The last major indoor event staged by the Bucks Science and Society team was the Investigation and Discovery Day in March 2019 so it seemed right that we were invited to attend the first meeting it arranged on 15th March 2022. This was held at a new venue, Holy Trinity Church, Aylesbury which was large enough for us, convenient for parking and the church inside was very well appointed for sight and sound.
Dr Kat Arney, the first speaker is a favourite with BFWI members: she talked about “The Rebel Cell” which is the title of her latest book. We learned that cancer was present in all of us but only became a problem when it mutated out of control and caused instability in the antibiotic system. Kat explained some of the new measures that are being developed in the treatment of cancer such as adaptive therapy where the patient (sort of) leapfrogs through a series of medication stopping halfway and letting the cancer re-group before attacking it again and so on. This method is proven to be more effective and more sympathetic for the patient than a continuous intense run of treatment. The talk was delivered in an amusing fashion but packed with information.
Robert Hines used Carbon Capture as his title. He explained the work of the UK’s Green Energy Transition team and its importance in tackling climate change. We learned about the different ways in which hydrogen could be used as a fuel and the difficulties of storing it. Robert went back into history to show how human activity had brought about the problem and how a rise or fall of just 2% has affected the world and will affect it again unless global action is taken. The slides were very detailed but unavoidable with the subject matter involved.
I have never thought of Mathematics as a fun subject but I found the talk by Professor Nick Hawes really fascinating. Did you know about mission planning for robots? Imagine all those mathematicians trying to import algorithms into robots who are apparently unpredictable creatures. The scientists are working on probability in patterns of behaviour and then trying to build logical sequences into action plans for robots. I know we shouldn’t anthropise AI but I like to think of those little mobile delivery robots we meet in MK coming up against unusual circumstances and literally having to think outside the box because no one has predicted what it should do next!
The final speaker was considered by the I and D team to be the cherry on the cake: it was certainly a scoop to secure Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell who discovered pulsars to come to Bucks to speak. We heard how she had spent her life fighting for the recognition of women in science, right from secondary school, through university and in research circles too. Joycelyn was an engaging speaker and it was fascinating to hear how she stumbled upon those unknown phenomena in astronomy and discovered what they were and their vital statistics. What a treat to listen to her!
It was as usual an inspiring day and it was so good to be together again with people sharing the same interests.