Daniel Brewer

Spoiling a lot of takes but begging a large number of other questions... "Worsening graduate fortunes, it turns out, are a particularly British problem"

www.ft.com/content/649d...

Ian Chapman: no move away from applicant-led funding at UKRI. BBSRC funding pause is a temporary - 'a matter of a few weeks' before they move to an always-open system (as at e.g. EPSRC, AHRC).

MRC pause will extend to early summer, and then will open again.

MRC instructs grant review boards to slash funding rates - Research Professional News Boards asked to recommend just three applications for funding, as BBSRC also suspends calls

Both MRC and BBSRC responsive modes now withdrawn until further notice. Existing applications unlikely to succeed (late 2025 round expecting 1-5% success rate).

Listen, I get that UKRI wants to pivot. But killing both at once is devastating.

Let's hope at least one opens by summer... #AcademicSky

Dr Clare Stevenson, Head of Science Coordination and Research Culture at the John Innes Centre and the lead for the new project, said: “This funding will help us to expand the reach of our current EDI training beyond research institutes into higher education, and help us to address priority EDI areas and behaviours to promote a positive research culture. “Our original BBSRC-funded Neurodiversity project continues to reap rewards, with Newcastle University recently partnering with us to roll out the training at their own organisation. To be able to build on that relationship, and work more closely together on a new project from day one, is really exciting. The new e-learning content will be co-created with colleagues across our organisations, ensuring it is grounded in lived experiences from a wider range of STEM disciplines.”

NEWS - The John Innes Centre and Newcastle University to lead new STEM-EDI training project

We are proud to announce a new collaboration which will deliver bespoke STEM-based EDI training, tailored for Higher Education and research institutions: www.jic.ac.uk/news/the-joh...

Simon Yates announces surprise retirement with ‘deep pride and sense of peace’ Simon Yates, one of Britain’s most storied riders and the winner of last year’s Giro d’Italia champion, has stunned cycling by announcing his retirement at 33

Simon Yates in surprise retirement www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/j...

As I browse around, I keep an eye out for (what I think) are surprising facts.

This 2021 paper estimated that the USA, China and the UK spend USD 2.5 billion on peer review, based on the contribution made by researchers.
🧵

🚨🚨Publication alert🚨🚨 First paper of 2026!
We review recent developments in molecular & genetic biomarkers in prostate cancer active surveillance.
NIHR Clinical fellow Stephanie Smith @drstephsmith.bsky.social leading the charge.

Open access 🧬👇
doi.org/10.3390/gene...

Winter view at the University of East Anglia, featuring a snow-covered campus with a modern building and bare trees under a clear blue sky.

Sunset view of the East Anglia campus covered in snow, with red artwork visible and modern buildings in the background.

Frosted white flowers with a blurred background of a wintry forest scene.

View of a snowy landscape with two people walking on a pathway, trees in the background and a low sun in the sky.

🎉 Happy New Year from UEA! ❄️
Norwich and our beautiful campus are looking magical in the snow today. Stay warm, everyone!

Photo 2 credit - @thomasmock.bsky.social

snowy campus today ❄️🌨️
@uniofeastanglia.bsky.social

It has become received wisdom in Brussels and Washington that there is a new “euro-sclerosis”: that the EU economy is lagging the US

This view is wrong

A little primer on the measurement of productivity – and why reports of the economic death of Europe are greatly exaggerated🧵

Humble Book Bundle: Adrian Tchaikovsky's Epic Fantasy by Macmillan Fantasy fans won’t want to miss this Adrian Tchaikovsky bundle, featuring the Shadows of the Apt series and more! Every purchase supports Cancer Research UK!

A ton of @aptshadow.bsky.social books on humble bundle for cheap!

www.humblebundle.com/books/adrian...

Guess the movie hidden in this chart : A line chart with x axis time and y axis distance and a curve going from zero up

[1/24] And here's the first one! As suggested last year by @visualisingdata.com, give your answer as the alt text of an image answering this post so people can keep guessing!

And that's it for the year. Thanks for your support.

Day 28 update. A few days left to go. movember.com/m/dbrewer

Four articulated buses blocking each other in a roundabout making them stuck.

So this happened in Oslo yesterday. Four articulated buses got stuck in a roundabout.

My contribution is the rhubarb crumble cake, just in case you are interested!

The annual Norwich Medical School Cancer Genetics Team Movember bake sale is on! Come along to the Bob Champion Research and Education building and feed yourself with some tasty treats. @ueamedical.bsky.social

21 day update. Getting there. Donate here: movember.com/m/dbrewer?mc...

"academic publishing is dominated by profit-oriented, multinational companies for whom scientific knowledge is a commodity to be sold back to the academic community who created it... The dominant four collectively generated... $12 billion in profits between 2019 and 2024."

11 day update. Donate to my fundraiser via movember.com/m/dbrewer?mc...

Enjoyed celebrity traitors. Bit disappointed that Nick and David miss stepped at the end. Who came out of it best, Nick. Who came out of it worst, Jonathan Ross.

Bucks, almost uniquely, favours mayonnaise with chips.* And rightly so.

* No, it really won't be salad cream.

Daniel Brewer's Mo Space Daniel's Motivation: Globally, more than 1.4M men are diagnosed with prostate cancer each year. Movember is working to halve the number of deaths from prostate cancer by 2030, and I want to help them ...

It's November, so it's time for the traditional fundraising for Movember. This year I'll be getting a tache named Hank. Please support my fundraiser: movember.com/m/dbrewer?mc...

ONE DAY TO GO. An exciting opportunity has arisen for a senior bioinformatician to join the Cancer Genetics team on the project “Identifying patients with aggressive prostate cancer by detecting molecular subtypes in urine”. 🧬🖥️ . 3 years starting in Feb 2026. Please apply.

bit.ly/3Wt3Lk8

Cartoon: simple black and white line drawing. A couple in a living room. The man is sitting in an armchair reading a newspaper, head turned slightly towards his wife who is standing at the window, tugging at the curtain and saying "I see the Renegade Master's back once again with the ill behaviour".

My most popular cartoon by a long chalk is also oddly niche, in that it mostly appeals to a generation who remember the song it refers to and enjoy the nostalgia for their youth. I can draw one for you if you like.

www.worldofmoose.com/collections/...

If university tuition fees had risen with inflation since 2012, the annual fee would be significantly higher than the current £9,250, likely approaching £12,500. So that's a real-term drop in income of about a quarter.

English universities can raise tuition fees if they meet ‘tough’ standards, says Phillipson Measure, which will allow increase in line with inflation, is part of white paper on post-16 education and skills

Although I would love an alternative system, I don't like how this is being portrayed in the media as an increase in income for universities, rather than just keeping still in real terms. It will require more than this to sort out the dire state of the sector.

www.theguardian.com/education/20...

Come and join the Cancer Genetics team in the lovely Norwich. We have a three year position for a senior bioinformatician starting in Feb 2026. Click the link for further details.

bit.ly/3Wt3Lk8

🧬 🖥️

@prostateukprofs.bsky.social @ueamedical.bsky.social @uniofeastanglia.bsky.social #postdoc

Research Associate (RA2352) in University of East Anglia | UEA View details and apply for this Research Associate (RA2352) vacancy in University of East Anglia. Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences Norwich Medical School Department of Metabolic Health…

A one year opportunity has arisen for a lab-based molecular scientist to join the Cancer Genetics team on the Prostate Cancer UK funded project “Identifying patients with aggressive prostate cancer by detecting molecular subtypes in urine”. Starting Feb 2026. Please contact me.

bit.ly/4o9a6xD

New studentship available in the cancer genetics team at UEA, UK. This PhD is about investigating whether the presence of bacteria is directly causing prostate cancer development.Feb 2025. Stipend and fees available to those that are eligible.
@ueamedical.bsky.social

www.uea.ac.uk/course/phd-d...