Health, Fitness and all the Bloody Bits Inbetween

"Sit less, move more." This message is being increasingly promoted in the world of health and fitness and in society at large, and for good reason. The time we spend sitting is directly related to our health. In fact, too much sitting might even be harmful to people who exercise regularly. Indeed, sitting has been associated with the development of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and even increased mortality risk. As a population we are spending more and more time sitting, exposing ourselves to this risky behaviour.

Blood is probably the most important tissue in the human body. It transports oxygen to your muscles, nutrients to your organs and allows you to fight a plethora of infections. However, there remains a taboo about blood because of its connotations with violence, illness and death. In this talk, we will explore how some of these amazing cells are made, what they do and how they do it, and what happens when blood cell production goes wrong.

More than 25% of people in the world are infected with a parasitic worm. These large pathogens range from a few millimetres in length to more than a metre, and can be thread-like or as thick as a pencil. They live in many of our organs, such as our intestines, blood and even eyes. We will talk about some of the diseases these parasites cause, and how we can try to kill them. We will also learn how “helminth therapy” could help reduce allergies and autoimmunity, as it appears that infection with worms may actually be beneficial in some situations.