The Cambridge series at Hay

24th May
2.30pm
Professor Jonathan Haslam: The history of the Russian Secret Service.
Jonathan Haslam will talk about his new history of Soviet intelligence entitled ‘Near and Distant Neighbours 1917-1989′. It incorporates within short compass – 100,000 words – the history of all the Soviet intelligence organisations, including the GRU (military intelligence) and the Special Service (codes and ciphers) as well as KGB.

4pm
Professor Mark Welland: The future is nano
There’s been a lot of hype about nanotechnology, but what is it and what is a realistic expectation of what it can do? Professor Welland will look at how nanotechnology developed, how it is one step in the progress of technology and at the kind of areas it can be applied to such as the understanding and treatment of human diseases as well as the more obvious miniaturisation of electronics that provides ever smaller but more complex mobile phones.

25th May
11.30am, 4.30pm
Charlie Gilderdale, secondary coordinator of NRICH: Thinking Mathematically
Exploring, questioning, working systematically, visualising, conjecturing, explaining, generalising, justifying, proving… are all at the heart of mathematical thinking. Come and take part in some stimulating activities designed to develop your capacity to work as a mathematician. 10+. Parents welcome too!

11.30am
Professor Barbara Sahakian: Bad moves: how decision-making goes wrong
Damage or abnormality in the areas of the brain involved in decision-making can severely affect personality and the ability to manage even simple tasks. Professor Sahakian will discuss the process of normal decision making and will describe the abnormal patterns found in patients with conditions such as severe depression, Alzheimer’s, and accidental brain damage. She will consider the use of ‘smart drugs’ that alleviate these problems and the ethical questions that arise about the availability of these drugs for cognitive enhancement.

26th May
10am
Professor Simon Blackburn and Chris Blackhurst, The Independent: Do nice guys finish last – or first?
Trust in British public life has now reached catastrophically low levels. Parliament, the Press, the banks, the police, and the NHS have all had their bad patches, while just as the National Rifle Association in the USA claims that the solution to gun crime lies in more guns, our government (and, for instance, The Times) preaches that the cure for decline in trust lies in less public service and more profit motive. The conversation will reflect on this alarming state of affairs.

11.30am
Charlie Gilderdale, secondary coordinator of NRICH: Thinking Mathematically
Exploring, questioning, working systematically, visualising, conjecturing, explaining, generalising, justifying, proving… are all at the heart of mathematical thinking. Come and take part in some stimulating activities designed to develop your capacity to work as a mathematician. 10+. Parents welcome too!

7pm
Professor Sadaf Farooqi: What makes us fat
In an age of obesity where sugary, fatty food is available 24/7, will it ever be possible to control our appetites? Professor Farooqi will describe how the brain and not the stomach controls what and how much we eat and how scientists are working to conquer the many triggers for overeating.

27th May
11.30am
Professor James Jackson: Living with earthquakes: know your faults.
Earthquakes in the last decade have revealed that rich nations have become very resilient in terms of loss-of-life, while much smaller earthquakes have killed up to 30% of urban populations in countries that are far less well prepared. This  is related to wealth, development and education, but also to the geological setting and the nature of the hazard. This talk will examine what is behind the sombre conclusion that ‘the rich pay and the poor die’.

14.30pm
Professor Martin Rees, The Astronomer Royal: A post-human future?
Lord Rees discusses his hopes and fears for the coming decades, and then speculates about more distant time-horizons, and a possible post-human era.

28th May
11.30am
Tony Badger and Professor Paul Mellon: The lessons of the New Deal: has Obama learnt the right ones?
In 2009, as in 1933, a charismatic president succeeded a discredited president at a time of economic crisis and with resounding majorities in Congress. Obama and his advisers explicitly looked to FDR’s New Deal for policy models, did he learn the right lessons?

29th May
11.30am
Dr Alex Jeffrey and Ed Vulliamy, The Guardian: Justice and recovery in Bosnia
The process of establishing justice after the war in Bosnia 1992-5 has been orientated around retributive concepts of justice: identifying individuals as perpetrators of crime and seeking to punish them accordingly. But this approach has overlooked more collective and restorative initiative, which have taken place in Bosnia on a small-scale and voluntary basis. How we can learn from these activities and their implications for justice after conflict?

30th May
11.30am
Professor Jacqueline Scott in conversation with Gaby Hinsliff, author of Half a Wife: Do women need equality at home to be equal in the workplace?
Despite much progress in the world of work, women are still often held back by carrying the domestic burden and effectively doing a double shift. However, research shows that greater equality in the home and workplace makes both sexes happier. Nevertheless, many organisations still make decisions which challenge or reinforce traditional ideas about what men and women can or cannot do. If these decisions are not joined up, it can limit real gender equality.

31st May
11.30am
Dr Lucy Delap: Domestic servants, housewives and the twentieth century home
Lucy Delap will explore the conditions for servants in twentieth century Britain, ranging from those working in the great houses to the much less well known lives of servants in middle or even working class homes. She will look at how changes in technologies and ideas about what made a ‘home’ changed the ways in which domestic labour was undertaken – yet did not do away with the perceived need for domestic servants in many homes. The rise of the housewife is set alongside the new categories of twentieth century domestic worker – the cleaner, the au pair, the ‘help’.

1st June
11.30am
Dame Fiona Reynolds: what is Britishness today?
In a world of rapid change and global, multi-cultural influences, Dame Fiona will explore the place that landscape, history and nature play in people’s sense of Britishness today.

2nd June
11.30am
Dr Abigail Brundin: “Only a pen can ease my pain”: voices from renaissance convents
In seventeenth-century Italy, the number of girls and young women entering convents rose rapidly as dowries became increasingly expensive, yet not all the girls went willingly and some left powerful written accounts of their experiences.

11.30am
Dr Tim Minshall: Building the future
Engineers are fantastic – they are the people who change the world. Engineers put a man on the moon, developed the internet, build skyscrapers, re-build bodies… and so much more. Yet not many people know what engineers actually do. This talk will reveal – in just ten words – the secrets of what engineers really get up to as they work hard to build a better future for us all.

Also speaking are Professor Jaideep Prabhu, Dr Brendan Simms, Dr Robert Macfarlane, Rowan Williams, Dr Rachel Polonsky and Simon Mitton.

Listen again to our fascinating Open Access panel discussion with Cameron Neylon, PLoS; David Carr, Wellcome Trust; Neil Hammond, Cambridge University Press and Professor John Naughton.

Pre-booking required for some events. Visit University of Cambridge Museums at Night for more details.

“Menagerie had an entirely positive experience with the Cambridge Science Festival in 2013. Our event was probably not an easy one to market, particularly as it was happening outside the Cambridge ‘beltway’ ie. not a medieval building in sight. However, we believed in it and the Cambridge Science Festival put a lot of work into promoting Acts of Kindness, through the website and other social media, which really helped to attract audiences, particularly in the days leading up to 23rd March.

We were offering medals of altruism to those audience members who attended all 4 events (the day began at 10am and ended at 5pm), not really expecting anyone to actually follow through on this. But, lo and behold, we gave away 15 medals at the end of the day (homemade by my children that morning!), and had an average audience of almost 50 for each of the 4 events.  Just as we hoped, it attracted those interested in the science of altruism, as well as those interested in the moral arguments and the representation of science on stage, so we had a very diverse audience throughout. We really enjoyed working with you guys, I hope the feeling’s mutual!”

Patrick Morris, Artistic Director, Menagerie Theatre Company

Dr Tim Wreghitt – Molecular advances in the diagnosis of infectious diseases
12 March 2013, Mill Lane Lecture Rooms

Kate Russell – Disconnected: how not to do the internet

Helen Scales – Ocean’s got talent – or why we should love fish as much as whales

Hayley Stevens – I’m a ghost hunter, get me out of here!

James Grime – Good Will Hunting and the troubled genius

A range of events and exhibits timetabled throughout the day include ‘ask the gardener’ sessions, pop-up plant science demonstrations, and plant shopping along the Garden’s majestic Main Walk. Activity hubs make full use of the Garden, which is at its best in late spring with the Bee Borders, new Cory Lawn landscape and the Systematic Beds in full flower.

May 14th: Addiction and Impulse Control at the Portland Arms
Ever wondered why some people can’t seem to say no? Dr Amy Milton and Dr Karen Ersche will take you on a journey from mice to man in search of the answer to the question: what makes people addicted? Get your FREE tickets now from http://pos-cambridge-brain.eventbrite.co.uk/

May 14th: Stem Cells: Hype or Hope? at the Avery
Dr Mark Kotter, Dr. Jose Silva and Dr. Rick Livesey introduce what stem cells are, what their roles are in the body, and how we can generate them in the lab. They will look at how stem cell research is helping us to understand complex biological processes and to develop new diagnostic tools and therapies. Get your FREE tickets from http://pos-cambridge-biotech.eventbrite.co.uk/

May 14th: HPV: Science from bench to clinic at the Panton Arms
The story of the HPV vaccine is one of the most remarkable examples of scientific achievement, entrepreneurial drive and commercial and scientific interaction of our time. Professor Margaret Stanley takes us on one of the fastest journeys from bench to clinic that there has ever been. Get your FREE tickets from http://pos-cambridge-body.eventbrite.co.uk/

May 15th: Hip-Hop Psych: Music and the Evolving Brain at the Panton Arms
Hip-hop musical performances from local artists alongside psychiatrists from Addenbrooke’s who will be exploring hip-hop lyrics and the stigma surrounding mental health Dr. Ian Cross will be joining the stage to discuss the role of culture in shaping musical cognition and vice versa. Get your FREE tickets from http://pos-cambridge-brain.eventbrite.co.uk/

May 15th: Can You Live Without Your Mobile? at the Avery
Professor Chris Lowe will discuss the motivation behind the global interest in introducing mobile healthcare systems, including the  constraints felt by healthcare systems in both developed and developing nations, high population growth, disease prevalence and the rapid rise in mobile phone penetration in developing nations. Get your FREE tickets from http://pos-cambridge-biotech.eventbrite.co.uk/

May 15th: Separating the Queen bee from the workers; elucidating the tumour ‘hive’ in cancers of the immune system and identifying their weak spots at the Panton Arms
At this event, using the analogy of a bee hive, Dr. Suzanne Turner will illustrate current concepts in lymphoma research taking you on a journey from cancer inception to therapy. Get your FREE tickets from http://pos-cambridge-body.eventbrite.co.uk/

May 16th: How to Treat the Brain at the Portland Arms
An in-depth look at the efficacy of current treatments for psychiatric conditions, including CBT and drug therapy. Hear from experts in the field of psychology and neuroscience, such as Dr. Ilan Rabiner, and learn about the impact of these developments from someone who has first-hand experience of utilising these modern treatments. Get your FREE tickets from http://pos-cambridge-brain.eventbrite.co.uk/

May 16th: Fueling the Future at the Avery
In the search for new renewable sources of energy, biofuels are attractive since the liquid fuels that result can be used directly in existing engines and transport infrastructure. These new technologies are not without their flaws and Professor Alison Smith will show how pond slime may come to the rescue as the new potential for algal bioenergy. Get your FREE tickets from http://pos-cambridge-biotech.eventbrite.co.uk/

May 16th: Can we worm our way out of trouble? Discovering the relationship between infection and autoimmunity at the Panton Arms
We normally think of the immune system as being beneficial because it fights infection. However, Professor Anne Cooke will tell us about some situations where the immune system can target our own tissues and cause pathology or autoimmune disease. Get your FREE tickets from http://pos-cambridge-body.eventbrite.co.uk/

Their show was recorded and transmitted later that day on BBC Radio Cambridgeshire and the Naked Scientists website features a special podcast edition of the show.  The event was fully booked so this gives all of us the opportunity to hear a show described as:

“excellent for young and old alike”

“very good knowledgeable and convincing speakers with a good chemistry.  Experiments worked well to demonstrate the talk.”