Building Blocks

Bone is a dynamic tissue that is altered in response to mechanical stimulation and disease. In this presentation, Dr Robin Rumney will provide an overview on how these changes occur and cover a number of subjects including the effects of mechanical stimulation upon bone cells grown in the lab, how breast cancer can change bone to make it more hospitable to invasive cancer cells and how we can attempt to re-program bone stem cells to enhance bone repair.

Computer modelling plays an increasingly important role in leading-edge science. This talk will show how we can use computer modelling software to build molecular structures and make predictions about their properties, including their shape. With the use of 3-D glasses, the audience will be able to see the benefit of viewing molecules in 3-D, particularly for larger structures such as proteins. We will then look at how small molecules can be docked inside a host protein and how this information can be used help with the design of new drugs.