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The South East has a Gross Value Added (GVA) of £158 billion (approx $290 billion / €230 billion). This is similar to that of Norway and Austria. |
With a population of eight million and a workforce of 4.2 million, the South East is the largest region in the UK. |
Approximately 287,200 VAT registered enterprises are present in the South East, more than any other UK region. |
The South East is the largest exporter in the UK, with £29 billion (approx $52 billion / €41 billion) of goods moved in 2004. |
The labour force is highly educated with 90% of the working age population holding an academic qualification and over one third of the workforce holding a degree. |
Workers with good language skills are readily available in the region due to the truly international workforce of 585,000 people who were born outside of the UK. |
Around nine working days a year are lost per employee due to sickness, the lowest amount for a UK region. |
The region is home to 24 universities and higher education institutes, where nearly 200,000 study. This includes the University of Oxford, one of the most prestigious universities in the world. |
South East universities work very closely with business, with over 2800 research conracts won annually, higher than any other UK region. |
The region's 24 universities and higher education institutes supply over 73,000 graduates per annum. |
£4.66 billion (approx $3.06 billion / €2.43 billion) is spent on R&D annually, nearly one quarter of UK expenditure. |
South East organisations undertaking R&D employ 45,800 people, which is almost 25% of the UK R&D workforce. |
The South East has the highest number of patents granted in the UK. The statistics show that 820 patents, over 20% of the UK total were granted to firms based in the South East in 2004-5. |
There are 6,540 foreign-owned companies in the South East. |
With three international airports, 11 sea ports, 108 motorway junctions, 77 train stations and access to the Channel Tunnel, the South East has one of the most extensive transport infrastructures in Europe. |
Heathrow, the world's busiest international passenger airport, is home to over 90 airlines serving approximately 186 destinations. It handles over 67 million passengers and 1.3 million tonnes of freight each year. |
It takes 35 minutes to travel through the Channel Tunnel between the UK and mainland Europe. Most major towns in the South East are connected by rail to central London with a journey time of under an hour. |
Almost one third of the land in the South East (637,000 hectares) is designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), more than any other UK region. |
In 2004-5, the South East had the second lowest crime rate in England with 8,983 reported crimes per 100,000 people. |
94% of the South East population is in good or fairly good health, which is higher than any other UK region. |
Eurostar has set a record for the quickest train journey between Paris and London of just 2 hours, 3 minutes and 39 seconds, meaning a typical journey will take just over 2 hours when the line opens in November 2007. |
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| Oxford team takes cancer fight to the next level |
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29 January 2010
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A group of scientists from Oxford could have registered a significant breakthrough in the battle against cancer.
The team, from Oxford University, has examined how cancer stem cells affect the growth of tumours, with the latest results of a study published in the journal PNAS.
A better understanding of how these crucial cells operate could yield important progress in tackling cancer, as Dr Trevor Yeung of the Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine at Oxford University, explained.
"Cancer stem cells drive the growth of a tumour," he said. "If we could target treatments against these cells specifically, we should be able to eradicate the cancer completely."
While radiotherapy and chemotherapy are capable of combating dividing cells, Dr Yeung said there was evidence that cancer stem cells were more resistant and required a different approach in order to prevent the recurrence of cancer.
"It's like trying to weed the garden," he explained. "It's no good just chopping off the leaves, we need to target the roots to stop the weeds coming back."
Called cancer stem cells because they are capable of producing further cells like themselves - like stem cells present in normal body tissue - Dr Yeung suggested a more fitting term for them would be "cancer-driving cells" or "tumour-initiating cells".
Now the team plans to employ a new technique for obtaining samples rich in cancer stem cells, which could help catalyse cancer research.
Taken from bowel cancer cell lines, the sample can then be preserved in simple cell cultures in the laboratory, enabling the researchers to identify and study them in isolation.
Unlike previous processes - which required cancer biopsies from human patients that were then enriched - the new system is quicker and generates a reusable sample.
The potential for repeatable, high-throughput screening of potential drugs, as well as the ability to characterise cancer stem cells and their operation, could be the key to further development.
"In the long term, it should allow the development of more useful, safe and specific drugs targeting cancer stem cells," added Dr Yeung.
There are more than 200 different types of cancer, with an estimated 10.9 million people worldwide diagnosed with the disease each year. It is thought that almost 25 million people have received a diagnosis of cancer in the last five years. 
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