Fire, Ice, and Everything Nice!

Have you ever had a mosquito bite come out of nowhere? This is because a mosquito’s mouth has several moving parts that pierce the skin meaning that often you do not feel anything. All around us nature has come up with incredible elegant solutions that scientists are trying to mimic…from less painful needles based on mosquito mouths to antimicrobial surfaces based on the texture of shark’s skin. Join us as we explore the solutions that we have found in nature.

Climate change is warming the Arctic twice as fast as the rest of the planet. Years of warming have led to sea ice loss, which affects the entire Arctic ecosystem from the microscopic plankton to Arctic marine predators like seals. We are looking at what the changes are and what their consequences are on animals living in the Arctic. We will talk about how warming and the decline in sea ice have affected Arctic seals over the last sixty years and how this work can lead conservation policies for these seal populations.

Beer is a great way to explain the unpredictable behaviour of volcanoes. Some produce smooth lava flows - some explode violently. I will explain why volcanoes erupt and how we are monitoring them, using X-rays, drones, AND BEER!