Medics to join scientists on a journey of discovery

FERTILITY experts, dental researchers and heart disease specialists from Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust are to join scientists on a journey of discovery as the University of Sheffield opens up its laboratories and lecture theatres for a hands-on evening of activities.

Back by popular demand, Discovery Night will take place at the University on Friday 13 March 2015 from 4pm-8pm in Firth Court and the Alfred Denny Building. Open to visitors of all ages, the event will feature exciting demonstrations and mini lectures from science, engineering, medicine and dentistry.

Jessop Fertility are to showcase their pioneering time-lapse imaging which is bringing hope to thousands of couples in Sheffield and beyond experiencing fertility problems every year.

This reveals the amazing structural cell changes an embryo undergoes within the first five days of its life, so embryologists can see at a glance if normal cell division does not take place. This increases the chances of having a baby as only the healthiest embryos are replaced back inside the women.

Staff from the genetics team will also be on hand to demonstrate how DNA can be extracted from strawberries, and display 23 pairs of stripy socks to highlight the different types of chromosomes that carry all the specific information to help a cell grow and thrive.

Members of the cardiovascular team will also be on hand to show how they are using humble zebrafish to study heart disease. Visitors can use microscopes to see the beautiful fish embryos in detail and see the heart pumping and blood circulating and what hopes this may bring for new treatments for the disease.

Researchers from the Dental School and Hospital will present an interactive set of exhibits highlighting groundbreaking research targeted at dispelling any myths you may have that it is ‘all about teeth’. Come along and take part in their activities ‘a picture tells a 1,000 words’ and ‘build a home for a cell’ to find out more about their work on bacteria, patient experience, oral cancer, tissue engineering, and of course, teeth.

Visitors will be able to hear all about quantum computing, see inside a molecular biology lab or watch research robots and 3D printers in action, as well as don a lab coat and get stuck in. Budding scientists will also be able to try some liquid nitrogen ice cream, meet the skeletons in the zoology museum and see themselves in infra-red.

The event is being held part of the Festival of Science and Engineering, which kicked off on Monday 2 March 2015.

At the last festival Discovery Night attracted 1,000 people and this year’s event is expected to be just as successful with the chance to find out everything from animal behaviour to dentistry and nuclear energy to psychology.

For a full programme of events for the Festival of Science and Engineering visit: www.scienceweeksy.org.uk

ENDS
 

MEDIA CONTACT:
Claudia Blake, Communications Specialist
Tel: 0114 226 5033
Email: claudia.blake@sth.nhs.uk
 


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