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Click here for Archive -Pre 2007

THE picture opposite is a nanotechnology Molecular engine inserted here to comemorate our first discussion session led by Prof Paul O' Brien on Nanotechnology . Go to our discussion group site to see more nano engines and other superb science photos including astronomy ,black holes , satellite pictures of England in the dark etc and look in the Files section to get statistics on Uk Energy 21st Century needs Have a look what we discussed after the SciBAr Evening and add your comments/questions ---click here.

Knutsford SciBAr Discussion group

If you would like to see a 17 minute video of Knutsford SciBAr in operation (it downloads in 4-5mins broadband) CLICK HERE

The last bit was shot sound only so other video of the SciBAr has been added on top

PREVIOUS DISCUSSIONS

2nd of June 2008 "LINDOW MAN -- PLACES FOR THIS SCIBAR COST £3 AND NEEDED TO BE BOOKED IN ADVANCE.

This was a SPECIAL SciBAr which took place in Manchester at The Manchester Museum and included a private visit to the Museum to view the "Lindow Man " exhibit. Lindow Man, the naturally preserved body of an Iron Age manwiil be in M/c , from April 2008 until March 2009. Thanks to the preservative powers of the bog waters many details can be obtained about the health, lives and deaths of these Iron Age bodies. We know that Lindow Man was well built, in his twenties, 1.68m tall, and weighed about 60 kg. Before this death he was generally in good health, except from suffering from worms and a touch of rheumatism. It will be the third time the freeze-dried bog man - discovered in Wilmslow( or is it really Mobberley), Cheshire, in 1984 will have been on display in the city. But this time Manchester Museum is developing proposals that will reflect a wide range of different perspectives on the display of the human remains..Through a series of public consultations the views of archaeologists, curators and Pagan groups are being sought - all of whom have very different views on Lindow Man. Whether or not the remains, carbon dated between 2 BC and 119 AD, cease to be a person on death, as archaeology assumes, or continue to retain personhood, as the Pagans believe, is central to the debate about the nature of the forthcoming exhibition.

12th of May 2008 "STRING THEORY for DUMMIES"

Dr Richard Battye from Manchester University and Jodrell Bank led our discussion on String Theory . We touched on string Theory in several topics but this dealt with the Basics of the theory itself . . We are apparently not made of strings but merely of the vibrations of the string.We covered What is a "Brane" & How do strings relate to "branes" . If we have no evidence that the theory is correct why all the interest? What's exciting about it is , if it's right it solves a lot of very serious problems in physics -like reconciling gravity and Quantum Mechanics . These strings are vibrating in 10 dimensions of which most are invisible.

7th of April 08 2008"From DNA to Organism and could Humans grow new limbs??"

Professor Enrique Amaya from Manchester University discussed how DNA makes organisms and how amphibian embryos have an incredible ability to heal following amputations, which is one of the primary reasons why they have been used for more than a century as an experimental embryological system. Xenopus frog embryos are able to heal following wounding within hours, without leaving a scar or any sign of damage. Could humans be persuaded to grow a new leg after amputation -- Why do toads and newts etc not even leave a scar. Superb movies of , Xenopus frog tadpoles regenerating all the tissues in the tail, following amputation, within nine days. Profesor Amaya is trying to identify novel genes involved in the regeneration . The ultimate aim of this work is to identify new gene targets, which may form the basis of novel therapeutic and clinical applications to wound healing and tissue regeneration in humans.

3rd of March 08 2008"How does the brain keep us awake during the day...AND.... Thin"

Dr Denis Burdakov from Cambridge University will help us understand how the brain keeps us awake and conscious during the day. It was until recently mysterious why in the sleep disorder narcolepsy people suddenly fall asleep in the middle of doing other things. We now know that special neurons located deep in the brain play a part. While only a few in number, these neurons turn out to control almost the whole of the brain, setting global brain state and the level of altertness. They are active during the day and silent during the night and malfunction of this system causes narcolepsy in mice, rats, dogs and humans. More recent discoveries indicate that these cells, called orexin neurons, can alter their activity depending on the amount of hormones and nutrients in the blood. So it turns out that these cells can also determine when and how much we eat. Dr Burdakov will explore how orexin neurons operate, which is one of the big questions in neuroscience related some of the field’s biggest mysteries, sleep, consciousness, and appetite.

4th of February 08 2008"Bringing NUCLEAR FUSION - Down to Earth"

Chris Carpenter and Chris Warrick from Culham the UK's primary FUSION RESEARCH CENTRE helped us look into Nuclear Fusion ( using the same processes that make the sun hot to create electricity on earth) Apart from the difficulties in creating a mini sun on earth ,if you did it what sort of container would you put it in . If it can be done commercially, the oceans are full of the deuterium fuel and we would have unlimited "CLEAN " energy forever. The two Chrises got super ratings in addressing a record attendance of 97 people without microphones or slide ( The sockets had fused in the venue). Surprisingly, the size of the audience did not dampen down the enthusiam in the discussion .Well done, guys

7th of January 08 2008 " Synthetic Biology and Biological Computing

Dr. Martyn Amos from Manchester Metropolitan University will help us look into the technologies of biological computing and we can now adjust biological "creatures"to do things never previously created in the history of life. In the living cell and given the right conditions, DNA is capable of performing every trick that evolution has taught it over 3½ billion years. If you could attach that vast armoury of ability to the power of your DNA computer, you have the enormous potential of the cellular computer. The flood of genetic information coming from a host of genome projects that not only include humans but many other organisms from onions to orang-utans is like a catalogue of genetic components for synthetic biologists. In time they hope to pick what they need from such databases to build molecular machines for specific tasks. For instance, a harmless bacterium could be modified into a microbot, programmed to sniff out the chemical traces of a newly formed cluster of cancer cells and emit a molecular signal to wipe out the diseased tissue. Similarly in reverse the silicon based computers are being used in biological situations e.g. to allow people to "feel" their artificial limbs and get direct nerve feedback as to position and forces acting on them . We're going to see BIG changes over the next few years

3rd of December 2007 " Old and new Technologies and the spread of the Minoan Civilisation in Crete

Dr. Ina Berg from Manchester University helped us look into the technologies of pottery manufacture in ancient Crete.Her research uses X-ray analysis to determine how the pots were thrown and the types of potters wheels used in different places . She used the information to examine the economic and cultural aspects of the Minoan civilisation & to examine how that civilisation grew to dominance. Why did so many HUGE Palaces get built within a very short time period - with no evidence of invasion or other foreign incursion - just a bit of local in fighting to spice things up.. Its other main feature is its variety from site to site, which is suggests that Early Minoan social traditions were very localised. We don't know why nobody bothered to invade and yet the society was rich enough to make major investment in palaces

5th of November 07 " The Holographic Universe - Maybe the reality of our world is just an illusion"

Dr. Radu Tatar from Liverpool University will help us look into the science of the Holographic Universe. . String Theory suggests that our real world is made from different vibrations of a string not from the string itself but just from its vibrations.Strings with different vibrations can interact and change their vibrations -and the vibrations act like fundamental particle . Are you made of real string or are you just the wobbles of many strings interacting-Where are these strings , dangling in space and if so what sort of space - You can be sure it's not an empty vacuum like our old idea of Space .How long are they ? How heavy are they ( a lot heavier than you'd think ) how stiff are they ? are they loose strings or loops .? Can they tie themselvers in knots (as well as tying me in knots ) So you are just a vibration pattern but what a vibration it is ! not just in 3 dimensions but in many more.Why can't it be any no. of dimensions why is it limited to only a couple of options in the number of dimensions there could be and why do we have to have more than 3,or 4 if you include time. Where does the two dimensional Universe come into it -- Might it be real or is it just a mathematical convenience. Come to Knutsford SciBAr and find out whether you're just a phantom -only a wave in the sea of spacetime - Not the water just the wave.

1st of October 07 "Defending the Earth against Asteroid and Comet attack -- How are we doing?"

By popular request Dr Benny Peiser from Liverpool John Moores University returned to the SciBAr after a very successful session on Global Warming to discuss the issue of an asteroid or even a Comet crashing to Earth to cause the sort of devastation which drove the dinosaurs extinct . How likely is this ? What would be the effects on human civilisation . Is there anything we can do about it ? What would we need to do and when. Dr Peiser has an asteroid named after himself and also one named after his daughter and is well placed to give us the real run down on what could be a disaster. What should we be doing? and are we doing it? If you hasd come to the SciBAr you would know

3rd of September 07 "The SUN -- Our nearest Star"

Dr Lucie Green will introduce us to our nearest star . What makes our Sun shine , How long will it shine ? How do we know . What sort of regular changes does it go through ? Does it affect our weather , Does it affect our Climate( Not to mention Global Warming) When will it become a red giant and grow to consume the earth. Come along to find out the fascinating facts behind our own little ( well medium sized ) star.

6th of August 07 " INVISIBILITY CLOAKS -- Science - not Magic"

Professor Sir John Pendry from Imperial College London will help us look into the science behind invisibility cloaking . A lot of research is being carried out in the USA on the physics of "INVISIBILITY"- Not invisibility to radar as in the stealth bomber but "REAL" invisibility to the human eye. Professor Pendry is credited with creating the physics behind achieving invisibility cloaking and will outline the scientific principles involved. Harry Potter eat your heart out ! There is clearly a lot of interest in the Science but also considerable interest in the ramifications for the military and society as a whole . It should be a good discussion . By the way Professor Sir John Pendry used to live in Knutsford. The reason you probably never met him was....... ............

2nd of July " Recipe for a Universe" How does Quantum Mechanics operate in the real world WE live in

Dr Tara Shears from Liverpool University helped us look into :- How the explanations in Quantum Mechanics (where force is transmitted by exchanging particles) reflect into our real world. The nucleus of the atom contains quarks which are positively charged and thus should repel each other and fly apart, but they don't they pack themselves into a very small volume (the nucleus of an atom) to make nearly everything we experience in the real world.What stops them flying apart ? and what makes the gluon so sticky ?.Current Quantum theories also say all particles have no mass but some things are quite heavy in the real world. So how do they appear heavy if they weigh nothing. How does the theoretical Higgs Boson give other particles weight. What about the graviton ? We certainly experience the force of gravity but if that's transmitted by particles called gravitons what & where are they? Magnets exhibit magnetism in the real world . In the quantum world magnetism is caused by exchanging photons. Does that mean that between two bar magnets lots of photons are whizzing about. Dr Shears showed us how some of these things somehow come together to form a Recipe for an incredibly varied Universe which starts " Take four particles ...............

IS SCIENCE GOING THE RIGHT WAY? -

Good points ?- Bad points ? –

Tell The Government what you feel -

DATES :- 24th April, 22nd May, 19th June ...TIME 6:30 for 7:00pm

 Science Horizons is a national series of:  4 discussions about new technologies, the future and society. All 4 events are FREE. It has been set up by the UK government and will run during 2007. Developments in mobile technology, the internet and healthcare have changed our lives over the last few decades and new applications of science and technology will continue to shape our futures. The government has invited scientists, engineers and other experts to say which areas of science and technology they think will have the biggest impacts in the future. But experts don’t have all the answers. They can’t predict which particular developments will emerge and they can’t say how developments will be used by individuals and society. These discussions are your chance to tell them what you think, and what sort of future you want.
The science horizons events allow you to get involved in a group discussion and give the government your views. It contains a brief outline of what life might be like in 2025. After discussion we would then summarise our groups' position as to the positive and negative effects of the technology and how it might be used .
This will be sent to the government .Give it a whirl and ensure that the Government get sensible viewpoints for a change

Science Horizons are not Knutsford SciBAr Events-you may nonetheless enjoy them. S H events kindly sponsored by CCLRC Daresbuty Laboratory & HMG

4th of June 2007 -"SHOCK! HORROR! --Media hype, Climate Alarmism & the Crisis of science communication

Dr. Benny Peiser from Liverpool John Moores University helped us look into the various factors affecting Climate change and the things we can and cannot do about it as a Local and Global Community.Dr. Peiser is the editor of CCNet, an electronic science and science policy network with more than 3,000 subscribers from around the world. It is in this capacity that a 10km-wide asteroid, Minor Planet (7107) Peiser, was named in is honour by the International Astronomical Union. Author of a book called "Adapt or Die" -: The science, politics and economics of climate change Dr Peiser is admirably placed to lead our discussion and achieved an the SciBAr's highest rating ever by the attendees for audience participation in the discussion . This was remarkable bearing in mind there were 88 people at the meeting.

14th of May 2007-"Chaos Theory - Can the flap of a butterfy's wing in England cause a hurricane in Asia"

Professor Tom Mullin from Manchester University with the help of several mechanical models helped us look into :- The hidden order which lies beneath seemingly very complex systems . The butterfly effect discovered by a weatherman shows that very tiny changes can have very large consequences. The flapping of a single butterfly's wing today produces a tiny change in the state of the atmosphere. Over a period of time, what the atmosphere actually does diverges from what it would have done. So, in a month's time, a tornado that would have devastated the Indonesian coast doesn't happen. Or maybe one that wasn't going to happen, does..There are many systems which seem very complex but which can be very simply modelled. So what's behind this seemingly random but fascinating regularity -t Great Attractors keep things on the straight and narrow but for how long?, The secret of nature's most complex structures is in the simple techniques by which they are built and managed, combining a simple repetitive act with the strangely helpful chaos of unpredictability, in order to make their growth and evolution in this world successful.

2nd of April 2007-"SLEEP - What goes on in the brain whilst we're not watching?- or when drugs affect " Our Reality" "

Professor Jim Horne from Nottingham Universitywill help us look into :- What makes us spend a third of our lives vulnerable to predators.What is going on during sleep that makes it evolutionarily worth that risk.. Certainly people have from ancient times had a fascination about what goes on in sleep and it does not seem to be diminishing. Prodessor Horne --We do need to sleep and no amount of rest will eliminate the need to sleep- How much we need varies but people needing much more than 8 hours are very rare. no-one knows whar dreams are but they can last up to around 40 minutes . Nearly everyone dreams every night but have no recollection apart from the last few minutes if wakened in the middle of it .Sleepwalking and people who believe they've been abducted by aliens were discussed along with " night terrors". So that in brief is what the brain is up to when we're not watching ?

5th of March 2007-" Panspermia - Did Life really originate on Planet Earth - If not then Where??"

Professor Chandra Wickramasinghe from Cardiff University will introduce us to the basics of Panspermia and brought us up to date on current thinking about Life originating from outer space and travelling to earth on comets and meteors. By careful spectroscopic observation and analysis of light from distant stars Fred Hoyle and Chandra Wickramasinghe found evidence of traces of life, in the intervening dust. They proposed that comets, which are largely made of water-ice, carry bacterial life across galaxies and protect it from radiation damage along the way. It is now universally accepted that space contains the "ingredients" of life. They then broadened or generalized the panspermia theory to include a new understanding of evolution. While accepting the fact that life on Earth evolved over the course of about four billion years, they say that the genetic programs for higher evolution cannot be explained by random mutation and recombination among genes for single-celled organisms, even in that long a time The programs must come from somewhere beyond Earth. 100 tons of comet material lands on the Earth EVERY DAY

5th of February 2007 "Prehistory and the Evolution of Mind"

Professor Steven Mithen from Reading University led our discussion on how the human mind evolved to its current position. One would have thought that since thoughts do not leave many fossils that this would be an impossible task .Minds however do produce results which themselves leave fossil evidence of the thoughts behind them. professor Mithen has done research into prehistoric man to produce evidence how his mind worked and how evolution shaped it from it's original thinking processes via a series of evolutionary advantageous steps to the mind of a modern human. it is absolutely fascinating and a great example of how the scientific method can give tackle problems that at first glance seems impossible. his book " The Prehistory of the Mind" is well worth a read.

8th of January 2007 " Sexual attraction- What is IT that turns people on and WHY?"

Dr Craig Roberts from Liverpool University introduced us to what we all need to know -( Get away with your bother!- It's never too late) and the answers were fascinating as indeed were the reasons why . Lots of things working together to say who is the best breeding stock.

But how can we check his/ her genes are OK -- in public??