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Archaeologists routinely investigate human remains which play a vital role in understanding past societies. In recent years, however, increasing restrictions have impeded excavation and research and this has affected public engagement as applied to skeletal material. The `bones without barriers' case study is underpinned by research into the ethics of burial archaeology which supports the need for openness and debate. This research prompted the mobilisation of the archaeological community to challenge the conditions being implemented by the Ministry of Justice. The result has been a significant change in governmental attitude which has far-reaching implications for the whole heritage sector.
Impact: Health and welfare; policy in the form of national and international guidelines; diagnostic service; engagement with patient groups.
Significance: UoE-formulated diagnostic criteria adopted by the World Health Organisation (WHO), the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), enable reliable case ascertainment and longitudinal study of disease trends. The UoE Creutzfeldt-Jacob Disease Unit acts as an international reference centre for diagnosis. Case ascertainment has improved.
Beneficiaries: Patients with prion disease and their families, policy-makers, the NHS, charities.
Attribution: The UoE CJD Unit led the work with international collaborators.
Reach: Worldwide; diagnostic criteria are WHO-endorsed and have been adopted worldwide. Pooling of data across Europe has enabled assessment of 11,000 cases of sporadic CJD.
The domestication of animals — some ten thousand years — ago has allowed important insights into the origins and spread of farming across the globe and the impact that had on human biology and culture. Research carried out by an international research group, led by Aberdeen and Durham Universities, has brought understanding of this fundamental change in human history to a broader public, resulting in impacts on culture and quality of life. The research findings have featured widely in TV and radio programmes, both in Britain and abroad. The main researcher was also invited to participate in a six-month (privately-funded) experimental sailing expedition that traced the migration route of ancient Austronesian settlers into the pacific, which led to the collection of unique samples for research. The voyage resulted in a film and a book.