We think we are special, but are we any more special than other animals? After all, life is a family tree four billion years old, with branches enough to contain a billion species. One tree, one origin, with a common code that underwrites all existence, including our own.

This paradox – that our biology is indistinct from other animate life, yet we consider ourselves unique – is the central question of the human condition.

Many of the things we once thought of as unique to us are not. We are not the only species that communicates, or makes tools, or uses fire, or enjoys sex for non-reproductive reasons, nor are we the only species to have made art. Humanity lies in all of these things and more, but quintessentially in our teaching. We are a species defined by expertise, and the desire to spread that knowledge.

Adam Rutherford is a geneticist, writer and broadcaster.

Join the Facebook event and invite your friends: https://www.facebook.com/events/343296343140281/

This talk is co-hosted by the Oxford Martin School, University College & Oxford Institute of Population Ageing, and is a continuation of the Trinity Term ‘Series Science and Populism: from evidence to narrative’.

Clive Cookson has worked in science journalism for the whole of his professional life. He joined the Financial Times as technology editor in 1987 and has been Science Editor of the FT since 1991. He is an honorary member of the British Science Association and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

This talk is co-hosted by the Oxford Martin School, University College & Oxford Institute of Population Ageing, and is a continuation of the Trinity Term Series ‘Science and Populism: from evidence to narrative’.

Dr Patrick Vallance FRS FMedSci FRCP is Government Chief Scientific Adviser (GCSA) and Head of the Government Science and Engineering (GSE) profession.

Science provides the best way of understanding the world in which we live. As many funders recognise, this understanding – knowledge for its own sake – is important in its own right, but can also lead to improvements in health and our quality of life.

We don’t always know which lines of research will lead to practical outcomes – a principle Jim will illustrate using some of his own work (among other examples). But supporting research with the sole intention of improving understanding is never money wasted. It is important that this is understood by the public and by policymakers, so that science continues to drive the UK economy.

Sir Jim Smith is Director of Science at Wellcome. He is an award-winning developmental biologist who has identified the molecular signals that pass between cells in developing embryos to drive the formation of tissues and organs. His current research is exploring what occurs within cells after they receive such signals.

Sunday, 25th November 2018
11am – 6.15pm (Registration starts at 10.30am)
Chakrabarti Lecture Theatre & JHB207,
John Henry Brookes Building, Headington Campus, Oxford Brookes University, Headington Road, Oxford OX3 0BP

“What does it mean to research through creative practice?”

Keynote Speaker: Dr Geof Hill (Birmingham City University)
www.bcu.ac.uk/research/-centres-of-excellence/centre-for-research-in-education/people/geof-hill

To have a look at the schedule and book your ticket, please visit: ars2018.eventbrite.co.uk

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Delegate/Attendance fee: £30 / Early Bird Tickets (£20) are available until 18th November – includes lunch & refreshments

We’ll be posting speaker information leading up to the event so keep an eye out for our Facebook event page: www.facebook.com/events/455606768180452

This event is supported by the School of Arts at Oxford Brookes University and the Oxford City Council.

For a digital copy of the event booklet and more information please contact: info@ca-ru.org

We look forward to seeing you there!

CARU Conference Team
Follow us on social media: @CARUpage

This talk will describe the background, purpose and methodology of the Endangered Archaeology in the Middle East and North Africa Project. It will highlight many of the issues surrounding such a project, based in the University (with partners in Leicester, Durham and Southampton Universities).

These include the nature of threats to the cultural heritage– not least in conflict zones, the impact of looting and trafficking, and the less obvious but equally damaging impact of food production, dam building and urban expansion. It will be presented in such a way to stimulate debate on why we seek to protect the heritage, why the EAMENA project exists, and why is it important now.

Dr Robert Bewley trained as an archaeologist (at Manchester and Cambridge Universities) BA, MPhil and PhD. His research interests are all in periods of archaeology but in particular prehistory, landscape archaeology and the Middle East. He has worked in over a dozen European countries as well as Libya, Iraq, Iran, and Jordan.

Meet thermal imaging applications specialist to discuss how thermal imaging can be used in your application.

This talk is co-hosted by the Oxford Martin School, University College & Oxford Institute of Population Ageing, and is a continuation of the Trinity Term Series ‘Science and Populism: from evidence to narrative’.

Prof Varinder Aggarwal is one of the most notable organic chemists in the UK. In this talk, he introduces organic synthesis: the art of making the molecules that change how you live and die.

This engaging talk will be accessible to people from all backgrounds, including A-level and college students.

Free entry to Oxford University chemistry department members on showing your Bod card. Talks are free for OUSS members and £2 for non-members. Sign up for membership on our website or on the door.

To apply for dinner with the speaker afterwards, please contact oxfordscisoc@gmail.com before 17:00 on Tuesday 27th.

Meet thermal imaging applications specialist to discuss how thermal imaging can be used in your applications

Meet thermal imaging applications specialist to discuss your application and how thermal imaging can be used

Stand-ups and experts look at the funnier side of Bacteria

In case you missed this sellout show in the Autumn as part of the Museum of Natural History’s Bacteria exhibition our comedians and experts will be bringing you their deepest and funniest thoughts on microbes, disease, and of course bacteria (again). Hosted by Alex Farrow “An engaging and entertaining pairing of learning and good humour!” ★★★★ The Latest. “Jaw achingly funny” ★★★★ Oxford Mail “A roaring success at creating vibrant comedy shows across Oxfordshire” ★★★★ The Oxford Times

This is a one-off repeat of the show at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History in Autumn, although the line up may be subject to slight

The advent of super-resolution microscopy has created unprecedented opportunities to study the mammalian central nervous system, which is dominated by anatomical structures whose nanoscale dimensions critically influence their biophysical properties. I will present our recent methodological advances 1) to analyze dendritic spines in the hippocampus in vivo and 2) to visualize the extracellular space (ECS) of the brain. Using a two-photon–STED microscope equipped with a long working distance objective and ‘hippocampal window’ to reach this deeply embedded structure, we measured the density and turnover of spines on CA1 pyramidal neurons. Spine density was two times higher than reported by conventional two-photon microscopy; around 40% of all spines turned over within 4 days. A combination of 3D-STED microscopy and fluorescent labeling of the extracellular fluid allows super-resolution shadow imaging (SUSHI) of the ECS in living brain slices. SUSHI enables quantitative analyses of ECS structure and produces sharp negative images of all cellular structures, providing an unbiased view of unlabeled brain cells in live tissue.

Ada, Countess of Lovelace, is sometimes called the world’s first computer programmer. Professor Ursula Martin (University of Oxford) discusses how a young woman in the 1800s acquired the expertise to become a pioneer of computer science.
Due to popular demand this is a repeat of Professor Martin’s talk in September 2018.

Dr Imafidon, is co-founder of STEMettes, the social enterprise inspiring the next generation of females of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. One of the BBC’s 100 inspirational and innovative women for 2017.

Join us as part of St Anne’s Equalities Week in collaboration with Oxford Women in Business for a panel event featuring Anne’s alumni.
Under the banner of “Overcoming Challenges”, we shall discuss how best to navigate the world of work and whether diversity initiatives truly work.
After the panel event, there will be a drinks reception and an opportunity to meet the speakers.

Dr Katherine Wheelhouse did her MChem at Jesus College, Oxford, working in the chemistry department with Prof Tim Donohoe before joining GSK as a process chemist in 2008. Since 2011 Katherine has specialised in application of chemical catalysis to pharmaceutical manufacture. She is a GSK scientific fellow, a member of the RSC Applied Catalysis Committee and also of the editorial advisory board of the journal Organic Process Research and Development. Katherine is going to talk about what it is that process chemists do (to enable doing things bigger) and how this fits into the development of medicines, illustrating with some examples from recent projects.

The talk is free for OUSS members, or £2 on the door. Membership can be obtained on the night or on our website. Those interested in meeting the speaker for dinner after the talk may contact oxforduniscisoc@gmail.com. eng

FLJS Films is pleased to present a special screening of Golden Kingdom, the acclaimed first international feature film to be produced in Myanmar since its reopening. The film’s director Brian Perkins will discuss the film and its genesis, which included a campaign to partly crowdfund its production.

Set and shot in a remote monastery in Shan State — a region in which separatists have fought a decades-long war against the Myanmar government — Golden Kingdom follows the story of four young monks, each endearingly and intelligently played by local non-professional actors. When their simple life of meditation and play is interrupted by an urgent call to engage with the vastly more threatening environment of the country at large, the film depicts the physical and spiritual journey of one of the boys through the troubled country as civil strife breaks out.

Touching on themes of displacement and the quest for safe passage and refuge, and featuring exquisitely evocative sound design by Oscar nominee David C. Hughes (GONE GIRL, HER), Golden Kingdom subtly alludes to the wider geopolitical currents emerging in Myanmar, while avoiding easy answers in its enigmatic exploration of the beauty, spirituality, and fortitude of the country and its people.

We invite attendees to donate to the Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) Rohingya Refugee Crisis appeal to provide vital healthcare to Rohingya refugees fleeing violence in Myanmar.

Praise for Golden Kingdom:

“Compelling and elegantly crafted throughout, and hugely evocative of an enclosed world with its own lore and beliefs.”
Jonathan Romney, Screen International

“Transporting …. Shimmering … Golden Kingdom is a more intimate appreciation of Buddhism than Martin Scorsese’s rapturous “Kundun” or Bernardo Bertolucci’s “Little Buddha”.”
Guy Lodge, Variety

Newspapers often feature studies that sound too good to be true and often they aren’t – they are myths.

Some myths may be harmless but the phenomenon affects most kinds of research within evidence-based science. The good news is that there’s a new movement tackling misleading and unreliable research and instead trying to give us results that we can trust.

Using his research in to human pheromones as an example, Tristram will discuss how and why popular myths, including power-posing, are created and how efforts have been made to address the ‘reproducibility crisis’.

Tristram Wyatt is an emeritus fellow of Kellogg College, Oxford and formerly Director of Studies in Biology at OUDCE. He is currently a Senior Research Fellow at the Department of Zoology, University of Oxford. He’s interested in how animals of all kinds use pheromones to communicate by smell. His Cambridge University Press book on pheromones and animal behaviour won the Royal Society of Biology’s prize for the Best Postgraduate Textbook in 2014. His TED talk on human pheromones has been viewed over a million times. His book Animal behaviour: A Very Short Introduction was published by Oxford University Press in 2017.

Open to all. The talk is designed for researchers from all disciplines and is open to the public.

What defines a scientific discovery with market value?

How are innovations evaluated by investors?

What makes a successful investor pitch?

How do I make personal impact?

Other than good science, it takes young entrepreneurs so much more to transfer ideas into a real business. In this event we bring in expertise from both the fundraising and the investor’s perspective, to help you address all the questions above. Join us for industry insights, chances to discuss your start-up ideas, and preparing to get your first bucket of gold!

There will be a networking & drinks reception after the event.

The event is free as always. Spots are limited, so get registered today!

Additionally, right after the event we have the chance to have formal dinner with the two guest speakers at University College for further communications. 5 spots are available and the cost of the dinner itself is payable. Message Science Innovation Union on Facebook ASAP if you are interested!

From Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, UN agencies, NGOs and the Red Cross / Crescent work to save lives and protect rights in the wake of natural disasters and armed conflict. How effective is the $27Billion sector? And what challenges does it face? The Oxford launch event of the State of the Humanitarian System report, with expert panel and Q and A

The day will consist of a range of events, hosted by speakers from different areas of STEM and industry. Expect to hear from keynote speakers, engage with panel discussions, and get hands on experience in smaller workshops focusing on entrepreneurship, outreach, disabilities and more.

Don’t miss out on hearing from a range of speakers, including: Dr. Chonnettia Jones, Director of Insight and Analysis at the Wellcome Trust; Prof. Daniela Bortoletto, Professor of Physics at Brasenose; plus Oxford’s own Vice Chancellor, Louise Richardson.

Everyone is welcome, regardless of gender, year and subject.

For more information visit OxFEST’s facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/events/294126621288050/

This is a joint lecture with The Rockefeller Foundation Economic Council on Planetary Health at the Oxford Martin School

Cooling is critical for many of the sustainable development goals, including those relating to health, shelter, livelihoods, education and nutrition. As the world’s population grows, as disposable incomes grow and as urban areas grow, the need for cooling is booming. However cooling uses super polluting gases and large amounts of energy and is therefore a significant cause of climate change. More efficient, clean cooling has the potential to avoid up to a degree of warming by the end of the century and recently all governments came together to agree action to try to maximize this opportunity. Cooling sits at the intersection of the UNFCCC, the SDGs and the Montreal Protocol, but can these forces ensure success?

Dan Hamza-Goodacre will explain the risks and possibilities in the search for sustainable cooling for all.

This talk will be followed by a drinks reception, all welcome

Currently limited tools exist to accurately forecast the complex nature of disease spread across the globe. Dr Moritz Kraemer will talk about the dynamic global maps being built, at 5km resolution, to predict the invasion of new organisms under climate change conditions and continued unplanned urbanisation.

This book talk is co-organised with the Oxford Martin Programme on Collective Responsibility for Infectious Disease

Vaccination raises ethical issues about the responsibilities of individuals, communities, and states in preventing serious and potentially life-threatening infectious diseases. Such responsibilities are typically taken to be about minimising risks for those who are vaccinated and for those around them. However, there are other ethical considerations that matter when defining the responsibilities of different actors with regard to vaccination. Such ethical considerations are not often given due considerations in the debate on vaccination ethics and policy.

Thus, in this talk Dr Alberto Giubilini aims at offering a defence of compulsory vaccination taking into account not only the importance of preventing the harms of infectious diseases, but also the value of fairness in the distribution of the burdens entailed by the obligation to protect people from infectious diseases. He will offer a philosophical account of the key notions involved in the ethical debate on vaccination, of the types of responsibilities involved, of the possible types of vaccination policies ranked from the least to the most restrictive, and of the reasons why compulsory vaccination is, from an ethical point of view, the best policy available, as it is the most likely to guarantee not only protection from infectious diseases, but also a fair distribution of the burdens and responsibilities involved.

The talk will be followed by a drinks reception, all welcome

The raw but poignant story of a mother with young onset dementia and her daughter told through dance, music and poetry. After the dance, there will be a Q&A session with artists and dementia experts including Professor Chris Kennard (University of Oxford).

According to leading psychiatrist Jonathan Shay whose patients are US war veterans, “Moral injury is an essential part of any combat trauma that leads to lifelong psychological injury. Veterans can usually recover from horror, fear and grief so long as ”what’s right” has also not been violated”. The focus of this paper is on moral injury in both military combatants and police officers. The role of combatants and that of police officer both necessarily involve the use of harmful methods – paradigmatically, the use of lethal force in the case of combatants, the use of coercive force, deception and the like in the case of police officers – in the service of good ends, notably national self-defence and law enforcement, respectively. However, the use of these methods sets up a dangerous moral dynamic, including so-called dirty hands/dirty harry scenarios, and the possibility of the erosion of moral character – and, in some cases, moral injury.

Professor Bill (KWM) Fulford, Fellow of St Catherine’s College and Member of the Philosophy Faculty, University of Oxford, Emeritus Professor of Philosophy and Mental Health, University of Warwick, Director of the Collaborating Centre for Values-based practice, St Catherine’s College, Oxford, and Founder Editor and Chair of the Advisory Board, Philosophy, Psychiatry, & Psychology.
Abstract:
The widely held belief that the diagnosis of mental disorder is a matter exclusively for value-free science has been much reinforced by recent dramatic advances in the neurosciences. In this lecture I will use a detailed case study of delusion and spiritual experience to indicate to the contrary that values come into the diagnosis of mental disorders directly through the language of the diagnostic criteria adopted in such scientifically–grounded classifications as the American Psychiatric Association’s DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual). Various competing interpretations of the importance of values in psychiatric diagnosis will be considered. Interpreted through the lens of the Oxford tradition of linguistic-analytic philosophy, however, diagnostic values in psychiatry are seen to reflect the complex and often conflicting values of real people. This latter interpretation has the direct consequence that there is a need for processes of assessment in psychiatry that are equally values-based as evidence-based. A failure to recognise this in the past has resulted in some of the worst abusive misuses of psychiatric diagnostic concepts. In the final part of the presentation I will outline recent developments in values-based practice in mental health, including some of its applications to diagnostic assessment, and in other areas of health care (such as surgery)

Organised by Oxford Civic Society @oxcivicsoc. The ‘scientific’ study of ghosts from the 17th century onwards was followed by ‘scientific’ ghost-hunting in Victorian times. Historian Dr Allan Chapman of Wadham College lifts the lid on a fascinating application of science. What do scientists, theologians and the public think about ghosts today?. https://www.oxcivicsoc.org.uk/programme/