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| | == The S&T Wiki is now back! == |
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| | 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. |
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| == May Meeting: Giles Yeo, ''Are your genes to blame if your jeans don't fit?'' ==
| | 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. |
| === May 16th, Strangers Room ===
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| Obesity may well be the world’s largest public health problem.
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| 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.
| | [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] |
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| Although we are all exposed to these changes, only some of us are obese.
| | == Now planning meetings for the 2022 Season == |
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| 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.
| | Please get in touch if you know of a suitable speaker or would like a specific topic addressed. |
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| 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.
| | = 2022 Programme = |
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| 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.
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| [[Giles Yeo|Read More ...]]
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| == June Meeting: Prof Paul Veys, ''T Cells and the CAR-T Study'' ==
| | Dates for our meetings in 2020 are as follows (future dates are always provisional): |
| === June 21st ===
| | We will put this back when it has some shape. |
| | {{2022 Programme}} |
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| Paul Veys collects immune system cells from the patient, modifies them to help to recognize his cancer cells. The modified cells, cultured in the lab, are then injected back into the patient. This allows the patients own immune system to recognize the cancer cells that were previously immune to it, and kill them. The advantage of this treatment is that the cells, because they are accepted by the patients own immune system, can remain in the body for an extended period and provide extended protection against recurrence of the disease.
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| This is called Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T-cell Therapy, or CAR-T therapy for short. The cells extracted from the patient are T-cells. They are genetically engineered to produce special receptors on their surface to recognize specific targeted cells from the patients own tumor. These receptors are the Chimeric Antigen Receptors. 'Chimeric' because they incorporate genetic information from more than two organisms. Once the T-cells are produced in sufficient quantities they can be injected into the patient.
| | I am currently working on the 2022 programme. I hope to have talks on the following subjects: |
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| T-cells are a key component of our immune system that fights off infection, and indeed any 'foreign' protein that our bodies are exposed to. Cancer cells evade the attention of our immune system. By using gene editing techniques it is possible to program T cells to recognize and eliminate cancer cells that would otherwise go undetected by our bodies. This is a very promising area of work, although it is still experimental and in early stages. Pioneering work has been done at Great Ormond Street Hospital, and we are delighted to welcome Prof Paul Veys to speak to the meeting of the Reform Club Science Group.
| | - Dark Matter, |
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| [[Paul Veys|Read More ...]]
| | - Quantum computing, |
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| = 2017 Programme =
| | - Cyptocurrencies, |
| Dates for 2017 are as follows (all meeting are on Wednesdays, usually the 3rd one of each month):
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| {| class="wikitable"
| | - Applied Artificial Intelligence (speaker from DeepMind), |
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| ! Month !! Day of Month !! Speaker !! Title
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| | February || 15th || Prof [[Martyn Thomas]] || Cybersecurity
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| | March || 15th || Prof [[Anil Seth]] || Machine Consciousness
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| | April || 19th || Prof [[Peter Wilson]] || Anti-Microbial Resistance.
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| | 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?
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| | June || 21st || Prof [[Paul Veys]] || CAR-T Study, Anthony Nolan.
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| | September || 20th || Dr [[Paolo Tasca]] || Bitcoins and the Blockchain
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| | October || 18th || Prof [[J A Madrigal]] || Stem cell therapies.
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| | November || 15th || Dr [[Uday Phadke]] || Innovation
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| |}
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| = 2018 Programme =
| | - Exploring Space (Nicole Stott), |
| Dates for 2018 are as follows (usually 3rd Wed of each month):
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| {| class="wikitable"
| | - Autonomous vehicle liability, |
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| ! Month !! Day of Month !! Speaker !! Title
| | - Use of psychedelic drugs in treatment of mental illness, |
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| | February || 21st || ||
| | - The Chinese social credit system (or related). |
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| | March || 14th || ||
| | 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. |
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| | April || 25th || ||
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| | [[FAQ]] |
| | May || 23rd || ||
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| | June || 20th || ||
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| | September || 11th || ||
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| | October || 24th || ||
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| | November || 28th || ||
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| |}
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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