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Topic: Tuberculosis (TB): ancient times, antibiotic era and tackling new challenges (Commemorating World TB Day 2012)
2pm: Introduction: Nick Keep
2.15pm: Plants as a Source of New Antibiotics (Franz Bucar, University of Graz, Austria): In the search for new anti-TB drugs plants offer a largely unexplored source of new chemical entities. Vast ethnomedical knowledge for using plants in therapy of bacterial infections exists and the biosynthesis of antibacterial compounds has always been part of the survival strategy of plants. In addition, natural products including those from plants offer novel chemical space not covered by synthetic compound libraries. Examples of compounds isolated from plants will be taken from diverse phytochemical classes like alkaloids, terpenes and phenolics and their activities will be presented.
2.45pm: TB Awareness film screening
3pm: Panel Discussion on Current Challenges in TB (Results UK v UK Coalition to Stop TB)
4pm: Tuberculosis (TB): Ancient Times, Antibiotic Era and Tackling New Challenges Sanjib Bhakta Tuberculosis (TB) remains a global health emergency, as around nine million new cases are estimated each year with two million deaths worldwide due to the infection of its causal bacterial pathogen - Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The association of TB and AIDS, emergence of extensively drug-resistant (XDR) TB strains and the bacterium's ability to survive inside the host pose serious challenges for us to fight this dreadful infectious disease. Discovery of novel, potent and safe anti-TB drugs is now urgent. An integrated multidisciplinary approach in anti-TB drug discovery is underway. Can we beat the TB germ?
Speaker: Dr Sanjib Bhakta, Department of Biological Sciences
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Topic: Health, Medicine and Electron microscopy
In order to prescribe medication for some diseases, a doctor must first make an accurate diagnosis and determine the cause of the illness. Biochemical means, using a light microscope, can be used to detect changes in tissue cells or the presence of larger microorganisms. To detect small infectious organisms such as viruses or some specific changes in tissues induced, for example, by inheritance of a genetic condition, the more sophisticated electron microscope is required. This allows us to see molecules and viruses in extremely fine detail.
Such imaging and new computational programs have allowed biologists to see structures and 3-D interactions in ribosomes, haemoglobins and many other important biological molecules and based on their structure to develop new medicines and vaccines. Professor Orlova will explain the methods used for processing images from the electron microscope.
Speaker: Professor Elena Orlova, Department of Biological Sciences
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Topic: The new Science of Astrobiology and the Search for Life in the Universe
This talk will describe the quest to determine if life exists elsewhere in the universe.
It will begin with a short description of the evolutionary history of life on Earth, and how this can inform our searches for life on other planets, and then move outwards through the solar system.
We will concentrate especially on the ongoing searches for past or present life on Mars, and the possibility of life in liquid water habitats on the icy moons of the giant planets, especially Europa, Titan and Enceladus. Finally we will consider the prospects for life on planets orbiting other stars, hundreds of which have been discovered in the last 15 years, and how we might detect it through astronomical observations.
Speaker: Dr Ian Crawford, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences
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Topic: Under the microscope: Kinesin motors and cancer
Cell multiplication is essential for renewal and regeneration throughout our bodies, but if cells multiply out of control – as occurs in cancers – our health is threatened.
The mitotic spindle is the complex engine that drives cell multiplication and is an ideal target for anti-cancer drugs.
We are studying essential components of the mitotic spindle called kinesins that participate in a molecular tug-of-war during cell multiplication. By examining how these tiny motors work, we are discovering more about their functions in normal cells and how they might be blocked to treat cancer.
Speaker: Dr Carolyn Moores, Department of Biological Sciences
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Topic: Science for Art: Damage Assessment of Heritage Objects and Methods used in their Preventive Conservation
The fundamental problem of preservation of cultural objects is the change that occurs in objects on display or in storage in art galleries, museums, and archives.
Recent advances in analytical instrumentation and novel materials involving nanoparticles now allow visualisation and quantification of damage at the nanoscale level and controlled methods of conservation treatment.
In preventive conservation, the advance in sensing and monitoring systems and optimisation of showcase design has also led to improved methods of protection of objects.
In this lecture, I will talk about methods used to evaluate the changes that have occurred and those used in their conservation treatment and environmental protection in case studies drawn from collaborative projects with major European museums, historic houses and conservation training institutes.
Speaker: Dr Marianne Odlyha, Department of Biological Sciences
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Vision Science at the Movies and Art Gallery
Psychology and the visual arts are traditionally two disciplines that exist in relative isolation. This is surprising, considering that one of the main intentions of a work of art is to affect a viewer.
In this talk I will present a series of projects in the intersection of vision science and the arts. I will show how filmmakers shape viewer attention and comprehension during a movie and how we are active participants in the cinematic experience.
I will also discuss my work with art conservators performing experiments that inform the restoration of paintings.
Speaker: Dr Tim Smith, Department of Psychological Sciences
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Topic: BabyLab showcase Part 1 (Department of Psychological Sciences)
Professor Mark Johnson will introduce the centre and briefly talk about the importance of studying development for understanding human cognition and its pathologies.
For many years it was held that young children are trapped in an egocentric mind, unable to see the world from the perspective of others. Recent research has cast doubt on this view and we now know that even six-month-old infants know a lot about what you are thinking.
Speaker: Dr Vicky Southgate
Young children often struggle with flexibly changing their behaviour. In this talk I will be discussing how the development of memory and behavioural control (decision making, inhibition) help pre-school children become more flexible in their choices.
Speaker: Dr Natasha Kirkham
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Topic: BabyLab showcase Part 2 (Department of Psychological Sciences)
A new brain imaging technique - functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) – allows us to study the infant brain in action while the child is making sense of social interaction or human speech.
Speaker: Dr Sarah Lloyd-Fox
Our sense of time is universal and yet also mysteriously abstract and poorly understood. By studying how babies develop an awareness of time passing we hope to make sense of our own perception of past, present and future.
Speaker: Dr Caspar Addyman
Younger siblings of children with autism, themselves at a greater risk for developing this disorder, help us understand its origins.
Speaker: Dr Teodora Gliga
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