Café Scientifique

Watson and Crick worked out the structure of DNA in the 1950s.  Technology in genetics now allows us to sequence the full human genome.  Watson had his genome sequenced in 2007 at a cost of USD1.5 million. In 2016 the cost of sequencing is now under $1000.  In a few years, everyone will have their genome sequenced. And scientists are working out how to edit the human genome. What next?

In this café scientific, part of the Science Alive 2017 programme, Joyce will tell us more about genetic testing and how it will impact reproduction.

Speaker:  Professor Joyce Harper, Institute for Women’s Health, University College London

Date: Tuesday 14 March 2017
Time: 19.00 - 20.00
Venue: Rm 307, British Council, 3 Supreme Court Road, Admiralty

FREE ADMISSION, Registration is required

Register HERE

This event will be conducted in English.

The climate is changing and it's rapidly transforming the world around us. This Cafe Scientifique takes us on a journey through time from ice ages to ancient civilisations, through rapid industrialisation to the present day to see how and why the Earth's climate has changed throughout history. Then, in the context of the current human induced warming David Saddington shows us how current climate change is so much more than a scientific process. What exactly is climate change and why should we care? 

Speaker:  David Saddington, Climate Change Communicator, Scientist and Enviropreneur

Date: Wednesday 08 March 2017
Time: 19.00 - 20.00
Venue: Rm 307, British Council, 3 Supreme Court Road, Admiralty

FREE ADMISSION, Registration is required

Register HERE

This event will be conducted in English.

The social spider Parawixia bistriata is fascinating. During the day, hundreds of these spiders doze quietly together in a bivouac, a soccer ball sized huddle of spiders in a bush or tree.  This bivouac sits in the centre of a network of thick silk lines which radiate out to adjacent trees and bushes.  Things change dramatically at sunset; the spiders move out along the silk lines and build many adjacent orb webs, normally one per spider. Before daybreak, each spider consumes its own web and returns to the safety of the bivouac. Darwin almost certainly observed this species while travelling overland in Argentina in October 1832, describing them in his Voyage of the Beagle as "many large black spiders with ruby coloured marks on their backs having gregarious habits", he described their adjacent individual webs attached to common lines and went on to remark that "this gregarious habit in so typical a genus of eperia among insects which are so bloodthirsty and solitary that even the two sexes attack each other is a very singular fact."

Almost two centuries later we now understand the spiders' behavioural strategy that keep the peace and prevent these dangerous, well-armed carnivores from getting into costly fights with their neighbours. Professor Bacon would describe the application of game theory modelling to these spider colonies to explain how the peace is kept.

Speaker:  Prof Jonathan Bacon, Professor of Neuroscience (Evolution, Behaviour and Environment) and Acting Head of School (School of Life Sciences), University of Sussex

Date: Monday 06 June 2016
Time: 19.00 - 20.00
Venue: Rm 307, British Council, 3 Supreme Court Road, Admiralty

FREE ADMISSION, Registration is required

Register HERE

This event will be conducted in English.

We all know that spending hours online, endlessly sharing photos on social media and messaging our latest thought to our “groups” are changing the way we interact with people.  Some argue that the cyber world has caused us to be more unsociable, others believe that such networks bring relationships closer and make information more accessible.  But what really goes on in the brain when we replace physical presence with virtual experiences?

At this Café Scientifique, Dr Mimi Mo will share some of the emerging evidence from cognitive neuroscience to explain the impact of a digital lifestyle, especially to the developing brain in children and adolescents.

Speaker:  Dr. Mimi Mo, currently works for GlaxoSmithKline Hong Kong in Medical Affairs

Date: Wednesday 04 May 2016
Time: 19.00 - 20.00
Venue: Rm 307, British Council, 3 Supreme Court Road, Admiralty

FREE ADMISSION, Registration is required

This event will be conducted in English.

Gravitational waves were first predicted by Albert Einstein in 1916 as part of his theory of general relativity. He proposed that space and time were woven together and could be represented like a fabric called space-time. Last September, for the first time, scientists observed ripples or gravitational waves in this space-time fabric and confirmed Einstein’s prediction.  Dr. Clare Burrage from University of Nottingham will explain what exactly these ripples are and what this means for the future of astronomy, cosmology and our understanding of the universe.

Speaker:  Dr. Clare Burrage, Royal Society University Research Fellow in the School of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Nottingham

Date: Monday 14 March 2016
Time: 19.00 - 20.00
Venue: Rm 307, British Council, 3 Supreme Court Road, Admiralty

FREE ADMISSION, Registration is required

This event will be conducted in English.

Electronics have transformed our lives beyond recognition but there could be radical change around the corner with plastic electronics. Engineer, Dr Radu Sporea from the University of Surrey, explains how these new materials and unconventional devices could be more efficient, cheaper and easier to manufacture than existing technologies. The talk focuses on the state of the art of Electronics research around the world, includes both a short history of the field and thoughts on what will come next, and will be followed by ample time for dialogue with the audience.

Speakers: Dr Radu Sporea, Royal Academy of Engineering Research Fellow, Advanced Technology Institute, University of Surrey 

Date: Tuesday 23 February 2016
Time: 19.00 - 20.00
Venue: Rm 307, British Council, 3 Supreme Court Road, Admiralty

FREE ADMISSION, Registration is required

This event will be conducted in English.

Have you ever thought about the life cycle of the everyday items you encounter; how they are made, used, and then destroyed when they are no longer required? Is a reusable object always better than a disposable one? Green chemistry has the aim of finding new and more sustainable ways of making and using chemicals. It is vital to the future success of the chemical-using industry and is also one of the most acceptable aspects of chemistry for the general public.

This talk gives a brief overview on supercritical fluids, highly compressed carbon dioxide or steam, which can be used as replacements for environmentally less acceptable solvents in a wide range of chemical processes. The applications of these fluids cover many of the principles and strengths of green chemistry while at the same time raising fascinating points of fundamental science.

Speakers: Dr Samantha Tang, Public Awareness Scientist, University of Nottingham 

Date: Tuesday 24 November 2015
Time: 19.00 - 20.00
Venue: Rm 307, British Council, 3 Supreme Court Road, Admiralty

FREE ADMISSION, Registration is required

This event will be conducted in English.

Statistics show that one out of six people are suffering from mental illness. By living in a fast-paced environment like Hong Kong, most of us have experienced stressful moments. How can we manage the stress levels and maintain good brain health?

Dr Tsang Fan Kwong, a locally well-known psychiatrist will be joining us for a Cafe Scientifique to talk about enhancing our mental health. He will introduce to us the science of our mental activities, explaining the causes of mental illness such as depression, anxiety, and how abnormal activities can give rise to different disorders.  He will also talk about how to maintain good brain health and offer tips on stress management.

Speaker: Dr Tsang Fan Kwong
MBBS(HK) MRCPsych(UK) FHKCPsych FHKAM(Psychiatry)
Specialist in Psychiatry in private practice

Date: Tuesday 20 October 2015
Time: 19.00 - 20.00
Venue: Rm 307, British Council, 3 Supreme Court Road, Admiralty

FREE ADMISSION, Registration is required

This event will be conducted in English.

Everything that we do directly and indirectly affects the variety of life we share this planet with and the environment on which we depend. How we think about and interact with wildlife and the environment is heavily influenced by our social and behavioural conventions and personal experiences which don’t always reflect modern scientific knowledge. How can we make people part of the solution and not the problem?

Using examples from the UK, we’ll discuss why engaging people with nature and environmental issues is key to nature conservation and explore how getting people involved with the science of monitoring their local wildlife could help to create a culture of better informed public conservationists in Hong Kong.

Speaker: Mr Matt Postles, Programmes Manager, Bristol Natural History Consortium

Date: 22 July 2015
Time: 7.00 pm to 8.00pm
Venue: Rm 309, British Council, 3 Supreme Court Road, Admiralty

FREE ADMISSION, Registration is required

This event will be conducted in English.

Did you know your fingernails grow by one nanometer when you click your fingers? Nanoscience and nanotechnology allow scientists the chance to bring together physics, chemistry, biology and engineering to understand the world on the small scale. Objects on this scale, around one billionth of a metre, begin to behave in a weird and unpredictable way. 

In this Café Scientifique, Dr Annela Seddon will join us to find out more about these strange properties and how scientists can measure and understand them, and see examples of how nanoscience is being used to solve global problems.

Speaker: Dr Annela Seddon, University of Bristol 

Date: 18 March 2015
Time: 7.00 pm to 8.00pm

FREE ADMISSION, Registration is required

Are online videos an appropriate medium to communicate science? Nottingham chemists think so! Where it has not been possible to meet audiences in person, our enthusiasm for science has been captured on film with the production of The Periodic Table of Videos at www.periodicvideos.com. Feedback from pupils, teachers, parents and Nobel Prize winners has been extremely positive and many students have contacted the team to tell them how inspirational and helpful the videos have been to their studies. As of September 2014, the number of subscribers to the YouTube channel has reached over 476,000, and the videos have been viewed over 71 million times.

This talk will contrast the differences, and benefits, of watching video clips compared to performing chemistry demonstrations. Which one is better for teaching?  Dr Tang will also share with us the learning and experience during the production of the video. Will video production stimulate the youth to learn science? Let’s discuss!

Speaker: Dr Samantha Tang, University of Nottingham

Date: 11 March 2015
Time: 7.00 pm to 8.00pm

FREE ADMISSION, Registration is required

At this Café Scientifique, Dr Randy Poon, professor at the Division of Life Science, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology will introduce some basic concepts of why some cells develop into cancer.  Cell division is the cornerstone in all life on earth.  It underlies every step of the process that starts from one fertilized egg to produce an adult human composed of about 1013 cells.  Cancer, which will kill one in five of us,is in essence a disease of uncontrolled cell division.  Mutations of key genes in our genome lead to the loss of key pathways that safeguard the proper control of cell division.

Speaker: Dr Randy Poon, Division of Life Science, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

Date: 28 January 2014
Time: 7.00 pm to 8.00pm

FREE ADMISSION, Registration is required

Antibiotics are a class of chemicals that are produced by microorganisms and function to specifically kill other microorganism. They have been a pivotal weapon in the fight against disease since the Second World War and are increasingly used in agriculture. However, the microbial targets of these drugs routinely develop resistance to them, resulting in the antibiotics losing their efficacy. Wide-spread antibiotic resistance has become a world-wide concern for public health. At this Café Scientifique, Dr Alex Jeffries, the Director of Studies for the BSc(hons) Biomedical Sciences programme at the University of Bath will share with us some findings from current researches to tackle this problem.

Speaker: Dr Alex Jeffries, Director of Studies for the BSc(hons) Biomedical Sciences programme, the University of Bath

Date: 22 January 2014
Time: 7.00 pm to 8.00pm

FREE ADMISSION, Registration is required

Which discipline should Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) belong to – art, or science?  How and which aspects of TCM theories, practices, methods and herbs can be put into Western Medicine (WM) practice and the development of modern medical science? Many people would like to know how useful Traditional Chinese Medicine, is as it is a great resource and much can be learned from understanding it at greater depth.  For the interest of many in this learned audience, I would like to contribute my perspective on (i) What TCM says? (ii) What TCM means within the language of modern science (iii) How and why Traditional Chinese Medicine differs from WM? The historical and philosophical backgrounds behind their derivation will be discussed, with an open question to the audience regarding whether it is absolutely essential to provide the scientific evidence and validations on the various aspects of TCM before putting TCM into WM practices.

Speakers: Dr Jennifer Wan, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong

FREE ADMISSION, Registration is required

Join us for a special Café Scientifique evening with world-renowned environmental conservationist, Dr Jane Goodall. During the event, Dr Goodall, “the woman who redefined man”, will tell the story of her life – how she followed and realised her childhood dream of studying animals in Africa, her pioneering research in Tanzania and her transformation from scientist to activist. The sharing will be followed by a book-signing and catered networking reception for guests. 

The proceeds of this special event will benefit The Jane Goodall Institute (Hong Kong), a charity founded by Dr Jane Goodall to empower people to make a difference for all living things. The Institute works with local youth groups and schools to educate and inspire the next generation of young leaders.

Time: 6.00-8.30pm

Venue: 3/F, British Council, 3 Supreme Court Road, Admiralty

Guest speaker: Dr Jane Goodall

Admission: $700 per person as donation to The Jane Goodall Institute (Hong Kong). The fee must be paid prior to the event.

The impacts of climate change go far beyond the iconic picture of polar bears losing their homes and are beginning to endanger the health and livelihoods of hundreds of millions of people. The emerging public health threats of climate change include heat stress, more prevalent infectious diseases, alteration of air quality, water scarcity and food insecurity, among others. Hong Kong has already seen some of these impacts, such as the changing patterns of extreme hot days, air pollution episodes, and mosquito-borne illnesses. In this Cafe Scientifique, Dr Tai hopes to engage the audience in the discussion of these important topics, implications for daily life in Hong Kong, and strategies for a sustainable future.

Dr Amos P K Tai is an Assistant Professor in the Earth System Science Programme of the Faculty of Science at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. His research examines the complex interactions between climate, atmospheric chemistry and the biosphere, focusing on aspects that directly impact human society such as air pollution, climate change, agriculture, and public health.

Before he joined CUHK, Dr Tai was a Croucher Postdoctoral Fellow at MIT, where he also obtained his BSc degree. He obtained his PhD in Environmental Science and Engineering from Harvard, where he examined the effects of climate change on particulate matter air quality. Born and raised in subtropical Hong Kong, Dr Tai is an insect enthusiast and hopes to become an amateur entomologist. He also delights in communicating science to non-scientists on especially topics such as environmental conservation and integration of faith and science.

Speaker: Dr Amos P K Tai, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

At this Cafe Scientifique, Sam Inglis will discuss his work over the last four years, focusing on climate change, glaciers and glacial lakes, as well as recent developments in the field. Sam has focused his studies on Patagonia and the Indo-Tibetan Sutlej catchment in the Himalayas. Drawing upon his own investigations, and his work with fellow glaciologists, he will discuss glacial lakes, infamous “mountain tsunamis” (or GLOFs), the effect of climate change on glaciers, and the strategies being implemented to mitigate and adapt to the rapidly shifting conditions.

Sam is a born and bred Hongkonger. At the age of twelve, inspired by a six-week expedition to the Indian Himalayas, he set out to fill his life with glaciers, mountains, and adventure. Since his journey through Ladakh and Zanskar, he has returned twice, become a certified mountaineer and rescue diver, and attained a BSc in Geography and MSc focused on glaciology and climate change. Sam presently works at the Youth Endurance Network, where his next expedition will see him guiding the youngest team ever to conquer the 19,100 ft Parang Peak, as well as conducting the first glaciological study in the region since 1847.

Speaker: Sam Inglis

Rob Lilwall is a British-born, Hong Kong-based TV adventurer, writer and motivational speaker. His two most epic expeditions, the 50,000 km Cycling Home From Siberia expedition, and the 5,000 km Walking Home From Mongolia expedition were commissioned as television series for National Geographic. Such expeditions have seen him travel, unsupported, on foot and on bicycle, through dozens of countries, including some of the harshest places on earth, from the frozen wastelands of the Gobi Desert, to the thick jungles of Papua New Guinea, and the war-torn passes of Afghanistan. 

At this Cafe Scientifique, Rob will be sharing tales from the road on his first expedition - Cycling Home From Siberia. What challenges has he encountered and how did he cope with them? He will relate the ever-growing challenges of the workplace to his own, at times hilarious, at times deadly serious, trials and tribulations in the wild lands of the world. He advocates that with the right attitudes, and especially by treating our toughest problems as challenges and adventures, we can achieve more than we ever thought possible. 

Speakers: Rob Lilwall