IGNITE 6–9 September 2016
Cutting edge science Talks and debates with leading academics Beach party and fireworks
britishsciencefestival.org
British Science Festival 2016
Contents
Sand, sea…and fireworks!
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Cutting-edge research comes to Swansea
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Q&A: meet Emily Grossman 07 50 years of human spaceflight
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UPROSA A British start-up taking scientific images out of the labs and into retail
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Super-recognisers
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The beautiful game
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Personal stories bring science to life
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Interview with J. Willgoose, Esq of Public Service Broadcasting 16 The medicalisation of young minds
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Science and the arts
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Family Weekend
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Hello and welcome to Ignite. Here we highlight some of the amazing events and attractions coming your way as the British Science Festival heads to Swansea this September. The Festival is one of Europe’s biggest and longest-established, with its inaugural event happening all the way back in 1831. The Festival has been to Swansea on four other occasions, the first being in 1848 and the most recent in 1990. Many important and pivotal moments have occurred at the Festival, such as the legendary debate between the Bishop of Oxford and Thomas Huxley about Charles Darwin’s then highly controversial theory of evolution. It was also at the Festival that the word ‘dinosaur’ was used for the first time. This year is set to be as exciting as ever, bringing together a host of top researchers, broadcasters, entertainers and communicators to explore the wonders of science, society, and beyond. See Channel 4’s Rick Edwards, who will be recording his Science-ish podcast live. Join Alan Lewis from Swansea Supporters’ Trust as he discusses the fight for the beautiful game. Take part in a spot of Sonic Kayaking in Swansea Bay. Dance the night away at our celebratory Beach Party. Or even bring your kids along to wonderful theatre performances happening at the Family Weekend. With hundreds of free events to choose from, there really is something for everyone. All events are free but spaces are limited, so go to www.britishsciencefestival.org for more information and to your book tickets. We look forward to seeing you in September.
Cover image ‘Aspirin’ – Professor Vance Williams, Department of Chemistry, Simon Fraser University
Sand, sea… and fireworks! Throw off your lab coats! It’s time to swap your Bunsen burner for a bucket and spade and join us on the bay for the British Science Festival Beach Party. Swansea Bay is playing host to fireworks, live music, a chemistry carnival, kite flying, comedians, and star gazing to celebrate the end of the British Science Festival. Grab a drink and some food, join in handson activities, and party the night away. Taking place in the evening on Friday 9 September, the Beach Party will be an exciting finale to the British Science Festival and a fantastic opener for the Family Weekend. The centrepiece of the Beach Party will be a stage show using live and full-scale demonstrations to explain how chemistry, physics and engineering combine to create firework displays.
British Science Festival Swansea 6–9 September 2016
The show uncovers some of the secrets behind the firework display, including photochemistry demonstrations that explain the chemistry of colour and light. With a new understanding of how fireworks shows are created, you will experience a spectacular display that will light up the night sky. The Beach Party will also host a series of interactive chemistry-themed carnival stalls where you will be able to take part in amusing games which explains chemical concepts behind the challenges and the everyday uses of the chemicals. So let your hair down and join us in celebrating an excellent week of science. 17.00–22.00, Friday 9 Sept The Beach, 360 Beach and Watersports This event is supported by The Royal Society of Chemistry.
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Cutting-edge research comes to Swansea The British Science Festival has a lasting legacy; it has long provided a platform and springboard for outstanding early-career scientists. Each year, a small number of top UK researchers are presented with a prestigious Award Lecture in recognition of their cutting-edge research and excellent communication skills. It grants them the opportunity to showcase their innovative work at the Festival, in front of both the public and professionals from all over the world. The selection process is highly competitive, but winning an Award Lecture has marked the start of a whirlwind career for many renowned science figures. Professor Brian Cox was a recipient of this Award in 2006, which subsequently launched him into science stardom. Other illustrious recipients of an Award Lecture include top psychologist and author Richard Wiseman in 2002, and The Sky at Night’s Maggie Aderin-Pocock in 2008.
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The Award Lectures not only recognise rising stars, but also give the winners an audience that they might not usually have access to. This opens up endless possibilities for them personally, and for the science world as a whole. Let’s take a look at this year’s talented young researchers:
The calculus of contagion
Are you a super-recogniser?
The Rosalind Franklin Award Lecture for Physical Sciences and Mathematics was awarded to Dr Adam Kucharski (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine)
The Margaret Mead Award Lecture for Social Sciences, supported by the Learned Society of Wales, was awarded to Dr Sarah Bate (Bournemouth University)
The emergence of e-textiles
See Dr Adam Kucharski’s talk at 12.00–13.00, Wed 7 Sept, Taliesin Theatre, Talisesin Arts Centre
The Daphne Oram Award Lecture for Digital Innovation was awarded to Dr Rebecca Stewart (Queen Mary University of London) Imagine a piece of fabric that can be tapped or swiped just like you would a touch screen? Or if sensors woven into the cover of your chair told you when you were slouching? Electronic textiles are where computer science, electrical engineering, textiles and design all come together.
One of the tools in the disease-fighter’s arsenal is mathematics. How can we measure disease spread? How can a few key people shape an outbreak? Which infections are hardest to control? Dr Kucharski will share his experience working to understand new disease threats, from Ebola to pandemic flu.
Place your bets: collapse of the Antarctic ice sheet The Charles Lyell Award Lecture for Environmental Sciences was awarded to Dr Tamsin Edwards (Open University)
In her Award Lecture, Dr Stewart will discuss the rise of these interactive, bodycentric wearable computing systems. She will explore how they could change the way we interact with the world around us, as they often incorporate performance, fashion, music and/or design.
Glacial Geologist, Dr Tamsin Edwards, used 3,000 different computer models of Antarctica to give a range of predictions on climate change and the melting ice caps. In her Award Lecture she will discuss some of the challenges of predicting the probability of the collapse of the ice sheet and how she communicates uncertainty. She will also reveal the legacy left behind in our landscape from glaciers that covered the UK over 30,000 years ago.
See Dr Rebecca Stewart’s talk at 12.00–13.00, Tue 6 Sept, Taliesin Theatre, Taliesin Arts Theatre
See Dr Tamsin Edward’s talk at 14.00–15.00, Wed 7 Sept, Taliesin Theatre, Taliesin Arts Theatre
The Voice
The acoustics of nature
The Charles Darwin Award Lecture for Agricultural, Biological and Medical Sciences, supported by Pfizer, was awarded to Dr Carolyn McGettigan (Royal Holloway, University of London)
The Isambard Kingdom Brunel Award Lecture for Engineering, Technology and Industry was awarded to Dr Rob Malkin (University of Bristol)
Dr McGettigan is Director of the Vocal Communication Laboratory at the Department of Psychology at Royal Holloway, University of London. She is absolutely fascinated by the human voice. Talking, laughing, singing, beat boxing – the human voice is a unique instrument and almost immeasurably flexible. She will illustrate how new techniques, such as MRI scanning, are opening up our understanding of the biology and evolution of the human voice and how it relates to the neuroscience of vocal control.
From mobile phones to hearing aids, microphones are very common, yet their designs still have significant drawbacks. Could nature play a role in improving their quality? Engineer Rob Malkin will show how studying insects with fascinating hearing organs could hold the key to helping us build bio-inspired acoustic devices.
Could you spot an unfamiliar face in the crowd? For some this is no problem at all as they have an innate ability – super facial recognition skills. Why do some people possess this and how do they scan faces so precisely? Dr Bate explains the phenomenon and how she is working with the police to identify the ‘superrecognisers’ amongst the force. This skill is particularly important for the police; Scotland Yard has a Super-Recogniser unit that searches CCTV footage for suspects, terrorists and missing people. See Dr Sarah Bate’s talk at 14.00–15.00, Thur 8 Sept, Taliesin Theatre, Taliesin Arts Centre
Can music change our immune system? The Jacob Bronowski Award Lecture for Science and the Arts, supported by the Learned Society of Wales, was awarded to Dr Daisy Fancourt (Royal College of Music) With the help of the Tenovus Cancer Care choir, Dr Daisy Fancourt will explore how music can impact on the mind and body and consider its potential bio-evolutionary origins. Research into the health benefits of music has rapidly expanded over the last decade, with studies as diverse as the playing of war songs to improve walking in Parkinson’s patients, to the use of pop music to increase speed and accuracy in operating theatres. But how much do we actually know about how music affects the inner workings of the body? See Dr Daisy Fancourt’s talk at 11.30–13.00, Fri 9 Sept, Taliesin Theatre, Taliesin Arts Centre
See Dr Rob Malkin’s talk at 12.00–13.00, Thur 8 Sept, Taliesin Theatre, Taliesin Arts Centre
See Dr Carolyn McGettigan’s talk at 14.00–15.00, Tue 6 Sept, Taliesin Theatre, Taliesin Arts Centre British Science Festival Swansea 6–9 September 2016
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Open Days Undergraduate
IGNITE Full page Ad 210x297mm Diwrnodau Agored (+3mm bleed) Israddedig
Singleton Park Campus & Bay Campus Saturday 15 & 29 October
Campws Parc Singleton a Champws y Bae Dydd Sadwrn 15 a 29 Hydref
Postgraduate
Ôl-raddedig
Singleton Park Campus Wednesday 9 November Bay Campus Wednesday 16 November
Campws Parc Singleton Dydd Mercher 9 Tachwedd Campws y Bae Dydd Mercher 16 Tachwedd
swansea.ac.uk/opendays abertawe.ac.uk/diwrnodau-agored
Meet Emily Grossman: Science broadcaster, educator, expert in molecular biology and genetics, and victim of a shocking and savage social media attack. Last year, Sir Tim Hunt hit the headlines after saying that his trouble with girls in the lab is that “when you criticise them, they cry”. In response, Emily appeared in a Sky News interview voicing her concerns about the damage that comments like this can do. This resulted in a sustained onslaught of sexist and abusive remarks over social media. She has since given a TEDx talk at UCL named “Why Science Needs People Who Cry” to address her critics. She argues that society benefits from people who cry, as emotional openness can lead to greater access to compassion, creativity, and collaboration, all of which are attributes that are fundamental to science. How did you get into science? I have always loved figuring stuff out. My favourite word when I was a kid was “why?” I was also very lucky not to get any negative messages from those around me growing up, suggesting that girls can’t be scientists. Sadly many girls aren’t so lucky. Who is your role model? My dad, definitely. He’s an endocrinologist and he really nurtured my interest in science. When I was very young we used to go on long drives, which he would call “theory afternoons” – he would tell me fascinating things about the world, like how we all evolved from monkeys. He had a way of explaining things that made it exciting and easy to understand. He’s also a very emotional person – he’s not afraid to cry and he shows his vulnerability. He’s a powerful role model. What has been the most surprising thing you’ve come across in your career? I studied physics when I first went to university. One of the most surprising things was realising that as a girl I was in such a minority. I’d gone to an all-girls school and people just studied what they liked and what they were good at. I lost my confidence and ended up dropping physics and switching to biology – but to my surprise I ended up doing just as well in the physics exams as the boys did. Tell me about the Tim Hunt scandal – what was that backlash like? I was really shocked. It was upsetting and confusing to be experiencing so much hostility and anger. People were saying that women are not clever enough or logical enough to be scientists. They were saying that you shouldn’t cry in the lab; that women are too emotional to be scientists; that we need to toughen up. It’s crazy! Emotions are part of the essence of what it is to be a human, not just a woman. And expressing our emotions can even make people better scientists. Reading unpleasant comments about me personally was hard enough to deal British Science Festival Swansea 6–9 September 2016
with, but the most disturbing thing was all the subtle low-lying misogyny that many people told me to just laugh off. It’s the slow chipping-away of what it is to be a woman. Do you think having women like yourself in science and the public eye are encouraging more girls to go into science? Yes, absolutely, but it’s not just women making the difference. There are many people in science in the public eye now, with many different qualities – sensitivity, creativity, humour, glamour – encouraging everybody and anybody to engage in science. Science is for everyone after all. Tell me about what you’ll be doing at the Festival I will be doing a number of things at the Festival but the one I’m most excited about is an “In Conversation” piece with my dad; I’ll be talking to him about diabetes, obesity and appetite regulation. It’s a privilege to be speaking with my dad. It’s something we are both very excited and nervous about as we’ve never worked together before – we will both be stepping outside our comfort zone. Building upon all your experiences, what advice would you give to young people? What I’d love to say to anyone out there is that it’s okay to fail – but keep trying. Learn from your mistakes, pick yourself up, and keep going.
Emily will be speaking at the British Science Festival and the Family Weekend. The fat controller. Fri 9 Sept, 12.00–13.00, Lecture Theatre M, Faraday Building, Swansea University. This event is supported by the Society for Endocrinology. Dr Emily’s weird and wonderful facts. Sat 10 Sept, 11.45–12.45, National Waterfront Museum 07
Join space enthusiast and presenter of BBC’s “City in the Sky”, Dallas Campbell as he chats to NASA legend, George Abbey. This event promises to take us on a journey through the defining moments in the history of human spaceflight. Dallas will provide a unique insight into one of the minds that shaped humanity’s ventures in space.
50 years of human spaceflight
It might surprise you to know that a “Welsh-American” man named George Abbey has had more influence on human spaceflight than anyone else in history. Very few people outside the space exploration field know what he has achieved for our quest amongst the stars. Until 2001, George Abbey was Director of NASA’s research hub: the Johnson Space Centre (JSC). At the point of his retirement, he had worked at NASA for an astonishing 39 years. His name can be found connected with all stages of NASA’s human spaceflight history, from the first Apollo mission, to when Neil Armstrong touched down on the Moon, and throughout the creation of the International Space Station.
Abbey was part of the team in charge of the Apollo missions and it was during this duty that he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the US’s highest civilian award, for his part in bringing the Apollo 13 astronauts home. As is usually the case, this remarkable work was done behind the scenes; no George Abbey character appears in the Ron Howard movie. As a nod to Abbey’s power over manned missions, some astronauts used to carry his photo on ISS with them. They would also make sure to take as many pictures of Wales as possible whilst in flight, as a nod to his Welsh mother. Although he grew up in urban Seattle, his mother was born in Laugharne, Carmarthenshire, and she made sure to keep Abbey close to his Welsh roots. Now an Honorary Fellow of Swansea University, George Abbey will be returning for an In-Conversation event at Swansea as part of the British Science Festival in September.
Tue 6 Sept, 20.00–21.00, Taliesin Theatre, Taliesin Arts Centre
Our scientists invest years of their lives to discover and develop the medicines that could one day help to save yours
25,000 CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS TESTED 1
References: 1 : ABPI, Developing New Medicines, available at: http://www.abpi.org.uk/industry-info/new-medicines/Pages/default.aspx [accessed July 2016] 2 : ABPI, The Medicine Development Process, available at: http://www.abpi.org.uk/our-work/library/industry/Documents/Medicine%20development%20process.pdf [accessed July 2016] PP-PFE-GBR-0172, July, 2016
CUT OFF LINE
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OVER 12 YEARS OF RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
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Find out more at www.Pfizer.co.uk/iamscience
UPROSA A British start-up taking scientific images out of the labs and into retail
Sitting on scientists’ hard drives in research offices all over the world is a treasure trove of stunning scientific images which are not being used. This is what UPROSA discovered when its founders, two university students, spent time in the research labs of Cambridge University in 2014. Striking microscopy images of graphene, brain cells, chemical compounds and minerals inspired them to create an alternative outlet for these images, and bring them into the retail sector. Fast forward to 2015 and a new British brand UPROSA® (www.uprosa.com) was born, offering vibrant and unique iPhone and MacBook cases created with scientists’ microscopy images. Taking a step beyond ‘geek-chic’, UPROSA’s carefully selected designs proved to be popular beyond the scientific community, leading to features in a number of fashion/ tech media outlets including TechCrunch, Vogue (UK), Wired (UK), GQ and PopSugar. As of 2016, their luxury sci-fashion cases can be found worldwide in large retail stores such as Virgin Megastores in Dubai, iStyle Dubai and LoFT in Japan, and for each case sold, the scientist(s) behind the design receives a cut of the profits. With demonstrated success in the tech accessory market, UPROSA’s unique scientific design approach began to attract interest from other retail companies seeking designs for their own products. This prompted UPROSA to launch its latest venture, an image licensing business specifically aimed towards using scientific images in commercial design. From furniture to yoga pants, UPROSA aims to plant scientific imagery onto a host of consumer products, and generate royalties-based income for scientists along the way. With financial backing from the University of Oxford’s Saïd Business School Seed Fund, their new image licensing platform is set to be launched in September 2016. If you are a scientist/scientific artist and are interested in submitting images to UPROSA’s new commercial imaging platform, go to www.uprosaimages.com, or email hello@uprosa.com for more information. ‘Nickel Dendrites’ – Stefan Diller
British Science Festival Swansea 6–9 September 2016
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When wind powers a local economy. Chloe was working in Congleton when she applied for a Siemens European Apprenticeship. Three years, a placement in Germany, and a degree in mechatronics later, she has the skills needed to bring a wind turbine rotor blade from concept to execution. Chloe is now bringing her expertise back to Alexandra Dock, Hull, where Siemens has invested £160 million in a world-class blade factory, and offshore installation and service facilities. Siemens will create jobs for 1,000 local people. Most of these will be within the blade factory, but hundreds of additional jobs are being created during construction and throughout the extended supply chain. Local blades, made and deployed in the UK, will secure skilled British jobs for the long term. They’ll ensure that future generations benefit from more secure and sustainable, low-carbon energy. That’s Ingenuity for life.
siemens.co.uk/ingenuityforlife
On average a blade turns
100,000,000 times in its lifetime
electricity
Blades rotate to capture
maximum
wind energy
As long as
10
routemaster
buses
tonnes of steel in a turbine As high as
90 red phone boxes Foundation goes
25m into the seabed
Our mission to inspire the next generation We want more young people, like Chloe, to pursue a career in engineering. The Curiosity Project is Siemens three-year engagement programme which aims to bring science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) to life. We want to reach out to parents, teachers and young people all over the UK to encourage, support and inspire young people to become the engineers of the future. Engineers like Chloe. Join the adventure There are plenty of events coming up to get involved with. Whether you are looking for a great day out with the family, are just curious about STEM, or want to get inspired, you can: • • •
Service teams and vessels based locally
in the UK
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Visit the British Science Festival, Swansea, 6-11 September Come along to the Greenpower Challenge Final, Rockingham Motor Circuit, 15-16 October Attend the Manchester Science Festival, Museum of Science & Industry, 20-30 October Log on to siemens.co.uk/education to download free resources, games and interactive tools
To find out more about the Curiosity Project and all the events we attend, the organisations we work with and the resources available to download, head to siemens.co.uk/curiosity-project
Superrecognisers Do you have a talent for spotting a face in a crowd? Do you never seem to forget a face? Then you might be a ‘superrecogniser’ – part of a rare group of people who seem to possess an exceptional ability for remembering and recognising faces. How do we recognise faces? Facial perception is how an individual understands and interprets the features, proportions and expressions of a face. Evolutionary this is of vital importance as it allows humans to identify emotions, which is crucial for social interaction. It also helps us to glean an insight into the health status, origin and background of an individual. Facial perception begins at birth. From the moment we are born, our brains are thought to recognise faces. This happens long before we identify other objects in our environment.
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What is a super-recogniser? Only 1%–2% of the population is thought to be a super-recogniser. Ordinary people can recognise about 20% of the faces that they have seen before, but superrecognisers far supersede this, managing up to a massive 80%. It is thought that their abilities are related to increased activity within a small specialist region of the brain. This region is known as the fusiform face area – the FFA – and is thought to be responsible for helping us to recognise faces. The ability tends to emerge later in life, largely in an adult’s 20s or 30s, which is a surprising find as most other cognitive abilities tend to be at their sharpest in our teenage years.
But what use is this ability to us? Although computer facial recognition programmes have existed since the 1960s, the police have increasingly been utilising human super-recognisers within their own teams to crack down on crime.
This has a great success rate, and what is even more impressive is that superrecognisers usually do not even need to see the entire face to make a positive identification – often recognising an individual by just a nose or a pair of eyes.
Could I be a super-recogniser too? A large amount of research has been undertaken into this fascinating phenomenon, and some online tests have been developed to ask you to pick faces out of a line up. Why not put your detection skills to the test?
Find out more about the work and research surrounding face recognition, Dr Sarah Bate of Bournemouth University, will be delivering an Award Lecture entitled ‘Are you a superrecogniser?’ on 8 September.
The beautiful game
What a year it’s been for British football. The most unlikely of Premier League wins for Leicester City, last minute winners for the Republic of Ireland, unprecedented Euros success for Northern Ireland and…an interesting result against Iceland for England. Arguably the biggest success story of them all was taking place in the valleys not too far away. With a population of just over 3 million, Wales has stolen the hopes and hearts of the nation. At the 2016 Euros, the Welsh football team went further in a major tournament than any point in their history. It seems fitting then, with this year’s British Science Festival being held in Swansea, that we honour this incredible sporting achievement by exploring the ins and outs of the beautiful game.
More than just a game? When the first version of the computer simulation game Football Manager (FM) came out in 1992, the premise was simple: users manage any football club across England’s four divisions. They buy and sell players, whilst selecting their teams and tactics. Humanoid dots then played out games based on these selections. In the following 24 years, the complexity and scope of the game has grown exponentially.
British Science Festival Swansea 6–9 September 2016
What started off as a simple game has now grown to hold cult-like status, bringing with it a range of unintended and unexpected impacts along the way. FM has been cited in 35 divorce cases and is the subject of multiple books, TV shows and comedy tours. However, perhaps the most extraordinary achievement of the FM franchise is its merging with the very industry it aims to simulate. This is because of data. Networks of scouts in over 50 countries make realworld assessments of 250 individual player attributes for over 650,000 players, providing a mind-boggling 162 million data points. Like all big data extending over long periods of time, it can be mined for insights and used to develop algorithms to make predictions for the future. These algorithms can also be refined using artificial intelligence to improve their predictive capabilities, increasing their accuracy with each edition of the game. The FM database’s crystal ball offers clubs the opportunity to scout the globe for talent, allowing them to buy future superstars and stay ahead of the curve. The Football Manager database continues to be used across the globe to advance modern football in many ways.
To hear more about it’s incredible journey, join Tom Markham on Tuesday 6 September for the Data that powers Football Manager. 17.00–18.00, Main Lecture Theatre, Faraday Building
A game for all? The growth in the popularity of football is not limited to the digital world. As the scale and reach of the game grows, British football attendance figures have reached unprecedented heights, spurred on by astronomical TV deals worth billions of pounds. This is allowing the Premier League to expand its global audience and bring millions of pounds in sponsorship to its teams. With such mega-riches on offer and the stakes at an all-time high, its perhaps natural that football has evolved from the ‘people’s game’ that was a bastion of British working class culture in previous decades. Questions are therefore being asked about the role of the everyday fan in the modern game. With competition to get a share of the Premier League pot fierce, clubs are compelled to raise ticket prices to meet demand and create squeaky-clean brands, leveraging the array of global superstars in their squads. Whilst this creates undeniable wealth and quality in the league, one could be forgiven for wondering, at what cost?
On Wednesday 7 September, an expert panel including sociologist Mark Doidge and Alan Lewis from the Swansea Supporter’s Trust will be exploring such questions, discussing the relationship between fans and football in the fight for the beautiful game. 17.00–18.00, Lecture Theatre K, Faraday Building 13
ADVERTORIAL
The Eureka Myth A lone scientist, testing combinations of ingredients over and over again until finally, one day, they make a ‘eureka’ discovery. This is how many people think new medicines are invented. Alexander Fleming’s untidiness, which led to the contamination of his Petri dish and the subsequent discovery of penicillin, has much to do with perpetuating this myth.1 But such accidental discoveries are very much the exception, rather than the rule. The average medicine takes 12 years and immeasurable dedication from our scientists to create.2 Moreover, researching and developing a new medicine is so complex that around 19 out of every 20 early discoveries will fail before reaching patients.2 In fact, even Alexander Fleming didn’t have an ‘eureka’ moment. While his discovery would later prove to save millions of lives, he personally tried and failed to prove its potential, finally abandoning his work in 1934.1 It wasn’t until four years later, a decade after his early discovery, that researchers Howard Florey and Ernst Chain proved penicillin could make people better.3 But they hit a huge stumbling block, it was extremely difficult to isolate enough penicillin to treat even one person.4 After this, Florey and Chain had no way to produce the medicine to meet demand. This required expertise from larger chemical companies in America, who finally brought penicillin to the masses.5 In this way, medicine discovery is more a journey of small steps forward in understanding, made up of successes and failures, rather than ‘eureka’ moments. Collectively, these steps can save billions of lives.
PP-PFE-GBR-0171, July 2016
The journey of discovery has been further advanced by the invention of new tools and technologies which change the way we can explore and understand the human physiology. Take the introduction of the microscope, which enabled us to look into cells for the first time. This led to the concept of germ theory and opened the door to research into the identification of disease-causing germs and potential life-saving treatments.6 We have never known more about the human body than we do today. More recently, we have learned the blueprint for making a human being thanks to the Human Genome Project, an international research effort to sequence the human genome and identify the genes it contains.7 It took over 15 years, approximately $3 billion8 and countless scientists from 20 institutions in six countries9 – most definitely no lone scientists shouting ‘eureka’ here. The aim of the Human Genome Project is to help us understand which genes cause disease and now more than 1,800 disease genes have been identified.10 Once we know which ‘faulty’ genes cause us to become ill, we can research potential treatments to repair or replace them. These are known as gene therapies. This is what we do at the Pfizer Genetic Medicine Institute. We work in teams of scientists, with other companies, universities, experts and patients groups from all over the world to accelerate the discovery of new and effective gene therapies, helping to bring them from the laboratory to patients. Each small discovery we make brings us closer to being able to treat patients for some of the most devastating genetic diseases, such as cystic fibrosis and haemophilia. While scientists rarely shout ‘eureka’, we very much hope that patients will one day experience those euphoric moments as their symptoms are treated or their diseases are even cured.
Dr Michael Linden, Head of the Genetic Medicine Institute; Vice President of Gene Therapy at Pfizer.
Find out more about the forefront of gene therapy with Dr Michael Linden: Thursday 8 September, 15.00–16.00. Register for the talk at: www. britishsciencefestival.org. ‘The Forefront of Gene Therapy’ talk is organised and funded by Pfizer Limited. ‘ I am Science’ is a Pfizer campaign to celebrate our scientists’ achievements and inspire future generations of science and business leaders; leaders who through their knowledge, experience and dedication have the power to change the future. Find out more at www.pfizer.co.uk/ iamscience To contact Pfizer for any other purpose, including adverse event reports or medical information requests, please call 01304 616161 References 1 ABPI. Alexander Fleming and the discovery of penicillin. Available at: http://www.abpischools.org.uk/page/modules/infectiousdiseases_ timeline/timeline6.cfm [Accessed July 2016]. 2 ABPI, (2015). Time to Flourish. Inside Innovation: The Medicine Development Process. [image] Available at: http://www.abpi. org.uk/our-work/library/industry/Documents/Medicine%20 development%20process.pdf [Accessed July 2016]. 3 Chemical Heritage Foundation. Howard Walter Florey and Ernst Boris Chain. Available at: http://www.chemheritage.org/discover/ online-resources/chemistry-in-history/themes/pharmaceuticals/ preventing-and-treating-infectious-diseases/florey-and-chain.aspx [Accessed July 2016]. 4 Brighthub. Fleming, Florey & Chain: The Discovery and Development of Penicillin. Available at: http://www.brighthub.com/science/ medical/articles/12679.aspx [Accessed July 2016]. 5 ACS. Penicillin Production through Deep-tank Fermentation. Available at: https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/education/ whatischemistry/landmarks/penicillin.html [Accessed July 2016]. 6 Big Picture. The history of germ theory. https://bigpictureeducation. com/history-germ-theory [Accessed July 2016]. 7 National Human Genome Research Institute. An Overview of the Human Genome Project. Available at: https://www.genome. gov/12011238/an-overview-of-the-human-genome-project/ [Accessed July 2016]. 8 Fallows, J. (2013). The Atlantic. When will genomics cure cancer? Available at: https://www.genome.gov/pages/about/nachgr/ feb2014agendadocs/fallowsatlanticarticle.pdf [Accessed July 2016]. 9 Your Genome. Who was involved in the Human Genome Project? Available at: http://www.yourgenome.org/stories/whowasinvolved-in-the-human-genome-project [Accessed July 2016]. 10 Genetics Home Reference. BRCA1. Available at: https://ghr.nlm.nih. gov/gene/BRCA1 [Accessed July 2016].
Personal stories bring science to life Join us for an evening of true, personal stories with a science twist. Five storytellers plucked from the Festival line up will share their exciting tales of how science has touched their lives. Some stories are heartbreaking; some are hilarious; they’re all true and, in one way or another, they’re all about science. The Story Collider, Thur 8 Sept 19.00–21.00, Taliesin Theatre, Taliesin Arts Centre People love to hear stories. Whether it be the latest novel we’re reading, our favourite soap, or even just finding out what our friends got up to at the weekend – stories connect us with the people around us; they’re personal and reveal the whole spectrum of human emotion.
British Science Festival Swansea 6–9 September 2016
In 2010, physicists Ben Lillie and Brian Wecht attended a storytelling show in Queens, New York. It was here that the two met for the first time and learned that they share a common passion: the human side of science. Ben originally studied to be a playwright, but then changed his direction to theoretical physics, before giving in to his first passion again by working in New York’s theatre district. Brian has a degree in jazz composition but is also a theoretical physicist. He was Professor of Physics at Queen Mary, University of London, and in his spare time was a comedy song writer. The chance meeting and unique interests of Ben and Brian created something magical; their lust for science and creativity sparked an ingenious idea that is today known as, The Story Collider. Riding on a firm belief that science is fundamental part of society and everyone in it, they developed a series of live shows and weekly podcasts that bring “true, personal stories about science to life”. What Ben and Brian have managed to achieve is to bring people from a variety of backgrounds together, people that have come into contact with science in both good and bad ways, and have a story to tell about it. At their shows you will hear heart-warming, controversial, funny, and thought-provoking stories from scientists, writers, comedians, doctors, and many others – all touching on science in some way.
The beauty of this show is that it reminds people that every scientific endeavour is a human achievement. Rather than telling the headline discovery, which is the thing we most commonly hear, they delve into the struggles, the humour, and the eccentricities that science is intertwined with. To date, 581 stories have been told through The Story Collider. There have been 118 shows in 21 cities, with 252 podcasts having been recorded and then downloaded over 3 million times. With such a legacy, we thought it was about time that The Story Collider came to the British Science Festival. The British Science Association is the official UK partners of The Story Collider. The first partnership event was held in British Science Week 2016, at The Round Chapel in Hackney, London. Speakers included Steve Crabtree, editor of the BBC’s flagship science programme, Horizon and Gaia Vince, writer of Adventures In The Anthropocene: A journey to the heart of the planet we made, which won the Royal Society Winton Prize for science books in 2015. At the British Science Festival in Swansea this September, you will hear from five speakers plucked from the Festival lineup to share exciting accounts of when science has touched their lives.
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Interview with J. Willgoose, Esq of Public Service Broadcasting
Music can act as social glue. It brings people together, gives them an identity, and is a medium for spreading messages about love, hate, friendship...and even science. Public Service Broadcasting is a pseudonymous musical duo comprised of J. Willgoose, Esq and Wrigglesworth. Their launch into stardom is thanks to their unique instrumental style which they blend with samples of archive footage, such as old propaganda films. Image credit: ‘Fractal Flame’ – Scott Camazine, Harvard University
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J. Willgoose, Esq will be joining us at this year’s British Science Festival to discuss the making of their cosmic album, The Race for Space: part-historical document, part-immersive soundscape. The Race for Space weaves samples of news reels and recordings from the Sputnik and Apollo missions to retell the story of the American and Soviet Space Race from 1957–1972 across a nine track album.
Is there a message behind any of your music? What do you want listeners to take away when they hear it? It all began as a project to keep myself interested and have something to do, but it’s become a bit more serious since the beginning. We want to say more with our music. We want to spread the message of positivity and progress; about working together for a better future.
Fascinated to learn more ahead of his talk, we called him up for a quick interview.
Tell me about your album, The Race to Space. What inspired it? I’ve always has a long-held fascination with the Space Race. We wanted to make a great, firing on all cylinders album as a push back against the cynicism that is still held against that golden age. There are still many conspiracy theorists. Going into space and landing on the Moon is one of the finest spiritual and technological achievements that mankind has done, so it makes me really sad when it’s questioned.
How did your unique musical concept evolve? It happened by a series of happy accidents. The inspiration came from listening to a Radio 4 programme called the Archive Hour, which looks back at recordings from the BBC archive. I was already making bits of electronic music at home and started dabbling with incorporating samples from old footage. It just grew from there. At what point did Wrigglesworth join you? We started playing together two years after I began making this music. I had done a few solo gigs but I hated playing solo. There’s too much pressure and no-one to bounce off. It can get really lonely. What’s the best gig you’ve played? It’s hard to say really because the majority of them have been great. We’ve played Glastonbury three years in a row, which has been a real honour. It’s all something that started out as a bit of fun so we are constantly surprised by where we get asked to play.
What can we expect from your event at the Festival? I’ll be discussing the thinking behind each track on the album. Why we wrote it, what inspired it, plus the broader topic of the Space Race and what it means to us.
See J. Willgoose, Esq. Sampling the Race for Space, Fri 9 Sept, 17.00–18.00, Diva’s, Swansea University Students’ Union
The medicalisation of young minds It’s a common worry for parents as to whether their child’s behaviour is that of a typical teenager or if there is a more serious underlying cause. Could moodiness, becoming increasingly distant, or causing frequent arguments be the warning signs of a mental illness? One in ten children and young people suffer from some kind of mental health problem, including depression and anxiety. Some surveys are even suggesting that compared to 30 years ago, we are seeing an increase in young people suffering with a mental health problem. Could this be due to changes in the way we live? Could it be because of better medical knowledge and more awareness when previously these illnesses have been under treated? Or perhaps it might be down to an increasing urge to over diagnose normal teenage behaviour? The teenage years are a phase of gaining independence and testing boundaries, as well as dealing with the hormones and awkwardness that comes with going through puberty. Teenagers may be moving into adulthood without many of the skills necessary to deal with it, which lends itself to stress, sadness, self-consciousness, and frustration. However, more and more we are seeing young people diagnosed with a mental illness and prescribed drugs to tackle it. So the question is, how do we distinguish between what is normal and what warrants a mental health diagnosis in a young person? One obvious suggestion would be to train GPs so that they really understand the lives and moods of young people, as well as knowing what warning signs they should look out for. If the child’s symptoms are severe, last for extended periods of time, or are spread over different areas of their lives, e.g. school, home, and friends, then these could be clearer indicators of a problem.
British Science Festival Swansea 6–9 September 2016
Another concern is the way we are treating young people who are diagnosed with a mental illness. An enquiry by the Children, Young People, and Education Committee on children and mental health found when they spoke to young people and their carers, they felt they are much more likely to be given prescription drugs rather than talking therapies, such as cognitive behavioural therapy, to treat their condition. One of the main reasons for this is the difficulty of accessing talking therapies due to low availability and long waiting lists. Psychotherapies have a proven track record of improving symptoms for people with illnesses such as mild and moderate depression, yet when they are not readily available people are given anti-depressants instead. Why is it that we are seeing this huge rise in prescriptions being given to young people to treat mental illnesses? Dr Ann John from Swansea University has been studying this very issue for many years. She began her career as a GP and saw first hand the challenges of appropriately supporting and treating young people with these issues. She always had an interest in mental health, so she moved into research, studying the epidemiology and prevention of mental health disorders.
Dr Ann John will be joined by Professor Sinead Brophy, also of Swansea University, at this year’s British Science Festival on 9 September 15.00–16.00, Main Lecture Theatre, Faraday Building. They will be attempting to answer the questions raised above: how can we distinguish normal teenage behaviour from mental illnesses and why are we seeing an increase in prescriptions being given to young people for mental illnesses?
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Science and the arts By Daisy Fancourt, The 2016 Jacob Bronowski Award Lecture winner for science and the arts I have a confession to make. Before being chosen for the 2016 Jacob Bronowski Award Lecture, I knew little about the man the Award is named after. Perhaps because he died before I was born, and his famous BBC TV Series The Ascent of Man had aired many years before. I recognised his name but didn’t appreciate his incredible contribution to the field I work in. As a mathematician, poet and science historian, Bronowski embodies two seemingly different worlds: science and the arts. A graduate of Cambridge University, Bronowski’s contribution to the field of science was eclectic. It included developing the mathematical bombing strategies of RAF aircraft during WW2 to working as Director of Research on the UK National Coal Board. Being an artist and a lover of arts as well, he also worked on a collection of poetry with the American poet Laura Riding and wrote a biography of poet William Blake.
Embodying these two passions in his life, one of Bronowski’s pivotal areas of contribution was on the relationship between science and the arts. He disagreed with suggestions that science and the arts are opposites. Instead, he most famously expressed his own views on the topic in a collection of essays on the arts, literature and science, entitled The Visionary Eye and in his world-famous 1973 BBC TV series The Ascent of Man, about the development of human society through its understanding of science. Some of Bronowski’s main arguments were against the following truisms: Science embodies reason while art embodies the imagination In The Ascent of Man he argued “the symbol and the metaphor are as necessary to science as to poetry”. Far from being a differentiator, he saw imagination as being one of the key linking features of the arts and science. Science is reductionism and limitation while art is synthesis and freedom In The Visionary Eye he argued that “art and science belong to the everyday of human action, and are essentially human because they explore the freedom which man’s intelligence constantly creates for him”. Science discovers while art creates Bronowski also pointed out in The Visionary Eye the strange terminology by which only artists’ achievements, not scientists’, count as ‘creations’, as though artists have done something new whereas scientists have merely discovered what was already there.
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Instead of constructing these abstract dichotomies, Bronowski suggested that the arts and sciences working together represented the pinnacle of human achievement. Bronowski’s wife, Rita, summed up his contribution beautifully, saying: “He was an extraordinarily whole person…a thinking man, an endangered species. All his life he treated art and science as the same expression of the human imagination. The theme of the imagination ran like a bright ribbon through the fabric of his thought.” I’d already planned what I wanted to talk about at the British Science Festival, however, I was rather surprised at how many elements of my presentation resonated naturally with Bronowski’s work. In my Award Lecture talk, I will be taking the audience on a journey back in time, exploring the interconnectivity of art and science. Appreciating the enormous contribution that Bronowski made to these ideas, and more broadly the field I now work in, will make giving the lecture in his name even more of a privilege. I hope some of you will join me there.
Can music change our immune system? Fri 9 Sept, 11.30–13.00, Taliesin Theatre, Taliesin Arts Centre
Family Weekend With one quarter of families admitting that they spend only 34 minutes with their children each day, what better way to buck this trend than by exploring the wonders of science at our amazing Family Weekend at the British Science Festival. Taking place on the 10 and 11 September, this is a weekend that’s all about you and your youngsters. We have a jam-packed schedule full of family-friendly science activities, talks, workshops and performances for you to enjoy – and all for free! Join us from 11am–4pm across Swansea, at venues such as the National Waterfront Museum, the Swansea Museum and the Dylan Thomas Theatre. Here’s a taster of what we have on offer:
Dr Emily’s weird and wonderful facts Sat 10 Sept, 11.45–12.45, National Waterfront Museum
Junk Modelling Sun 11 Sept, 11.00–11.45, 12.00–12.45 and 15.00–15.45, National Waterfront Museum
Did you know that you can block a tickle? That snakes can bite you even when they’re dead? Or that we share 50% of our DNA with a banana? Have you ever wondered why pirates wore eye-patches? What creature has the loudest voice? Or who is fitter, a shrimp or a human? Could it be possible that there’s a planet on which a day lasts longer than a year? That there’s an animal that does square poos? Or that we make better decisions when we need a wee?! Join science broadcaster and educator Dr Emily Grossman for this fun and interactive science show, as she explains some of her favourite weird and wonderful science facts. Guaranteed to amuse and amaze!
With a little imagination and a playful spirit, junk modelling can provide a wonderful adventure. Playing is lots of fun, and it fundamental for all aspects of development including your brain. Using your imagination and the variety of scrap materials on offer, can you construct an invention, no matter how weird or unbelievable it might be. Come and see where our pile of scrap and your imagination takes you, and find out more about what goes on in your head when you play.
Splendiferous science show Sat 10 Sept, 13.00–14.00 and 15.00–16.00, National Waterfront Museum Watch in whizzpopping wonder at some Roald Dahl inspired marvellous mayhem, in this lively hands-on splendiferous science show! With CBBC’s science communicator Jon Chase.
The Ghost of Morfa Colliery Performance, Sat 10 Sept, 11.30–12.40, Sun 11 Sept, 14.30–15.40 One of Theatr na nÓg’s most popular productions ‘The Ghost of Morfa Colliery’ makes a welcome return to the Dylan Thomas Theatre, Swansea. On Monday March 10th 1890, an explosion at the Morfa Colliery in Taibach, Port Talbot killed 87 miners. That day, 450 men should have been at work but something kept 200 of them at home. In the inquest, there were accounts of ghostly apparitions and unearthly voices heard weeks before the explosion. Morfa Colliery was a particularly gaseous mine. Were there unexplained supernatural reasons for the disaster, or could the explosion have been due to gas being ignited by a naked flame? Will the true cause ever be known? In this enthralling live theatre performance, Theatr na nÓg tells the tale of ordinary people living through extraordinary times and explores the lives of young children who worked in perilous conditions underground during the Victorian era.
British Science Festival Swansea 6–9 September 2016
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6–9 September 2016
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Image credit: ‘Horsemint Flower’ – Stefan Diller