British Science Festival

Event details

EMERGENCE

£ 3.00

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Organisation:	Brighton Science Festival
Collaborative organisations:	University of Sussex
Date of Event:	Start Date: 19/09/2010 End Date: 19/09/2010
Time of Event:	Start time: 10:00 - End time: 16:00
Sponsors / Supporters:
Event Summary:	Bacteria do it, amoebas do it, ants and bees do it, humans do it; they all achieve wonders through team-work. How can many small insignificant things add together to create huge brilliant things? We tell strange tales of the beginnings of life on Earth, cooperation between bacteria, altruism among amoebas, problem solving by ants, and what this tells us about ourselves.
Audience level:	2. Families & teenagers (aged 12+)
Event Category:	What makes us human?
Keyword:	evolution of cooperation; weekly pass
Booking information:	Included in weekly pass
Venue:	MB155, Aston University

Event Agenda

19/09/2010 10:00 - 10:45	Life Ascending Mr Nick Lane - University College, London	Talk
	Nick Lane, author of 'Life Ascending: The Ten Great Inventions of Evolution' gives a blow-by-blow account of creation; how primitive life emerged from the chaos of the deep oceans’ hydrothermal vents, where scalding hot alkaline waters from the Earth’s crust scorched through rich seams of minerals and acids, creating, among other things, DNA.

19/09/2010 11:00 - 11:45	Organized Chaos Mr Richard Robinson -	Talk
	The harder you look at amoebas and bacteria, the smarter they seem. Not individually of course, but they have uncanny abilities when they work together. Following simple rules they produce astounding results. Richard Robinson, director of the Brighton Science Festival, shares his astonishment, admiration and just a little fear.

19/09/2010 12:00 - 12:45	Strength in Numbers Professor Jonathan Bacon - University of Sussex	Talk
	Ants and bees manage to form complex societies even though each individual insect has little idea what is happening beyond the reach of its antennae. Using simple chemical signals – pheromones – they are capable of miracles of coordination; foraging, rearing their young, building nests and repelling invaders. And they do it without any orders from above - a lesson in managemAnt.

19/09/2010 14:00 - 14:45	the Value of Small Things (VaST) Ms Emma Chatcuti - Multistory, a community initiative in West Bromwich	Talk
	Humans are highly social, and have evolved to live in large, complex groups. Emma Chetcuti describes the work of VaST (The Value of Small Things), which tests new approaches to managing cities, and their neighbourhoods, more equitably and sustainably, drawing on work with vulnerable communities in the West Midlands.

19/09/2010 15:00 - 16:00	The Secret Life of Chaos Mr Richard Robinson -	Talk
	In this brilliant BBC film Professor Jim Al-Khalili sums it all up, showing how simple rules, programmed into a computer, can produce perfect simulations of nature, a blend of chaos and order. And the best thing is that one doesn't need to be a scientist to understand it. Is this the answer to life, the Universe and everything?

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