University of Cambridge

Professor Monica Grady, Open University discusses how meteorites, fragments of asteroids, show us the processes and materials that shaped our solar system and planet.

Presented with Cambridge University Press

Join Dr Suzy Lishman, President of the Royal College of Pathologists, as she performs a virtual autopsy on a live model to investigate the effects of modern living on the body. Discover what an autopsy involves, how post mortem examinations have transformed our understanding of disease and why future investigations may not require a scalpel.

Although there will be no real blood or body parts this event is not recommended for the very young or the very squeamish.

Dr Suzy Lishman is a Consultant Histopathologist at Peterborough City Hospital and President of the Royal College of Pathologists. She introduced National Pathology Week in 2008, since when thousands of events for schools and the public have been held in the UK and abroad to dispel some of the misconceptions about pathology and highlight its vital role in healthcare.

The starting point for this talk is the following obviously absurd question. Imagine that we are about to vote in a yes/no referendum, and we hope that the majority will get the answer 'right'.

Unfortunately, each person is completely clueless about the answer. Professor Imre Leader, Department of Pure Mathematics and Mathematical Statistics, will consider what we should do. No mathematical knowledge required!

It has been a year and a half since Dr Joseph Tennant joined the Faraday team at The Faraday Institute for Science and Religion to work on the project “Mystical seizures and Salience in Temporal Lobe Epilepsy.” In collaboration with lead investigator Prof. Alasdair Coles, Joe has been investigating the neurological underpinnings and psychological consequences of seizures that are accompanied by intense euphoria, senses of knowing the purpose of the universe, or even seeing the face of god(s). Eleanor Puttock chatted with Joe to find out how the project is going and what it is like to be a social scientist.

To find out more about the project go to: http://bit.ly/1WLEzyu

To find out more about The Faraday Institute go to: http://www.faraday.st-edmunds.cam.ac.uk

Man vs Pathogen

The next big infectious disease is in the tabloids but the real killers lurk amongst us every day. Dr. Colin Russell, Cambridge Infectious Diseases Interdisciplinary Research Centre, discusses what scientists are doing to predict the emergence of new diseases and combat existing threats.

Every 2.25 seconds someone dies of an infectious disease. Ebola and Zika have captured the world’s attention and yet “old diseases”, such as Flu, Malaria,TB, and good old diarrhoea, continue to have immense, sustained human impact. One of the aims of Cambridge Infectious Diseases Interdisciplinary Research Centre is to focus on the early identification of dangerous pathogens and enable a rapid response to thwart the spread of disease before they become a significant threat to public health. Together, science, medicine and education provide a path for diminishing the impact of infectious disease and improving quality of life for everyone.

Dr. Colin Russell is a Principal Research Associate and Royal Society University Research Fellow in the Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge. His work focusses on influenza viruses. He is also one of the chief scientists of the University of Cambridge WHO Collaborating Centre for Modelling, Evolution and Control of Emerging Infectious Diseases, and of the Cambridge Infectious Diseases Interdisciplinary Research Centre.

http://www.infectiousdisease.cam.ac.uk/

http://www.vet.cam.ac.uk/directory/russell

http://www.whocc.infectiousdisease.cam.ac.uk

We are discovering the first planets with sizes, masses and temperatures similar to the Earth. Dr Amaury Triaud will describe how after much speculation and philosophical debate, the existence of life outside our solar system is close to becoming a testable scientific hypothesis.

Dr Amaury Triaud is a senior researcher at the Institute of Astronomy. A regular visitor to the observatories of the Atacama desert, he is the discoverer of over one hundred planets. He now searches for planets the same size and the same temperature as the Earth, and aims to find out if life emerged elsewhere in the Universe.

Please note: This event replaces that by Professor Didier Queloz in the print programme.

#Astrology #Science #CambridgeScienceFestival #CSF2017

Carrying out fieldwork in high-security subterranean data centres, Alex Taylor explores fears of technological failure in our data-dependent society. Alex is a PhD student in the Division of Social Anthropology at the University of Cambridge.

People with multiple sclerosis will describe how they are affected by this disease of the brain and spinal cord. It starts in early adulthood and initially consists of attacks, which come and go, due to inflammation in the brain. Later in the illness, people develop progressive disability. In 1993, the first drug to suppress the inflammation in multiple sclerosis became available. Since then, several treatments have been developed, that are increasingly effective in reducing the attacks of multiple sclerosis. We will show how this first battle in the war against multiple sclerosis has nearly been won. However, that still leaves people with some scarring in the brain, with the threat of progressive disability in the future. We will hear from scientists at Cambridge who have recently developed exciting strategies to encourage the brain to repair itself. And participants in a trial of one of these approaches will describe their experience.

Professor Alasdair Coles has been in Cambridge since 1993, having trained at Oxford, London and Nottingham. He is a neurologist at Addenbrooke’s who specialises in treating immunological diseases of the brain. He also researches the effects of neurological diseases on religious faith.

Reporting From Extreme Environments

Lyse Doucet (BBC)

Darwin College Lecture Series 2017 – Extremes

Lyse Doucet is the BBC ’s award winning Chief International Correspondent who spends much of her time covering stories in our news headlines including devastating wars in Syria and Iraq as well as Afghanistan. She often focuses on the human costs of conflict. Her work also involves asking questions of world leaders. Her BBC journalism began with postings in Abidjan, Kabul, Islamabad, Tehran, Amman and Jerusalem. She was awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Honours list in 2014 for her services to broadcasting and the Columbia Journalism Award for lifetime achievement in 2016.

‘Carriers of Culture’ is an exhibition at Cambridge’s Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology of 19th and 20th-century images from the Congo. The exhibition came about when the London-based Congo Great Lakes Initiative (CGLI) worked with the Museum to unlock new understanding of the photographs through the Congolese community’s unique indigenous insights. Among the images is a series showing women making kwanga, a manioc bread. The community returned again and again to these images, and eventually suggested they form the heart of the exhibition. ‘Carriers of Culture: Women, Food and Power from the Congo Basin’ is at the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology until 2 April 2017.