[With the Access to Understanding awards ceremony just about wrapping up, we can now announce the winners…]{style=“font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;”} [ ]{style=“font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;”} [First place was awarded to Philippa Matthews for her entry ’Rolling back malaria: A journey through space and time’, which described research exploring the changing patterns of malaria risk across Africa.

[We are excited to announce voting has now opened for Access to Understanding’s People’s Choice Award!]{style=“font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;

Access to Understanding is getting bigger and better every year. The 2015 science-writing competition attracted over 300 entries from all over the world. But don’t take my word for it, explore the map below to see where they came from and what they were about.

[Enter a prestigious, international science-writing competition aimed at PhD students and early career post-doctoral researchers.]{style=“font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;”} [[]{style=“font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;”}]{style=“font-family: "arial narrow" , "sans-serif";”} [[The winner will receive an** iPad** and have their entry published in

Image Source: Serial/Trash [ ]{style=“font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;”} [Life expectancy has increased continuously over the past several decades, and with it, a host of new age-related ailments have emerged as contemporary medical issues. Muscle function decreases with age, leaving increasing numbers of elderly people incapable of being physically independent.

[Image design: Serial/Trash]{style=“font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 150%;”} [A number of genes have been implicated in neurodegenerative diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neurone disease, and Frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD). However, the core biological processes involved in these disorders are extremely difficult to model and this is hampering the effort to develop treatments.

[Image Source: Serial/Trash]{style=“font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 150%;”} [Understanding how blood vessels are born and propagated is vital for the treatment of a whole host of diseases including heart disorders, diabetes and cancer.

[Image Source: Serial/Trash]{style=“font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 150%;”} [There is good news for rheumatoid arthritis sufferers: scientists are a step closer to predicting which patients will benefit the most from a particular type of drug using just a urine sample.]{style=“font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;

[By Elizabeth McAdam, a postdoctoral researcher at the Cancer Research UK London Research Institute, UK]{style=“font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;”} [ ]{style=“font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;”}[Note: Elizabeth ]{style=“font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;”}[was awarded second place in this year’s Access to

[]{style=“font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;”} [Image Source: Serial/Trash]{style=“font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;”} [Skin is not the only thing to wrinkle with age. Our genes also show signs of ageing – a process that can lead to cancer.