Research Showcased at the New Scientist Live Festival

The UK's biggest festival of science, technology, ideas and discovery took place between the 22nd and 25th of September 2016 at ExCel London.

It was billed as “…a festival of ideas and discovery” that touched on all areas of human life, and was attended by around 30,000 visitors. 

Over the four days of the event, the Royal Society of Biology (RSB) ran a series of “Ask a Biologist” sessions on their stand, to engage the public in dialogue with real-world scientists. During each of these sessions, members of the public were given the opportunity to ask three expert biologists about their work and to learn more about the work of the RSB. 

A total of 24 researchers from institutes around the UK contributed to these sessions over the course of the festival, covering a wide range of topics, reflecting the broad scope of the Society. Topics included coral reefs, stem cell research, robo-agriculture, smartphone microscopy and… ice cream science! The sessions were supported by three members of the Department of Surgery and Cancer at Imperial, who each had a key question relevant to their research hung around their neck. This helped people start up the conversation, and provided an excellent opportunity to communicate some of the concepts and advances that are being made across the Department. 

Dr Toby Athersuch (Lecturer in Environmental Toxicology) chose to pose the question: “What is a metabolome, and why do I want one?”, which prompted many approaching the stand to ask just that! With a few basic props to aid discussion, the conversation took many turns over the course of the day, including optimizing diet for growth, how to avoid ageing, the role of the microbes, the metabolism of testosterone, and understanding the provenance and makeup of complex food supplements!

Dr Hannah Lees (Research Associate) answered people’s queries relating to “How could my gut bacteria be affecting my brain?” and Dr Lesley Hoyles (MRC Intermediate Research Fellow) fielded questions related to “How can bugs in our gut keep us healthy?”. The focus on microbial metabolism and their role in human health provoked a diverse set of discussions ranging from questions concerning irritable bowel syndrome, how diet impacts on our gut microbiome, to what evidence exists to link autism or generalized anxiety disorder with the bugs in our gut. A highlight came from a young man with his father, who patiently waited for ten minutes to ask one of the most pertinent questions of the day: “Why do we fart?”.

All three had a great time at the event and enjoyed the opportunity to share their research with a diverse audience, plus they all got an “I Heart Biology” sticker, too!