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SciBar Online

Didsbury SciBar online events catalogue

When the COVID pandemic hit, we made the leap into fully online events – and we genuinely had no idea what to expect. What happened next surprised us all. Attendance grew, enthusiasm soared, and our little Didsbury SciBar community expanded far beyond Manchester. Over the course of five years, we hosted more than 100 online events, welcomed international audiences, and proved that science can thrive anywhere, even on Zoom.

Once we were able to return to our spiritual home – The Albert Club in Didsbury, Manchester – we kept the best of both worlds. From lockdown through to early 2026, we continued running a hybrid model, livestreaming our in‑person talks so our wider community could stay connected.

However, with online participation naturally falling in recent months, we’re taking a step back to rethink the format. We’re not retiring SciBar Online – far from it. We’re simply exploring ways to make it more sustainable, effective and enjoyable for both audiences and speakers.

We fully expect to host occasional online‑only events, special digital sessions, and potentially a refreshed online programme. Watch this space.

In the meantime, you can revisit a selection of our favourite online talks on our YouTube channel, featuring fantastic speakers, great questions, and the occasional charming lockdown‑era glitch.

If you have questions, ideas, or feedback about the future of SciBar Online, drop us an email – or find us on Facebook and Bluesky. We’d love to hear from you.

20th May- The Evolution of the Penis – Dr Michael Carroll

    Animals have evolved many physical traits and strategies to survive long enough to reproduce. The sexual organs of many species are some of the most varied, specialised, and bizarre, which have evolved to enable them to compete in the battle of the sexes. Dr Michael Carroll, Associate Professor at MMU joins us at Didsbury SciBar in May 2024.

    18th March – Reducing Animal Usage in Cardiovascular Research – Dr Sarah Jones

      Dr Sarah Jones,
      Reader in thrombosis and haemostasis, Department of Life Sciences at
      Manchester Metropolitan University presents at SciBar in March 2024.

      Sarah will discuss the approaches that we are taking to develop new experimental models of arterial thrombosis as an alternative to animal experiments. These include vessel on a chip technology as well as using blood vessels isolated from human placentas.