Organ-ised Chaos: Tales from Your Inner World

What if doctors could diagnose brain tumours faster and more accurately, while surgery is still happening? Traditional methods can take days, but new long-read sequencing (LRS) technologies are changing that. By reading tumour DNA in real time and detecting unique methylation “fingerprints,” scientists can classify tumours within hours. We will take you on a brain tumour patient’s journey from first symptoms to diagnosis, surgery and treatment, This talk explores how cutting-edge sequencing is transforming diagnosis, why accuracy and speed matter for patient care, and how understanding both technical challenges and tumour biology can unlock more reliable results, bringing us closer to truly personalised medicine.

Why do so many children today need glasses? More children than ever are becoming short-sighted, and scientists think modern life may be partly to blame. From screens and studying to not spending enough time outdoors, this talk explores how our eyes respond and adapt to these environmental changes and why short-sightedness matters. This story is not just about genes, but also about lifestyle, environment, and how our way of living may be shaping our eyes—and how simple changes could help protect the vision of future generations.

We like to think of our pets as part of the family – but at the microbial level, the relationship is even closer than we realise. Humans and their companion animals are constantly exchanging microbes through everyday interactions, from cuddles on the sofa to less glamorous encounters with food bowls and litter trays. Recent research shows that living with pets can reshape your microbiome creating a shared, dynamic microbial ecosystem that extends across skin, gut, and even unexpected places like the eye. In this talk, we’ll travel through the hidden world of pet-human microbial exchange, exploring what we gain, what we risk, and how these invisible passengers may influence our health and immunity.