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PARLIAMENTARY LINKS DAY 2012 This year’s Parliamentary Links Day, now organised by the Society of Biology on behalf of the science and engineering community, was held in the House on 26th June. The theme was SCIENCE AND SPORT in view of the approaching Olympic and Paralympic Games.

It was the biggest ever Parliamentary Links Day and around 250 MPs, Peers, Parliamentary staff, athletes and distinguished scientists from an exceptionally wide variety of scientific organisations listened to a stream of interesting presentations and networked over lunch.

The event was chaired in the “I know, from my unique Commons by Andrew Miller MP, vantage point in the House, that Chair of House of Commons Members on all sides continue Science and Technology Select to raise issues that have a Committee and in the Lords by scientific aspect to them. It is all Lord Willis of Knaresborough, a the more important that every member of the House of Lords Member of Parliament should Committee on Science and be able to benefit from non- Technology. partisan assistance of the kind “I know, from my unique vantage offered by professional scientific The Speaker of the House of bodies like the Society of point in the House, that Members on Commons, Rt Hon John Bercow Biology, the Institute of Physics, MP, welcomed everyone to a all sides continue to raise issues that the Royal Society of Chemistry packed Attlee Suite and praised and many others with their the Society of Biology for its role have a scientific aspect to them. proven commitment to public in Links Day which exists to interest.” strengthen the dialogue Mr Speaker Bercow between Parliament and the Subsequent speakers science community. included the Science Minister, Rt Hon David Willetts MP, and Dr Julian Huppert MP (a co-sponsor of the event) along with sportsmen and sport scientists passionate about the Olympic legacy. The Minister observed that “Often the sporting environment is one of the first places where technical innovations are seen and can be tested. Sport drives innovation.”

Baroness Campbell, Chair of policy. She also thanked soil UK Sport, spoke about working scientists for their work with scientists to show that sport decontaminating 2000 tonnes is a fundamental right for every of polluted soil and 20 million child. Rt Hon Dame Tessa gallons of groundwater at the Jowell MP, Shadow Minister for Olympic site, regenerating an the Olympics, pointed to the area of wasteland the size of importance of using science in Hyde Park into housing, an

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urban parkland and a wildlife operations: both athletes and (2.45m) and long jump record haven with wildflower beds and patients have bodies under (8.95m). Both those records boxes for roosting bats. The park extreme stress.” remain. But, as expected, later claimed the world record records were broken at the An Early Day Motion on the for the most bird boxes (525) at London 2012 Olympics as Order Paper congratulated the any Olympic Park. athlete performance continues Society of Biology on organising to improve. Some striking In the first of two panel this year's Parliamentary Links performances included the discussions Andy Parkinson, Day and welcomed the fastest ever 800m, run by chief executive of UK Anti- contribution that scientific Doping, explained how new societies make to assisting Kenyan athlete David Rudisha, scientific techniques meant Parliament. and a record time for the Great samples from athletes could be Britain team in the 3km David Gordon, head of Media tested over long periods – up to THE OLYMPIC AND women’s cycling pursuit. On Events Coverage at the BBC, eight years – and that the UK PARALYMPIC GAMES behalf of the Society of Biology, described the advances in digital Dr Mark Downs said “UK sport was leading the way in doping The enthusiasm of the technology that would make has received a boost from the detection ahead of London speakers at Parliamentary Links coverage of this year’s Olympic Olympics and a boost from 2012. Day paved the way for a Games more comprehensive science. Support from across the fantastic Olympic Games. Team Steve Ingham from the than ever – with every sport science and engineering sector GB won a staggering 65 medals English Institute of Sport told available to watch and up to 24 has been essential to the to secure third place in the how advances in the science of events being broadcast success of the Games. I look medal table, and over 7.4 altitude training are improving simultaneously. Gordon also forward to seeing how the the performance of UK athletes. revealed that the BBC would million spectators visited Olympic venues around the UK. Olympic legacy unfolds, and for The Institute can now soon be broadcasting in Super a continued relationship consistently increase athletes’ Hi-Vision, a broadcast technology At the Games the UK anti- between science and sport.” haemoglobin mass by up to 16 times higher definition than doping agency worked tirelessly 12%, where once not everyone existing HD. to ensure that London 2012 CONCLUSION would respond to this type of was as clean as possible, and Dr Mark Downs, Chief Mr Speaker Bercow had training. He reported that simple carried out over 6,000 tests for Executive of the Society of opened Parliamentary Links Day advances in warm-up banned substances in athletes’ Biology, commented that “Links 2012 by saying that although techniques have recently blood and urine. Andy Day was extremely successful there is a “great distance to improved 400m sprint times by Parkinson, UK Anti-Doping Chief and highlighted the many ways travel” in terms of promoting up to a second. Executive, said: “The World Anti- in which science and scientific understanding among Doping Agency reported that UCL’s Director of the Institute engineering work together to MPs, there has been a great over 100 potential Olympians of Sport, Exercise and Health, have a positive impact on the deal of progress in recent years. Professor Fares Haddad, Olympics. The Games rely on were stopped from competing The largest ever attendance explained to the audience how the latest technologies, from at the Games because of doping, while the International for a Links Day showed the Olympic Committee announced appetite that exists for scientists a number of positive tests and MPs to share their during the course of the Games. knowledge in order to improve This is good news for clean the use of science in policy athletes around the world.” decisions.

Speakers at Links Day had Science and Universities amazed the audience with Minister, Rt Hon David Willetts MP, some examples of world records rightly observed that – tapes along the wall and the Parliamentary Links Day has floor of the Attlee Suite marked become “the biggest gathering of the world high jump record scientists coming to Parliament”.

advances in medicine for elite techniques for detecting doping athletes often translates into to ways of improving athlete Parliamentary Links Day has become better treatment for non- performance. These “the biggest gathering of scientists athletes. The University is technologies can have far wider currently working on the ‘holy effect than competitive sport. For coming to Parliament”. grail’ of knee injury prevention, example, nutrition for elite the ability to repair surface athletes can also be valuable for David Willetts cartilage. patients recovering from

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