Seeking Perfection scoops public engagement prize

Manchester Science Festival is part of a team that has scooped a prize in a European competition for best innovations in University outreach and public engagement.


A creative project called Seeking Perfection has been awarded the ‘Recognition of Distinction’ as part of the ‘EngageU’ programme. Over 100 projects were submitted from Universities across Europe, but this project was selected because of the quality of the collaboration between The University of Manchester, Nowgen, Contact Theatre and the Manchester Science Festival. The creative approaches used made this a distinctive and innovative project. The project team created a short video about the project. To watch this, please: click here 

Natalie Ireland, Director of Manchester Science Festival and Kate Dack, Nowgen's Public Programmes Manager were delighted that the Seeking Perfection project was recognised for its creativity and the depth of the engagement process.

The Seeking Perfection project explored human enhancement - which provides a rich vein for public engagement, exploring issues such as boosting athletic performance, taking stimulant drugs to improve memory and using plastic surgery. A team of 15 young people worked with researchers, ethicists and artists over a six week period to develop a performance about enhancement with creative partners. This was delivered in unusual settings, such as busy shopping centres, to reach local communities who would not typically engage with biomedical science. Seeking Perfection successfully promoted engagement with local communities.


The performance was then taken to the Zion Arts Centre, complimented with a public debate on issues brought up in the project. Andy Miah, Sarah Chan, Mark Gasson and David James were on the panel and expertly discussed and debated the issues with a lively audience. 


The project team had diverse backgrounds, but they were able to share their strengths to allow everyone to try something new. The Seeking Perfection project is contributing towards building a society where all can realise their potential. In this project the young people worked successfully as collaborators with university researchers, artists and also with other professionals in the team.

Seeking Perfections performers take to the stage

Many of the teenagers involved described being more intrigued by science after the project. One said: “I thought when I finished school I would never have to think about science again, and I’ve learnt it’s around us all the time and I should maybe pay more attention. I might blink and the world could be a completely different place.”


Seeking Perfection relied on the talent and experience of researchers within the University of Manchester, the enthusiasm and creativity of young people involved and the artistic backgrounds of Contact Theatre and artists involved. 


This project was funded by a People Award from the Wellcome Trust and we thank them for their support.


Further information about the competition: click here

Science meets fiction

Friday saw the culmination of lots of hard work of dedicated young authors from around Manchester. Earlier this year we partnered with the Manchester Literature Festival and the Manchester Children’s Book Festival to launch "The Midland Future Manchester Young Writers Competition", a writing competition for young people about the future of Manchester. There were so many fantastic entries and the winner and runners up were announced at the event at MOSI on Friday. Authors of brilliant science fiction spoke about their work and life at the event, making it a brilliant event. Congratulations to winner Josh, the runners up and all the writers. Here’s a review of the event from local blogger Hannah Clarke...

Having only snippets of knowledge on the authors attending the Science Meets Fiction event today at the Museum of Science and Industry, I wasn’t fully sure what to expect. Would there be Doctor Who Daleks roaming the event? Would there be a live experiment to show the public the advance of science? Would the authors try to explain their own theories on time travel? You’ll soon see.

As I sit in the MOSI, I quickly recognise there isn’t a better home for this event, as the authors, Julie Bertanga, Jane Rogers and Saci Lloyd all delve into how science inspires them and what role it plays in their novels.

As well as the full room of 11-16 year-old students having their scientific minds in top form, there is also a sense of anticipation, as this event will also reveal the winners of ‘The Midland Future Manchester Young Writers Competition’, judged by Julie Bertanga.

As each author takes their place at a microphone, they all have their own way of drawing the audience in and grabbing their full attention, enlightening and inspiring us by talking about their inspirations, then reading short fragments of their latest novels. Julie starts with her novel Exodus, the first of a trilogy (Zenith andAurora are the second and third books), where she shares with us how the idea of this novel came from reading an article in a newspaper 10 years ago. The article itself was an SOS from the South Sea Islands, as climate change was taking an unheard, dramatic effect in the form of rising sea levels. The story follows Mara’s life 100 years from now after the impact of climate change. Julie also expresses how the science of today has huge inspiration behind her work, such as the recent discovery of the Higgs Boson (‘The God Particle’) and how this explores the destructive and creative aspects of human nature.

Jane Rogers is next with her novel The Testament of Jessie Lamb. Taking place a mere six months in the future, the thought that not much can change is deceiving. Jane takes long, dramatic pauses, intensifying the story, almost bringing it to life. The novel explores a threat of biological terrorism as the disease MDS (Maternal Death Syndrome) starts to attack. By targeting pregnant women, it is quickly evident that this will soon be the cause of a shrinking population. The novel explores an inter-generational conflict between the youths and their elders with the characters having to succeed in finding a solution, which the previous generation failed to do.

Last to speak is the very animated, and funny, Saci Lloyd. Saci quickly informs us that she sees herself as a political writer and rather than basing her novels in the future with futuristic ideas, she enjoys taking today’s problems and twisting them. The audience is quickly engaged in Saci’s lively presence, guaranteeing laughter from everyone when reading a critical email from someone who said the future in her book wasn’t ‘realistic’ enough as the car company Saab have stopped creating a model which featured in her books. Reading from her novel Momentum, we hear how the characters Uma and Hunter are in London where parkour is popular, even more so than getting the bus.

We get to the Q&As. I learn how the ideas can advance just like science and how important science is within literature. We are told that science should support the story rather than the other way round.

“Take an idea and run with it.”

A member of the audience asks the authors how long it takes them to write a novel. Saci and Julie say roughly 1 to 2 years, whereas Julie says 5. They also share how not every novel they write finds instant fame and success. Exoduswas difficult to get published and also sell in North America. Julie also received emails from librarians telling her to stop writing ‘scary, climate-changing stories’. Tips get passed around on how to overcome procrastination; turning off the internet being one of the top ones. 

 “Writing is like snakes and ladders.” 

Now is the time to reveal the winners of the competition and present the top three with signed copies of the books from today's authors on top of a pocket video camera for first prize. 

Third place belongs to Rubab Zahra, with After the Dark Days

Second place belongs to Joseph Arthur Smith, with Fodder

First place belongs to Josh Degenhardt, with When the Rain Falls They Talk of Manchester

Julie finishes by reading the dramatic, edge-of-seat, winning piece. One thing is clear, these authors better watch out!

Exhibition call out: It’ll never work!

In conjunction with Manchester Science Festival this autumn, the fantastic Nexus Art Cafe have decided to celebrate the themes of invention, ingenuity and innovation in their next exhibition.

From the beauty of the blueprint to the enchanting rhythm of an ECG, the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics offer up a whole wealth of creative opportunity and inspiration.

Nexus Art Cafe are seeking artwork and imagery from artists, scientists, and engineers that showcases innovative and interesting ideas in a beautiful way.

Think inspiring infographics, magnificent maps, delightful diagrams and awesome anatomies – be it the stuff of hard scientific fact, or something a little more fantastical – the walls of Nexus will celebrate the creative side of these industries which so often gets overlooked.

If all this has sparked an idea or two, then get in touch. Please send an artist’s statement (no more than 500 words each), up to five images of the work you’d like to submit (max 1000 pixels square/72 dpi), and an artist’s CV to: submissions@nexusartcafe.com, with ‘It’ll Never Work’ as the subject title. Submission Deadline is 5pm on Wednesday 1st August.

How and why to look after your Turing's Sunflowers

Our project Turing’s Sunflowers is in full swing. We’ve had some brilliant planting events at MOSI and other partner venues like Manchester Museum and over 8000 sunflowers have been pledged on the Turing’s Sunflowers website. It’s been such a fantastic response.

The next step of the project now everyone’s seeds are in the ground, is the “nurturing phase”. Every day the Festival team are checking our sunflowers at MOSI and at home, watering them, removing pests and trying to prevent slugs. Some of them are also getting a little heavy and leaning over, so we’ve been lightly tying them to stakes in the ground. We need you to do the same!

In this hot weather keep your sunflowers well watered, but be careful not to over-water as this can loosen the soil and your plant might lean over. Mix in some liquid feed about once a month for good health!

As well as inspiring people with maths in nature, and Alan Turing’s work, what we’re really trying to achieve is lots of data from everyone’s lovely sunflowers. When they are in full bloom, we’ll be launching the next phase of the project with details of the information we need from your you. The main things to look at will be the Fibonacci patterns in the seed heads, the petals and the bracks (the green bits on the back of the flowers).

It’s fairly well documented that you can see Fibonacci patterns in nature, but it really is anecdotal. There have only been a few small scientific studies on this and we want to collect a large amount of data (from about 3000 sunflowers to be precise) to form the largest study of this phenomena. The reason for doing this is the data will be useful to tell us how often this pattern is found in nature. We’ll make this data and photos available to others, so plant scientists and others can use the large data set for their own work. One of the principles underpinning science is experimentation and the replication of such experiments. It will help to further our understanding of the frequency of this pattern, what pattern or shift from the Fibonacci sequence we get if the sequence doesn’t occur, and perhaps why they appear in nature so ordered and regimented.

More information about how to spot the Fibonacci patterns in your sunflowers and how to count these patterns will be coming over the summer here on our blog and the Turing’s Sunflowers website.  

Are you planting a Turing Sunflower yet?

It's been an exciting week at Festival HQ. The new Turing's Sunflowers website launched, people have pledged to grow over 2000 sunflowers, we've had 18,000 seeds delivered, and of course we've been beavering away making plans for the Festival programme in October.

I took some time out from the week to plant some more seeds and look after my sunflower seedlings. It's been a little cold, but with a bit of warmth and a few rays of sun they've starter to sprout! 

So now is the time for you to get planting and join our big experiment... 

Head over to the Turing's Sunflowers website which will tell you loads about the project, how to plant your sunflower seeds, tips for the best flowers and more. There's also more information about what we're doing and why. More will be added to the site over the next month or so and we'll be getting to grips with the maths! You can share your stories with us online too. There will also be planting events and counting events taking place which will be listed on the Turing's Sunflowers and MSF websites. 

Turing's Sunflowers is inspired by maths and nature, and the links between the two that Alan Turing was exploring before he died. There's been such a fantastic response to the project from across the globe - from families wanting to contribute to some real science research to people really connecting with local hero Alan Turing. It's a brilliant project, but it takes people like you and our partners to really get behind something, make it exciting and make it happen. So thank you for such an enthusiastic response and your support. Please do spread the word... we need you to grow over 3000 sunflowers to help us collect the data we need! That's a lot, but we can do it. So get your seeds at the ready and get planting!

Happy planting!

Natalie, Manchester Science Festival Director

The wonder of maths in nature

Last week we were lucky enough to be joined by Jonathan Swinton, a Professor in Systems Biology who conceived of the Turing's Sunflower project for this year's festival.

Over several coffees in the MOSI cafe, Jonathan explained the mathematical concepts behind his idea to do a mass participatory experiment to build on the final work of Alan Turing in his centenary year.

World famous for his code-breaking skills and contributions to computing, Turing was also fascinated with the mathematical patterns found in plant stems, leaves and seeds, a study know as phyllotaxis. This was a key element to his research when he came to The University of Manchester.

Turing noticed, for example, that the number of spirals in the seed patterns of sunflower heads (and pine cones as Jonathan shows MOSI's marketing team in the picture) often conform to a number that appears in the mathematical sequence called the Fibonacci sequence (0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89…). Turing set out to explain how this might help us to understand the growth of plants. Sadly, he died before his work was complete and since then scientists have continued his work, but to properly test these hypotheses we need lots of data… and sunflowers are perfect for the job, so long as we can grow enough of them!

And that is the challenge... join us this spring to Grow a Turing Sunflower to celebrate his centenary and build on Turing's legacy to Manchester and indeed the world!

Up for the challenge? Sign up here.

Related:

• To read up on Turing,  Jonathan recommends Andrew Hodges 'Enigma', recently republished to mark the centenary year.
• Watch the ONE SHOW's take on the project featuring Jonathan and those all important spirals. Available on iplayer for a week (UK viewers only)

The wonder of the simple sunflower

We've been reminiscing a little in the festival team, remembering back to growing sunflowers as kids in our back gardens. The memory of these magnificent yellow flowers towering over the garden fence is etched into our minds. Recently we've been rediscovering the wonder of the simple sunflower as part of the Turing's Sunflower project and have been amazed at the facts that we've uncovered en route.

We were pretty amazed to discover that there is a guerilla gardening day on the 1st of May devoted internationally to growing sunflowers. An event that could prove timely to this project!

We've also discovered some pretty incredible facts about sunflowers... here's our top five so far in now particular order.

1. The seeds make a tasty and healthy snack. You can eat them (and feed birds with them too) and cook with the oil pressed from them. Indeed the sunflower is the symbol of the vegan society and licensed for the sale of sustainable products.

2. You can create other useful and sustainable products including biodiesel as an alternative to petrol.

3. Sunflowers are a great learning resource to teach maths, biology and science. Baby sunflowers apparently track the motion of the sun across the sky, a phenomenon known as heliotropism. Further, the seeds grow in a spiral pattern in the sunflower head and if you count the spirals you will, more often than not, find that the number of spirals corresponds to numbers found in a mathematical sequence called the fibonacci sequence.

4. Sunflowers can be used to extract toxic chemicals from soil, including lead, arsenic and uranium, a process called phytoremediation. Through this process plants can naturally help alleviate environmental problems. Sunflowers were apparently grown to help reduce toxins after the Japanese Fukushima nuclear disaster.

5. Sunflowers are part of a rich cultural and artistic heritage with many artworks and cultural practices associated with sunflowers. Van Gogh's Sunflowers is perhaps the most obvious example but more recently Chinese Artist, Ai Wei Wei's sunflower seed installation has been in the news recently with Tate Modern buying 8 million of the 100 million porcelain sunflower seeds produced as part of the artwork. Bring the conversation back to food, we also discovered recently as the Manchester Histories Festival that sunflower seeds are handed out as a snack to celebrate Chinese new year.

To share and discover more about these amazing plants, including how to grow them, join us on an incredible and hopefully memorable challenge as part of the festival to Grow a Turing Sunflower (or 2 or 3 or 5 or 8 or 13 or more!)...

Turing's Sunflowers

You may remember that back in December we were on the hunt for a dynamic project manager to deliver a mass-participatory experiment across the whole of Manchester following in the steps of Alan Turing to raise awareness of maths in nature? Well, we're pleased to announce the search is over and Dr Erinma Ochu, ex-Manchester Beacon director has recently joined the Manchester Science Festival team to bring you Turing's Sunflowers. 


More info, including how to get involved in the biggest city-wide research experiment, coming very soon. Can't wait that long? Erinma will be talking briefly about the project at Social Media Cafe Manchester (SMC_MCR) tomorrow night in the Northern Quarter. 


Welcome on board Erinma!


Related info:

SMC_MCR takes place: 6pm – 9pm, Tuesday 6 March 2012.

Venue: Matt & Phreds, 64 Tib Street, Manchester, M4 1LW

Celebrate World Book Day!

Today is World Book Day, a world-wide celebration of reading and books. We've been pondering a few of favourite science and sci-fi books in the office today. 


Emma, Education and Interpretation Officer at MOSI loves World War Z by MaxBrooks, and she likes how some of the descriptions of the zombie war are quite realistic and remind you of real wars that have occurred. 


Nicola, Science Communication Officer has two favourites: 

• Death of Grass – set in the 50s - exploring what happens when a virus wipes out grass
• Power, Sex, Suicide: Mitochondria and the meaning oflife which she thinks is a must for biology geeks

Jamie, a presenter at the museum recently discovered The Sky's Dark Labyrinth and thought it was brilliant. He also heard the author speaking at a Festival in the south, and was really inspired. 

I love Genome, as I read this during my studies at Newcastle University and it inspired me to do the kind of job I do now. I also knew author Matt Ridley when I worked at the Centre for Life and found him really inspiring. Carbon Diaries is a modern sci-fi classic for young people which I have really enjoyed in the last few years and had a brilliant event with author Saci Lloyd at MSF 11. That really is a favourite. 

We'd love to hear your favourites too, but also, what better way to celebrate World Book Day than to get writing!


Why not enter our writing competition Future Manchester. There are only a few days left to enter, so now's the time to get your stories in! The competition is for 12 - 16 year olds and we want people to write a short story about their vision for a future Manchester. 


We've had lots of inspiration from local scientists who have written about their work and ideas for the future of their field. These have been great starting points for our young writers and are on our website. 


So, get writing today and submit your entries by 5 March! Find out more and how to enter here.


Natalie, Festival Director

MSF11 podcasts now online!

The hubbub of Manchester Science Festival has calmed down and we've unleashed the first two in our series of weekly podcasts, all recorded at events during last October’s Manchester Science Festival.

First off, listen to the lovely Nija Dalal interview the people behind the Microbiology and art exhibition at Madlab, which was launched just before the festival and ran until middle of November. The pieces in the exhibition were produced by science undergraduates at Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) and members of the Manchester DIYBio group (who run workshops where you can have a go at do-it-yourself bioscience). Professor Joanna Verran led the project and you can find out more on the MMU website.

Secondly, you can hear extracts from Timandra Harkness and Matt Parkers' maths comedy show, Your Days Are Numbered: the maths of death, at MOSI (Museum of Science & Industry). Matt was also awarded the Joshua Phillips Award in Science Communication on the evening. Timandra and Matt are currently touring the UK with the show; head over to their website for tour dates and reviews.

You can find all of the podcasts on the Manchester Science Festival website.

Work for Manchester Science Festival: Freelance Project Manager vacancy

We are seeking a dynamic Project Manager capable of delivering a mass-participatory experiment across the whole of Manchester following in the steps of Alan Turing and raising awareness of the wonders of maths in nature.

Working with leading science and cultural partners in Manchester, the Manchester Science Festival (MSF) and MOSI (the Museum of Science and Industry) are planning a mass-participatory experiment following in the steps of Alan Turing to raise awareness of the wonders of mathematics within the natural world and get communities working together in a practical approach to science.

Fee for the work (to include all personal expenses): £15,000 (fixed term from January until November 2012)

The closing date for applications is 4pm on Wednesday 3 January 2012.

For a full job description and details of how to apply, please visit the Manchester Science Festival website.

BBC project - Britain in a day

Britain in a Day is a unique portrait of twenty-four hours in the life of the UK, filmed by you. On Saturday 12 November 2011 pick up a camera and record your thoughts, hopes and aspirations, then upload your film to the Britain in a Day channel on YouTube. You’ll be helping to create an amazing archive and your film could be included in an historic BBC documentary in 2012.

Check out the below blog with Morgan Matthews, director of Britain in a Day to find out more about the project and how to get involved.

What is Britain in a Day?:

Morgan: BRITAIN IN A DAY is an exciting and ambitious documentary project where we are inviting people across the UK to send in footage shot on one particular day - the 12th November 2011. This is an ordinary day like any other but we aim to capture both the ordinary and the extraordinary events that take place in people's lives every day across the UK. We will edit the footage into one, hopefully remarkable film to be screened on the BBC in 2012.

Why should I get involved:

Morgan: This is an opportunity to capture history and be a part of a unique film-making event. The footage that you capture could be included in a film that I believe will provoke, inspire, surprise and move audiences around the world. Britain in a Day will be a record of our nations, both in the present and in the future. A film about us made by us.

How do I get involved:

Morgan: On 12th November 2011, pick up a camera and film anything that's happening in the 24-hour period from midnight on Friday to midnight on Saturday. Any type of camera will do - whether it's a domestic video camera or your mobile phone - just use the best you have available and start filming on the 12th November 2011. Once you have recorded your footage, upload the unedited clips onto YouTube using the BRITAIN IN A DAY website. If you haven't used YouTube before, don't worry, it's easy - take a look at the 'how to' guide on the BRITAIN IN A DAY website.

Are you looking for any particular clips?

Morgan: I am looking for footage of anything that's happening to you or someone you know on the 12th November 2011. You may be with your family or you may be separated from them. You may be walking in the hills or dancing on the town. You could talk to the camera and create a video diary of all or part of your day, or you can film people you know - with their permission. There may be something wonderful happening to you or your friends and family - perhaps a birth or a marriage, or you may be experiencing something difficult or traumatic - perhaps coping with tough times, a break up or the loss of someone close to you. If you're going to work or staying in on your own, use your camera to show me what you see and tell me what you are feeling. Whether your experience is a momentous occasion or an average day or night, there is meaning, tragedy and beauty in everyday life that we can all identify with - and I want you to capture it for me.

Do you have some suggestions or questions we could think about when filming...

Morgan: Yes. These are just ideas, but you might want to think about the following to get you started:

• What can you see from your window and how would you describe your area?
• What do you like or dislike about the UK?
• What do you see in the mirror?
• What do you worry about?
• What is your vice or your guilty pleasure?
• What makes you happy?
• What is the most important thing in your life at the moment?
• If you are working, show me what you do.
• Show me what you do in the evening

Do I need experience with a camera or making films?

Morgan: This is a project for everyone. Don't let lack of experience put you off, you really don't need to have touched a camera before. Check out the web site for some simple tips and how to videos. It is really easy to take part.

When's the date?

Morgan: Record your footage on 12th November 2011: from midnight on Friday to midnight on Saturday.

Upload your footage by 21 November 2011 at www.youtube.com/britaininaday

For more details on BIAD and to get involved, go to: www.bbc.co.uk/britaininaday and film YOUR day on Saturday 12th Nov.

The environment is a cup.

Review of The Devil's Garden Q&A event, co-hosted by the Manchester Science Festival and the Manchester Literature Festival.

In a quiet room on the topmost floor of the Manchester Museum, Johan Oldekop, a biologist, begins a discussion of his research in the Amazon. He stands in front of about 30 people, and illuminates the complexities of environmentalism and conservation when placed against indigenous peoples' concerns. “The environment,” he says, “is like a plastic cup. You can squeeze a plastic cup, and it will change its shape, but it can re-form and it will still hold water. But if you squeeze it too hard, it’ll break, and it won’t be able to hold water any more, and importantly, it won’t be a cup.” Why squeeze the cup? Development.

He put it most starkly by telling us about how one village is currently six hours away from the nearest hospital by boat... but if those villagers had a road, they would only be one hour away. They want a road, but conservationists want to maintain the rainforest, and in the heart of the Amazon, Oldekop argues, is where issues of science, progress, humanity and the environment come together. Where do human rights, such as access to medical care, trump environmental concerns, and who should be the beneficiaries?

Oldekop's research focused on the role of rural communities in conservation initiatives and environmental impacts, so his work fits neatly in with today's other speaker, Edward Docx.

The Devil's Garden, by Docx, is about a scientist named Dr Forle, who is based on a river station deep in the South American jungle. Docx begins by telling us that he’s happy to be in Manchester promoting his new novel, because Manchester is his home town.

First, Docx discusses his inspirations that led him to write this book, including Coetzee and Conrad. He describes casting his characters in such a way to maintain conflict. “Conflict is drama,” he says. For example, if there’s a scientist, then there should be a religious person to conflict with the scientist. He tries to imagine his characters as a whole cast, in the round, so that there’s always drama. In The Devil’s Garden, he says, there’s drama because it’s about the conflict between corporations, environmentalists, scientists, missionaries and indigenous people.

But the real issue that his novel is about (and, he says, that every novel is really about) is how we should try to live.

Edward Docx then reads out some short sections of his novel before the floor is opened to the audience for a Q&A. The discussion ranges from eco-tourism to ethics, but most interestingly, one audience member challenges both Oldekop and Docx’s work. By explaining how all the complications and complexity of decisions around environmentalism are so interrelated, they’re essentially saying there’s nothing we can do that would be both fair to everyone and still save the earth. It’s despairing, and shouldn’t we just stop even trying to save this planet? Shouldn’t we just work on finding a new one to colonise, if this is all so complicated that, in the end, we simply can’t figure out what the best route might be?

In response, Oldekop and Docx both recognise the despair in their works, but Docx tempers this sentiment by saying that humans have always been inventive and creative. Art, he thinks, is humanity’s redemption. While his book is dark, he feels it is full of light. If people will re-read the book (which, he says, “is the only way of really reading”!), he thinks they’ll find it suggests there is a future.

And Oldekop agrees, saying that nihilism is dangerous, because if we really begin to believe there’s nothing we can do, then it will stop us doing anything to protect our planet or take care of people.

This post originally appeared on the Manchester Literature Festival Blog.
Words by Nija Dalal. Photograph by Jon Atkin.

Microbiology and Art
MadLab
Saturday 22 October – 10 November
11am – 5pm
Cost & Booking: Free. No need to book. Drop in anytime.


Last night, I hopped over to MadLab for the launch of the Microbiology and Art exhibition, already mentioned on this blog here. The artworks are lovely and really gave me a new way to think about science, and a new way of engaging with microbiology. The many facets of microbiology, from virii, bacteria, fungi and parasites were considered using artistic media, from photography to jewellery.

Naseerah Ali's Virus Structure

Malaria, by Mbeen Ali, Tona Aderibigbe, Ahmed Chowdhary and Ali Hayat

Emily Robertson's Beauty and the Mini-beasts

The exhibition brought together some really interesting work that explores the creativity that is possible when mixing supposedly unrelated disciplines. It's open until 10 November at MadLab-- be sure to check it out, and tell us what you thought!

Lab coats and goggles at the ready... Manchester Science Festival 2011 begins tomorrow!

The launch weekend for this year's Festival is going to be immense. BBC Bang goes the theory, Science and engineering extravaganza, Think, feel, move and Gaia Cabaret are some of the events on offer.

Don't miss this year's events, many of which are unique to Manchester Science Festival and you won't get the chance to see them elsewhere.

Bbbbrrrr...
Just in time for the cold weather, we bring you Polar, an amazing concert experience with the Manchester Camerata and beautiful footage from the Polar regions. This Sunday 23 October is the only chance to see Polar in Manchester.

Performances of Polar are at 3pm and 7pm. It's suitable for the whole family so whether you're new to classical music or not, make sure you don't miss this brilliant event. You can book tickets in advance online. Alternatively call 0161 907 5555 or drop into the box office at the Royal Northern College of Music to book tickets.

Share your photos and stories
We'd love to see your photos and hear your stories of from the Festival. Keep in touch by emailing us at info@manchestersciencefestival.com or find us online - details are below!

Manchester Science Festival
22-30 October 2011
At venues across Greater Manchester

Like us on Facebook
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Find out more at www.manchestersciencefestival.com

An Elephant Packed Into a Cell?

Alan Turing and Morphogenesis
MadLab
Sunday 23 October
2pm-3pm
£5 (£3 concessions). Booking advised

Morphogenesis, or the process by which bodies are formed from single cells, is one of the major mysteries of biology. Starting from a single cell, many organisms undergo morphogenesis to become 3D bodies. And that initial single cell does not have an accurate map of what the body will eventually look like—so how does a body form? How is the body of an elephant coded in a single tiny cell?

Alan Turing, in his lesser-known late work, showed theoretically how two types of chemicals might diffuse and react with each other to generate spatial patterns. The equations derived in the 1950s are still relevant today, as biologists are still trying to figure out what exactly is going on during the process of morphogenesis.

To mark the publication of Litmus, Comma's latest science-into-fiction project, Manchester author Jane Rogers and MMU scientist Dr Martyn Amos will discuss the final theorem of one of Britain's greatest scientists, Alan Turing.

Nija Dalal sat down with Martyn Amos to discuss Turing's biological ideas, and the interconnection between science and literature...

Who was Alan Turing?
Well, he’s probably most famous for cracking the Enigma Code. That work directly shortened the war by 2-3 years, so imagine the number of lives he saved! He’s also well-known for his untimely death, as a result of persecution for being homosexual, and he developed the Turing Test for determining if a computer has artificial intelligence. Basically, if a human talks to it and believes the computer is human, then the computer has artificial intelligence.
Turing’s biggest influence is in computability. He essentially founded the field of Computer Science, by placing it in a rigourous framework. Before him, computers were ad hoc machines, put together from components usually for a specific purpose.

He realized we could make a computer that is abstract. A machine that is designed for any type of computation. He revolutionized computation by realizing that computation is not connected to any one thing.

What is Morphogenesis?
This is his least well-known work, probably. It’s what he was working on just before he died.

Alan Turing had a long-standing interest in biology, nature, and natural history, so he grew interested in morphogenesis, which is the process by which a small package (initially just one cell) unwraps itself to form a body. What is in the encoding of a cell that instructs the formation of a 3D body?

Turing believed it was the interaction of chemicals, and he was the first person to apply mathematics to biology.

I think it’s important to recognize that he was truly a cross-disciplinary thinker. He applied engineering principles to answer a biological question!

So, what is Turing’s Theorem of Morphogenesis?
Basically, the theorem uses set of equations that predict the chemical interaction that create the stable patterns we see in nature, like a leopard’s spots. The flux and interactions of the chemicals give rise to stable patterns.

What’s amazing is that when Turing’s equations are rendered visually using computer simulations, we can see the patterns Turing’s equations predict, and they’re familiar. They’re out there, in nature, in the stripes and whorls of animal patterns! They’re called Turing patterns now. But he didn’t have the computational ability to see the patterns predicted by his own equations back then! Turing never saw the Turing patterns! His work was entirely theoretical.

Turing’s Morphogenesis theorem is still very controversial, though. Just because natural patterns look a lot like Turing patterns doesn’t mean they are being caused by Turing’s hypothesized chemical diffusion-reaction interactions. A lot of scientists don’t believe Turing had it right.

You’ll be discussing the relationship between science and literature… can you tell us a little more about that?
Comma Press is publishing an anthology called Litmus, which is about taking scientific ideas and putting them in short stories. Jane Rogers wrote a short story for Litmus, which has a thread of morphogenesis running through it. It’s a really beautiful story, and it shows how science and literature can come together in a way that isn’t necessarily science-fiction… more like science in fiction!

What do you want people to take away from this discussion?
I think I’d like them to know more about Turing and his work, to challenge the idea of him being just a maths nerd. I think it would be great if people came away with a richer understanding of his contribution and a richer sense of him as a human being… and maybe even be a little angry at how he was treated.

A sense of injustice is well-placed when you realize how amazing a thinker he was, and how poorly he was compensated for his immense contributions to knowledge and science.

Curious to learn more about the science behind morphogenesis and see some of those Turing patterns? Here’s a great article with lots of interesting images!

This event is hosted in conjunction with the Manchester Literature Festival.

The Manchester Science Festival 2011 presents
Alan Turing and Morphogenesis
MadLab
36-40 Edge St, Manchester, Greater Manchester M4 1, UK
Sunday 23 October
2pm – 3pm
£5 (£3 concessions). Booking advised.

Out of this world!

A Spacetacular Manchester Adventure!

Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI)
Friday 28 October
Bar and activities from 6pm; event starts 7.30pm
£8 (£6 concessions). Booking advised.

Helen Keen’s been defining the razor’s edge between science and comedy since her first full-length show in 2008, called It Is Rocket Science!

This year, the Manchester Science Festival is hosting a night at the museum, featuring a campervan journey into the imagination of Carl Sagan, a specially created planetarium show, and a performance of Spacetacular! – quite possibly the first stand-up comedy/science/fancy dress/variety/quiz show entirely themed around outer space -- co-presented by Helen, quizzing spacemaster Matt Brown and local space scientists from Jodrell Bank!
It’s going to be a special interactive and participatory night, as the audience can bring along their own space memorabilia for show and tell, and everyone’s encouraged to wear space-themed costumes! There will even be free tinfoil & futuristic galvanized steel wire pan scourers to augment/create your look!

Manchester Science Festival blogger Nija Dalal caught up with Helen, to discuss this free-form show that’s designed to inspire through laughter!

How did you come up with the idea for this show?
It’s something I’ve been thinking about for awhile. I’m really interested in space and space science, so I go to talks and events, panels and so on. And they’re great events, where you can really learn a lot about space and science, I love them. But they’re often dominated by white, middle-aged men, which can give people a really narrow impression of the people who study space.

When I did my It Is Rocket Science! show, I found the audiences to be really varied, and that’s not necessarily reflected by the people who usually give lectures and talks. A few years ago, I met a researcher named Dr. Sophia Khan. She’s young, she’s glamourous, she’s from Liverpool, and she has worked for NASA. She’s just not the stereotypical space scientist. Whenever I do science-themed shows, I find the people who come along are also a really broad range of people. I think that’s fantastic.

Can you describe the show for me a bit?
It’s a variety night themed around outer space. It’ll have a mix of people, comedians, musicians, and especially for our Manchester show, we’ll be shining a light on local, Manchester-based researchers, and showing off the fantastic work that’s happening locally!

What got you excited about space?
I’m so old that I remember Halley’s comet flying over in 1986. Well, I was very young then, I was only 9, but still I remember it well, because it was so exciting. I’m an only child, and I had kind of a small world. There was just a huge contrast between my world and the infinity of the night sky. The space shuttle launches, I remember were really big things when I was a kid, I guess I just got excited about it all back then.

You encourage people to dress up for this event… what kinds of costumes have people worn in the past?
I think it would be fantastic to be looking out at a sea of silveryness… or anything. Even if people just have a tinfoil crown or a tinfoil wristband…
People don’t have to dress up, but I would love it.

And they can dress up as anything related to outer space, they can be a crew member from Mercury 7, or a character from Star Wars or Star Trek… anything. Space is really flexible that way!

What kinds of objects have people brought before?
There have been a lot of items, but off the top of my head… there was:

A bit of a satellite that fell off… don’t remember how he got it, but I know it wasn’t nefarious!
Mission patches from space missions.
Badges from NASA camps that they went to when they were kids.
And I’ve even seen some space-themed tattoos! (luckily, none of them have been in weird places!)

When you’re putting your science-y shows together, do you think about inspiring people, or just about making them laugh? I guess first and foremost, I want to make an entertaining show! I love weird obscure facts, and I definitely want to share my enthusiasm with the audience.

What can people look forward to?
I think what people will enjoy most is the mix of different things that will be happening. One moment, they’ll hear someone talking quite seriously about their research at Jodrell Bank, and the next moment we’ll be having a competition for Most Creative Use of Tinfoil in a Costume!

You never know what’s going to happen next, just that it’ll all be fun and interesting, because all our guests (even the researchers from Jodrell Bank!) talk about their work in a really entertaining way, and they also do more than just talk!

And they’ll be bringing in really cool physical objects to show the audience as well!

Everyone is sure to have a fun, enjoyable night, and come away enthusiastic about science and outer space!

The Manchester Science Festival 2011 presents
Out of this world: A Spacetacular Manchester Adventure!
MOSI (Museum of Science and Industry), Liverpool Road, Castlefield, Manchester, M3 4FP
Fri 28 Oct 2011
Bar and activities from 6pm; event starts 7.30pm
£8 (£6 concessions). Booking advised 

Primitive Streak at Manchester Science Festival

Today saw the installation of Primitive Streak for the upcoming Manchester Science Festival.

It was only four months ago I met with the people behind Manchester Weekender and said I had seen some fantastic installations by an artist called Helen Storey at Newcastle Science Festival – I wanted to get Helen to show some pieces in Manchester during the Festival and the Weekender. The Weekender team (Alex!) loved the idea. After a very quick response “Yes!” from Helen Storey and Caroline from the Helen Storey Foundation, the next few days were a blur as we frantically picked up the phone and sent emails to venues around Manchester... we wanted to bring a science inspired fashion collection to Manchester. With the help of city co, we were rushing round the city checking out shops, industrial style spaces, empty retail units and theatres. Debenhams and the Royal Exchange Theatre were instantly excited by the idea and were keen to support us. It was decided to bring seven pieces from the Primitive Streak collection and install them across both venues.

Manchester is such a fantastic place to run a science festival – organisations, scientists, the public are so supportive and open to new ideas, and really come together to make projects like this happen.

Helen carefully selected pieces from the collection to display, which tell the story of the first 1000 hours of human life. Beginning with the Sperm Coat, at conception, each piece is so detailed reflecting different stages of foetus development. They are beautiful creations, accompanied by panels explaining the science behind each one.

After a few months of hard work from the team at the Helen Storey Foundation, Debenhams and Royal Exchange Theatre, the capsule collection was installed today. There are four dresses and a hat at Debenhams Manchester main window, and two dresses in the Royal Exchange Theatre. There is also an exhibition of photos and sketches from the project accompanying the dresses in the Royal Exchange.

The collection looks absolutely fantastic in both venues, and the dresses take on a different personality in each. You have the fast-paced, high street of Debenhams and the calm, grand space of the Royal Exchange. It really brings science to life in a unique and innovative way. Primitive Streak collection was first created to 15 years ago, but looks relevant, cutting-edge and hot off the catwalk. It’s timeless. As well as viewing the installation you can join Helen at an In conversation event at the Royal Exchange Theatre on Sunday 30 October. It's free, but you're advised to book in advance.

This installation is a must-see at the Festival. You can see it from today until Sunday 30 October. Make sure you stop by Debenhams and Royal Exchange Theatre to see the pieces, have a read of the project background and explore the science. I hope you will be as inspired as I was by this amazing collection.

Natalie, Manchester Science Festival Director

See some photos from the install below.

Stand-up mathematician, Matt Parker wins 2011 Josh Award

Manchester Science Festival and MOSI (Museum of Science and Industry) are please to announce that Stand-up mathematician, Matt Parker has won this year’s Joshua Phillips Award for Innovation in Science Engagement (Josh Award). Well known for his comedic maths routines and maths shows, Matt’s media work and innovative practices in promoting maths wowed the judging panel.

The Josh Award recognises up-and-coming talent in the science communication field, and innovative approaches to engage the public with science. The Award includes a cash prize of £1000, a trophy and the role of Science Communicator in residence for the Manchester Science Festival 2012.

Matt will be presented with the Award on Sunday 23 October at the Your Days Are Numbered: the maths of death event he is performing at during Manchester Science Festival (22 - 30 October 2011).

For tickets to Your Days Are Numbered: the maths of death, Sunday 23 October at MOSI and to see Matt presented with the Award, please visit the Manchester Science Festival website.