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Are you evil? Let’s check the data
The December talk will be given by Dr Paul Conway from the University of Southampton. Have you ever wondered if you are evil, or perhaps a saint? How can you know for sure? I suppose we could consult religious perspectives or ancient philosophers… but where’s the fun in that? Especially when we can instead consult…
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Hunting down coughs and sneezes – a history of the Common Cold Research Unit
The November talk will be given by Heather Sheeley who will be talking about her research into the history of the Common Cold Research Unit. The Common Cold Research Unit was set up by the Medical Research Council at the end of the Second World War. It was based in Harnham, on the southern edge…
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Cold water immersion: kill or cure?
The October talk will be given by Prof Mike Tipton who will be talking about his work on cold water immersion on which he is a renowned authority and will be talking about how our bodies respond to adverse environments. Professor Tipton is Professor of Human & Applied Physiology, Extreme Environments Laboratory, University of Portsmouth,…
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Welcome to the 2025-2026 season
The first event of the 2025-26 programme is almost here (2nd September) and to kick off the season, in a change to our usual format, we will be having a science quiz and social event; usual time, usual place. We look forward to seeing you there! This season’s programme is shaping up nicely and further…
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From quantum condensed matter mysteries to real world technologies
The July talk will be given by Dr Habib Rostami who will take you on a journey into the world of condensed matter physics, where fundamental science meets technological breakthroughs, shaping the future in ways we are only beginning to imagine. When we think of physics, we often picture deep space, distant stars, or fundamental…
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Unearthing the Future: Modelling of Failures
The May Talk will be given by Chris Riches who will be talking about a challenging piece of work he had to undertake during his 39 year career within the oil industry. He will uncover why the failure rate of underground tanks at fuel retail stations in Italy was increasing. Failure modelling helped solve a…
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Rooted in History, Branching into the Future: The Story of the Nation’s Forests
The April talk will be given by Dr Lawrence Shaw of Forestry England, based on his heritage work there. The nation’s forests are home to some of the best archaeological sites in England. Evidence of how humans have shaped these places can be found frozen in time, hidden beneath the tree canopy. The unique nature…
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Cancelled: no cafe Tuesday 4th March 2025
Unfortunately, we have been unable to find a speaker for the March Cafe. We have therefore had to take the difficult decision to not hold a cafe in March. We continue to work hard to find speakers for the remainder of this year’s programme and expect to host our next event in April as planned. We have…
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Moral Psychology: How People Think about Right and Wrong
The February talk will be given by Dr Paul Conway from the University of Southampton who will present a broad overview of the scientific study or morality: why people care about it, how people think about it, and what this means for living in our modern world. Paul Conway is Associate Professor at the Centre…
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Generative AI
Moving into 2025, we will be using more generative AI to support the website. To begin with, we are experimenting with using AI to generate featured images. WordPress (our Content Management System) can now generate images based on the textual content of the post, like the one for this post. See here for our first…
Got any book recommendations?