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Events
Date:
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September 13th 2004 |
| Title: |
'Trust
me , I am a scientist'
|
| Speaker: |
Tracey
Brown, Prof. Matthew Holley, Professor Elizabeth Smythe and Dr Pete Sudbery
from The University of Sheffield
|
| Description: |
How are
research results assessed for competence, significance, originality and then
published? What is the peer review process? How do you assess the
plausibility of research claims? “Whose claims can we trust?” “Which study
is right?” How does science enters the public arena? How can things go
wrong?
Presentation by Tracey Brown from Sense about Science, and panel discussion
with Prof. Matthew Holley, Professor Elizabeth Smythe and Dr Pete Sudbery
from The University of Sheffield.
|
Date:
|
October 4th
2004 |
| Title: |
'Science
and Health : “Electrosmog”'
|
Speaker:
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Prof. Tony
Barker, Department of Medical Physics and Clinical
Engineering, Royal Hallamshire Hospital, Sheffield
|
| Description: |
Are mobile
phones, power cables and other sources of electromagnetic fields bad for us? |
Date:
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November 9th
645 pm |
| Title: |
'Fighting
Malaria'
|
Speaker:
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In collaboration
with The Sheffield International Documentary festival
|
| Description: |
Showing of the movie Fever Road (part 2).
Dir. Kevin Hull
UK 2004 1 hr 30mins World Premiere
Jeffrey Sachs is getting angry. The UN economist has just returned from a
hospital in sub-Saharan Africa, where a child dies every thirty seconds from
malaria. But Oxford doctor Adrian Hill is optimistic - two out of five of
his human guinea pigs did not catch malaria when given the vaccine he
developed. Although the same numbers of people die from the disease as from
AIDS, malaria receives twenty times less funding - its victims are from the
world's poorest countries. But everything could soon change, as an outbreak
of malaria occurs in Palm Beach, Florida...
A discussion with the filmmaker Kevin Hull and a scientist working in the
field of malaria research will follow the screening. Check with the Showroom
for any last minute changes.
Ticket prices Full price £4.00 Concessions £3.20
This event is supported by the Wellcome Trust.
|
Date:
|
December 6th |
| Title: |
'The Star of Bethlehem - Miracle, Myth or Reality?'
|
Speaker:
|
John
Parkinson,
Professor of Astrophysics at Sheffield Hallam University
|
| Description: |
Did a bright
new star appear at the time of the Incarnation as Matthew described? How do
the records of the ancient Chinese
Astronomers and modern medical science help in unravelling the fascinating
mystery? John Parkinson is Professor of Astrophysics at Sheffield Hallam
University and is a world expert on solar eclipses, having led expeditions
to every continent in the world. He also appears frequently on radio and
television |
Date:
|
January 10th 2005 |
| Title: |
'Let’s play a Democ card game.'
(Need to book- contact Sandrine at
sandrine@cafescientifique.org as places are limited).
|
Speaker:
|
|
| Description: |
Democs stands for
Deliberative Meeting of Citizens. It’s a card game that 5-8 people play at
any one time. A game lasts for 1.5-2.5 hours. In many ways it is like having
a semi-facilitated conversation, where participants find out facts around a
topic, learn about the issues, and then decide or revise their views through
group discussion. It is a way to make it easy for people to work out, share
and express their views on complex topical issues.
For this first event, we will play games on the following topics:
1) The ethics of using human embryonic stem cells for biomedical research
2) Pre-Implantation Genetic Diagnosis, where one cell taken from an embryo
created by IVF is tested for a small number of genetic diseases
|
Date:
|
February 7th |
| Title: |
'An
inordinate fondness for sperm'
|
Speaker:
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Professor T
R Birkhead FRS,
Department of Animal & Plant Sciences, The University of
Sheffield
|
| Description: |
Sperm are the
most diverse and variable of all cells. This is bizarre: all sperm have the
same basic goal - to fertilise an egg - so why should they vary so much in
shape, size and motion? The answer is that females shape sperm. A
co-evolutionary arms race exists between males and females. In evolutionary
short-hand, males simply want fertilisations; females on the other hand want
to keep males, or rather their sperm at arms length and retain control over
fertilisation. The idea that these conflicting evolutionary pressures are
responsible for the shape of sperm will be discussed.
|
Date:
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March 7th |
| Title: |
'Are we machines?'
|
Speaker:
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Noel
Sharkey,
Professor of Computer Science, University of Sheffield
|
| Description: |
Our bodies
became machines through medical research and this was strongly supported and
amplified by an understanding of genetics. Our minds became part of the
machine later - mere physical mechanisms. But is there a ghost in the
machine? After a brief tour of the history of automata and robots, you will
decide.
|
Date:
|
Monday 3rd
October, 7pm |
| Title: |
'The Hubble Space
Telescope: what next?'
|
Speaker:
|
Dr Richard de Grijs |
|
Description: |
Without a doubt, the Hubble Space Telescope is the most successful
scientific instrument ever built and operated. Since its launch in the early
1990s, its scientific discoveries and numerous "pretty pictures" have made
it a household name. This huge success is, at least partially, thanks to the
wonder that we all have about the nature of the Universe; our quest to the
very nature and origin of life itself. Yet with many years of continued
successful operation left, in particular if serviced one final time by a
team of Space Shuttle astronauts, the American government has decided to
pull the plug on this project, in order to focus on a human return to the
Moon and beyond, the merits of which are as yet unclear.
Richard de Grijs will highlight some of the key achievements of Hubble Space
Telescope science, and look forward to where we will be once the telescope
is taken down.
|
Date:
|
Monday 7th
November, 7pm |
| Title: |
'Counter-Intuitive
Science'
|
Speaker:
|
Dr Kevin Byron |
| Description: |
At
first sight many ideas in science do not make sense; indeed they can often
appear in opposition to what we consider to be common sense. The phrase
'counter-intuitive' has been coined to describe such concepts; in recent
years it has found widespread use in the published literature of
science. Ideas appear to be counter-intuitive when there is insufficient
knowledge of the underlying phenomena and in a sense, our intuitions at this
stage can be viewed as biases even though they instinctively 'feel' right.
Such ideas in science can surprise, amaze, confound and amuse – but more
importantly – challenge us.
Kevin
Byron will demonstrate a variety of counter-intuitive concepts in science
and show how a creative attitude, not only to science but to our own
thinking, can lead to a clearer, more consistent view of the physical world.
|
Date:
|
Monday 5th December, 7pm |
| Title: |
'Honeybees society:
what can an ancient society teach humans?'
|
Speaker:
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Prof. Francis
Ratnieks |
| Description: |
|
Date:
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Monday 9th January 2006, 7pm |
| Title: |
'Decide'
|
Speaker:
|
TBC |
| Description: |
Engage in discussion with other members of the public on controversial life
science issues using the "Decide" card game. Get involved in a decision-
making process. Have your views heard in Europe. Games on the following
topics: Neuroscience; HIV/AIDS and legal
responsibility.
|
Date:
|
Monday 6th March, 7pm |
| Title: |
TBC
|
Speaker:
|
Tom
Stafford, Department of Psychology, University of Sheffield |
| Description: |
|
| Date: |
Monday 6th February, 7pm |
| Title: |
Hurrysickness
– a Performance lecture by Third Angel
|
| Speaker: |
TBC |
| Description: |
|
|
Date:
|
Monday 3rd April, 7pm |
| Title: |
Ethical and
Practical Issues of Gamete Donation
|
Speaker:
|
Allan
Pacey, Senior Lecturer in Andrology, University of Sheffield |
| Description: |
|
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