We’re ready for take off in space, science and technology

The news that Cambridge University is on the brink of growing human embryos in the lab may provoke fascination or even horror, but it undoubtedly shows that Britain is leading the way in cuttingedge, world-beating science.

Last year was a tumultuous one for the scientific community as public opinion swung against “experts”, and Brexit ignited fears that there would be a collapse in cooperation between research institutes, causing funding streams to dry up.

But so far those concerns have proved unfounded. In fact, Britain is forging ahead in research and is in a far better position than it was 12 months ago.

Just last week Greg Clark, the science minister, announced £126 million for a new research centre at the University of Manchester for the development of advanced materials and £103 million for the new Rosalind Franklin Institute in Cambridge, which will be a national hub for life and physical sciences.

The funding is part of Theresa May’s pledge to invest £2 billion in scientific research by 2020, a policy that won praise from even the most cynical and hand-wringing scientists, and showed that the UK intends to position itself as a leader not a follower in the post-Brexit era.

In the health sciences, the brand new £650 million Francis Crick Institute in London opened its doors at the end of last year, promising a new era of collaboration. It is here that the first cures for Alzheimer’s disease could be found, or the next wave of life-saving therapies for cancer, stroke and deadly infections.

And in spite of fears that US companies would slash investment once the gateway to Europe was closed after Brexit, it was Cambridge where Microsoft chose to open its first wet lab to look for a cure for cancer. It’s a testament to our innovation and expertise that the tech giant spurned its home country to base its moonshot operation on British soil.

Further afield, British scientists are leading the way in eradicating Zika from South America, by releasing an army of genetically modified mosquitoes into towns and cities, to cause insect populations to decline rapidly.

And the UK finally has a major stake in the space race after European ministers agreed funding for a British Mars rover which will launch in 2020 to hunt for alien life. Britain’s first astronaut, Major Tim Peake, is also scheduled to return to the International Space Station in the near future after the UK Space Agency agreed to help fund another mission.

So concerns that British research would stagnate in the Brexit era are unlikely to be realised.

As Prof Sir Robert Lechler, President of the Academy of Medical Science, stated recently, the UK is increasingly sending out “a bold and clear signal that Great Britain means great science”.