Mobile Phones and Sunbeds

Wednesday, 4 November 2015 – Mobile Phones and Sunbeds

Are you worried about what you read in the press about their dangers? Come along on and hear about it from an expert: Professor Peter Cole, Liverpool University Department of Physics and President of the Society for Radiological Protection.

Predators in Liverpool Bay

Wednesday, 1st July 2015 – Predators in Liverpool Bay – Mathew Clough

Mathew Clough is Director of the Liverpool Bay Marine Life Trust, and came along to tell us about the seals, cetaceans and sharks on our own doorstep.

Liverpool Bay is often forgotten in regard to its marine life and there is an image of it being polluted. Hard work and a lot of clean up programmes have bought life back to the bay though and Mathew described just how many of the large predators are now found within Liverpool Bay and where we see them.

How do we know where we are?

Wednesday, 6th May 2015 – “How do we know where we are?” – Prof Matthew Nolan

At the Aughton & Ormskirk U3A Science Group

Matthew (Alan’s nephew) is Chair of Neural Circuits and Computation, University of Edinburgh Centre for Integrative Physiology, whose research is interested in the mechanisms used within the brain to mediate cognitive processes and guide learned behaviours!

Matthew gave an extremely interesting talk about how neurons interconnect and the mechanisms involved. He described some of the research methods his team uses to identify exactly which neurons are involved in the brain’s ability to keep track of location. Unusually, the talk was right at the cutting edge of scientific research yet it was delivered at a level that we could easily follow and enjoy.

Lovey Dovey

Wednesday, 4th March 2015 – Lovey Dovey – Graham Cawdell, Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist at Whiston Hospital. Graham came along to tell us about breeding, egg laying, incubation, feeding, nurturing and fledging in birds. Many of these things vary greatly from one species to another, and there seems to be an almost limitless number of combinations, each designed to ensure the continuity of that species in its niche environment.

Graham’s talk was both entertaining and informative – and obviously delivered by someone whose interest in birds was kindled at a very early age. A thoroughly enjoyable session.

 

Chemical elements part 2

   Wednesday, 4th February 2015 – Chemical Elements part 2 – this was a joint effort by 6 of our members, each talking for 10 minutes on their chosen element. It was the second session on chemical elements, the first one being last June. February’s line-up was:

Frank Wood – Silicon
John Appleton – Lead
Ann Parker – Hydrogen
Allan Yates – Polonium
Bill Hale – Iridium
Sue Watkinson – Gold

Each of the presenters took a different approach, which provided great variety.

Frank outlined the zone refining of silicon, its crystal structure, and its major uses. He then went on to explain how silicon acts as a semi-conductor when doped with either nitrogen or phosphorus atoms and is the basis of the transistor.

John described the harmful effects of environmental lead in the development of children’s teeth, with particular reference to a project he has worked on in Poland monitoring the levels of lead over time.

On a lighter note (you can’t get much lighter than hydrogen!), Ann explained the critical importance of hydrogen bonds in biology and how they enable life as we know it.

Allan talked about the discovery and properties of polonium, one of the most radioactive and toxic substances around, and its role in the killing of the former soviet secret service agent Alexander Litvinenko.

Bill’s interest in birds and geology suggested iridium, which is found in meteorites with an abundance much higher than its average abundance in Earth’s crust. For this reason the unusually high abundance of iridium in the clay layer at the Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary gave rise to the Alvarez hypothesis that the impact of a massive extraterrestrial object caused the extinction of dinosaurs and many other species 66 million years ago.

Sue rounded off the mini-talks with an interesting account of the early history of gold and its uses through the centuries right up to the present day use in electronics, medicine and space exploration.

I venture to suggest that the seventy-eight people who came along not only enjoyed the talks, but also went away knowing something extra about six more of our chemical elements.

Christmas Cheer

Wednesday, 3rd December 2014 – “Christmas Cheer”: Christmas Menu Mulled wine ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Reindeer – by Chris Procter. How do reindeer survive and thrive in the harsh conditions of the Arctic, and why do their antlers grow so fast? Chris will have all the answers. Christmas Baking and Christmas Drinks – what is the common denominator? Yeast! Jack claims to know something about the action of yeast in baking a panettone, and Patsy has done a fair bit of fermentation – she was a chemistry teacher, after all! But what’s going on inside, and why is yeast so important? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Refreshments, including panettone, cake, biscuits, tea and coffee ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Crackers and Snowflakes – Patsy will explain how crackers crack, and Marguerita will address the question, “are all snowflakes the same?” We will be serving up a variety of science morsels: physics, chemistry, biology, astronomy and domestic! Come along and sample them all.

Perception

Wednesday 3rd September 2014 – “Perception” by Sylvia Dillon: Making sense of what we see – an introduction to Visual Perception and the neuro-physiological processes whereby a person becomes aware and interprets external stimuli.

Sylvia talked about how photons of light are processed – at first by the eye, then the brain, then how the individual perceives the world they live in. Covering physics, biology and psychology, she gave examples showing how perception is an active process and how early life experience, especially as a toddler influences the development of perception.

Chemical elements part 1

Wednesday, 4th June 2014 – “Chemical Elements – Part 1″ – a joint effort by 6 of our members, each talking for 10 to 15 minutes about their chosen element. The line-up was:

Patsy Colvin setting the scene with a brief definition of an element, a bit of atomic theory and a tour around the periodic table, then on with the show, starring your very own…

Edmund Moynihan talking about Iron.  A whizz through the history of iron taking in Soviet Art, the Romans, the industrial revolution, geology with a bit of biology to finish with.
Beryl Yates talking about Copper.  Its history, its geology complete with samples to show: what more could you ask for!
Chris Procter talking about Phosphorus.  From its discovery to its critical importance in biology and agriculture, everything you wanted to know.
Peter Croughan talking about Noble Gases  Six elements at once, not so unreactive as you might think with much curious chemistry and many important technological applications
John Parsons talking about Chlorine  A much maligned element, critical to modern hygiene.  The world of Domestos revealed
Tony Edwards talking about Platinum  Not just for jewelry, important in many areas of technology especially the glass industry.  We learned some metallurgy from an expert.

Each of these has a story, and each of the presenters took a different tack. We heared some fascinating things about the discovery, chemistry, physical properties, uses and economic importance of each of these elements; and with seven of our own presenters, no one fell asleep!

FutureLearn

FutureLearn is an offshoot of The Open University providing online courses in a wide range of subjects, many of a scientific nature. The aim is to connect learners from all over the globe with high quality educators, and with each other. Courses are delivered one step at a time, and are accessible on mobile, tablet and desktop, so you can fit learning around your life, rather than your life around learning.

 

Courses are typically from 2 to 8 weeks long and expect you to do between 1 and 4 hours work per week.

The list of courses currently running or soon to be run is here.

The Spectrum

Wednesday, 6th November – something a bit different!

This was a meeting inspired by a suggestion from Sylvia Dillon. Six members each gave a 10 minute talk on a different aspect of The Electromagnetic Spectrum:

Marguerita McBride set the scene with an overview of the spectrum, and the relation between wavelength and frequency.

Edmund Moynihan gave a potted history of early discoveries in relation to the spectrum, and of the scientists who made them.

Patsy Colvin concentrated on visible light and colour in chemistry.

Chris Procter talked about ultra violet vision in the animal kingdom, and how insects see the world differently to humans.

Alan Nolan outlined the use of electromagnetic radiation in communications – from long wave radio to microwave transmission.

Jack Brettle was last up to show us how modern astronomy benefits from observing the skies at different wavelengths, and combining the results to give a much fuller picture of the universe than simply using optical telescopes.

This was a somewhat experimental format, but most people seemed to enjoy it, and at least the frequent change of speakers kept the audience awake!