Theme: Mysterious Minds and Bothersome Bodies
How can sound be used to improve drug design? What really happens when we sleep and how does this affect our health? Are our mental health services today little better than Victorian times? These are some of the questions explored in a weekend jam-packed with talks, interactive demonstrations and cutting-edge exhibitions. Join us and pose your own questions to our international experts from the fields of medicine, health sciences and the arts.
What's on
Herding Hemingway’s Cats
We have all heard of genes, but how do they work? With the help of cats with thumbs, fish with hips and wobbly worms, Kat Arney, author of the acclaimed new book Herding Hemingway’s Cats, will unpack some of the mysteries in our DNA and explain the latest thinking about how our genes work.
Time Out of Mind: Stories of Mental Health in York
Take a journey through the history of the treatment of mental health in York with the Out of Character Theatre Company as they look to the future for a new design for mental health. With stories ranging from the darkly comic to the tragic, the performance includes dramatised accounts from the past and present performed by theatre company members who have lived experience of mental health problems.
Zombies in York
Watch out, zombies are taking over York! But don’t worry, help is close at hand. Join University of York scientists to dissect a captured zombie and study the infectious agent causing the outbreak. Help save the day as you examine the zombie’s blood, play with its brains and more. An interactive, hands-on workshop aimed at children aged eight to 12 - but fun for adults too.
Zombies in York
Watch out, zombies are taking over York! But don’t worry, help is close at hand. Join University of York scientists to dissect a captured zombie and study the infectious agent causing the outbreak. Help save the day as you examine the zombie’s blood, play with its brains and more. An interactive, hands-on workshop aimed at children aged eight to 12 - but fun for adults too.
SONICULES: Designing Drugs with Sound Performance and Q&A Session
SONICULES is a live audio-visual performance exploring the process and challenges involved in the design of new anticancer drugs. Researchers at the University of York are investigating how displaying data as sound could potentially speed up the design process.
SONICULES: Designing Drugs with Sound Drop In Session
SONICULES is a live audio-visual performance exploring the process and challenges involved in the design of new anticancer drugs. Researchers at the University of York are investigating how displaying data as sound could potentially speed up the design process. Join us for a drop-in session from 5.30pm.
Crucial Interventions
Anaesthesia and antisepsis revolutionised 19th century surgery, turning a gory trade into a clinical profession and saving countless lives. But there is much more to this story than heroic surgeons and brilliant inventions.
Bioart workshop
Join artist Anna Dumitriu for a bioart workshop and learn more about antibiotic resistance and the hunt for alternatives.
Installation: Listening and Silence
Listening and Silence is a sound installation which expands cochlear implant technologies to the size of a room. Developed by artist Mark Fell, sound design expert Sandra Pauletto and University of York psychologists, it allows you to walk inside the processes hidden inside a cochlear implant.
An Artistic Exploration of Antibiotic Resistance
Bioartist Anna Dumitriu has created a new body of artwork in collaboration with researchers at the University of York to explore the urgent issue of antibiotic resistance. The pieces on display fuse craft, digital and sculptural techniques, and were made in the lab using bacteria and viruses as artistic media.
Mental Health for All
We all have mental health and the importance of maintaining it is increasingly recognised in public and political spheres. In particular, there are a growing number of campaigns to improve the mental health of young people and a continuing concern that suicide remains the UK’s single biggest cause of death among men under the age of 45. Join us for a series of talks exploring the nature and scale of the public health challenges across the globe and the best ways of addressing them.
The Art of Healing
Join poet Christy Ducker, scientist Dimitris Lagos and filmmaker Kate Sweeney to explore the connections between science and art. Learn how together, science and art can foster new modes of discovery. The event features new artworks illustrating how wound-healing translates into art.
Wounds, Healing, Poetry: A Writing Workshop
How can the science of wounds and healing generate poetry? How can the mechanisms of life energise the mechanisms of language? And what common ground do poetry and science share? Join Christy Ducker for this practical writing workshop.
Sleep, Clocks and Health Alarms
Why do we sleep at night and what does our brain do when we sleep? How do plants tell the season and why do some mosquitoes bite in the evening? The answers all lie in circadian body clocks present in all organisms. Come along and find out how scientists are investigating circadian clocks and their implications for health, food and disease prevention.
Seeing is Believing
Vision is one of our most precious senses but is increasingly at risk as we age. Join Tony Morland of the University of York and Ione Fine of the University of Washington, Seattle, as they explore how the brain interprets information received through the eyes. How can a better understanding of this process help in developing new technologies and therapies to restore sight?
Bioart workshop
Join artist Anna Dumitriu for a bioart workshop and learn more about antibiotic resistance and the hunt for alternatives.
An Artistic Exploration of Antibiotic Resistance
Bioartist Anna Dumitriu has created a new body of artwork in collaboration with researchers at the University of York to explore the urgent issue of antibiotic resistance. The pieces on display fuse craft, digital and sculptural techniques, and were made in the lab using bacteria and viruses as artistic media.
Installation: Listening and Silence
Listening and Silence is a sound installation which expands cochlear implant technologies to the size of a room. Developed by artist Mark Fell, sound design expert Sandra Pauletto and University of York psychologists, it allows you to walk inside the processes hidden inside a cochlear implant.
Sonicules: Designing Drugs with Sound
Try out a specially developed technique aimed at improving the design of new anti-cancer drugs. Researchers at the University of York are investigating how auditory display - displaying data as sound - could potentially speed up the design process. Come along and use a specially developed demonstrator, incorporating graphics and 3D sound, and experience the potential of sound for yourself.
Introducing Maggie’s Pioneering Cancer Support
Maggie’s provides free practical, emotional and social support for people with cancer, their families and friends. Their centres are warm and welcoming places, offering support developed to complement medical treatment and nursing care. Join Lesley Howells of Maggie’s for an overview of Maggie’s services and philosophies. Rebeca Ramos from Heatherwick Studio will discuss the design of a new Maggie’s Centre in Leeds.
Psych!York: Interactive Family Fun
How do you see colours? How good is your memory? How do you recognise faces? These are just some of the questions being researched at the Psychology Department at the University of York. Come along to Psych!York to try out demonstrations and to learn about some of the amazing things you never knew about your own mind.
Troubled Heads: Challenges Posed by Ageing Brains
Old age poses some significant challenges, not least in the field of neuroscience and age-related neurological disorders. A distinguished panel of experts will explore current and future scientific advances, and therapeutic interventions to tackle disorders including the various forms of dementia. Join us and take part in the audience Q&A.
Regenerative Medicine and Time to the Clinic
There have been some major developments recently in the field of regenerative medicine – the restoration of sight, repair of heart tissue, and treatments for cancer, arthritis, and diabetes. This discussion event, which brings together the biological and social sciences, will provide an overview of the likely and diverse clinical paths that regenerative medicine will take - and within what timeframes.
Magnetic Stimulation of the Brain
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) is a technique now widely used throughout the world to treat depression and migraine. Invented in the UK, scientists are studying its use to treat many other disorders. Tony Barker, who led its development, will describe the history of the technique, the physics principles on which it is based and some of its clinical applications. The event includes a practical demonstration.
