Challenging Myths about Beauty and Appearance

In this interactive session, Professor Nichola Rumsey and Dr Diana Harcourt will encourage the audience to consider current societal attitudes towards beauty and appearance.

With reference to work conducted by the Centre for Appearance Research, they will explore whether current evidence supports or refutes these beliefs and consider the implications that this growing area of psychological research has for people with appearance-related concerns.

Professor Nichola Rumsey is the VTCT Professor of Appearance and Dr Diana Harcourt is a Reader in Health Psychology. They are the Co-Directors of the Centre for Appearance Research (CAR) within the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences at the University of the West of England, Bristol.

More about CAR

Tuesday, 10th November - Cafe-at-Bristol

Who's to blame for the amount we eat?

Dr. Jeff Brunstrom

Obesity is now recognised as a serious health concern, affecting an increasing proportion of the UK population. In response, we are often advised to select healthy foods and to eat smaller portions. The underlying logic is that food intake needs to be consciously controlled, because in the absence of control we passively consume the foods and portion sizes that form our modern 'obesogenic environment.'

Join Dr Jeff Brunstrom, Reader in Behavioural Nutrition at the University of Bristol, and share your thoughts on whether it is us or our environment that really controls the amount of food we eat.

More about Dr Brunstrom's work...

The declining health of the honey bee

Allen Coates - Bee Keeper

Allen will talk about the various influences on the honey bee population, from exotic pests and global warming to agro-chemicals and other stress-causing factors. These all influence each other, but Allen will build a case against one in particular.

He will then discuss recent improvements in bee husbandry, and offer suggestions for addressing the various problem areas. Allen will close with speculations about the possible consequences of the wide scale demise of the honey bee.

Join us for an intriguing evening and find out more about a most important topic.

Monday, 26th October - Tobacco Factory

The smell of disease

Norman Ratcliffe, Professor of analytic & sensor science, UWE

(you have a choice this evening - see entry below...)

Join Norman as he describes his research at the University of the West of England on the analysis of gases from the human body for disease diagnosis. Topics will include cancer diagnosis and simple breath tests for food intolerance.

Norman's university webpage

Monday, 26th October - Pierian Centre - a special Festival of Learning science cafe

Mbira Physics and the Songs of Iron

A Science Café with Nhamburo Ziyenge and Fidelis Mherembi

This unique collision of African traditional music and cutting-edge physics sheds light in all directions! Physicist Nhamburo Ziyenge is joined by mbira master Fidelis Mherembi for an evening of learning and pleasure – an evening that unites the worlds of music and science, of tradition and research.

Since the days of Ancient Greece music and science have been seen as twins. Nhamburo Ziyenge revives this ancient tradition with an evening that first introduces the subtleties of the Zimbabwean thumb piano, the mbira – and then uses them to explore some of of the fundamental laws of physics. With dazzling performance by mbira master Fidelis Mherembi!

Sponsorship by The Festival of Learning means that this unique Science Café is FREE! Booking essential on 0117 924 4512 or info@pieriancentre.com. 7.30 for 8pm start. The Pierian Centre is at 27 Portland Square, Bristol BS2 8SA.

13th October - Cafe-at-Explore

'Is it getting hot in here? Evidence from Earth history for our climatic future'

Richard Pancost, Reader in Biogeochemistry, Bristol University.

In the past 100 years, human activity has markedly altered the composition of the atmosphere, and elevated greenhouse gas concentrations have already resulted in about 0.6C warming of the Earth. Future changes will likely be larger as we enter a climate state not seen on Earth for tens of millions of years.

However, the climatic changes of most relevance to humans, including rainfall and extreme climate events, are those that are least understood. To anticipate future changes and test computer models of climate, earth scientists explore how the Earth's climate responded to past intervals of global warming. To do this, we use proxies - physical, chemical or biological signals in the sedimentary record that reflect key components of the climate system. Together, they let us describe the ancient Earth and examine how it responded to past intervals of global warming.

Join Richard Pancost, reader in biogeochemistry at the University of Bristol to discuss this climatic evidence and what it means for our future.

Richard's research webpage

Wednesday, October 7th- Pierian Centre

The Nuts and Bolts of Aircraft Construction through the ages

In just over 100 years, air travel has gone from fantasy to what some would call an everyday mundane reality, but have you ever wondered how you actually go about building an aircraft?

In 2010, Filton celebrates 100 years of involvement in aircraft manufacturing, how far have we come and where are we going?"

Adam Williams is Manufacturing Engineer at Airbus Operations Ltd, Filton, Bristol.

28th September - Tobacco Factory: Professor Jane Memmott

Biodiversity on farms: where is it, what is it and does it matter?

The intensification of arable agriculture over the last 50 yrs has been associated with substantial losses of biodiversity. Given that 77% of the land area in Great Britain is under agricultural production and that most of our biodiversity is found on farmland, how we farm has considerable implications for both the maintenance and utilization of biodiversity.

Biodiversity doesn't just look pretty, it also provides free services for mankind, for example pollination and natural pest control. Two large-scale projects run at Bristol University have been studying farms, both organic and conventional. This talk will be about what these projects did and what they found, discussing along the way whether we can farm for wildlife as well as food.

Jane's research interests encompass food web biology, invasion ecology, biological control, pollination biology, restoration ecology and habitat fragmentation. [More... ]

When Engineers were Heroes

Following on from our July event with Bloodhound SSC, a project to inspire future engineers through the building of a supersonic car, we take a historical look at the profile of engineers, on this, the 150th anniversary of the passing of Brunel.

Such was once the celebrity status of Isambard Kingdom Brunel that, with his life imperiled by a gold coin stuck in his wind-pipe (the result of a conjuring trick that misfired), the public clamoured for news and The Times reported almost daily on attempts to dislodge it. Brunel’s bravado during the construction of the Thames Tunnel had first brought him to public attention, but it was the 1830s railway ‘mania’ that really propelled to fame the two father-and-son engineering partnerships, the Brunels and the Stephensons. Railways both thrilled and terrified the Victorians, awestruck by the engineering feats of men who tunneled through mountains and bridged impossibly wide estuaries. People flocked to the machinery hall at the Great Exhibition, Samuel Smiles’ engineering biographies flew off the bookstalls, and the engineering professions easily raised thousands of pounds to commemorate these new heroes in marble, bronze or stained glass.

Yet Some Who Have Made Bristol Famous, a painting presented to the City Museum and Art Gallery in 1930, found no place for Brunel, and the centenary of his death in 1959 was a very tame affair in comparison to his ‘200th Birthday’ celebrations in 2006.

Wednesday 2nd September, 7.45pm for 8pm at the Pierian Centre: Steve Simpson

Are the oceans doomed?

This is the first of a new series of Science Cafes to be held at the Pierian Centre. Steve Simpson will be our speaker; he facilitated a very successful Cafe at the Tobacco Factory back in the spring and is an idea speaker for this first event. Feel free to just turn up as usual, although it would be useful to know numbers - if you know you're coming, just drop me at email - Bob.

Recent headlines predict a bleak future for the oceans, coral reefs and fisheries:

"Warmer Pacific Ocean threatens to wipe out coral on Great Barrier Reef within 50 years" , Independent, 23/02/04

"All seafood will run out in 2050, say scientists", Daily Telegraph, 4/11/06

"Acidic seas may kill 98% of world's reefs by 2050", Guardian, 14/12/07

"Sharks in peril: ocean's fiercest predators now vulnerable to extinction", Science Daily, 18/2/08

"Sea level rise could top 1.5m by 2099, experts warn", Guardian, 16/12/08

Join us for a discussion on the state of the world's oceans and wildlife. We will explore the science behind the headlines, find out what is really happening, and consider what, if anything, we can do about it.

Steve is a marine biologist and fish ecologist, with particular interests in coral reef fishes, commercial fisheries, climate change, fish behaviour, and aquaculture.

Click here for more about Steve's work.

27th July - Tobacco Factory - Ian Page

Peak Oil - are the rumours true?

In fact, what are the rumours? What will, or could, happen and who should we believe? This is such an important topic that we could run a number of science cafes on it and related issues.

Peak oil is the simplest label for the problem of energy resource depletion - in particular the peak in global oil production. Ian Page will describe the story of Peak Oil, what we know and what we don't. Discuss with him the facts, the fancies and the future.

Ian Page is a retired R&D manager with an interest in the future of energy and, ultimately, of civilisation(s). He is active in the International Futures Forum (IFF), which is a non-profit organisation established to support a "transformative response to complex and confounding challenges and to restore the capacity for effective action in today’s powerful times."

IFF website.

June 29th at the Tobacco Factory - Chris Kay

The miracle of turning water into beer.

Three years ago, Chris Thurgeson and Simon Bartlett from the Beer Factory gave a very informative and entertaining talk at Science Cafe. This time, the other Chris takes his turn to describe how water is changed into something remarkable.

The Beer Factory is just across the road from the Tobacco Factory and they have a recently bought and renovated the Grain Barge near Hotwells.

See Beer Factory Website for more information.

June 16th at the Arnolfini Cafe - Ainsley Newson

Genetic Futures

Ainsley Newson, senior lecturer in Biomedical Ethics at the University of Bristol, spends her time unpicking the social and moral issues of developments in genetic technologies. With DNA sequencing and genetic testing technologies advancing all the time, the reality of a 'personal genomic profile' for any one of us is just around the corner.

But what could receiving your genetic profile mean to you? Would you change your behaviour or feel trapped by your DNA? Who else might be interested in your data?

To ask these questions and more come along to this Science Cafe and find out more about this interesting area of scientific and ethical dilemma.

Link to the Centre for Ethics in Medicine at Bristol University

Note: if you come early, between 6pm and 8pm, the cafe is doing special discounts on selected meals and wine for science cafe participants. The cafe webpage is here.

June 9th at Cafe-at-Explore: Carinna Parraman

Does this look right? The science of colour appearance in Art

Have you considered why the swatch colour you take to the paint shop appears very different to the final painted wall? Differences between how a colour is measured and how it appears to the human eye present challenges for colour scientists, designers and artists alike.

For many centuries artists and scientists have been observing and developing ways pigmented colour can be mixed and applied to canvas to depict natural phenomena. Yet how to accurately describe and measure colour is a problematic activity. The experimental work in colour photography undertaken by Edwin Land in the 1960s and 70s demonstrated the highly sophisticated nature of our visual system but also highlighted the problems of devices that emulated our vision system. He proved that, unlike cameras, humans perceived colours in the context of all the colours surrounding them. With greater demands and new opportunities for the rendering of colour that are comparable with our human vision system - high definition television, cinema, photography, computer games - scientists have begun to reach the limits of how to measure and apply colour.

Technicians have begun to seek clues in the world of fine art - how artists have perceived and transcribed colour. For contemporary colour science, there is a requirement to accurately measure and specify a colour. However when looking at art, at photographs and at real life situations, attempts to define what we 'see' are more complex.

Carinna Parraman is Senior Research Fellow at The Centre for Fine Print Research at the University of the West of England. [more about Carinna's work...]

May 18th at the Tobacco Factory - Jack Cohen

How to design an Alien

What do real aliens look like?
What is the possibility of life on other planets?

Arguments and evidence about alien life have been based in school chemistry and naive biological philosophies. We can do better: evolutionary biology can tell us the likelihoods of biological innovations on this planet, and we can argue to other evolutions. Life, and indeed intelligence, is common - but the peculiarities of our evolutionary history, like airway-crossing-foodway, and our kind of excretory/reproductive mix-up, will not be found elsewhere. Knees and elbows are also "parochial" in (pentadactyl) detail, but joints-in-the-limbs are "universal"; so are photosynthesis, life on land, flight and many other multiple inventions here. The argument to intelligence as a Universal is interesting and has ethical consequences. Building credible aliens is fun, too.

The real difficulty in creating aliens is artistic, not primarily biological; it is to lose the anthropomorphism without losing communication with the audience.

Jack Cohen has been involved in the invention of many fictional life forms, such as McCaffrey’s Dragons of Pern, Harrison’s Yilane of West of Eden, and several by Niven and White. He has authored or co-authored many books, often with notable authors - in recent years with Ian Stewart (on chaos theory as well as books of fiction) and Terry Pratchett (the Science of DiscWorld).

Jack Cohen's website

May 12th at Cafe-At-Bristol - Dr Guy Saunders

To teleport or not ... that is the question.

If it were possible to teleport, would you use this as a means of transport? What do you think would happen if a 'person' teleported? Would a replica person still be the same person?

As you read this, you might feel you have a unified experience of some kind, an experience had by you as the subject of that experience. From this point of view, you as a person have the experience. But is it like this? An alternative view is that your life is a bundle of elements made from a series of experiences collected together by, for example, your memories of them; that 'Person' is simply a conventional name given to the set of elements and does not refer to a separate thing.

By thought experiment with follow-up questions and discussion, Dr Guy Saunders, a senior lecturer in social psychology and consciousness studies at UWE will introduce the session.

more about Guy Saunders and here.

April 27th at the Tobacco Factory - Steve Simpson

Are the oceans doomed?

Recent headlines predict a bleak future for the oceans, coral reefs and fisheries:

"Warmer Pacific Ocean threatens to wipe out coral on Great Barrier Reef within 50 years" , Independent, 23/02/04

"All seafood will run out in 2050, say scientists", Daily Telegraph, 4/11/06

"Acidic seas may kill 98% of world's reefs by 2050", Guardian, 14/12/07

"Sharks in peril: ocean's fiercest predators now vulnerable to extinction", Science Daily, 18/2/08

"Sea level rise could top 1.5m by 2099, experts warn", Guardian, 16/12/08

Join us for a discussion on the state of the world's oceans and wildlife. We will explore the science behind the headlines, find out what is really happening, and consider what, if anything, we can do about it.

Steve is a marine biologist and fish ecologist, with particular interests in coral reef fishes, commercial fisheries, climate change, fish behaviour, and aquaculture. Click here for more about Steve's work.

April 14th at Explore-At-Bristol - Dr Katy Lancaster

Shadows of the Big Bang: The Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation

When observed with a radio telescope, the night sky is not dark. It 'glows' with residual heat from the Big Bang, the explosion widely regarded to mark the beginning of the Universe. This 'Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation' is present in all directions, and displays hot and cold spots which are imprints of early formation of the astronomical objects we observe today.

These faint anisotropies contain much information about the nature of the Universe as a whole, and provide clues about its ultimate fate.

Decode the history of the Universe with Dr. Katy Lancaster, research associate in Astrophysics at Bristol.

[more about Katy...]

March 30th at the Tobacco Factory - Professor Zafar Bashir

Memories are made of this

Professor Bashir will be talking about memory - especially about what happens at the level of molecules. What really is memory? This is part of a number of talks and events focused on Brain Awareness Week this month.

more on Professor Bashir

March 10th at Explore-At Bristol - Professor Stafford Lightman

Is stress all in the head?

Are you stressed out? Stress-related disease is a rapidly increasing feature of our society, but the ways in which stress actually leads to illness remain very unclear.

To mark international Brain Awareness Week 2009 and highlight neuroscience activities taking place within Explore-At-Bristol (18-22 March) in collaboration with the University of Bristol, Professor Lightman will be discussing the question 'Is stress all in the head?'.

More about Professor Lightman's research interests

February 23rd at the Tobacco Factory - Dr Mike Walter

What is the Earth made of - and how do we know?

At school we learn about the core, mantle, crust and so on and what they're made of, but how do we know? What is there left to learn? And what are scientists currently investigating?

Join us for this voyage to the centre of the earth.

Mike Walter is Reader in Petrology at Bristol University.

Mike Walter's university webpage

February 10th at Explore-At-Bristol - Dr Lynne Lawrance

'Societal, Moral and Ethical Questions Raised by Quarantine in the 21st Century'

The use of quarantine to prevent infectious disease spreading throughout societies has a long history (quarantine stations for immigrants to various countries). Its use however had become less common due to medical advances in prevention and treatment of infections.

However, the new millennium saw quarantine come into play again as a key factor in halting the SARS epidemic that threatened to spread quickly around the world; in part because of the ease of international travel that now exists. Quarantine was used aggressively in parts of South-East Asia and also in Toronto; and though you may not have noticed people were quarantined in the UK.

The exact numbers who were quarantined in the UK is hard to determine as none of them were asked to do so by the health authorities (in fact in some cases the groups concerned were told it was unnecessary), but it is likely that it ran to a few hundred.

Yet no one who was quarantined in the UK went on to develop the disease - they did however "lose" 10 days of their life! One day it could be you - how would you fell? What would make quarantine "comfortable"? or even possibly "pleasurable"?

Lynne Lawrance is Senior Lecturer in Medical Microbiology at UWE

January 26th at the Tobacco Factory - Professor Mark Birkinshaw

The Dark Side of the Universe

What are the really BIG questions in astronomy at the moment?

One intriguing question is, "Why does it appear that there is more to the Universe than meets the eye - in fact much, much more?"

Join us to discuss the latest thoughts and findings on the structure of the Universe and the roles of dark energy and dark matter. How do recent results alter our understanding of space and time?

Professor Mark Birkinshaw is Professor of Cosmology and Astrophysics at Bristol University.
More about Mark..

Special cafe - Friday, December 5th at the Arnolfini - 7pm for 7.30pm

Could You Ever Love A Robot?

Heart Robot and David McGoran will make an appearance as part of their role in the Supertoys exhibition at the Arnolfini, alongside commentary and debate led by Dr Alan Winfield and Dr Matthew Studley.

The evening will start with an optional tour of Supertoys at 7.30pm and then demonstrations and discussion in the cafe from 8.00pm.

See the Heart Robot website (have your speakers turned on!)

For details of the Supertoys exhibition and related events, including this one, go to the
Arnolfini website.

Monday, November 24th at the Tobacco Factory - Professor George Banting

How do cells know what to do?

We are all made up of many millions of different cells, each communicating with their neighbours to ensure the structural integrity and normal functions of our bodies. Each cell is about one millionth of a metre across and contains within it multiple copies of tens of thousands of different proteins. These proteins must interact with one another in highly co-ordinated and regulated ways to ensure correct cellular function.

Using techniques from the fields of molecular genetics and cell biology coupled with high specification microscopes, we can now see proteins moving within living cells.

This talk and discussion will explain how we can do this, why jellyfish have been important in allowing us to do so, and will show images of proteins moving within individual cells.

Professor George Banting is Head of the Biochemistry Department at Bristol University. Find out more about his work here.

Tuesday, November 11th at Explore, At Bristol - Helen Heath (in conjunction with the Big Bang exhibition)

The Large Hadron Collider - Looking at the History of the Cosmos

Helen Heath is a particle physics researcher. Join her as she talks about the Large Hadron Collider, what scientists hope it will reveal and why we need such a large machine to investigate the smallest building blocks of matter.

After the Science Café you can discover more about the Large Hadron Collider in our Big Bang exhibition. Open exclusively for the Science Café, the exhibition reveals the science and engineering behind the world's largest experiment. Helen and colleagues will also be available in the exhibition to continue the discussions.

Helen Heath is a member of the Particle Physics Group in Physics Department at the University of Bristol and rejoices in the unwieldy job title of “Reader in Teaching and Learning - Physics".

Monday, October 27th at the Tobacco Factory - James Longhurst

Air Quality Management

Why, when we know so much about the cause and composition of air quality problems, are we not making more progress in improving air quality?

You can see the sort of work James does at his University webpage - look at the Latest News page.

James Longhurst is Associate Dean and Professor of Environmental Science, Faculty of Environment and Technology, University of the West of England

Tuesday, October 14th at Explore At-Bristol - Professor Dek Woolfson

Synthetic Biology: Hype and Hope

Are synthetic biologists really tinkering with nature or trying to create life? Find out more about what synthetic biology is, and isn't, by joining Dek Woolfson to discuss some of the latest research projects in Bristol and around the world. Dek will help us explore the many ethical issues that surround this emerging scientific discipline.

Professor Dek Woolfson is based in the School of Chemistry and the Dept of Biochemistry at the University of Bristol. Find out more about Dek's work here.

The rough guide to the future

Jon Turney will not only look at what the world may be like in the future, but also at how we think about the future. Do we think just about science and technology, assigning the labels 'good' or 'bad'? What about changes in culture, politics, morality...?

This is sure to be a fascinating talk and discussion!

Jon is a science writer, editor and lecturer. Currently, he's writing a book, due out next year, The Rough Guide to the Future. He is the author and co-author of many books, the latest of which is The Rough Guide to Genes and Cloning (2007). Type in Jon Turney on Amazon.co.uk to see the amazing range of subjects that he's covered.

Read about his interests and views on his blog at http://unreliablefutures.wordpress.com/.

Tuesday, September 9th at Explore At-Bristol - Colin Dayan

Clinical trials: the rules on experimenting on people

Join Colin Dayan as he discusses the ethical and legal basis for conducting experiments on people.

What happens when researchers need to test medication in difficult circumstances such as when a patient has dementia? Find out how the practicalities of running clinical trials with volunteers affect the outcome of a research project.

Colin Dayan MA FRCP PhD, is Consultant Senior Lecturer in Medicine and Head of Clinical Research, URCN at the Henry Wellcome Laboratories for Integrative Neuroscience and Endocrinology, University of Bristol. You can find out more about Colin's work here...

Tuesday, August 12th at Explore At-Bristol - Dr David Bird

Nice barrage - shame about the fish

A barrage across the Severn Estuary is predicted to supply up to 5% of the UK’s electricity needs; but at what cost?

Join David Bird from the University of the West of England as he discusses the impact a barrage could have on the fish population.

Dr David Bird is a Principal Lecturer in the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences at the University of the West of England.

Find out more about David here.

Monday July 28th at the Tobacco Factory - Ed Drewitt

What's happening to our garden birds - are pigeons and magpies taking over?

We're often being encouraged to feed garden birds all year round and hear about the plight of our sparrows and starlings in the media. But what is really going on?

Find out about the population changes of our familiar garden birds, the reasons behind them as well as some fascinating science about some of our garden favourites.

Clarify and challenge some of the misunderstandings or misinterpreted stories relating to some of our garden birds and find out what's happening with garden birds across the UK more generally.

Edward is a Museum Learning Officer (Natural Sciences) at Bristol's City Museum & Art Gallery. He provides the commentary for educational trips on Bristol Ferryboats and is an expert on, amongst other things, the Peregrine Falcons in Bristol.

July 8th at Explore, At-Bristol. Dr Ruth Morse.

Cancer Fact, Cancer Fiction

Join Ruth Morse from the University of the West of England to explore how your DNA, your environment and your personal behaviour interact in the development of cancers.

Distinguish between cancer facts and cancer fictions as Ruth challenges some common misconceptions about cancer.

Dr Ruth Morse is a Senior Lecturer in Medical Genetics with a particular interest in the role of DNA in bone marrow cancer.

More on Ruth and her work

June 30th at the Tobacco Factory: Mark Hempsell

What happened to the Space Age?

In the 50 years period between 1970 and 2020 mankind will have invested around $500 Billion in space capability (launch vehicles, space stations etc.) and effectively achieved nothing. In the equivalent period in aviation aircraft moved from world war 1 biplanes to supersonic fighters and jet airliners.

Technically, almost anything is possible - solar power, re-usable space planes, cheap methods for disposable of nuclear waste, trips to the moon and mars - but is there the political will?

Mark Hempsell is Senior Lecturer in Space Technology in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at Bristol University.

Mark's webpage at Bristol University

June 10th at Explore At-Bristol: Dr Marcello Ruta

Note - change of speaker - Mike Benton has been called away; his colleague Marcello Ruta will cover the same topic

Mass Extinction

250 million years ago life on planet Earth was almost wiped out in the greatest Mass Extinction of all time. Marcello Ruta and his research team at the University of Bristol weren't there in the flesh, but are unearthing what caused such a catastrophe using the next best thing - fossils!

But how much can the fossils that we find today tell us about what life was like so many millions of years ago? How did some animals survive the extinction? And what can studying mass extinctions of the past tell us about the world we live in today?

Join us at our second Science Café in Explore At-Bristol to meet and chat with Marcello in the present day, to find out more about this dramatic period in life's history.

Link to Marcello Ruta's webpage

May 19th at the Tobacco Factory: James Ladyman

"The mysteries of Quantum Mechanics - what do they tell us about the world we live in?"

In this talk James will first explain what is so strange about quantum entanglement and then explain why it is wrong to draw many of the exciting conclusions from it that are often talked about in popular discussions.

James Ladyman is Professor of Philosophy, University of Bristol

New Science Cafe: Explore-At-Bristol!

May 13th at Explore-At-Bristol: Dr Ainsley Newson

Genetic Futures

With DNA sequencing and genetic testing technologies advancing all the time, the reality of a personal genomic profile for any one of us is just around the corner.

But what could receiving your genetic profile mean to you? How might this affect the way we live our lives? How important are our genes in predicting our future health? What ethical issues might arise? Would we rather not know what information our genes hold?

To ask these questions and more come along to Explore At Bristol's first Science Cafe on Tuesday 13th May at 7.30 for 8pm in the Theory Cafe, and find out more about this interesting area of social and scientific dilemma.

Ainsley Newson, lecturer in Biomedical Ethics at the Centre for Ethics in Medicine at the University of Bristol, spends her time unpicking the social and moral issues of developments in genetic technologies.

To find out more about Ainsley's work visit: Ainsley's web page

To find out more about At-Bristol visit: www.at-bristol.org.uk

April 28th: Adam Durant

Volcanoes, dust, and climate

Image: 1991 Pinatubo volcanic aerosol veil, taken from the space shuttle

Small silicate particles suspended in the atmosphere redistribute energy from the sun and surface of the Earth, and consequently impact climate. The main sources of these particles are from suspension of surface dust in arid regions, such as the Sahara Desert, and from direct injection by explosive volcanic activity (volcanic ash).

At this meeting of Science Café, we will discuss the types and origin of particles in the atmosphere, how they interact with solar and terrestrial radiation, how clouds are modified, and ultimately how climate is affected...more information as pdf file.

More about Adam

Adam Durant, University of Bristol, UK, and Michigan Technological University, USA

March 31st: James Windmill

Hearing at the nano-scale

This research has included investigations into the nano-mechanics of insect sound receivers, looking at the processes through which mechanical vibrations at the nanoscale are converted to neural signals. The mechanisms involved are strikingly similar to those found in the human ear, making certain insects very good models for research into human hearing.

James is a research associate in the School of Biological Sciences at Bristol University.

February 25th: Sue Wilson

All about sleep

Why do we sleep? What happens if we don't get enough? How common are sleeping disorders? How common is sleep walking and other peculiar sleep habits?

Come with your questions for what I think will be an especially lively evening!

Dr Sue Wilson is Senior Research Fellow in the
Psychopharmacology Unit, University of Bristol.

January 28th: Anthony Hollander

Science & ethics of stem-cell research

Anthony Hollander is Professor of Rheumatology and Tissue Engineering at Bristol University.

Anthony's University home page.

October 29th: Ian Donaldson

Good Queen Bess and the Mineral Industries of Somerset and Gloucester

Queen Elizabeth realised that if the newly Protestant England ever went to war with Catholic Spain and France, her forces lacked brass for cannon, which at that time only came from the continent. So in 1565 she brought in prospectors from southern Germany to search the length and breadth of the Kingdom for calamine, an essential mineral. It was eventually found at Weston-super-Mare, and the rest is history. But they weren’t the first prospectors to strike it rich in this area.

So if you’ve ever fantasised about Puzzle Wood, puzzled over Velvet Bottom, scratched you head about the cat’s whisker, quarrelled over crossbows, or just seen red, come and learn about our rich mineral heritage.

Monday, September 24th : Stuart Allan

When Worlds Collide: Science and the Media

Stuart will be talking about how journalists report on science issues - especially where questions of risk are concerned - and how scientists themselves regard their own involvement in this process.

He will seek to highlight various problems from these respective perspectives, thereby opening up some questions for discussion - not least with a view to how we might improve the quality of science journalism.

Stuart Allan is Professor of Journalism, The Media School, Bournemouth University.

Some additional information:

Stuart Allan’s work contrasts two worlds. Namely that of science and that of the media.

According to the media scientists are insular, white-coated boffins whose work is boring and repetitive, that is, until a terrifying flash of insight leaves the future of humankind hanging in the balance. Scientists are generally high-minded citizens working for the good of society, but there are those who are intent on exploiting scientific knowledge for ominous purposes, corrupted by power and greed.

For some scientists, this recurrent misrepresentation of the scientific world by certain members of the media is more than just scandalous, it is contrary to democracy itself. The media’s failure to give science the respect it deserves, they warn, will have dire consequences for the future.

Stuart Allan is Professor of Journalism at Bournemouth University. His science-related books include Media, Risk and Science, and the co-edited Environmental Risks and the Media. He is currently co-writing a book about the news reporting of nanotechnology.

Prior to joining Bournemouth, he taught at the University of the West of England, Bristol.

Monday, June 25th : Helen Heath

Into the Heart of Matter

In order to investigate the smallest building blocks of matter we need to build very big machines. The 27 kilometre long Large Hadron Collider, being constructed near Geneva, is the biggest of these big machines and is due to start exploring matter at the smallest scale at the end of 2007.

This is the biggest scientific project since men were sent to the moon and involves thousands of physicists and engineers. I hope to be able to explain why one of those physicists has worked on the project for over 10 years.

Helen is a senior lecturer in the Particle Physics Group in Physics Department at the University of Bristol.

Monday, May 21st : Ben Sessa

From Sacred Plants to Psychotherapy: The History and Re-Emergence of Psychedelics in Medicine

A lot of water has flowed under the bridge since the ‘Turn On Tune In and Drop Out’ days of the 1960s. If clinicians can remain dispassionate and stay true to principle of evidenced based medicine, then we may be able to reconsider the therapeutic possibilities of psychedelic drugs.

If we can do this, then there is a real chance that these fascinating chemicals could play a positive role in the future of psychiatry and neuroscience. That much we owe to the population of patients with resistant psychological illnesses that may benefit from this novel and brave approach.

Dr Ben Sessa is Consultant Psychiatrist,
Department of Psychopharmacology, Bristol University.

Monday, April 30th: Keith Williams

DNA Vaccines - Panacea or Pandora's Box?

The human genome project and the greater understanding of the molecular biology of infectious agents has given scientists a plethora of potential therapeutic targets for this technology.

With the very recent publication of some early human clinical trials data, this exiting new field has just begun to show its therapeutic potential.

However, as with any new advancement in the field of gene therapy, the concept of inserting genetic material into the human genome raises a number of technical and ethical issues.

Keith will discuss the form and function of these vaccines, how they are manufactured, their therapeutic potential and the regulatory framework that is being implemented to reduce the possible risks.

Tuesday, March 27th: Margaret Clotworthy

Animal Testing- A False Safety Net?

Dr Margaret Clotworthy is Science Consultant for the Europeans for Medical Progress Trust.

Adverse reactions to prescribed drugs are now our fourth leading cause of death. This problem is epitomized by Vioxx - the painkiller which has killed tens of thousands of people over the past few years.

What can we do to improve drug safety? Many new and sophisticated human-based tests offer advantages over the animal tests we have relied on in the past. So how should we go about discovering & developing new medicines today?

Europeans for Medical Progress is an independent, non-profit-making organisation of scientists and medical professionals. Dr Clotworthy is a consultant for the separate organisation Europeans for Medical Progress Trust, which is a charity responsible for education and research.

Monday 26th February - Vala Ragnarsdottir

One Planet Living: Delivering a habitable planet for future generations

Top climate change scientists have come to the conclusion that an increase of more than 1C° from present temperatures in the coming century would deliver a different planet, with impacts including flooded lowlands, submerged islands, increases in severe weather and droughts, hundreds of
millions of human refugees and over 50% extinction of species.

To avoid this 1 degree temperature rise we need to stabilise the CO₂ in the atmosphere to below 450 ppmv. This means we need to reduce CO₂ emissions by roughly 70% globally by 2030. To deliver a habitable planet to our grandchildren individuals and political leaders need to act now.

Vala will describe the "state we are in" and then some practical steps for individuals "to do their bit".

Link to the Environmental Geochemistry Research Group at Bristol University, of which Vala is the head.

Monday 29th January - Nick Sturge of SETsquared

Exploiting and Accelerating University Science & Technology

How does a great academic idea become a commercial reality?

SETsquared is a joint initiative of Bath, Bristol, Southampton and Surry Universities that supports knowledge-based high-growth potential enterprises.

Nick will give examples of new businesses that are 'spin-offs' of research carried out at Bristol and other Universities. He will talk about what the Universities try to achieve, what their decision making process is in deciding what ideas to exploit, and how they do it.

SETsquared.co.uk

Monday, 11th December:

Science Café Cabaret!

Grab yourself a glass of wine, beer or warming hot chocolate and join in the fun! Hear from fellow cafe-goers as they take 5 minutes to get on their soap-box, ask a question, tell a joke or do a demo - all with a science flavour.

But the fun doesn't stop there; in the usual Science Cafe style, the floor will be open for quick-fire comments and questions after each 'performance'.
Places are filling up fast, so if you've got something to get off your chest, or share with the world then email Bob or Helen [Contact us] to reserve your place.

Usual time and place - 8pm in the Green room of the Tobacco Factory.

Monday, November 27th - Alan Winfield

"Please don't switch me off!"

Robots already play an important role in many of our lives by going to places and doing jobs we don't want to, or simply can't, do. As robot technology moves on, we pose the question, how intelligent do we want our robots to be?

Alan is Associate Dean (Research) and
Hewlett-Packard Professor of Electronic Engineering in the Faculty of Computing Engineering and Mathematical Sciences at the University of the West of England.

On Alan's webpage at UWE [here], he says:

"I am deeply interested in mobile robots for two reasons: (1), they are complex and potentially useful machines that embody just about every design challenge and discipline there is and (2), robots allow us to address some deep questions about life, emergence and intelligence in a radically new way, that is by building models. Thus, robotics is for me both engineering and experimental philosophy."

Monday, October 30th - Richard Ellam

Mr Brunel's Bloomers

On form, Isambard Brunel was unstoppable, and was capable of truly great things. Unfortunately he was also capable of staging monumental engineering disasters, such as the launching of the SS Great Eastern which cost a lot of people a lot of money. Even some of his great achievements, such as the Great Western Railway only narrowly escaped being expensive and embarrassing fiascos.

Brunel’s tendency to believe that he alone could do anything resulted in his being as doggedly wrong as he could be brilliantly right and left some expensive legacies for his successors to clear up.

‘Mr Brunel’s Bloomers’ is a light hearted and entertaining look at the science behind some of Brunel’s less glorious achievements with the serious purpose of presenting a more rounded and balanced view of the life and career of this most charismatic of Victorian engineers.

Monday, September 25th

Superconductivity and the science of quantum materials.

Our speaker is James Analytis from Bristol University. He is a Science and Engineering Ambassador and has recently moved to Bristol from Oxford. He is investigating the science behind the extraordinary phenomenon of superconductivity in which an electric current can travel with virtually zero resistance. Such a current flowing in a loop of superconducting wire could persist almost indefinitely with no power source. This has been demonstrated at very low temperatures; doing it at normal temperatures could revolutionise many areas of our lives. However, success may depend on a deeper knowledge of the quantum world than we have at present. James will describe the background to this fascinating work and the latest discoveries.

July 31st

The science of beermaking and the history of brewing in Southville

Our speakers are Chris Thurgeson and Simon Bartlett from the Bristol Beer Factory.

The Bristol Beer Factory is a small, independent venture that uses locally grown malt and hops (samples of which will no doubt be available).

Whether you like beer or not, this is sure to be entertaining and informative.

http://bristolbeerfactory.co.uk

June 26th

Forensic Evidence Interpretation – and the ‘Transposed Conditional’ for the common man.

Mike Rogers BSc, RFP. Forensic Scientist

Mike Rogers is a senior Forensic biologist of some 34 years’ experience with the Home Office and, latterly, FSS Ltd (GovCo).

As an active Court Reporting officer, Mike is concerned at the increasing trivialisation of Forensic Science on TV and the all-too frequent misrepresentation of scientific evidence in the press and, sometimes, in court (the ‘prosecutors fallacy’).

Do potential Jurors appreciate that when the scientist tells the court, "There is only a one-in-a-billion chance of getting this matching DNA evidence if the blood on the accused hadn't come from the victim", he is not saying, "The odds are a billion to one that the blood did come from the victim" - and would they recognise the transposition if they saw it?