It Came From Outta' Space!

Dr David Darling

6pm Dalhousie Building, Old Hawkhill

Wayward asteroids and comets, exploding stars, giant solar flares and – who knows – even an alien invasion – could bring chaos to our planet in the future. Some of the threats from space are very real and have proved calamitous for life in the past: just ask the dinosaurs. What are the chances that another asteroid has our name on it, or that a massive solar storm will knock out our power and communications systems? Could a nearby star blow up and bombard the Earth with deadly radiation? What about the danger from stellar collisions or of our planet being swallowed up by a rogue black hole? And, if there are intelligent extraterrestrials out there, what might they be like and could they pay us a visit? Local science writer and astronomer Dr. David Darling, author of Megacatastrophes! Nine Strange Ways the World Could End, looks at the hazards of living in a violent universe and of some of the ways we might try to protect ourselves. Sleep well!

• Free
• Book Your Place

It’s Not Rocket Science!

Ben Miller

6.30pm Dalhousie Building

Black holes. DNA. The Large Hadron Collider. Ever had that sneaking feeling that you are missing out on some truly spectacular science?

You do? Well fear not, for help is at hand.

Ben Miller was working on his Physics PhD at Cambridge when he accidentally became a comedian. But first love runs deep, and he has returned to his roots to share with you all his favourite bits of science. This is the stuff that you really need to know, not only because it matters, but because it will quite simply amaze and delight you. As Ben himself says; ‘Let me show you another, perhaps less familiar side of Science; her beauty, her seductiveness and her passion. And let’s do it quickly, while Maths isn’t looking’

• £5/£3
• Standard Price | Concession

Like a Virgin

Dr Aarathi Prasad

6pm Dalhousie Building, Old Hawkhill

Dr Aarathi Prasad’s book Like a Virgin, is full of inconceivable ideas about conception, from a Renaissance-era recipe for creating a baby to the tabloid search for a true virgin mother in the 1950s, from the birth of the first test tube baby in 1978 to the invention of an artificial womb.

Come and hear these provocative and profound issues discussed at this fascinating event.

‘Like a Virgin is packed with extraordinary curiosities and disturbing possibilities’
Metro

‘Cheer or weep, but read this book.’
Armand Marie Leroi, author of Mutants

• Free
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The adventure of Science

Doug Allan

6pm Dalhousie Building, Old Hawkhill

It’s always exciting to be at the cutting edge of science. But as the electronic gizmos get smarter and better, it still takes a scientist to actually put that equipment where it can gather the information. And that can mean remote, hazardous places, sometimes working with animals that would rather eat the researcher than offer up insights into their usual diet. So how do you gather information about the behaviour about polar bears or leopard seals from up close, accurately measure the length of a killer whale from a small inflatable boat, collect DNA samples from a 50 tonne whale, or discover just how many million tonnes of ice fall off a glacier every day? Sometimes diving under the ice itself will reveal the answers – but does that require any special techniques, or just a certain frame of mind?

Wildlife and documentary cameraman Doug Allan graduated as a marine biologist but for the last 25 years he’s worked and filmed scientists in action for many BBC and Discovery productions like Ocean Giants, Planet Earth and Frozen Planet. This talk is for anyone who’s ever wondered – how far would you go for your data?

• £5/£3
• Standard Price | Concession