© Pint of Science, 2024. All rights reserved.
Can we use technology to alter our own bodies and solve problems that we can't by other methods? Come along to this night to hear about new ways that we are using technologies in or on our bodies: from using touch to communicate to changing our very own DNA...
Cut and Paste: Gene Editing and Its Potential Impact on Society
Dr Ron Chen
(Lecturer in the School of Molecular and Cellualr Biology, University of Leeds)
Gene editing and specifically CRISPR technology has revolutionised how scientists work to push the boundary of modern science. This powerful technology can accurately alter DNA sequences in the genome for many organisms, including humans. CRISPR’s potential to be used in human medicine is under rapid development by both academia and industry scientists. So, what is CRISPR? How does it work? Should we be concerned about it? This talk will discuss the basic scientific principles of CRISPR and will also cover the potential social impact of the technology in the sooner-than-you-think future.
Talking Through Touch: Communicating Sight and Sound through Haptic Feedback
Dr Raymond Holt
(Lecturer, School of Mechanical Engineering, University of Leeds)
In navigating our physical environment and social interactions, we rely on huge amounts of information from our sight and hearing. What happens when these senses are impaired through personal or situational factors? Can haptic feedback – using the sense of touch to communicate – convey such information instead? This talk will present work ongoing in the SUITCEYES consortium (http://suitceyes.eu) to develop aids for haptic communication and navigation, including demonstrating some examples of haptic feedback and the challenges of shifting information from one sense to another.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.