they could now be used to differentiate light that has entered the material from opposite directions.

The model considers two layers of a nonlinear, nonmirror-symmetric lattice whose optical properties vary within it, which is described mathematically. Light incident on the lattice changes the properties of the material, which in turn changes the behaviour of light within the material. This optical dance eventually results in very different transmission coefficients for light arriving from opposite directions.

The paper, co-authored by Italian physicists Giulio Casati and Stefano Lepri, predicts 80 percent transmission for light travelling in the desired direction and 70 percent opacity to light travelling in the other, making the modelled system competitive with photonic crystals. Photonic crystals can also, under the right circumstances, block light travelling in one direction by tuning their crystal lattice structure.

Unidirectional light transmission would be immediately applicable to quantum computing in the form of a wave diode. The wave diode would be analogous to the electrical diode, which conducts electricity in only one direction (It may also be one of the more understandable parts of quantum computing). Further applications could include police observation mirrors that do not require one room to be darkened and, as Lepri suggests, similar systems for sound waves. In fact, it is possible that any system involving waves could be created to have this propagation asymmetry.

Posted on Sunday, 3rd July, 2011

Tarantula reality mirrors Spiderman fiction

The secret is finally out about how the hairy giants of the arachnid world hang on to vertical slopes. Researchers have discovered that tarantulas can, like Spiderman, shoot silk from tiny ‘spigots’ on their feet. The findings, recently published by Claire Rind and colleagues at Newcastle University, appear in the Journal of Experimental Biology.

Most spiders handle steep climbs effortlessly thanks to thousands of tiny hairs on their feet, which use molecular forces of attraction to grip even the smoothest surfaces. Tarantulas, however, can weigh over 50g and are too heavy to rely on these hairs alone when climbing. For scientists, it was unclear how the spiders avoid dangerous falls off of steep inclines.

The authors of a study in 2006 found that tarantulas placed on an inclined platform left behind silk footprints. They proposed that the animals might be clinging to the platform by releasing silk from their feet. But another explanation was that the spiders’ feet simply collect silk from rubbing against the silk-producing organs in their abdomens.

Rind’s team solved the puzzle by repeating the test and looking at the tarantula’s anatomy. They too found silk footprints on the platform, but only if they had shaken it enough to make the tarantula slip, suggesting the spider only releases silk when necessary. To locate the silk’s source, they examined spiders’ moulted skin. With electron microscopy, they found taller, nozzle-like structures amid the hairs on the feet, some of which actually had strands of silk emerging from their tips. The observations confirmed that tarantulas can release silk from their feet and the new structures were identified as the silk spigots.

According to Rind, the new findings may fill in gaps in our understanding of how modern silk-spinning spiders evolved. They also make us wonder, which superhero powers will appear in nature next?

Posted on Wednesday, 1st June, 2011

UKIE and Jumpstart work in Partnership

Jumpstart is proud to announce UKIE as official partner in helping to boost the UKs awareness in R&D tax credits. UKIE is the official trade body for the UK’s videogames and interactive entertainment industry. UKIE represents the interests and needs of their members and the whole sector.

Jumpstart is very proud to be part of contributing to the research and development environment by securing valuable assets through R&D tax credits.

Find out more about UKIE, their members and activities by visiting their website www.ukie.info

Posted on Tuesday, 17th May, 2011

Feathers taking flight as sustainable plastic

Discarded chicken feathers could soon find a second calling in the plastics industry, thanks to recent work by scientists in the US and China. The researchers, led by Professor Yiqi Yang of the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, developed a technique for turning feathers into plastic. They announced their breakthrough earlier this spring at an American Chemical Society meeting.

Each year in the US alone, over one billion kilograms of chicken feathers wind up in landfills, so recycling them as a key component in plastics makes sense. As Yang explained in a press release prepared by the American Chemical Society, “We are trying to develop plastics from renewable resources to replace those derived from petroleum products.”

The key ingredient in feathers is keratin, the protein that gives structure to skin, hair, and nails. The challenge was to transform keratin into thermoplastic, a form that is extremely useful because it can be repeatedly heated and moulded.

The team began with clean, pulverised feathers and added methyl acrylate, a key ingredient in nail polish, to make the keratin link together. Their thermoplastic product formed a film stronger than those made from starch or soy protein. Unlike previously attempted feather plastics, it also performed well when wet. As Yang explained in his prepared statement, “We believe we’re the first to demonstrate that we can make chicken-feather-based thermoplastics stable in water while still maintaining strong mechanical properties.”

Whether feather plastic is viable for industrial-scale production has yet to be seen. Renko Akkerman, technical director of the Thermoplastic Composite Research Centre in the Netherlands, told the BBC that making a product from waste is a step in the right direction, “but making the transition to mass production is a large one and only then can you truly grade the performance in terms of economics, carbon footprint, and so on.”

If all goes well, your future chicken sandwich could come packaged in a plastic of chicken feathers.

Posted on Monday, 16th May, 2011

2011 Budget and R&D News – 89% of eligible companies still to apply

The recent budget changes have dramatically increased the amount of relief available to SMEs, yet almost 90% do not claim each year because they do not think they are eligible. Following an initial consultation on the R&D tax relief scheme, and acting on the recommendations of the Dyson review, Chancellor George Osborne has announced a package of improvements that will strengthen the scheme. The main headline is that, as of 1st April 2011, tax relief on R&D expenditure for SMEs will be raised from 175% to 200%. In real terms, this means that claim sizes will increase by up to 33%, bringing the average SME claim size to £53,000 a year.

This improvement in the scheme will have an immediate effect for companies in the coming year. However, the news keeps getting better as the government also announced its intention to increase the rate even further, to 225%, from April 2012. This will increase the average SME claim size further to £65,000.

However, it is not just the financial impact of the scheme which has been strengthened – the scope has been widened too. By removing the £10k minimum spend requirement, the Chancellor has effectively opened the programme to smaller companies with much lower expenditures on R&D. Also, by getting rid of the PAYE/NIC cap on the size of the payable cash credit, he has helped companies with large R&D expenditures (perhaps on subcontractors and materials) but low numbers of staff – which had previously been restricted by low payroll costs. These changes will go a long way to encouraging more small companies to apply.

It is acknowledged that many eligible companies simply do not claim because they believe themselves to be in a low technology sector. A simple test is if you:

• Design and manufacture products or tools, including software; or
• Are involved in trying to resolve difficult technical problems in order to make product improvements;

then you are likely to have eligibility. It is always better to check.

These changes represent a welcome and significant U-turn in the policy of the Conservatives, who, only a year ago, were considering dismantling the scheme.

Posted on Tuesday, 29th March, 2011

R&D Tax Credits – The Merging of Science with Finance

The R&D tax credit scheme is unique for a number of reasons. Unlike grants, it pays out after R&D is conducted, and unlike business ventures, credits are paid out even if the research fails. Also, unlike traditional tax claim procedures, HMRC requires companies to involve staff with an understanding of science in making successful applications.

It is easy to see why companies often find it difficult to make successful claims. Internal financial controllers often have expertise in the taxation system but not in the science that makes the company tick. On the other hand, the company’s technical experts may understand the science behind their company’s products but often have limited exposure to the financial side of the business. Unfortunately, however, any lack of interaction and cooperation between the two groups can have disastrous consequences when it comes to making and defending an R&D tax credit claim.

Jumpstart facilitates the interaction of these two business disciplines in order to make robust, accurate and successful claims. By collecting technical information on the company’s projects and using this as the focus of the cost collection, in all cases we aim to satisfy HMRC that the claim has been compiled with the input of both financial and technical staff. More details on this approach, and its results, can be found at http://www.jumpstartuk.co.uk/why-jumpstart/

Posted on Wednesday, 6th October, 2010

R&D Tax Credits

Research and Development (R&D) tax credits aren’t a new phenomenon but they are fairly recent to the UK. It is well understood that countries that can attract, and develop, companies with intellectual property.

If these companies can use intellectual property to develop new products, it will enhance the country’s tax base. Think of Microsoft, Apple or GSK and you may think of successful companies that are driven to success by commercialization of their R&D. They become important drivers in the economies of their resident countries.

Although the positive effect of R&D was suspected, it wasn’t until the 1990’s that economists examined the effects of R&D and compared the growth of the economy of countries. They found a direct, and predictable, correlation between R&D and the growth of gross domestic product (GDP). These results have influenced a number of countries to look at different ways to encourage R&D.

Research and Development can be paid from a number of sources such as grants, private investment, and more recently tax credits. Financing R&D by the use of government grants is open to criticism since lobbying can influence the direction of the funding. Private investment of R&D brings an expectation of direct future profit and therefore is prone to be used only on projects with high certainty of success in the short or medium term. Private investment is also volatile due to the psychological and material influences of economies. When the economy is looking good and profits are high R&D expenditures increase. In downturns, the converse is true.

R&D tax credits allow governments and companies to be jointly involved with R&D. Companies decide on the R&D they wish to pursue and governments assist with the funding, on a non-influential basis, by making contributions in a highly prescribed manner.

Posted on Monday, 9th August, 2010

Well, the word (actually two words), is now truly on the street… ‘Ingenious Britain’

As the election draws ever nearer it is now clear that whichever party rules the roost at Downing Street after May, one thing is for certain, companies should be confident that the R&D Tax Credit programme will be a part of the business landscape for the foreseeable future. The Conservative Party have taken on-board the recommendations in the report by James Dyson titled ‘Ingenious Britain’ and will retain the R&D Tax Credit programme – effectively a U-turn in policy from last year.

Dr Tim Bradshaw, head of enterprise and innovation at the CBI, welcomed this change and supported Dyson’s view that strengthening the programme further was necessary. He continued by saying: “R&D tax credits should not be restricted to SMEs and hi-tech firms, but should be available to companies of all sizes and sectors. This would encourage all businesses to grow through investment and innovation”.

We think this deserves three sucks on a Dyson vacuum cleaner!

Posted on Tuesday, 16th March, 2010

Another Analyst for Jumpstart

As our blog post in November mentioned. Karen Valentine has now joined the company as Technical Analyst taking our running total of analysts to six.

Karen is a technical writer and business analyst with over twelve years experience. She has worked on a number of different systems within the Energy & Utilities sector. Karen can effectively analyse R&D activity within companies and has developed a good understanding of the NETA and BETTA marketplace.

Karen joins the company with a First Class (Hons) in Computer Science, which means, to date, all members of staff have degrees excluding our Managing Director, Don Galloway. Don has noted this but is determined not to let it get him down – he plays a vital role in other aspects of Jumpstart’s development and keeping staff motivated. Just remember Don, Karen drinks tea with milk, no sugar!

Posted on Wednesday, 20th January, 2010

Good news for small and medium sized companies!

In the Chancellor’s Pre Budget Report on Wednesday 9th December he announced further improvement to help small and medium sized companies who are claiming for R&D tax relief. Previously these companies had to own the IP on their eligible activities; this requirement has now been removed. Great news and further strengthens the program, let’s hope more is on the way.

Posted on Friday, 11th December, 2009

Another Jumpstarter!

As mentioned in our November blog we are delighted to introduce Jumpstart’s latest recruit – Stephen Edwards.

Stephen joins the company after a year in Africa working in Niger along with his wife Karen and young son Rory. Stephen comes with a raft of qualifications – Diploma in Chemical Engineering, 1st Class Honours in Biological Sciences and a Master of Philosophy in Bioinformatics

Amazingly he can also make an excellent cup of coffee… but his tea is in need of improvement. You never stop learning!

Posted on Monday, 7th December, 2009

CBI’s support of the R&D tax credit program.

This months Blog post has a more serious note.

We were very encouraged to hear recent reports from CBI president Helen Alexander (above) of the organisations un-faltering support for the R&D tax credit program.

The business group wants the tax credit to be extended, and serious consideration to be given to introducing a “royalty box ” system – where revenues from certain areas of IP, such as drug patents, are taxed at a lower rate, encouraging investment.

Speaking at the CBI’s East of England annual dinner this month she said the development and exploitation of IP will play an important role in the UK’s economic recovery.

“We want to see future tax changes have to pass a test, which is: Will it make the UK a more attractive place for businesses to invest in, develop and exploit IP?” she said.

“We must have a stable and competitive tax framework if we’re to incentivise IP development and exploitation. Change and uncertainty undermine the confidence of those making long-term investment decisions.”

The UK’s current R&D tax credit scheme works well, but other countries are fast catching up, said Alexander.

“The US has recently decided that its R&D tax credit is such an important part of its business landscape that it will make the credit permanent. Competing with the US is never easy, and so any plans to remove the UK’s R&D tax credit should be rejected out of hand as dangerously short-sighted,” she said.

Let’s hope these views are also the views of government whoever that may be in the future.

Posted on Tuesday, 15th September, 2009