All Creatures Great And Small

Slurped since the Stone Age, devoured by the Vikings and cultivated by the Romans - oysters are one of nature’s finest delicacies. Indeed, the Solent Oyster Fishery dates back to Roman times and, proudly, was once the biggest fishery in Europe. Devastatingly, the number of oysters has recently plummeted; as put by one local fisherman “We've lost the golden eggs of the fishery”. Consequently, the Solent fishery has been closed since 2013. But, all hope is not lost! Come and hear about our ambitious and unique project to restore a healthy population of oysters by 2020.

Microbes are the unseen majority of organisms on our planet. We are only starting to understand the effects these microorganisms have on global and human health. In this talk I hope to illustrate the far reaching effect of microbes over three main areas: “The Good” - how microbes define our environment from sewage treatment to cloud formation; “The Bad" - emerging diseases such as Zika and Ebola, and “The Ugly” - how microbes have been used as agents of bioterrorism and what technological advances will keep us safe from these threats in the future.