Lecture Meetings will be held at The Crypt Room, St John's Church, Church Row, Hampstead, London NW3.
UNLESS otherwise notified. In particular the first talk is by ZOOM due to the rail strike.
All meetings are on THURSDAYS at 8:15pm. Coffee and biscuits will be available during the evening for a small charge.
Members of the public are invited.
We may attempt to broadcast the talks simultaneously by Zoom, to be confirmed closer to the time.
If you can't make it to a physical meeting but would like to be informed / invited to the Zoom session IF we can arrange it, please send an email with HSS Talk in the subject line to
info@hampsteadscience.ac.uk before a meeting to get an invitation.
| Date | Subject (Standard Info) | Speaker |
|---|---|---|
8:15 pm |
BY ZOOM because of transport strikes There is a significant shortage of donor organs for transplantation, and ∼50% of all transplanted organs are rejected within 10 years. To address this, the field of tissue engineering seeks to fabricate lab-grown organs and tissues, using biological scaffolds and patient-derived cells. This talk will describe some recent developments, including the fabrication of the complex blood vessel networks present in all organs; vascular grafts for treating cardiovascular disease and for haemodialysis; and organoids – miniature, self-organised, multicellular structures which replicate much of the complexity and function of real tissue, and which hold significant promise for the future of medicine. |
(University of Cambridge) |
8:15 pm |
IN PERSON ! Prof McLean is a research scientist with over 25 years of experience in monoclonal antibody generation and recombinant antibody expression in academic settings and has developed significant ties with biotechnology and vaccine companies. His scientific training has led him from New Zealand to British Columbia, Canada where he produced and used monoclonal antibodies for cancer therapy; New York, USA where he studied antibody gene diversification; and Texas where he continued studies using monoclonal antibodies as antiviral agents. He is currently based in London UK where his research now focuses on monoclonal antibody guided vaccine design for human viruses. |
(London Metropolitan University) |
8:15 pm |
Man has through history expressed the wish to fly. Even in ancient times we dreamed of that and even looked up at astronomical bodies like the Moon and wanted to go there. As our technology developed, the ability to fly in the earth's atmosphere became a reality and our ambitions moved even further ahead of that. The moon landings were preceded by technical discussions about its feasibility, and even in Britain before the second world war, where rocketry was prohibited by statute, we had aero-engineers suggesting the technology that might make that feasible. As we then conquered the Moon and reached the other solar system bodies, ambitions once more moved ahead of our capabilities and we looked to the stars. The British Interplanetary Society in the mid-70s carried out a ground-breaking study to look at the feasibility of interstellar travel using believable technology. We will look at their conclusions and where we have reached since then, and look at this in the context of one of the most interesting scientific questions that has always fascinated man. |
(University College London) |
8:15 pm |
Most of us are aware of the hive mind – the power of bees as an amazing collective. But do we know how uniquely intelligent bees are as individuals? In The Mind of a Bee, Lars Chittka draws from decades of research, including his own pioneering work, to argue that bees have remarkable cognitive abilities. He shows that they are profoundly smart, have distinct personalities, can recognize flowers and human faces, exhibit basic emotions, count, use simple tools, solve problems, and learn by observing others. They may even possess consciousness. Taking readers deep into the sensory world of bees, Chittka illustrates how bee brains are unparalleled in the animal kingdom in terms of how much sophisticated material is packed into their tiny nervous systems. He looks at their innate behaviours and the ways their evolution as foragers may have contributed to their keen spatial memory. Chittka also examines the psychological differences between bees and the ethical dilemmas that arise in conservation and laboratory settings because bees feel and think. Throughout, he touches on the fascinating history behind the study of bee behaviour. Exploring an insect whose sensory experiences rival those of humans, The Mind of a Bee reveals the singular abilities of some of the world's most incredible creatures. |
(Queen Mary College) |
8:15 pm |
Mike Lucibella is the former editor of The Antarctic Sun, the official newspaper of the U.S. Antarctic Program. He's travelled as far south as the South Pole multiple times to report on the science and research carried out across the frozen continent. Drawing on his six years' experience, he's sharing some of the research highlights from his time with the program. |
(University College London) |
8:15 pm |
Black soldier fly as a sustainable protein alternative |
(Entocycle) |
8:15 pm |
(TBD) | |
8:15 pm |
(Thames Water) | |
8:15 pm |
(Imperial College, London) | |
8:00 pm |
Last updated 13-Jan-2023