More than just transferrable skills

Posted on September 29, 2011 by Martin Turner

Today is the eve of the 2011/12 intro meeting, it’s that time again to recruit fresh and enthusiastic new members to the ranks of Science Brainwaves, to continue to grow the organisation and reach out to new audiences. It’s also a good time to reflect on past successes and to contemplate why Science Brainwaves is such an amazing group to be part of. This is especially pertinent to me because I am the last founding member to leave, and like the other founders, Jenna Stevens-Smith, Beki Hill and Michaela Livingstone, I am heading for an exciting new career which would not be open to me if it were not for my involvement in Science Brainwaves.

Science Brainwaves isn’t even two years old yet. And yet we’ve gained international recognition for our activities. We’ve been approached by the European Society of Gene and Cell Therapy and the Royal Statistical Society for help with outreach, we’ve been sent pre-release books by American pop-science publishers to review for our website and members of our committee have been asked to give a presentation on how we operate to the British Science Festival. Just this weekend I was at a party where I met last year’s “science communicator of the year” and she had heard of Science Brainwaves, and was very impressed. The sky is the limit for Science Brainwaves, or perhaps not!

It is then, an excellent thing to have on your CV. And well worth the time for the benefit it brings to the public and the student body. We founded Science Brainwaves with the aim of bringing “science to the masses”, and I think every month we have achieved that in one way or another.

If you’re interested in any form of science communication, perhaps being a journalist, a museum curator, an events executive or a policy advisor, then believe me, you’ll need much more than a degree or even a PhD. Science Brainwaves will give you the experience, the recognition and the contacts to get into these highly competitive fields. And even if you intend to stay in academia, all research grants nowadays require you to show how you are communicating your research to the wider public. Scientists are no longer allowed to hide away in their labs and not talk to anyone. Indeed the most successful scientists know how to explain their research – that’s how they get the multi-million pound grants.

So tomorrow go to the meeting and talk to the team. You may only be able to help out at the odd event or you may be willing to commit to the managing committee. Either way you’ll be welcomed and appreciated.

I’ll miss Science Brainwaves, it’s been a huge honour to be part of it and I’d like to thank members of the past and of the future for all their help and support and wish the new committee the best of luck with their future plans.

Martin Turner

Director 2010-2011

Science Brainwaves Film Night

Posted on September 29, 2011 by Dominic Swain

What happens when children conceived using donor sperm become inquisitive as to their biological origins? No, this isn’t a review of the recent Hollywood film ‘The Kids Are All Right’, but an invitation to find out for yourself with a showing of the exciting documentary ‘Donor Unknown’.

In collaboration with The Lantern Theatre, Science Brainwaves invite you to our first film night at 19:30 on 27^th October 2011, at which we will be screening ‘Donor Unknown’. This recent documentary follows JoEllen Marsh, a 20 year old from Pennsylvania who was raised by her two mothers. JoEllen sets off in search of her biological father, known to her only as ‘Donor 150’. On her journey she discovers that she has 12 half-siblings all of whom are fathered by the same donor. Eventually she meets her biological father, Jeffrey Harrison, who is now aged 52 and living in a motorhome on Venice Beach, California – with his 4 dogs and a pigeon!

This fascinating documentary sheds light on the unorthodox family relationships which are created by sperm donation – something which was purely a philosophical debate only a generation ago. You can find out more about the film here at http://www.donorunknown.com/. However, the best way to find out more is to come along to our special screening event and see it for yourself!

The excitement doesn’t end with the showing of the film – we are very delighted to have The University of Sheffield’s Dr Allan Pacey joining us for the evening. Dr Pacey was scientific advisor for the film and will be taking your questions after the showing.

Dr Pacey is the Senior Lecturer in Andrology at the Academic Unit of Reproductive and Developmental Medicine within the University of Sheffield. He is also Head of Andrology for Sheffield Teaching Hospitals where he directs the clinical andrology laboratory and is in charge of the sperm banking service. Due to Dr Pacey’s expertise in the areas of sperm donation, and assisted reproduction, he has commented regularly in the media on these subjects. Donor Unknown is not the first television program he has been involved with; he previously worked on The Great Sperm Race (2009), The Truth About Food (2007), Make me a Baby (2007) and Lab Rats (2004). You can read more about Dr Pacey, his research, and his academic interests here http://www.shef.ac.uk/humanmetabolism/people/pacey.

The opportunity to discuss these issues with a leading expert in this field is truly one not to be missed. We really hope you will join us on what will be a very exciting, enlightening and enjoyable evening. Tickets can be bought at a bargain price of £4.00 each from The Lantern Theatre at http://www.tickets.lanterntheatre.org.uk/shows/show_menu.php.

Does this sound like a good night out? Of course it does! Tickets are limited so please buy yours ASAP and we look forward to seeing you on the 27^th October at 19:30.

The Science Brainwaves Team.

Physics A-Z: A is for…..

Posted on September 28, 2011 by Ben Robinson

Antimatter

What is Antimatter?

Antimatter is an extension to the concept of the antiparticle, it is shown that ever subatomic particle of matter has a particle that is completely opposite. The concept of antimatter first came into being around the 1880s to describe antigravity in some theories of gravity previously proposed. The term antimatter however was first coined in letters to the journal nature by Arthur Schuster where he propoesed the concept as well as the potential for antimatter solar systems. The modern theory of antimatter however was proposed by Paul Dirac to explain the appearance of antielectrons in Schrodingers equation, these were later discovered. Antimatter particles display charge properties that are opposite to it’s matter counterparts for example the positron, the antimatter equivalent of the electron displays a positive electronic charge as opposed to that of the electron’s negative charge. It is possible to form anti atoms with the subatomic antimatter particles such as in the case of a positron and the antiproton which combined can form an antihydrogen atom. Antimatter in comparison is highly volatile as a result of the tendency for it to annihilate when it comes into contact with matter leading to a burst of energy. The tendency for antimatter to be highly volatile comes from the relative abundance of it compared to matter in the universe, antimatter being less abundant.

It is believed that antimatter and matter were produced in the big bang in equal amounts however very quickly and over time the relative abundances changed. This difference in the amount of antimatter and matter is one of the great mysteries of physics and is one of the key tasks of the Large Hadron Collider at CERN which intends to get answers.

Antimatter in media

Antimatter makes appearances in films, tv and other media and is often portrayed in an incorrect way. One main one to pick up on is in the book ‘Angels and Demons’ by Dan Brown and the subsequent film, for those unsure what happens at CERN antimatter is created and is to be used as a bomb to blow up the Vatican, enter Tom Hanks to save the day. In theory the amount of antimatter involved in this story could be enough to cause a large explosion the inaccuracy comes from the concept that enough can be collected to make a bomb. The amount of antimatter to come out of collisions is very small, to get a gram would take along time indeed therefore, no one needs to worry about antimatter bombs. Again the amount of antimatter producable can be applied to the theory of antimatter propulsion in Star Trek, whereas the amount of energy involved in annihilation can in theory be used to harness for applications such as these the ability to harvest enough is the challenge. However, CERN has been able to obtain antimatter and hold it for up to 15 minutes a feat that has allowed significant analysis to be made in regards to the properties of antimatter and a success to harness it potentially for the future.

Science Brainwaves Intro Meeting

Posted on September 27, 2011 by Dominic Swain

It’s the start of a new academic year and Science Brainwaves would like to invite you to our intro meeting at 6pm on Friday 30^th September in Room F2 of Firth Court (see here for a map of the University, and here for detailed directions to room F2). As a student led organisation, and a charity, we are always looking for more volunteers and members for our ever expanding team.

This meeting is a great chance to find out more about the exciting work we do and the many ways that you can get involved. If you are passionate about any kind of science then we would love for you to come along. We welcome volunteers from all scientific disciplines – or any science related subject. It doesn’t matter if you are an undergraduate, postgraduate or a postdoctoral researcher; if you love science, and communicating that passion to others, then Science Brainwaves presents you with many opportunities to do just that.

We are involved with all kinds of public engagement, outreach for schools and youth groups, science media communication, scientific lectures – and much more. What’s more, we provide you with the opportunity to launch your own events – with our training and support. If you feel there is a gap in the activities we offer – then let us know and we can work with you to make it a reality.

To get a taste for some of the activities we are involved in then please have a look at our Events Calendar.

If you are embarking on any kind of scientific career, or planning to, then good science communication is a vital skill to have. We are a member of the British Science Association and involvement with us will bolster your CV, enhance your science communication skills and provide great experience. But most of all, being a part of Science Brainwaves is great fun and extremely rewarding. You will meet many like minded people and have an opportunity to engage with many interesting and stimulating activities.

If this sounds good to you, then please come along to Room F2 in Firth Court at 6pm on Friday 30^th September. We look forward to seeing you!

Thank you. The Science Brainwaves Team.

Transparent tissues offer a window into the brain

Posted on September 25, 2011 by admin

By Kathryn Higgins

A revolutionary reagent has been developed that can literally turn biological tissues transparent. Researchers from the RIKEN Brain Science Institute in Japan have developed a reagent which allows 3D imaging of the neuronal network deep inside a mouse brain.

Imaging and labelling of cell populations deep within tissue has been a challenge for scientists for many years. Although advances have been made in cell imaging there are still many obstacles to overcome. Tissues often have to be sliced 1mm thick for viewing under a microscope to dissect networks since imaging within deep tissues leads to many problems due to the lack of transparency of the tissue. Several clearing solutions have been developed but these have disadvantages such as expense and quenching of fluorescently labelled proteins that are often used in cell research to visualise the structures.

A research team led by Atsushi Miyawaki, however, have recently developed a reagent, after a chance observation, which may revolutionise deep tissue imaging by obtaining 3D images that are valuable for improving our understanding of biological organisms and how they function.

The reagent, called ScaleA2, is a highly effective clearing reagent, greatly improving the transparency of tissues, and stabilising fluorescently labelled proteins. This allows imaging to be done at a much greater depth than currently possible, providing detailed 3D visualisation of neuronal networks within the brain than has ever been managed before.

Current research using ScaleA2 was done using dead embryo tissue for imaging neurones and blood vessels deep inside the mouse brain. Miyawaki and his research team, however, believe that the scope for using ScaleA2 in other tissues and organisms is not limited, and are currently trying to optimise the reagent for use in live tissue. This would open the door to experiments that have never before been possible.

Image shows two murine embryos. The left embryo was placed in PBS, whilst the embryo on the right was incubated for 2 weeks in ScaleA2 solution.

Reference:

Hama et al, (2011) Scale: a chemical approach for fluorescence imaging and reconstruction of transparent mouse brain. Nature Neuroscience. Ahead of print.

The paper can be found at:

http://www.nature.com/neuro/journal/vaop/ncurrent/pdf/nn.2928.pdf