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The Science & Technology Group
Organising committee: Tanya Dempster, Paul McKay, Bill Devitt, Kurt and Lynda Kovach - science@ashbyu3a.co.uk -
This group is for both people who have a general interest in science as well as those whose careers have been in this area. We meet monthly with talks given mainly by members on a mixture of science/ engineering topics, some science news, information about famous scientists, good YouTube ideas and even the occasional practical activity.
We normally meet in the main hall at Packington Village Hall, High Street, Packington LE65 1WJ on the 2nd Tuesday of the month at 2pm.
Parking is limited, so please try to car-share if possible.
Future programme | ||||
| Date | Time | Venue | Speaker & topic | Details |
| Tue 14th May | 2:00 pm | Packington Village Hall. | Stuart Naylor 'Concept Cartoons: Switching learners on to science' | Concept Cartoons are a quick, simple, and effective way to promote discussion, get learners thinking, and find out their ideas. Teachers find them easy to use, and learners of all age groups find them engaging and challenging. This interactive session will get you talking, thinking, and maybe learning a bit of science as well. Stuart Naylor worked as a classroom teacher, teacher educator, writer, publisher and consultant. He is well known, along with his late wife, Brenda Keogh, as the creator and developer of Concept Cartoons. He has a reputation for innovative, creative, and thought-provoking writing and teaching. He is currently chair of Sandbach & District u3a. |
| Tue 11th Jun | TBC | University of Derby. | Dr Graham Souch 'Forensic Science' | A visit to University of Derby’s Forensic Science Training Facility and Electron Microscope facility. How do forensic scientists gather vital evidence for serious crimes and how do science students learn these techniques? What is a scanning electron microscope and what is it used for? This visit will show you the answers to these questions and so much more.... |
| Tue 9th Jul | TBC | TBC | ||
| Tue 6th Aug | 2.30pm at the farm | Visit to Farmer Barnes' Dairy Somerby, Melton Mowbray LE14 2PN | A follow up to the talk given by Jane Barnes on the life of a farmer's wife. We shall visit her farm near Melton Mowbray, take a tractor and trailer ride around the fields, watch the cows being milked, feed the baby cows their milk, take tea and cakes in the Cow Classroom followed by a Q&A session and an opportunity to buy cheeses made from the farm's milk. Cost £20pp. Car-sharing will be organised. If you wish to come please email kovach@kovach.co.uk with your name and contact details | |
| Tue 13th Aug | - | Summer break - No Meeting | ||
| Tue 10th Sep | TBC | TBC | ||
| Tue 8th Oct | 2:00 pm | Packington Village Hall. | Catrin Rutland 'Science Fiction versus Science Fact - Genetics' | In the 1950’s a new science was born, yet scientists and literature had long been fascinated with what we now call ‘Genetics’. Before the term genetics existed, writers were effectively exploring the idea of genetic manipulation, breeding and future societies in the light of scientific technology. This talk explores how much of this science fiction has, or will, become fact. |
| Tue 12th Nov | 2:00 pm | Packington Village Hall. | Joe Davis 'The Discovery of the Rutland Water Sea Dragon' | The story of how this unique find was discovered, researched and recovered by the man who found it. You could not make it up! |
| Tue 10th Dec | 2:00 pm | TBC | TBC | |
Friday 12th April.
'The Pigeon – From Gods to the Gutter' by Kevin Reynolds
Kevin started by describing how the people’s opinions of the humble pigeon was polarised, evoking strong dislike for some and fervent support from others. Kevin has questioned why people disliked the bird so much but had not received a rational answer, just a deep-rooted prejudice against them. Some thought they spread disease and were dirty and dumb, all of which were false. In fact, these opinions said more about ourselves than it said about pigeons. This dislike of the bird was not universal, being mostly confined to western cultures. In the East many pigeon varieties are highly regarded beautiful and colourful birds.
Kevin delved into the history of mankind’s relationship with the feral pigeon, with evidence going back 5000 years ago. In the Bible, it was a pigeon that brought a leaf to Noah in the ark as evidence that dry land was nearby. In more recent times, the excrement from the bird was marketed as excellent fertiliser and as an essential ingredient in gunpowder, saltpetre (potassium nitrate). In medieval times dovecotes were popular, housing thousands of birds bred to produce these chemicals and to provide a source of food. Recently, the pigeon has proved to be highly intelligent, being able to distinguish cancer cell images taken from human tissue. The NHS has carried out successful trials of using the bird to deliver blood samples from hospitals to the testing laboratory. During the two World Wars of the 20th Century both sides used ‘carrier’ or ‘homing’ pigeons to deliver messages when there was no reliable telecommunication system. Severe penalties for harming these birds were imposed during these desperate times. Out of the 54 military medals awarded to reflect the important role of animals in wartime, 32 went to pigeons. The case in favour of the pigeon was overwhelming in my view and thoroughly deserved its description as a ‘dove of peace’ rather than a ‘rat with wings’.
Worms in film
In the second part of the science group meeting, Kurt Kovach talked about the newly released science fiction film Dune: Part 2. Nature magazine had contacted Oxford University professor Luke Parry to see how our real worms compared to the gigantic fictional sandworms in the film. Our real worms are much smaller of course but still as important to life on this planet and, as in the film, they can also sense vibrations. Hence, birds thumping the ground to bring worms to the surface and the practice of worm charming.
Mammals on Planet Earth
Kurt then examined the number of domestic mammals on the planet. There are between 900 million and 1 billion domesticated dogs on the planet and approximately 600 million domesticated cats. There are an estimated 20 billion, billion mammals on the planet representing more than 6000 different species of which 14 have been domesticated. The most common of these are cattle, sheep, goats, pigs and horses. Domestication began almost 40,000 years ago with dogs.
So if we compare the total mass of all domesticated mammals on the planet, including nearly 8 billion humans this represents nearly 96% of all the mammals. In other words, the total mass of all the wild mammals on the planet make up just 4.2%. This staggering figure does not even include the 60 billion chickens (they are not mammals).
Domesticated dogs & cats alone equal the total weight of all the wild mammals combined. How extraordinary is that!!!!!