Life: A festival from head to toe (2016)

Mankind may have existed in some progressive form for 2.5 million years, and it is only in the last 10,000 years that we have been exposed to wheat. Wheat was pivotal to mankind’s development and allowed us to escape from the hunter gather state, but it could be considered that wheat and therefore gluten is a relatively novel introduction to man’s diet. We are now seeing the medical consequences of this with the prevalence of coeliac disease and gluten sensitivity, which affects more than 10% of the population. Hear about the gluten attack from one the country’s leading experts; Professor David Sanders.

Hands-on With Medical Research took place at the Moor Market as part of the University of Sheffield's Life festival in April 2016. There were 10 different activities, demonstrations and exhibits showing how the University's medical research is helping to improve people's lives. Over 1000 people took part in the activities.