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From the metals in our phones to the iron in our blood, minerals shape our world in surprising ways. How do the same elements that drive wars also keep our bodies running? And what happens when politics and science collide over these essential materials? Join the conversation, and uncover the hidden connections between the minerals beneath our feet and the blood in our veins.
The Price of a Pint: Blood, Commerce and Politics
Dr Jack Gann
(Curator at Thackary Museum of Medicine)
In May 2024, the Infected Blood Inquiry delivered its verdict on one of the biggest public health scandals of our time. Infected blood was the ultimate product of a system in which the vital fluids of our bodies are treated as commodities to be bought and sold for profit. The Thackray Museum of Medicine’s new exhibition Blood: Ties and Tensions explores the complex history of collecting and sharing blood and the associated personal, cultural, and political meanings attached to it. Join curator Jack Gann to consider the value of blood and what we mean by ‘value’.
Why does Trump want to buy Greenland? A history of rare earth minerals.
Dr Timothy Moorsom
(University Academic Fellow, Bragg Fellow, RAEng Fellow)
For the last few months, there have been discussions about the Trump administration buying Greenland. The Kvanefjeld site in southern Greenland is the second largest rare earth mineral deposit in the world, providing metals that are critical to technologies as diverse as smart-phones, electric vehicles, lasers and even space craft. In this part materials science, part history talk I will outline the amazing story of rare earths, back to its origins in the Manhattan project, the critical moment we have entered in materials science and what the future might look like depending on the outcome.
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