York Biology Open Lecture Series
The York Biology Lectures are open to all members of the University and the public. Admission is free and no booking is required. Each of the speakers is both a distinguished scientist and a good communicator, and the lectures aim to capture the imagination of everyone interested in biology. The lectures should be intelligible to the educated non-specialist, rather than detailed presentations of the latest data.All lectures are on Wednesdays - see below for time and venue.
The York Biology Lecture Series is supported by the University of York Distinguished Visitors Fund and the Department of Biology
Organisers:
Dr Angela Hodge, Department of Biology, University of York
Tel: 01904 328562 Fax: 01904 328505
E-mail: ah29@york.ac.uk
Dr Daniel Ungar, Department of Biology, University of York
Tel: 01904 328656 Fax: 01904 328505
E-mail: du500@york.ac.uk
PROGRAMME:
AUTUMN TERM 2010
27 October 2010, 1:15 pm, P/X001
Dr Marco Ferroni, Executive Director, Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture, Basel, Switzerland
An inquiry into global food security: The role of science, the business sector, and public policy
Long term universal food security is unattainable without recourse to science, entrepreneurship, supportive policies and public goods. Farmers know what they want: technology, services, and access to markets. The rest of the world is locked in debate over the false choice between 'technological' versus 'environmental' approaches. The two sides in this debate must constructively come together to recognize the critical role the business sector and public-private partnerships play in creating the next Green Revolution. Bringing its benefits to farmers and consumers, especially small farmers that produce most of the food consumed in poor countries and emerging markets, will allow food security to be realized. The lecture will explain these connections and lay out a vision of how sustainable food security can be achieved.
* * * * * *
25 November 2010, 7 pm, V045 (note, this is an evening lecture)
Hugh Whittall, Director of the Nuffield Council of Bioethics
From Biomedicine to Biofuels to SynBio. Where next for bioethics?
In 1991 The Nuffield Foundation established the Nuffield Council on Bioethics, under the Chairmanship of Sir Patrick Nairne, to examine ethical issues raised by advances in biology and biomedicine. The first issues that it considered were essentially health-related, about screening for genetic diseases, the use of human tissue in medical research, and about animal-to-human transplants.
However, as the field of bioethics developed more generally, the Council also widened its field of vision beyond health and medicine. In 1999 it published a report on genetically modified crops, and in 2005 it reported on the use of animals in research. Recent years have seen its work and its influence move into other areas that might not originally have been anticipated, such as the police DNA database.
Currently the Council is working on the ethical issues related to new advances in biofuels, and next year it will start a project examining emerging biotechnologies, such as synthetic biology. From healthcare to liquid fuels to synthetic bacteria: what are the ethical concerns? In his talk, Hugh will look at some of the main issues raised by the Nuffield Council since 1991, and suggest that the need to consider the ethics of new scientific research will continue into the 21st century.
* * * * * *
1 December 2010, 1:15 pm, P/X001
Professor Ron Laskey, FRS, Hutchison/MRC Research Centre, Cambridge
Hunting The Antisocial Cancer Cell
One of the most effective ways of improving cancer treatments would be to improve early diagnosis, so that cancers are detected before they spread. Proteins that regulate DNA replication provide a new approach to this problem.
Replicating the human genome each cell cycle is an enormous logistical challenge. 105 replication initiation events must be co-ordinated so that all DNA is replicated once, exactly once and only once. How does the cell keep track of which regions it has already replicated? The answer lies in a ratchet-like system of “replication licensing” that deploys multiple molecular mechanisms to couple DNA replication to the cell cycle.
Proteins that make up the licence are remarkably powerful markers for improving cancer screening and diagnosis. They include proteins called minichromosome maintenance (MCM) proteins and a small protein called geminin. These provide two different types of clinical data. The MCM proteins are ideal for early detection of cancer and geminin gives information about cancer prognosis.