Tuesday 13th February

Aperiodicity & order - the forbidden beauty of quasicrystals

Uwe Grimm

A perfect crystals is the paradigm of order in nature. The beautifully regular facets of a diamond crystal reflect the arrangements of the atoms within. In a conventional crystal, the arrangement of atoms is based on a single motif, which the crystal repeats periodically - like a brick wall made of many identically shaped bricks.

The list of possible crystal structures has been known for over a century. So it was a big surprise when, in 1982, new materials were discovered which appear to be as well-ordered as crystals, but show symmetries that cannot be reconciled with an underlying periodically-repeating pattern. These materials were dubbed quasicrystals. More than twenty years later, the arrangement of atoms in quasicrystals is still only partly understood. Aperiodic tilings of space, such as the celebrated Penrose tiling, provide idealised mathematical models for possible atomic arrangements. Quasicrystals show interesting physical properties but also raise some general question about what we mean by 'order', why and how nature forms such intricate structures and what other exotic structures might exist in nature.

Dr Uwe Grimm was born in Germany in 1963. He studied physics at the University of Bonn, and graduated with a PhD in 1991. He spent several years as a post-doctoral researcher in Melbourne, Amsterdam and Chemnitz, until joining the Applied Mathematics Department at the Open University in Milton Keynes in December 2000. He is now a Reader in Mathematics, and Associate Dean (Research) in the Faculty of Mathematics & Computing. In collaboration with colleagues from Liverpool, he presented an exhibit on quasicrystals at the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition in London in 2004.

Tuesday 13th March

Cockles in the mud, the huge mussel-beds off Mawbray and Beckfoot, farmed oysters – the upper Solway can produce a vast biomass of edible shell-fish but many factors, natural and human, can influence the life-cycles of the animals and the productivity of the industry.

Dr Jane Lancaster has worked exclusively in marine biology since 1992. She specialises in fisheries and marine ecology, and has worked on a very diverse number of marine environmental projects related to offshore windfarm Environmental Impact Assessments, benthic surveys, fisheries assessments, intertidal ecology assessments and preparation of fisheries’ management plans. She has also worked as a European Marine Site Officer for the Northumberland Coast.

Tuesday 10th April

The ethics of foetal surgery

Edwin Jesudason and Valerie Solari

Foetal surgery aims to correct pre-natally diagnosed birth defects that would otherwise mean the child would have a poor prognosis at birth. This talk will give a brief history of foetal and neonatal surgery (particularly as it relates to the north-west). We will then move on to discuss whether we need foetal surgery, what ethical considerations are raised by surgery on an unborn patient and how technological innovation could breach the barriers to the adoption of foetal surgery as a mainstream technique.

Edwin Jesudason is a consultant paediatric surgeon at The University of Liverpool and Alder Hey Children's Hospital. He trained in Cambridge, London, Sheffield and Liverpool. His research interests include foetal surgery for birth defects. He is spending the first quarter of 2007 in the USA at the 'birthplace' of foetal surgery, the UCSF Fetal Treatment Center.

Valeria Solari trained as a surgeon in the UK, having qualified in Graz, Austria, and worked at The Children's Research Centre, Dublin. Her research has been awarded the Soave medal and won a prize at the Canadian Association of Pediatric Surgeons.

Valeria and Edwin met whilst conducting their surgery and research and were married in Rome (where Valeria's family live) before settling in Liverpool.

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Colin will cover the aspects, functions and locations of the principal mechanical and electrical components within modern large-scale wind turbine generators and consider future technologies and advances.

Colin is a chartered civil and environmental engineer, who has worked in the wind industry since 2000, and has designed and built wind farms from the Shetland Isles to Southern Australia.  At present he designs and constructs environmental solutions and other structures required in on-shore wind farms and is involved in assessment of potential wind farm sites across the UK and Ireland.

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Tuesday 23^rd October

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Plants are food for so many organisms on earth that it is a wonder they survive. But survive they do. So how do plants do it? Why aren’t they just wiped out? The answer lies in their remarkable ability to defend  themselves and if defence fails, to tolerate infection or infestation without seriously compromising their reproductive ability. This presentation and discussion will explore the incredible variety of methods plants use to ward off attack by pathogens and pests and how a better understanding of plant defence might be used to provide environmentally acceptable disease control in crops.

Chemists make things. They make molecules. These molecules are useful. They improve health and wealth. They make things that look good, taste good and are good for us. They are Good Things.

Chemists usually know what molecule they are going to make and make it. Great, but nature has the habit of biting back. Sometimes the molecules go wrong; sometimes the molecules are right but the way they stick together is wrong; the phenomenon known as ‘polymorphism’.

·         Ever wondered why chocolate goes white with age?

·         Have you heard of the thalidomide tragedy?

·         Did you realise that a major US firm recently lost over $250m because the molecules of an anti-HIV drug started sticking together badly?

All these problems were caused by molecules gluing together wrongly. Chick Wilson, Regius Professor of Chemistry at the University of Glasgow, wants to find out how, why and what we can do about it.

A native of Glasgow, Chick recently returned to the city to take up his position at the University after almost twenty years at a national laboratory near Oxford trying to get good at something called 'Structural Chemistry'. He has been looking at the way molecules interact for more years than he cares to admit, and is currently involved in a UK-wide network looking into this. His talk will include a discussion of the phenomenon of ‘polymorphism’ and ways we might try to learn to control it, to make new sweets taste good, or new paints have just the right colour, or new drugs be more effective!

Along the way he will answer the questions above, and also introduce the Mystery of the Disappearing Polymorphs!

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Show-casing local scientific talent, knowledge and enthusiasm, accompanied by mince pies and Jennings ales! A selection of 5-minute talks by local Café Scientistas.

More information, and a request for talks will follow soon ...

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Tick-borne disease increases due to climate change or politics?

(Walkers worried about Lyme Disease, take note!)

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Temperatures in the spring increased suddenly in 1989 in many parts of Europe.  The evidence suggests, however, that it was the collapse of Soviet rule in central and eastern Europe that precipitated an exceptionally sudden and massive increase in tick-borne diseases there.  Similarly, human-induced changes in environmental conditions may be responsible for the apparent increase in ticks and tick-borne diseases in the UK.

Sarah is Professor of Parasite Ecology in the Department of Zoology, Oxford University.  She has studied the ecology of ticks since 1970, and has recently incorporated aspects of human socio-economic
factors into explanations for the changing risk of exposure to tick-borne pathogens

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The psychology of humour and laughter

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Alex will introduce the concept of laughter and humour before Bruce Fummey, a physics teacher by day, sets the stage with a short rendition of his infamous The Greek, the Apple and the Time Machine comedy show, which will take you from Aristotle to Einstein with laughter all the way.

Alex will then explore the psychological and emotional sides of laughter, suggesting why laughter seems to be a universal primitive response. There are many different varieties of laughter and we respond to all signs of laughter at a very basic level. We can use laughter to mend broken relationships, maintain emotional equity and promote healing. Alex will briefly describe how laughter is used in therapy and why many practising physicians employ laughter. One important function of laughter is to act as a system cleaner. Laughter clears the constipation of the soul! Laughter is an important, renewable, cost-effective human resource- no evidence is available that people have died laughing!

Alex Gardner is a chartered psychologist with an interest in laughter workshops. He is the former consultant to the United Kingdom Paruresis Association (Shy Bladder syndrome) where laughter is used in healing workshops. Alex is also a regular broadcaster on TV and radio and has written on psychological and relationship issues.