Bright Ideas Public Talk at University Place, Manchester

My first newspaper article! It was published in Student Direct : Mancunion, on the 8th of November 2009. The article reviews a public talk that aimed to highlightsome of the best research to have come out of the University, in addition to giving the audience a chance to ask the researchers some tough questions afterwards. The original article went well over the word limit, so unfortunately I had to leave out the interesting questions that were asked at the end, including "How can university research costs be justified, when there are so many problems in society that the money could be better spent to solve?". The final piece remains over the word limit, but since it was our first science page, and as science editor, I was given some slack by my co-editors! It was a remarkable feeling seeing my name in print, nothing like it. You can also read this article on the Student Direct website at:
http://www.student-direct.co.uk/2009/11/bright-ideas-top-manchester-researchers-share-their-careers-and-thoughts-on-the-future/


Levitating frogs, Spiderman gloves, a computer that simulates the human brain and fat that actually helps us lose calories, were discussed in an inspiring event entitled “Bright Ideas”, held at University Place on Thursday October 29. The lecture launched the Local Heroes programme series, organised by The Royal Society in association with their 350th anniversary.




Obesity expert-turned brain scientist Professor Dame Nancy Rothwell, is hailed for discovering brown fat, which burns calories especially at lower temperatures, when extra heating is needed. For Rothwell, changing her speciality within science paid off. Using her background in obesity research, Rothwell hypothesised that a molecule called interleukin 1 (IL-1) increases metabolic rate in disease, causing patients to “waste away”. Interestingly, her research later showed that IL-1 also contributes to brain inflammation in stroke. At the moment, Rothwell’s group is developing a drug that blocks the effects of IL-1, and this compound has already shown success in stroke patients.

Computer scientist professor Steven Furber started his talk highlighting how remarkably fast his field has advanced. Did you know that modern day computers are 50 billion times more efficient than the first computer ever made? This was of course in Manchester back in 1948, and the computer was affectionately named ‘Baby’. To emphasize just how remarkable this change has een, Furber pointed out that if this number was only 50 million (rather than a billion), iPods and laptops would not exist. Furber’s research team is developing SpiNNaker, a computer that simulates the human brain. Did you know that although the human brain works at a timescale one million times slower than modern computers, it is actually better at computing than even the latest laptop or PC? The SpiNNaker project aims to ‘borrow’ some of the brain’s methods of computing large masses of information, to make modern computers even more efficient.

Physics professor Robin Marshall gave the audience a video tour of how particle physics experiments are conducted. Whereas biology requires laboratories, measuring particle collisions demands an underground vault, involving tunnels and reactors, as well as ‘superconducting magnets’ and ‘colliding beams’. Marshall’s talk was entitled ‘What did Particle Physics ever do for us?’ His answer: the world-wide-web. The audience could only assume this example would persuade us of that great things can be expected from this scientific field.

Acclaimed physicist Andre Geim has an impressive résumé of science ‘firsts’. Going against what was believed to be possible, Geim’s research gave birth to the ‘super material’ graphene. The audience was showered with superlatives when Geim described graphene as the densest, strongest material in the world, albeit being the thinnest, at only one atom thick. Andre Geim was also the first to levitate a live frog in an electric magnet. Yes, you read it right. Luckily, from what I could tell from the video, the frog didn’t seem to mind. His current project is known as ‘Spiderman gloves’. The inspiration for this nanotechnology project is taken from the tiny hairs in geckos’ toes that give them the ability to climb walls. Unfortunately, attempts on students have failed so far. In what was surely meant as an inspiring statement to young scientists, the professor bluntly concluded saying “there’s still plenty of stuff to find out.”

Bright Ideas was organised in association with the Manchester Science Festival. The Royal Society celebrates their 350th anniversary this year. For more information on the Local Heroes programme, go to www.royalsociety.org/Local-Heroes