Lenses, brains and blood at the Royal Society Summer Science Festival
23 June – 4 July 2010
MRC scientists descended on the 350th Royal Society Summer Science Festival in July, which each year showcases some of the UK’s best science and technology research to the public.
A new giant lens was exhibited by researchers from the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology and the Cambridge Cancer Research Institute. The lens, hailed as a technological breakthrough by the media, allows scientists to see thousands of cells at once, view their three-dimensional arrangement and even see something of their internal structure - opening up new possibilities in science and medicine. Visitors to the exhibit and website were able to use the lens to zoom in from a view of the large scale structure of a specimen right down to its sub-cellular detail – which has never been possible in a single image before.
Scientists from Cambridge’s MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit used their exhibition to show how modern imaging methods can reveal the inner workings of the human brain. A window on the brain showed how the activity of millions of neurons create a unique individual, with memories, thoughts and feelings. Visitors were able to experience a mock magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) brain scan and take part in experiments such as listening to speech, facial recognition and experiencing emotional events.
With support from several UK partners, the MRC Centre for Regenerative Medicine at the University of Edinburgh ran an exhibition called Stem cells for blood transfusion? which explores the possibility of generating blood from stem cells to provide a limitless and infection-free blood supply. Over 10,000 visitors to the exhibit had the chance to view their own blood cells flowing through blood vessels, see images of human embryonic stem cells, find out how red blood cells are made and discuss the prospects for stem-cell-derived medicines.
Festival visitor Sally, 48, said: “I found the interactive element fascinating. I was amazed by the video microscope to see my own blood cells moving around.”
Melany Jackson, one of the MRC Centre for Regenerative Medicine’s demonstrators, enjoyed being on the stand in London even more than she had anticipated: “I think it’s really good for scientists like us – lab rats – to get out there into the real world. Otherwise, we are just in the lab all the time and have no idea what people really understand or what they think. So it was great to be out there talking to people.”
Another demonstrator, Caroline Pope, said: “I'm really glad I did it and had the pleasure of explaining what I do to lots of interested people from school kids to a member of the House of Lords. It has given me lots of interesting perspectives from all ages and walks of life on the field of stem cell therapy. This will help me with funding applications in future when I’m asked to justify why my research is worth the investment.”