Award-winning scientists get their message across

A description of a surprising new method of making drugs has won first place in the annual Merville Lay Seminars at University College Dublin. Mr Oliver McCrohan won £250 for his explanation of how he is using bacteria to control drug production.

The second prize, worth £150, was won by Ms Orlaith Lawler, who described how the body controlled blood-clotting. The third prize was won by Mr Stephen Wilson, who explained hardening of the arteries and new ways to control it. He won £75.

The prizes, including £50 each for the remaining three competitors, were presented by the Minister for Education and Science, Dr Woods, who praised the quality of the presentations. The significant increase in State support for research under the National Development Plan "increases the onus on our scientists to communicate and explain" their work, Dr Woods said.

Competitors were selected from a larger group which included graduate students from the Department of Biochemistry and the Department of Pharmacology. The object of the annual seminars, now in their fourth year, is to encourage young scientists to communicate their work in a way that is understandable to the public.

The lectures were sponsored by the Science, Technology and Innovation Awareness Programme and Guinness Ireland, and the chair for the evening was RTE presenter Mr Pat Kenny.

None of the judges for the event had a science background. The chair of the panel was Mr Bunny Carr and other judges included a journalist, Ms Liz Allen, rugby coach and commentator Mr Brent Pope, and the head of personnel at UCD, Ms Margaret Ramsay. Mr Carr described the event as helping to "demystify the mysteries of science".

Other student competitors included Mr Steve Kerrigan who presented a paper on "The killer smile", which looked at how bacteria involved in oral infections could also infect heart tissues.

Ms Dara Cannon presented a paper entitled, "Ecstasy, the heart of the matter", which examined how this dangerous drug could damage tissues in the body. Mr Maurice Leonard discussed "Drugs without a needle", a paper about new ways to deliver medicines without the pain of a syringe.