麻豆传媒

NORTH-WEST England has above-average rainfall, so with all those rain clouds there ought to be a silver lining or two. That was certainly the case a century ago, when the region鈥檚 burgeoning shipping industry hit a problem it had no idea how to fix. Shipowners whose vessels were travelling to far-flung places, including the tropics, were finding that their crews were succumbing to tropical diseases never seen before in the UK, from sleeping sickness to river blindness.

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As a result, in 1898 a local shipowner set up the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. It was the first of its kind in the world, and dispatched scientists as far as central Africa and the Amazon to research these mysterious diseases. One of its early successes came just four years later when a scientist at the school, Ronald Ross, became the first Briton to win a Nobel prize after he discovered that mosquitoes carry malaria. Today, the north-west鈥檚 shipping industry has faded away, but the school retains a global reputation as a leader in research on tropical and infectious diseases, from AIDS to SARS.

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It is not the only world-beating research centre in the north-west. A corridor of exciting science has formed between Liverpool and Manchester, running roughly parallel to the river Mersey (see Map). Scientists are discovering just how much the region can boost their careers and standard of living.

The golden triangle joining London, Oxford and Cambridge is often considered the hub of UK academic science. Many in the north-west would beg to differ 鈥� pointing, for example, to the University of Manchester. It aims to become one of the world鈥檚 top 25 universities by 2015, boosted by the merger in 2004 of the city鈥檚 two major universities to create a mega-institution with more than 5000 academic and research staff. 鈥淚t provided the opportunity for us to raise our game and ambitions,鈥� says Nancy Rothwell, its vice-president for research. 鈥淭ogether with fantastic support from the city and the region plus the vibrancy of Manchester, this makes it a great place to work.鈥�

Daresbury Laboratory, near Warrington, is another case in point. It was formed in 1962 to provide large-scale scientific facilities to researchers across the north, and the tower that was once home to the world鈥檚 largest van de Graaff machine dominates the site. The buildings at its base still house several laboratories.

The past few years have seen big changes on the campus, says general manager John Leake. The government singled out Daresbury, along with its sister campus at Harwell in Oxfordshire, for a major injection of cash. The site is now home to around 40 hi-tech start-up businesses, an IBM research set-up and a recently completed supercomputer, Blue Gene. 鈥淲e have a very interesting mix of capabilities,鈥� says Leake. 鈥淭here鈥檚 nothing really like it in the UK and you would struggle to find it internationally, too.鈥�

Daresbury also hopes to build a new form of particle accelerator called a 鈥渇ourth-generation light source鈥�. The facility would allow researchers to accelerate electrons to close to the speed of light, and use the light this process generates to probe the inner workings of cells, and even to image individual atoms. Daresbury may still only be at the bidding stage, but it is already building a prototype.

Big on pharma

The north-west can also hold its own when it comes to high-tech industry, another rich source of opportunities for scientists. Around 43,000 highly skilled people work in the chemical industry, more than 21,000 people work in aerospace, and 40,000 in the nuclear sector. One of the region鈥檚 major selling points is the strong pharmaceuticals presence, exemplified by AstraZeneca鈥檚 Alderley Edge campus. It is a village in its own right 鈥� though much more futuristic than the picturesque Cheshire communities flanking it.

AstraZeneca spends 拢750 million a year in the UK on the discovery and development of new drugs, and a large chunk of that happens here, says Chris Doherty, one of the vice-presidents of research and development. The main focus is on medicines to combat cancer.

There are new players, too. The National Biomanufacturing Centre, close to Liverpool鈥檚 John Lennon Airport, was set up to help small biotech firms with one of the more expensive and complex parts of development: synthesising drugs. The company that runs the centre, Eden Biodesign, has tripled its workforce to 50 people over the past year. The north-west鈥檚 biotech industry has grown significantly in the past decade, says Crawford Brown, Eden Biodesign鈥檚 CEO, who moved from southern England in the mid-1990s. 鈥淭hen there was little sign of strength in biotech start-ups in the north-west. Today several of the best-funded and most dynamic biotechs in the UK are located here,鈥� he says.

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That鈥檚 down to a widespread change in attitude, says Linda Magee, biotech director at Bionow, the north-west biotech industry association. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a real desire to succeed. We鈥檙e aware of the need to do research that is world class rather than parochial.鈥�

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And what of life after work? 鈥淭he area offers incredible diversity,鈥� says George Baxter, head of science and innovation at the Northwest Regional Development Agency. 鈥淵ou have major cities, Cheshire countryside, coast, mountains, the scenery of the Lake District 鈥� and the lifestyles that go with them.鈥� So start enjoying those silver linings.