Pint of Science Exeter to take local science breakthroughs to city pubs

Pub goers will hear talks on everything from exposing the myths about obesity to hunting for hidden galaxies when 19 local researchers take to the stage as Exeter joins more than 100 cities around the world who will be taking part in a global festival from the 23rd – 25th May.

Tickets are now on sale at the Pint of Science website.

The international three day Pint of Science festival will see thousands of scientists simultaneously standing up and talking about their research in 100 cities across 12 countries around the world. Founded only four years ago by two UK researchers, the festival today brings a unique line up of talks, demonstrations and live experiments to the world’s favourite watering holes.

University of Exeter researchers will be speaking at various pubs across the city, including Hole in the Wall, The Globe Inn and The Rusty Bike. Tickets are available from the Pint of Science website, with each evening costing only £4. For this Exeter attendees will enjoy a variety of exciting talks including:

Adam Zeman's talk on “The Eye’s Mind” discussing how imagination enables us to escape from the “here and now” into the past, the future and virtual worlds conceived by science and art. He will outline what happens in the brain when we visualise and report some initial findings on people who have never been able to visualise and those with especially vivid visual imaginations.

Tim Frayling will discuss how our DNA sequences influence many aspects of our appearance and our predisposition to diseases. Although we cannot change our DNA sequence, understanding it helps us to learn far more about our bodies and to identify new treatments.

Claire Burke from the Met Office will address how climate change affects the most extreme weather. In a fascinating talk titled “Weather on steroids? Is it getting more extreme?” she will discuss if climate change is to blame for extreme weather, including recent flooding. She will explain why our summers are not getting hotter, despite the fact the world is warming.

Alongside the main talks, each evening will also include a range of fun, science related activities including quizzes, geeky puzzles, engaging stories and other interactive activities.

Dr Jay Young, organiser of the Exeter event, said: “I’m very excited to bring Pint of Science to Exeter for the second year running. This year we have many fascinating talks coming up on a wide range of topics including: whether climate change is making our weather more extreme; types of fat in our bodies; and growing Alzheimer cells in petri dishes. I hope people will come out to the pub for an evening of scientific fun and a drink or two.”

Pint of Science was established four years ago by a group of UK based postgraduate and postdoctoral researchers. Festival founders Dr Praveen Paul and Dr Michael Motskin, who were based at Imperial College London, are now aiming to get their volunteer run initiative in every city in the world.

“We want to give people the opportunity to learn about the latest scientific developments directly from the scientists themselves – and then feel free to question them”, says Festival co-founder Dr Paul. “We were at first surprised by the public's appetite for these events and by the interest from both volunteer organisers and speakers. The rapid growth of Pint of Science from a grassroots effort to a global movement has shown that we may have been underestimating both scientists and the public, and that there is a greater need for more events like these”.