A Pick 'n' Mix of Hidden Science

Can we turn water into fat using science? We all love the creamy richness of foods like cakes and yogurts; this texture usually comes from fat, and reducing it often leaves food dry and unappealing. What if we could keep that indulgence and make it healthier? At MicroLub, we’ve developed a way to structure water with proteins, creating a smooth, creamy sensation like food fats. The science behind this is fascinating! Join us to discover how we’re rethinking food to make snacks just as tasty, but better for you and the planet.

Geometric patterns appear everywhere throughout life on our planet, from the fibonacci spirals of flower petals, to the perfect hexagonal packing of bee hives, to the structural colour of butterfly wings.

Proteins, one of the nanosized building blocks of life, come in a variety of shapes and sizes, each tailored to a specific purpose such as blob-like proteins carrying molecules or ‘Pac-man’ proteins chomping sugar.

In this talk, Matt will cover a recent discovery about how the shape of rope-like protein building blocks changes how they put themselves together and the impact on blood clots.

Carbon capture technologies are a vital tool for fighting climate change, removing CO2 from industrial gasses for storage and usage, and safely releasing the remainder. Various solution-based technologies exist, but molecular level vision of these solvents is lacking. We achieve this insight by combining neutron diffraction and computational modelling to reveal fundamental structures in carbon capture solvents, before and after CO2 absorption. This new insight yields a valuable tool for understanding the performance of available solvents, and highlights targets for future solvent development.

Dr Katherine Holmes is a tea enthusiast, with everything from a builder’s brew tea bags to premium Gyokuro from Uji, Japan, in their collection, and they have just offered you a drink.

Faced with 100 teas and a boiling kettle, how would you find your perfect cup of tea before the kettle goes cold? A tricky choice, but what if Decision Trees could help?

Join Katherine as they reveal how a mathematician tackles life’s greatest mysteries and shares the steps anyone can follow to use maths in solving everyday problems.