Event Details

Join Lancaster University's undergraduate STEM students for an evening of short talks as a part of their Teaching, Outreach and Public Engagement (TOPE) module, covering everything science and technology!

We will be running two evenings' worth of talks, delivered by undergraduate students from across the Faculty. The lineup for the 13th is:

• Jess Riby: Radiation isn't the Villain: When Physics Becomes Medicine
• Em Wild: What makes the Queen Bee, the Queen Bee?
• Megan Strickland: The Silent Scars: Uncovering the Hidden Effects of Burnout on the Brain
• Owen Patterson: Why energy is the bedrock of civilization.
• Melody Saynor: Why is playing our lifelong best friend?

Abstracts:

• Radiation isn't the Villain: When Physics Becomes Medicine Radiation often gets a bad reputation, bringing to mind nuclear accidents, warning signs, and danger. But in reality radiation is also used every day to save lives. In this lecture, we’ll explore how physics turns radiation from something to fear into a powerful medical tool. We’ll explore how radiotherapy works and why precision and control are key.
• What makes the queen bee, the queen bee: The talk discusses the role of epigenetic changes in caste determination within bees. Queen Bees have the same genotype as worker bees, however they are phenotypically different. This talk will follow Bethany the bee on her journey to understanding how the royal jelly that she consumes contributes to her Queen Bee phenotype, and how this mechanism occurs via epigenetic changes.
• The Silent Scars: Uncovering the Hidden Effects of Burnout on the Brain: Covering the psychophysiological effects of burnout including key processes, with specific focus on uncovering and revealing the uncommonly known physical effects that burnout has on the brain. The talk will follow how burnout begins and then the effects it has on the body and the brain whilst challenging what people think they know about it.
• Why energy is the bedrock of civilisation: The talk frames energy as the most important factor to human progress, quality of life, and as the bedrock of civilisation. It begins with some examples of what we use energy for now (from kettles to life saving technology, like MRI machines). Then does a brief run through human history, showing societies using more energy as they develop, and hence improving quality of life for humanity. It reaches the modern day, where mostly fossil fuels are used, and points out 2 problems. 1) Climate Change 2) Fossil Fuels limit our energy consumption. A scientific explanation is given on why fossil fuels cause climate change, and the damage it does to society. Then frames Nuclear energy as the soloution to both problem 1 and problem 2.
• Why is playing our lifelong best friend: Join the lecturer's personal journey through childhood to adulthood as she investigates the importance of play throughout our lives, the personal benefits play can bring us and how we can keep play as our best friend.