Science and Technology Group: Difference between revisions

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== The S&T Wiki is now back! ==


This is the old wiki, upgraded to MediaWiki 1.40.
The old version was broken by a mandatory PHP upgrade conducted on the shared server where this is hosted.
It needs updating to reflect the current officers and programme but at least when you visit it you don't get a slew of error messages.


== April Meeting: Peter Wilson, The Rise of Antimicrobial Resistance ==
I had some problems with spam accounts, so I've restricted account creation rather severely. You can always ask me to create an account for you.


=== April 19th, Strangers Room ===
[mailto:steve@caxtonvilla.org?Subject=I%20would%20like%20an%20account&body=My%20name%20is%3A%20%2C%20my%20email%20address%20is%3A%20%2C%20and%20my%20preferred%20username%20is%3A%20 Steve Hemingway]


We may be witnessing the end of antibiotics as we know them. Penicillin is no longer the miracle drug it once was. Bacteria have evolved to beat it at its own game. The same goes for most other antibiotics. The problem is so severe that drug manufacturers have given up the unequal fight. They no longer sink significant sums into developing drugs that will retain their efficacy for a shorter and shorter period. This solves a problem for their investors, but creates a bigger problem for any of us that might be threatened with infection, which is all of us.
== Now planning meetings for the 2022 Season  ==


Without antibiotics, life will be very different. We will be afraid to take risks of coming into contact with infection. We will be afraid to play contact sports, in case we get an injury which might require even minor surgery. We will have to be very careful about how we live our everyday lives.
Please get in touch if you know of a suitable speaker or would like a specific topic addressed.


Peter Wilson is a consultant microbiologist at University College London Hospitals. He was trained at Cambridge and UCL and became a consultant in 1990. His main interests lie in antimicrobial chemotherapy and infection control and he has responsibility for critical care.
= 2022 Programme =


[[Peter Wilson|Read More...]]


== May Meeting: Giles Yeo, ''Are your genes to blame if your jeans don't fit?'' ==
<!--
=== May 16th, Strangers Room ===
Obesity may well be the world’s largest public health problem.


The recent rapid increase in obesity must be down to changes in our lifestyle and in the types of food we eat. It is clear that our environment has changed a lot over the past fifty years. People take much less exercise and consume far more calories than ever before.
Dates for our meetings in 2020 are as follows (future dates are always provisional):
We will put this back when it has some shape.
{{2022 Programme}}


Although we are all exposed to these changes, only some of us are obese.
-->


Our response to this changed environment depenfileds on our genetic make-up. Twin studies estimate that 40% to 70% of the variability of our weight may be due to genetic factors.
I am currently working on the 2022 programme. I hope to have talks on the following subjects:


Once we realize this, we can use genetics as a tool to understand human obesity. The focus of Dr Yeo’s group is on the molecular mechanisms underlying obesity. It has made major advances in understanding the biology of appetite control. It appears that some of us simply feel hungrier all the time and, as a result, eat more.
- Dark Matter,


Dr Yeo will challenge the prevailing view that obese people are bad, lazy and lacking in moral fibre. He argues rather that they are fighting their biology, at least in most cases. Society will have to accept this before it can come up with strategies to tackle the problem successfully.
- Quantum computing,


[[Giles Yeo|Read More ...]]
- Cyptocurrencies,


= 2017 Programme =
- Applied Artificial Intelligence (speaker from DeepMind),
Dates for 2017 are as follows (all meeting are on Wednesdays, usually the 3rd one of each month):


{| class="wikitable"
- Exploring Space (Nicole Stott),
|-
 
! Month !! Day of Month !! Speaker !! Title
- Autonomous vehicle liability,
|-
 
| February || 15th || Prof [[Martyn Thomas]] || Cybersecurity
- Use of psychedelic drugs in treatment of mental illness,
|-
 
| March || 15th || Prof [[Anil Seth]] || Machine Consciousness
- The Chinese social credit system (or related).
|-
 
| April || 19th || Prof [[Peter Wilson]] || Anti-Microbial Resistance.
If you have a comment, please get in touch, especially if you can refer me to a suitable speaker on any of the topics above.
|-
 
| May || 16th, <!-- whichever is vacated by Pol Comm, 23rd (alternative, but near to Thackeray), or 31st (late in the month, not ideal) --> || Dr [[Giles Yeo]] || Are your genes to blame if your jeans don't fit?
 
|-
[[FAQ]]
| June || 21st || Prof [[Paul Veys]] || CAR-T Study, Anthony Nolan.  
|-
| September || 20th || Dr [[Paolo Tasca]] || Bitcoins and the Blockchain
|-
| October || 18th || Prof [[J A Madrigal]] ||  Stem cell therapies.
|-
| November || 15th || Dr [[Uday Phadke]] || Innovation
|-
|}

Latest revision as of 08:46, 6 August 2023

The S&T Wiki is now back![edit]

This is the old wiki, upgraded to MediaWiki 1.40. The old version was broken by a mandatory PHP upgrade conducted on the shared server where this is hosted. It needs updating to reflect the current officers and programme but at least when you visit it you don't get a slew of error messages.

I had some problems with spam accounts, so I've restricted account creation rather severely. You can always ask me to create an account for you.

Steve Hemingway

Now planning meetings for the 2022 Season[edit]

Please get in touch if you know of a suitable speaker or would like a specific topic addressed.

2022 Programme[edit]

I am currently working on the 2022 programme. I hope to have talks on the following subjects:

- Dark Matter,

- Quantum computing,

- Cyptocurrencies,

- Applied Artificial Intelligence (speaker from DeepMind),

- Exploring Space (Nicole Stott),

- Autonomous vehicle liability,

- Use of psychedelic drugs in treatment of mental illness,

- The Chinese social credit system (or related).

If you have a comment, please get in touch, especially if you can refer me to a suitable speaker on any of the topics above.


FAQ