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August 18th-
Life on Mars
Steven Cutts
Sept 15th
Superfoods (Norfolk Food Festival Talk)
Paul Kroon-IFR
Oct 20th
Will We ever Cure Cancer?
Dylan Edwards-UEA
Nov 17th
Stem Cells- What Have They Done For Us?
Mark Williams- UEA
Great debates coming up!
If you want to know more about Science Cafés in this country and worldwide, you can now visit their website.
You can find details about how they all began, how they work, where else they take place, and the plans for their future.
You can jump to the site by clicking this link.
Come and hear a brief presentation, from a diverse range of people & subjects, join in the chat after & ask as many daft questions as you like - all for the price of a coffee. Science Café is an international movement to promote the informal discussion of science in relaxed café settings, where everybody is welcome and admission is free.
Inspire hosts the Norwich Science Café throughout the year at 7.30pm in The Maddermarket Theatre Bar, generally on a Wednesday (but sometimes not). Check this website for forthcoming events or e-mail Inspire to be put on the Café e-mail listing - please quote Science Café Listing in the title.
Norwich Science Cafe - informal discussion of science issues & ideas in a comfortable cafe setting - free admission & all welcome
Next Science Cafe Wednesday August 18th 2010
Maddermarket Theatre Bar 7.30pm
Life On Mars with Steven Cutts, author of Viking Village.
Steve will be discussing what we know about Mars and how we learnt it. Is there life on Mars and if there is what might it be like?
What would it be like if we could ever travel to the planet in person and how might our journey there change us?
There will be a presentation with over 50 colour pictures as well as a chance to discuss the talk and any other points you might have about Mars or space exploration.
Previous Cafes
Science and Archaeology-Discoveries at Dragon Hall with Natasha Harlow of Dragon Hall and Alexandra Minns of Inspire
This month's talk is a little bit different, there are two speakers talking from two different angles this cafe. The cafe will start off with some general information about some scientific techniques employed in archaeology today and how they are used. Natasha Harlow from Dragon Hall will then talk about the archaeology of Dragon hall and talk from personal experience of the work that has gone on at the site giving a more personal approach to the talk to give real insight.
The talk hopes to raise discussion as to whether archaeology should be considered a science or whether it is a discipline in its' own right. Also there is the question of how far we should take investigations to get answers and how reliable the science behind the methods really is.
Why GM Crops? with Jonathan Jones from the Sainsbury Laboratory
This month’s talk is entitled ‘Why GM Crops?’ Jonathan will be discussing why he believes GM to be an indispensable tool in our toolbox to cope with challenges to food production posed by water shortages, energy costs, limited land for agriculture, and climate change. Jonathan has worked with GM plants for 27 years. There will be comments on most GM technologies, while emphasising the work of Jonathan and his colleagues, at the Sainsbury lab at the JIC site in Norwich, on plant disease and disease resistance. In particular, the talk will focus on GM approaches to reducing the problem of potato late blight caused by the fungus-like organism Phytophthora infestans, which results in estimated annual losses of £3.5B worldwide and costs ~£60M in the UK in fungicide applications alone.
Advances in DNA Sequencing Technology:Kirsten McLay- The Genome Analysis Centre
May 2010
April 21st 2010
The science café gives the general public a chance to hear directly from the scientists and discuss topics which affect all of us whether we realise it or not. There will be a presentation followed by the opportunity to discuss and debate what has been heard and ask the questions you never normally get the chance to ask.
This month’s talk is entitled ‘What Does Science Tell Us On Climate Change?’
"Warming of the climate system is unequivocal" - this strong statement stems from decades of observations and research by thousands of scientists around the world. Can we really be so sure? What is the warming caused by? And how warm will it get? These are all important questions, which will be presented and discussed at the cafe. Corinne Le Quere is Professor of Environmental Sciences at the University of East Anglia and researcher at the British Antarctic Survey. She is a physicist by training, and now conducts research on the interactions between climate change and the marine carbon cycle. She recently led a team that uncovered the weakening of the Southern Ocean CO2 sink in response to human-induced climate change.
March 17th 2010
Clinical Trials: Find Out Where The Journey Begins- with guest speaker Dr Anastasia Sobolewski
Inspire Discovery Centre’s monthly science café will be presented by Dr Anastasia Sobolewski from the Institute of Food Research on March 17th at 7.30pm at the Maddermarket Theatre Bar. The event is completely free with absolutely no need to book.
National Science Week starts on March 12th and to tie in the nationwide event Inspire Discovery Centre is hosting a special café presented by Dr Anastasia Sobolewski. The science café gives the general public a chance to hear directly from the scientists and discuss topics which affect all of us whether we realise it or not. There will be a presentation followed by the opportunity to discuss and debate what has been heard and ask the questions you never normally get the chance to ask.
This month’s talk is entitled ‘What is the role of basic scientific research?’ Clinical trials are often in the news and although the general population is generally well informed regarding the process of human clinical trials, the journey new drugs take before they get to this stage is relatively unknown. Many of the drugs that get to trial stages began their journey many years ago in academic institutions or within companies conducting basic research. A huge amount of time, effort and money is involved in this research before it ever gets close to trial stages. This café will introduce the techniques and approaches used in basic research giving you a chance to see where your drugs come from. There will be a discussion about the impact of this basic research and the relevance on future drug treatments.
Wednesday 20 January 2010
Science Cafe Inspires Budding Authors With Guest Hugh Aldersey-Williams
To coincide with the launch of the Inspire Discovery Centre Writing Competition there is going to be a special science cafe in January with a bit of a twist. The science cafe gives the public the chance to come face to face with scientists who will talk to the group about current science issues and gives everyone the chance to debate the subject. This month however the science cafe is a bit different, the session is a chance for the adults to get an insight into writing about science and writing fiction. There will be a special introductory talk by established writer and journalist Hugh Aldersey-Williams, co-author of Panicology and author of Findings, who will give an insight into writing about current real-life science issues.
After the talk the session will turn to fiction with special workshop exercises to help get into the writer’s frame of mind. The exercises will be fun games and exercises to help with characterisation and plot forming. The event is free and there is no need to book. Everyone is welcome whether planning on entering the writing competition or not. The event is geared to let everyone have fun and have a go at writing, no-one will be forced to share their work with the group or expected to write a masterpiece. So if you want to figure out how Queen Victoria might react to an alien invasion or how Boudica might fare if sent into space, come along and have a go. Contact Alex at Inspire on 01603 612612 for more information. The adult category for the writing competition closes on April 26th at 12pm, please see the Inspire website for more information.
Wednesday 18 November 2009
Maddermarket Theatre Bar 7.30pm
Personalised Medicine : Do we deserve it? An opportunity to contribute
Dr Laura Bowater & John Meanly, University of East Anglia
Dr Mark Wilkinson, Norfolk & Norwich University Hospital
Personalised Medicine: drugs tailored just for you and your illness. This is the promise of Personalised Medicine, or at least this is the perception generated in the media. So why does NICE (National Institute for Clinical Excellence) seem so reluctant to allow these drugs to be allocated to those who need them most? Recent controversy over the breast cancer drug Herceptin has generated public feelings of unfairness and discrimination, but what is the true story?
A current UEA project aims to address the problem by examining ways information about these issues could be provided effectively.
The scientists involved hope that engaging in conversation with a public audience will help them in this work. University Hospital consultant Dr Mark Wilkinson will be able to illuminate much of the confusion surrounding Personalised Medicine, and all three want to hear views and thoughts directly from the public. Science Café is the ideal opportunity for such a discussion with informed scientists, who want to hear from us as much as we want to hear from them, so come and contribute over a relaxing drink.
Science Café is the ideal opportunity for such a discussion with informed scientists, who want to hear from us as much as we want to hear from them, so come and contribute over a relaxing drink.
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