Crack the Code: From DNA to Memory

Since the first human genome was published in the early 2000s, genomic medicine has transformed healthcare—especially for people with cancer or rare diseases. But despite all this progress, around 60% of rare disease patients with suspected genetic causes still don’t get a diagnosis. So what are we missing? And what lies in the “dark” parts of our genome—the bits we haven’t been able to interpret... yet? Join us to explore how the NHS is working to shine a light on these mysterious regions, and what that could mean for the future of diagnosis and care..

Your genome is an enormous book of code filled with instructions on how your body is meant to work, and sometimes how it isn't. How do we go about opening this book? How do we know which page to flick to? And how do we make sense of what we find? This talk will go about explaining how a sample of your blood is unwound to reveal the wealth of genetic information within. Investigating the genome requires a complete toolbox of laboratory techniques, with each fitting to a particular task. In this talk, we'll explore how chemistry, biology, computing and robotics come together to routinely investigate genes associated with disease.

What is memory? Is it just remembering what you had for breakfast or your 10th birthday party? Sure - but memory is also so much more! In this talk we’ll take an in depth look at one of the most incredible structures of the brain, the hippocampus. The hippocampus is not only your brain’s memory centre, but helps you imagine your future, navigate the world, and even experience emotions. Memory isn’t just your recollection of the past but is the building blocks of your whole experience of reality!