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Our oceans are one of the last great unexplored areas of our planet, but we are discovering some of its hidden gems. Talks this evening explore how our understanding of the microbial life in our oceans is giving rise to new biological technologies, and why when around 100,000 marine animals and 1 million birds die from plastic pollution in our oceans each year, we simply can't find all the plastic that we dump into the ocean!
Join leading experts from Newcastle University to explore some of the mysteries of the ocean environment.
Join leading experts from Newcastle University to explore some of the mysteries of the ocean environment.
Plastic Pollution in the Oceans
Dr Miguel Angel Morales Maqueda
(Senior Lecturer in Oceanography, Newcastle University)
Observations and computer simulations of plastic drifting in the ocean are being carried out by a growing number of teams of scientists through the world, and the Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research has recently created a research working group to investigate, among others, the mystery of the missing oceanic plastic. The University of Newcastle is one of the institutions contributing to this group. This presentation aims at improving the public’s awareness of the scientific understanding of marine plastic debris.
The Natural History of Slime
Professor Grant Burgess
(Professor of Marine Biotechnology, Newcastle University)
Bacteria and microbes don’t usually get a look-in when we think of the rich diversity of marine life but they are crucial to ‘healthy’ seas. In this fascinating overview of marine microbes, Professor Burgess will explain why, and will give an insight into how studying the world of marine slime and mucus can contribute to a better understanding of topics as diverse as how corals fight disease, new and improved hip replacements and other biomedical breakthroughs which can give rise to new biotechnology industries.
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