Presentations on a wide variety of subjects by members or visitors who have either a special interest from their working life or an enthusiasm for other aspects of science. Short talks on current developments as well as more in-depth lectures provide a rich variety of information.
| Leader | John Email92a |
| Day & Time | Tuesday Monthly - mostly 2nd week 14.00 to 16.00 |
| Dates | Sep 9: Oct 21: Nov 11: Dec 9: Jan 13: Feb 10: Mar 10: Apr 21: May 12: Jun 9 |
| Venue | QE Park Centre Main Hall and Zoom |
| Status | Active, open to new members |
Winter/Spring 2026 Programme
| Date | Speaker | Topic |
| January 13th | Helen Gower | How to feed a human (for good health and longevity) – our metabolic health depends on multiple factors including diet and determines how we age and what diseases we may encounter |
| February 10th | Ian Goodall | The discovery of insulin and the conquest of diabetes – the discovery of insulin by Banting and Best in 1921 was quite revolutionary setting the agenda for a century of great advances |
| March 10th | Professor Marco Sacci | Quantum Biology Then and Now - From Schrödinger’s Question to Modern Answers: A chemist’s perspective including the role of quantum physics in such phenomena as photosynthesis |
| April 21st | Professor Susan Lanham-New | Update on research into vitamin D and health: vitamin D doesn’t just strengthen your bones. There are important vitamin d receptors in your brain, for instance |
| May 12th | David T Jones | How tropical rainforests work: Dr Jones has carried out research in a variety of jungle scenarios. As an experienced entomologist this has given him insight into their complex aetiology |
| June 9th | John Nichols and others | A review of our meetings for this academic year – remembering what we have learned etc |
Each meeting will finish with 2-3 hot topic reports from science journals and the timing is:
2:00 pm Main speaker
3:00 pm Tea & coffee break
3:10 pm Further questions and discussions with main speaker
3:40 pm 2-3 hot topic reports*
4:00 pm finish
*Short reports are based on a hot topic from a current or very recent paper in a science or medical journal and examples from past meetings in 2025 include: mirror molecules and their possible uses, using mice to study brain activity during dreaming, dietary factors determining the risk of bowel cancer, recruiting the second X chromosome to slow ageing, hunting for the properties and sources of neutrinos, using NMR to make better landmine detectors, shingles vaccine reduces risk of dementia, birds use shed snakeskin to build safer nests, people who eat nuts live longer and healthier lives.