Punch Drunk Love; Sperm, Anatomy, Bacteria

Come along to learn more about your body, how it works, what it does and how we learn about these things. After this interactive session you will be able to impress your friends with Latin terms like – flexor digitorum profundis – to understand how we can make complex movements to play the flute, write poetry and use chop sticks. You will also find out how we study and perform Anatomical Examination in a modern University, and how the people of Sheffield contributed to a change in law regarding this vital part of medical and scientific research.

Antibiotic resistance is becoming a big problem. It has been predicted that by 2050, infections by antibiotic resistant bacteria will be responsible for more deaths per year than cancer. This highlights the need for the development of alternative treatments for infectious disease. Clostridium difficile is responsible for the majority of antibiotic associated diarrhoea cases and its severity and incidence has increased over the past decade. I will discuss Avidocins, engineered nano-machines capable of punching a hole in the cell wall of C. difficile, as a potential alternative treatment.

Have you ever wondered why men make so many sperm? Come along and discover what sperm have to do in order to reach the egg. Find out about male infertility and learn what makes a good sperm. Then hear how, as part of the SpermNMR team, I am using magnets to study what is in "good sperm". The SPERM study looks at chemical differences between good quality and poor quality sperm. You can also have a look at our team website to learn more about magnets and male infertility http://spermnmr.group.shef.ac.uk/.