Sheffield Festival of Science & Engineering

Every day we are surrounded by a world of living colour, but what is the science behind the green of a spring leaf or the red of blood? Why can’t a dog see a red ball on green grass, but a bee can see invisible patterns on a flower? How can a Blu-ray disc store more data than an identical-looking DVD? Join Dr Tom Anderson of the Department of Chemistry and discover the answers to all these questions and more.

Like Hansel and Gretel’s breadcrumbs into the forest, we leave a trail of data-crumbs wherever we go: social networks, mobile phones, hospital visits, credit cards and loyalty cards. Our every move is being watched! The data-crumbs are seeds of information but what results from them… is it a jungle with dangers lurking or a productive farmyard? And if our data is being farmed, where does all the produce go?

Recent technology advances have resulted in the ability to sequence anyone’s genome cheaply and quickly, but we are only just beginning the journey to discover the true meaning of our individual genomes. If you have your own genome sequenced, who should see it? How can we safely share a genome without ending up opening a whole new form of cybersnooping? Using neurodegenerative diseases as an example, this talk will explore how these problems are being addressed and how this new technology could be used to predict whether a person will get a disease such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s or motor neurone disease.

Sheffield-based artist Kate Sully has created an exhibition of vibrant mixed media artwork inspired by cutting edge Bioengineering and Regenerative Medicine research at the University of Sheffield. Find out more about the amazing research into areas such as nerve guides and cornea transplants, and experience what can happen when scientists and artists get together!

An Introduction by the head of SITraN, Professor Dame Pamela Shaw to a lecture by Professor Winston Hyde entitled: Breaking the Human Genome Code - Opening Pandora’s Box?