Oxford Brookes University

A tool, including a poster and leaflet, is piloted across hospital sites in England and Scotland to support nurses in discussing lung cancer clinical trial opportunities with patients. Funded by the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation, the Lung I-ACT study aims to break down barriers to trial participation. The tool, informed by previous study phases, is being tested in seven sites, with four receiving training on its use. Baseline surveys will assess changes in knowledge, confidence, and awareness over six months. If successful, the study may expand across the UK and internationally.

Marine microbiologist Tyler Coale discovered a nitrogen-fixing organelle, the nitroplast, in the eukaryotic marine alga Braarudosphaera bigelowii, challenging the belief that only prokaryotes could fix nitrogen. The organelle, UCYN-A, was found to acquire essential proteins from its host, indicating it does not fix nitrogen independently and suggesting it is a younger organelle, possibly only 100 million years old.