Research: The Big Picture

Guest Post: Dee-Ann Johnson, The University of Manchester

What connects wishing trees in folklore, the inside of a living chrysalis, and 5000 years of weather?  The third annual Images of Research Competition that’s what! 

  As part of the Manchester Science Festival, we challenged  scientists and engineers at The University of Manchester to tell their research story using beautiful images and inspiring descriptions. We asked them to show why research is essential and important to everyone.  

Open to researchers in all subjects, the entries came with intriguing titles including:

·      Your eely ancestor

·      The fire empowerment

·      More than skin deep

·      Standing proud

·      Scientific research: A real bed of roses

The competition presents just a taste of the diversity and breadth of the research being conducted at the University. But whether the subject matter is poverty, locomotion, climate change, health or masculinity, we are sure of one thing – there is something of interest for everyone.

Our researchers are passionate about their work and the benefits their research can bring. 

  But now we turn the competition over to you

Cast your vote online now and help us decide which image has captured your imagination, raised your curiosity, or got you thinking about the research in a different way.

http://www.manchesterimagesofresearch.co.uk

 

 

The competition runs from 7 October to 4 November 2013. The winner will be announced on 5 November 2013.

#Hooked: Unlocking the Secret Science of Song

Hello festival peeps, not long to go now! I'm Erinma and last year I had a blast working on the fab citizen science experiment, Turing's Sunflowers. Now I'm back doing a residency at MOSI working with the Festival team to bring a new mass experiment to life. This time it's all about music and unlocking the secret science of song.

Back in May I went to the University of Amsterdam to meet with music cognition scientists, Dr John Ashley Burgoyne and Professor Henkjan Honing who have devised a fantastic experiment that needs your help.

Ashley and Henkjan are interested in musical memory - songs that we remember and can recall to mind just by thinking about them. The way they want to explore that is by looking at musical 'hooks' and what it is musically that makes a tune stick in our minds.

What's the idea?

Just hearing a few bars of a song, people will suddenly recall that tune to mind. The hook is the most noticeable part of a tune. It sticks in your mind and is the key to understanding why musical memories last a lifetime. The hook makes music memorable or catchy. And, songwriters, DJs and musicians know exactly how to use the hook to get everyone singing along or up on the dance floor.

Whilst visiting my family in Copenhagen I told my DJ brother, Thomas, all about #Hooked and he invited me along to Karriere bar to show me exactly how he uses hooks to get people on the dancefloor every Friday night.

Quite apart from having a great night out - it got me thinking about the wisdom of the non-science experts, DJs, musician, songwriters, music geeks and many more and making sure we include their perspectives to add a new dimension to understanding how music can play with our emotions, memories and quite literally move us.

There will be lots of personal and global stories we can tell, from the songs our parents gave us to this years top ten wedding songs to the songs that changed the world. Indeed much of human history is shared through songs.

Why does it matter?

“The past which is not recoverable in any other way is embedded, as if in amber, in the music, and people can regain a sense of identity. . .” — Neurologist, Oliver Sacks 

One of the things that I found quite astonishing is how personalised playlists of music are used in some care homes to help improve the quality of life of people with fading memories, including dementia. This phenomenon, where people are literally awakened from a stupor, and begin to dance and sing, has to be seen to be believed. So, whilst the experiment is going to be a lot of fun, it might also provide insights into long term memory and even failing memory, which could contribute to future Alzheimer's disease research.

What's the theory?

There are lots of theories about what makes music catchy (a danceable rhythm, a change in pitch etc) but little scientific evidence. By doing an experiment, designed as a game, we can test out these theories and see, for example, whether they apply to hooks in different genres of music. The game will be launched in early 2014 but in true citizen science style we want to get the public involved by kickstarting a debate on what makes music catchy.

A previous experiment analysed what makes music catchy by observing 1100 people singing along to songs out loud in pubs and clubs and concluded that the catchiest song of all time was 'we are the champions' by Queen. The scientists, musicologist Dr. Alison Pawley and psychologist Dr. Daniel Mullensiefen concluded there are four traits that make a song catchy: 1) Long and detailed musical phrases; 2) a number of pitches in the hook; 3) and male voices that are 4) high pitched. Read more about their findings here.

Mullensiefen said, “Every musical hit is reliant on maths, science, engineering and technology, from the physics and frequencies of sound that determine pitch and harmony, to the hi-tech digital processors and synthesisers that can add effects to make a song more catchy.
“We’ve discovered that there’s a science behind the sing-along and a special combination of neuroscience, maths and cognitive psychology can produce the elusive elixir of the perfect sing-along song. We hope that our study will inspire musicians of the future to crack the equation for the textbook tune.”

Read more at http://www.zmescience.com/research/studies/what-makes-a-song-catchy-science-explains/#gfmMDiDIsaarR2T2.99

Mullensiefen said, “Every musical hit is reliant on maths, science, engineering and technology, from the physics and frequencies of sound that determine pitch and harmony, to the hi-tech digital processors and synthesisers that can add effects to make a song more catchy.
“We’ve discovered that there’s a science behind the sing-along and a special combination of neuroscience, maths and cognitive psychology can produce the elusive elixir of the perfect sing-along song. We hope that our study will inspire musicians of the future to crack the equation for the textbook tune.”

Read more at http://www.zmescience.com/research/studies/what-makes-a-song-catchy-science-explains/#gfmMDiDIsaarR2T2.99

Mullensiefen said, “Every musical hit is reliant on maths, science, engineering and technology, from the physics and frequencies of sound that determine pitch and harmony, to the hi-tech digital processors and synthesisers that can add effects to make a song more catchy.
“We’ve discovered that there’s a science behind the sing-along and a special combination of neuroscience, maths and cognitive psychology can produce the elusive elixir of the perfect sing-along song. We hope that our study will inspire musicians of the future to crack the equation for the textbook tune.”

Read more at http://www.zmescience.com/research/studies/what-makes-a-song-catchy-science-explains/#gfmMDiDIsaarR2T2.99

Mullensiefen said, “Every musical hit is reliant on maths, science, engineering and technology, from the physics and frequencies of sound that determine pitch and harmony, to the hi-tech digital processors and synthesisers that can add effects to make a song more catchy.
“We’ve discovered that there’s a science behind the sing-along and a special combination of neuroscience, maths and cognitive psychology can produce the elusive elixir of the perfect sing-along song. We hope that our study will inspire musicians of the future to crack the equation for the textbook tune.”

Read more at http://www.zmescience.com/research/studies/what-makes-a-song-catchy-science-explains/#gfmMDiDIsaarR2T2.99

A related phenomenon, earworms or involuntary musical imagery, where catchy tunes get stuck in the head and uncontrollably repeat over and over, have been studied in the earwormery project by the music, brain and mind group at Goldsmith's University. They have been researching what musical features earworms have in common and what people who experience earworms might have in common. Finally they've also been looking at what purpose earworms might serve and how earworms might be cured.

Dr Lauren Stewart, from the music, brain and mind group said:

--> "What is interesting to us is the fact that this musical imagery comes to the brain without planned effort. It is as if comes from nowhere..."
The earwormery team discovered there are specific triggers for earworms - stress, sights, sounds or smells in the environment. And, just hearing a song can also trigger an earworm.

#Hooked

With #Hooked we aim to look at hooks in hundreds of thousands of songs using a name-that-tune game that asks players to recognise the song and then identify which bit in the song is the most catchy. But, as i said before, we need your help!

  

Imagine listening to a catchy tune, whats the part where you start singing out loud or start humming along? That's the hook... we want you to share your catchiest tunes and to tell us what you think makes it catchy.

Get involved

Taking part is easy, just complete this simple survey to crowdsource the playlist for the game and kickstart a debate on what makes music catchy.

Join us for the festival launch of #Hooked to debate what makes music catchy, from hooks, to earworms and hit songs with Ashley Burgoyne, Lauren Stewart and Daniel Mullensiefen. Then dance to your catchiest tunes at our silent disco.

MOSI's presenters, James and Darren, will also feature in Captain #Hooked, a daily festival show and featuring a very special guest to get the kids dancing on the 30th of October.

Meantime, tweet your catchiest tune (name & artist) to #hookedplaylist or upload a short video showing us your catchiest bit in the tune you've picked - tag your videos with hookedplaylist so we can find and share them.

Hooked is a MOSI initiative in collaboration with the University of Amsterdam, the University of Manchester and supported by the Wellcome Trust.

Behind the scenes of the Manchester Science Festival at MMU

Guest post - Jo Keogh, MMU

The Manchester Science Festival is in its 7^th year and what a year it is going to be. At least that’s my opinion. My name is Jo Keogh and last year I was part of the 2012 Manchester Science Festival in MMU. I used my passion for Lichen and my artistic background to give festival goers a taste of identify and engaging with these wonderful organisms.

A year later and I am a key part of MMU ‘s Saturday ‘Brains of the Future’, previously ‘Science Extravaganza’. And even if I do say so myself this year is set to be even better.

This year instead of calling ourselves the Extravaganza we have themed our events around brains, which are an ongoing theme throughout the Festival this year.  There will be a neuron map to help you explore the space and some fantastic games, puzzles and demonstrations to tease and test your brain!

But I have not just been working with the staff and students of MMU. There is a team of partners who have all done their bit to help inspire and push this years festival to a new level.

I would personally recommend the Science after Dark, which contain some great events from MMU, including a trailblazer gothic quiz and MMU's Bad Bookclub featuring a screening of Dr Ehrlich's Magic Bullet (all about bacteria, microbes, antibiotics and more).

It has been a very exciting time of sneak peeks and curious titles. There’s a lot of hard work and dedication that has been and is still, going into the preparation for the festival launch. Make sure you don’t miss the fun view the Manchester Science Festival Guide here. 

Manchester Science Festival 2013 is here

Welcome to the Manchester Science Festival 2013. Today we are thrilled to launch our programme for this year’s Festival, taking place from Thursday 24 October to Sunday 3 November.  Check out our website for all the information or pick up a brochure from MOSI or loads of venues about the city. 

You will see that this year we have our usual packed family programme of hands-on activities and workshops to inspire and engage budding young scientists across Greater Manchester and beyond.  There is also an eclectic mix of events for discerning adults looking for alternative science (and technology and engineering and maths) entertainment: we’ve got films, plays, an art exhibition, comedy,  some special brains-themed events and more.  We’re also launching our new citizen science experiment, #Hooked, where you can get involved to help scientists unlock the secrets as to what makes music catchy.

Over the next few weeks we’ll be blogging about different aspects of the programme as we gear up for the events.  And if you are a blogger yourself – we need you!  We are looking for bloggers (or aspiring bloggers) to help us write about, document and spread the word of our Festival events.  We are holding a special bloggers event at the Brains: The Mind as Matter exhibition at MOSI on Tuesday 24 September. You can apply and find out more details here.

Manchester Science Festival is back for its seventh year, proudly produced by MOSI, supported by our headline sponsor Siemans and major sponsors Electricity Northwest, University of Salford and Waters.  The Festival is brought to you by a unique group of partners consisting of the universities of Bolton, Manchester, MMU and Salford, the Institute of Physics, the British Science Association, Sound of Science and many other supporters.  We can’t wait to hear what you think of this year’s programme.

Thank you!

With 2012 drawing to a close we've been looking back at an amazing year. Not only was it the 2012 Olympics, the Diamond Jubilee, and the year of the rain, but we had the best Manchester Science Festival yet, complete with our very first Citizen Science project Turing's Sunflowers, celebrating the life of mathematician Alan Turing.

Manchester Science Festival has fast evolved and taken shape since it began in 2007. It was an innovative and creative blend of events for families and adults when it was first established and we've taken that ethos and shaped it into one of the most cultural and vibrant Festivals on the Manchester events scene.

This year we added a film strand, co-produced at art and science exhibition, brought more art, comedy, theatre and lively debates to the programme, as well as curating a family friendly programme of events and activities. The Festival is proudly produced by MOSI, and this year we invited some of our favourites artists and communicators back, such as Helen Storey and Science Junkie, to create even more amazing live events.

It was also a first for us this year. We're proudly produced by MOSI and working together with the University of Manchester and the Manchester City Council (as well as lots more!) we created our first citizen science project Turing's Sunflowers. To celebrate the life of mathematician and code-breaker Alan Turing we invited people from around the world to grow sunflowers and explore the patterns in the sunflower seed heads. We were looking to back up Alan Turing's theory that Fibonacci patterns form in the sunflower seed heads, and sometimes, if they didn't, what would we find instead. A whopping 12,000 sunflowers were pledged to the project from countries across the globe.

So as we reflect on an amazing year, we wanted to thank everyone that was involved in Manchester Science Festival in some way; our sponsors and partner organisations, event organisers, artists, scientists, science communicators, staff at MOSI and all host venues, our designers and web team, our brilliant volunteers and most of all our wonderful visitors. We thank you all for your contribution, we wish you a fantastic 2013 and we'll see you in October!

Manchester Science Festival is over...until next year!

Manchester Science Festival is over for another year and we've had a blast! We promised you 9 days of action-packed geek-tastic fun and what an amazing week it was! We've pulled together a selection of highlights.

Domino Computer Challenge
For what was one of the largest attempted domino-based computers, the team created the chain, domino by domino, and then ran it to work out a simple calculation. Once the machine was set in motion, the audience could see the information travelling along the lines of dominoes, and learned how computers work in a similar way. This fantastic event at MOSI played out to a packed audience. It took 10,000 dominoes, 1 day to build, months of planning and just seconds for the dominoes to fall.

The Science of Fish and Chips

At this event at the University of Salford, visitors were served traditional fish and chips from a handy fish and chips van. Five different varieties were served and tasters were encouraged to identify which fish they were eating. Dr Stefano Mariani from Salford's School of Environment and Life Sciences explained the implications on marine eco-systems of over-fishing certain species whilst demonstrating to visitors and their children how different fish look and taste. This blogger tried the fish and chips and can tell you it was delicious!

Science Junkie LIVE
Science is the most extreme of sports. In fact, it is even more important in high adrenaline physical adventures. This live outdoor show, pitted the talents of free-runner Alex Potts against mountain bike superstars Andrei Burton, Joe Seddon and Jack Gear (presented by Greg Foot and Nick Insley and produced by Huw James) all with a heavy bass soundtrack. As the guys flipped and spun through the air confidently, Greg explained to the audience what intense forces were acting on their bodies explaining the control required to make such dare-devilry look effortless.The crowd oohed and aahed as the bikers did bunny hops and flips over the course, while the audience were encouraged to cheer for man or machine in a series of exciting gravity-defying challenges.




Turing's Sunflowers Spirals Count
Members of the public joined Jonathan Swinton and researchers from The University of Manchester to find out how Turing's Sunflower growers contributed to the mathematical story of how sunflowers grow. The results were announced alongside a screening of Turing's Sunflower Diaries, crowd-sourced from footage shot by growers and directed by BBC Outreach staff volunteers. Take a look at the video to find out more.

Moon
Shown in MOSI's 1830 warehouse, this film  directed by Duncan Jones (son of David Bowie), explores what it means to be human. Packed with film fans, it was the last in a series of screenings in the atmospheric pop-up cinema space and was also the last event on the very last night of the festival. This moving and often hilarious film was introduced by guest Duncan Wilson who went on to lead a post-film discussion about the themes. 

We'd like to take this opportunity to thank you all for coming to our events and getting involved in what we think was the best festival yet! We loved every minute and can't wait for next year. 

If you took any photos of your experience, we'd love to see them! Please share them on our Flickr page and let us know what you thought of this year's festival by filling in a quick 2 minute survey. 

Get the latest news on Facebook and Twitter and subscribe to our e-newsletter.

The Turing Project - An Interview With Jon Armstrong

This year is the centenary of wartime code-breaker Alan Turing's birth. To celebrate this, Manchester Science Festival has a whole host of events highlighting the achievements of this great man.

The Turing Project is an immersive theatre experience in which you'll become a member of a top secret group of scientists. Your role will be to safeguard an emergency communication channel, keeping it open for agents to send out distress calls. We stole a few minutes with organiser Jon Armstrong from theatre company Simply Told to find out more.

Can you tell us a bit about the Turing Project –  what can people expect from it?

The Turing Project is an immersive theatrical encounter for 4 people, based on the work of Alan Turing. The audience are thrown into the world of the wartime code-breaker, where they will have to work individually and collaboratively on breaking a cypher and establishing radio communication with a mysterious broadcast. It is then their duty to establish whether the voice they are communicating with is that of a man or a machine.
    
How did you come up with the idea for The Turing Project?

We have long been fascinated by the work of Alan Turing, and this is our attempt to allow people to experience his work and legacy. We believe that he was treated appallingly by the country that he served so well, both during the war and in his legacy beyond.
  
What do you think makes a good immersive experience?

A good immersive experience is one that is completely designed round the involvement of the audience. The outcomes of the piece will change with each audience, and we hope that this direct involvement in the performance makes for an engaging experience for both audience and us.

Have you ever had any unusual or unexpected reactions from the people who take part in your events?

We have had some very strong reactions. During the tour of The Alpha Project (which came to MSF in 2010), we had people frozen to their chair, sensing presences that weren't there and generating some incredible coincidences, amongst many others. This was due, in part, to the subject matter – the show dealt with people’s belief in psychic ability, from a purely skeptical standpoint – and it is incredible how real and involving these things can seem when you are thrust into an immersive world through which you have to find your own way.
  
What’s the best thing about your job?

The best thing about my job is the opportunities it provides to create these experiences. I strongly believe in the power of culture to change people’s perceptions and viewpoints, and I think that immersive theatre is a great way to truly involve people in a wider cultural conversation.

How important do you think arts-science collaborations like yours are?

I believe that arts-science collaborations are very important. Both worlds have an enormous amount to teach the other in terms of the development and communication of ideas, and there had been an unnecessary divide between them for too long. Collaborations such as these reach new audiences, encourage debate and hopefully broaden horizons.
     
Have you always been interested in science as an inspiration for your work?

Science has long been an inspiration. My background is in magic, which uses very rational techniques to create irrational experiences, and the world view that this encourages shares many similarities with a scientific outlook and approach. Science has fascinating stories to tell, and I believe that theatre can go some way to telling them.

The Turing Project

Sat 27 Oct 2012 12 noon - 9pm
Sun 28 Oct 2012 12 noon - 9pm
Mon 29 Oct 2012 12 noon - 9pm

Shows start on the hour and last 30 min. Book online.

The Turing Project is available as part of our Science After Dark programme. For a full list of events inspired by Alan Turing click here. For the full festival programme please see our website. Get the latest news on Facebook and Twitter and subscribe to our e-newsletter.

DNA: Can it predict your future health? - Kate Dack

At the Manchester Science Festival, we're offering a discussion chaired by Dr Bella Starling called: 'DNA: Can it predict your future health?' There's also a chance to watch GATTACA in MOSI's 1830 warehouse.  Organiser Kate Dack will be there to give a short introduction and offering a taste bud test to see whether attendees have the gene that allows them to taste the bitter chemical in sprouts. We've asked her to write a guest blog to give us the inside scoop.

DNA intrigues and inspires many of us. A day rarely passes when DNA isn't in the headlines, with some new discovery or technology being launched. It’s amazing how rapidly the research is developing, but that does leave some people concerned about its impact on society. One of the main areas that we hear about is the power of DNA to revolutionise medicine – changing the way we understand ill health and creating new personalised treatments based on our genetic profile. But what’s the truth behind the headlines? Is it all hype?

There are a number of opportunities for people to explore the medical applications of genetics at the Manchester Science Festival in 2012. Nowgen is running an event entitled:  ‘DNA:Can it predict your future health?’ on November 3rd and people will hear from Dr Bill Newman, an experienced consultant and researcher in genetic medicine. He will describe how DNA testing is currently used and how valuable it can be. We will discuss how much a DNA test can reveal about your future health and ask people how much they would want to know. Get ready to grapple with some tough ethical questions – what would you tell your relatives or your employer about your results?

Alongside that event, some musicians will be performing a fascinating musical and visual representation of DNA. You will be able to see this exciting and unique performance on 3rd November at 3:30pm in Manchester Museum. It has been developed by CellSonics, which is a collaboration between Manchester-based musicians Rob Turner and Chris Illingworth, working alongside experimental electronic musician Paul Jones and visual artist Blain Norvun. Their long-term aim is to develop an installation exploring DNA, working up from the subatomic level to the final complex biological structure of the double helix. Whilst following the science and maths accurately and closely, they will be presented in an interactive and accessible way, appealing to anyone of any age or level of scientific understanding.

You also have a chance to see one of most interesting films exploring genetics - GATTACA – which will be shown on 29 October at the pop-up cinema at MOSI. Before the show David A. Kirby will highlight why this film is so powerful and how the science is reflected in this fiction. It’s a film that gets everyone thinking and wondering about how the world will change if everyone embraces DNA testing without question. If you would like to attend the DNA event, you may like to come along to watch GATTACA beforehand to familiarise yourself with the potential wider implications.



DNA: Can it predict your future health? and GATTACA are available as part of our Join the Conversation and Science After Dark programmes. Visit our website for a full list of events. Get the latest news of Facebook and Twitter, and subscribe to our e-newsletter.

Images of Research Competition - Voting Open

As part of the Manchester Science Festival, scientists and engineers at The University of Manchester have been challenged to share their work with you using just a single, inspiring image and short description. The best thing is that you get the chance to decide on the winning entry in this Images of Research photography exhibition, as well as meet the researchers behind the image. Voting is now open so we've asked organiser Dee-Ann Johnson to tell us a little more about it.

What does a 305 million-year-old spider, the inside of a tadpole’s head, and lightning striking the blade of a windmill have in common?

They are all a part of this year’s Images of Research photography competition, which challenged researchers from all disciplines at The University of Manchester to take a compelling photograph showing how their research is affecting the wider world and benefiting society.

In the run up to the Manchester ScienceFestival, 15 amazing images have been short-listed and are on display at a special exhibition at the John Ryland’s Library on Deansgate, Manchester. The images provide a behind the scenes look at the work being carried out by researchers both on campus and around the world.

The exhibition presents just a taste of the diversity and breadth of the research being conducted at the University. But whether the subject matter is black holes, traditional medicine making, Columbian coffee, or the tiles at Victoria train station, we are sure of one thing – there is something of interest for everyone. 

Our researchers are passionate about their work and the benefits their research can bring. But now we turn the competition over to you! Cast your vote and help us decide which image has captured your imagination, raised your curiosity, or got you thinking about the research in a different way.

Votes can be cast at the exhibition at the John Rylands Library or online.

The competition runs from 17 October to November 5. The winner will be announced on 7 November 2012. 

The Images of Research competition is available as part of our Art Meets Science programme. Visit our website for a full list of events. Get the latest news on Twitter and Facebook and subscribe to our e-newsletter.