Macaulay Land Use Research Institute » Emma Woodham

Day 4

Clara Macindoe — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 11:19:11 +0000

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! [continue reading ... ]

Day 3

Clara Macindoe — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 11:16:22 +0000

Today started with a lecture on “What Computers Tell Us About the Mind”. One speaker from the University of Glasgow presented his research on face recognition. He made the interesting point that we experience no difficulty recognising faces we have seen before, but when it comes to unfamiliar faces we find it much harder. He demonstrated this in his lab by giving his subjects a number of different pictures of one person they didn’t know. He asked them to separate the pictures into sets that they thought were of the same person. Some people made as many as 8 plies! He made the point that if we can’t discriminate between pictures of the same person, photographic ID is useless in telling whether the person is who they say they are. [continue reading ... ]

Day 2

Clara Macindoe — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 11:15:00 +0000

Day two began with a tour of the universe, again with Dr Maggie. I should mention that she has been awarded an MBE by the Queen but – I’m sure you will agree – the fact she has a Blue Peter badge is much more impressive! Her talk involved building a rocket from baking powder and vinegar, a great Blue Peter make! [continue reading ... ]

Day 1

Clara Macindoe — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 10:56:17 +0000

The British Science Festival 2009 begins! It promises everything from Darwin to dishonesty labs, microscopes to memory, covering everything from the microscopic virus to the entire milky way. The first event I attended was an informative lecture on ‘Transition Towns’. I have to admit I had never heard of the project before, but I soon learned that this was a community based initiative which aims to begin to make the necessary changes in our lifestyles to prepare for limited oil supplies and the effects of climate change. This made me realise more than ever that we need to act now to prevent irreversible damage to our planet, or suffer the consequences of our actions. [continue reading ... ]