So this is my last day at the festival! The first talk I attended was one that I had been looking forward to called `Vitamin D: The sunshine superstar’. All I knew on the subject was that sunlight was needed for vitamin D synthesis, and I wondered being from Scotland, if I might be deficient! Four speakers talked covering different areas of the subject, including a general introduction to vitamin D, its effect on the immune system and on osteoporosis. I learned that almost everyone in Britain spends most of their lifetime deficient in the vitamin, apart from the summer months where some of us manage to obtain sufficient levels! Deficiencies are worst in older adults, especially if they live in care homes. The speakers agreed that it would be beneficial for older adults and pregnant woman to take supplements. Ironically the sun was beating down when I left the talk, so I made sure I sat in it to eat my lunch!

I then attended the `physics for life` talk. It took my interest when reading about it in the guide as it promised to discuss the overlap between physics and the life sciences. Being a biochemistry student, physics has always been a bit confusing to me, so I went along and was not disappointed! The first speaker covered the biomechanics of blood capillaries and bones, which I knew very little about and also showed us how new electron microscopes that do not need staining give us a better picture of how tissues work. However it was the second speaker who stole the show, talking about how nature achieves iridescent colours in animals such as butterflies. He had beautiful pictures, some magnified x 1 million times to show the intricate microscopic make up of the butterfly’s pattern.

The third talk today was another I had been looking forward to, about `sleep body rhythms and psychology`. Having studied sleep in my first year of university, I found the subject very interesting and was looking forward so learning more. Four subject experts talked on their current research. I learned that dolphins sleep with half of their brain at a time! And sleeping 7-8 hours a night can lengthen your life!

My final talk was given by Dr Andy Stanford Clark, IBMs master inventor who has taught his house how to twitter! His house tells him how much water it is using, and how much he is spending on electricity, amongst many other things. It even texts him when there is a mouse in the mouse trap!

To finish I would like to say I have thoroughly enjoyed my time here in Surrey, I have seen and learned so much and the experience has been a great part of my summer! I would like to thank the Macaulay Land Use Research Institute for this opportunity, and Diana for being great company.

Emma