Didsbury SciBar – Science in a Bar

Didsbury SciBar - Science In A Bar

Didsbury SciBar is a bunch of people with a passing interest in science meeting on the 3rd Monday of the month at The Albert Club, Old Lansdowne Road, West Didsbury. The speaker varies each month. Entry is FREE and new members are always welcome. The SciBar is run by volunteers who have the clout to get top researchers to come and give an informal chat on what they do. It's not a lecture, its a short talk between the speaker and the audience, then an interactive discussion usually follows until the questions are exhausted. Come along and banish those Monday blues, have a chat and a drink and, weather permitting, a bowl on the green.

17th February – Is It A Crime To Love Contrails? – Dr Vladimir Jankovic

What happens when contrails – airplane condensation trails – appear in the works of art? What happens when artists paint or photograph contrails and how does this act affect the status of contrails as environmental phenomena? Do contrails count as aesthetic phenomena in the same way as ‘other’ clouds? Can we enjoy the sight of Read more about 17th February – Is It A Crime To Love Contrails? – Dr Vladimir Jankovic[…]

20th January – Weaponising the Immune System in the Battle Against Cancer

It’s often talked about as the “battle against cancer” but how does the body actually fight back against this disease and more importantly how can we help it do better. At last we understand at least part of this process and so, as we engage in major clinical trials of immunotherapy in Greater Manchester and Read more about 20th January – Weaponising the Immune System in the Battle Against Cancer[…]

16th December – The behaviour, biology, ecology, and conservation of Pelagic thresher sharks in the Philippines – Dr. Simon Oliver

Pelagic sharks are poorly understood because of limitations inherent in studying them in situ. Knowledge that pelagic thresher sharks (Alopias pelagicus) regularly visit specific locations in the Philippines presented an unique opportunity to study new aspects of their behaviour and biology, and promote their conservation in the region. Post-mortem examinations were conducted on 11 dead Read more about 16th December – The behaviour, biology, ecology, and conservation of Pelagic thresher sharks in the Philippines – Dr. Simon Oliver[…]

18th November – Now You’re Talking – Prof. Trevor Cox

Talking and singing comes naturally to most of us so it is easy to overlook how truly remarkable the voice is. Mixing biology, physics and psychology, Trevor will explore the workings of the voice looking at accents and different singing styles. The human voice has always been in flux, but over the last hundred years Read more about 18th November – Now You’re Talking – Prof. Trevor Cox[…]

21st October – The Changing Arctic And It’s Global Consequences – Prof. Terry Callaghan

The Arctic is changing very quickly because of climate change and globalisation. Increasingly, the two aspects are linked and changes in the Arctic’s environment are accelerating. Climate warming in the Arctic is twice as fast as the global average rate and its consequences are having profound impacts on the frozen parts of the Arctic, its Read more about 21st October – The Changing Arctic And It’s Global Consequences – Prof. Terry Callaghan[…]

16th September – Discovering New Ways to Tackle Dementia – Prof. David Brough

Our immune system protects us against infection and promotes repair. However, during disease our immune system can also turn against us and make disease worse. This is true in Alzheimer’s disease. My lab at the University of Manchester aims to understand damaging immune responses and how we can block them during disease. Ultimately the research Read more about 16th September – Discovering New Ways to Tackle Dementia – Prof. David Brough[…]

15th July – Building Brains – Prof. Steven Furber

Understanding the brain remains as one of the great frontiers of science – how does this organ upon which we all so critically depend perform its function as an information processing system? The SpiNNaker (Spiking Neural Network Architecture) platform has been developed to support real-time modelling of large-scale brain subsystems with the objective of accelerating Read more about 15th July – Building Brains – Prof. Steven Furber[…]

17th June – Our Changing Rivers and the Menace of Microplastics – Professor Jamie Woodward

Professor Jamie Woodward, Professor of Physical Geography and Head of the Department of Geography at The University of Manchester, will tell us about research in the Department of Geography at the University of Manchester which has shone a light on a new contamination issue in UK rivers. Microplastics are present in all the rivers of Read more about 17th June – Our Changing Rivers and the Menace of Microplastics – Professor Jamie Woodward[…]

20th May – Mass Spectrometry: History and Applications – Dr Mike Morris

Mass spectrometry is an analytical technique that has a long history in Manchester. This talk will discuss some of the background of the technique and how it evolved into a commercial business in the North West. Some applications of the technology that potentially affect our daily lives will also be discussed. Dr Morris received his Read more about 20th May – Mass Spectrometry: History and Applications – Dr Mike Morris[…]

15th April – Plastic Fantastic: Production of artificial antibodies to reduce the use of animals in research – Dr Marloes Peeters

It is estimated that on an annual basis, over 100 million animals are used in research across the world. A significant amount of these animal experiments involve the generation of antibodies, which are used in sensors for medical applications, in the food industry, for environmental monitoring, etc. In this talk, Dr Marloes Peeters from Newcastle Read more about 15th April – Plastic Fantastic: Production of artificial antibodies to reduce the use of animals in research – Dr Marloes Peeters[…]

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