The hunt for unknown animals like the great sea serpent and the kraken is often considered a pseudoscience but statistics can tell us some interesting things about sea monster reports and the probabilities of finding unknown animals. The hunt for Nessie may be more scientific than you think.

Sea monsters have been reported since antiquity but only recently has this topic come under statistical scrutiny. Recent research suggests there may be large numbers of large marine and freshwater animals awaiting discovery by science. Given this, is it time to re-evaluate reports of unknown aquatic animals?

Again statistics can help understand biases in eyewitness testimony. Statistics can also be used to obtain the probabilities of extinct animals being alive today and even how big they can get. In the future there will be monsters…

This is a FREE event, and everyone is welcome to attend. Doors will open at 5.30pm for a 6pm start, with a question and answer session after the talk.

Since the first test-tube baby was born in 1979, thousands more children have been conceived using more and more sophisticated techniques.

Join us at the Infusion Cafe at Dundee Science Centre – Sensation for an informative and relaxed discussion on the changes to family life & how babies are created in the modern age.

Egg donors, sperm donors and surrogate mothers are becoming increasingly involved in creating life and new families in the 21st Century.

How does the family unit adapt to these new contributions and relationships?

What are the ethical, moral and legal issues to consider?

Join a panel of scientists, lawyers and those with personal experience of assisted conception at Infusion Coffee Shop in Dundee Science Centre on Wednesday 11th August at 7pm as they try to help answer your questions and listen to your views.

This should be a relaxed and thought-provoking talk, followed by questions from the audience. If you have a burning question you would like the panel to address you can e-mail it to us in advance at cafescience@dundee.ac.uk

Free event. Everyone welcome

Food manufacturers have been rushing to add omega-3 fats to their products.  With claims that ‘clever milk’, ‘the think drink’ and ‘brain storm cereal bars’ can improve children’s learning and concentration, this Cafe Science will sort the fact from the fiction.  You will find out what omega-3 fats are and why they are important for brain development.  New research shows that omega-3 fats are essential for infants, and it is now clear that these special fats do contribute to the early development of mental abilities.  However, the picture for older children is much less certain.  Omega-3 fats may provide some benefits for children with learning difficulties such as ADHD, but there is currently little evidence to support manufacturers’ claims that omega-3 fats can make all children smarter.  Despite this, there are good reasons why we should try to increase the amount of omega-3 fats in children’s diet.

Join us in Chambers Coffee House and Restaurant on Monday 28th June at 7pm for a discussion with Dr Peter Willatts.

Millions of people across the World are affected by tropical diseases. The medicines used to help patients are becoming less effective and there is a real need to develop new drugs to treat these diseases.

Stand-up the Dundee Drug Discovery Unit (DDU), which was founded in 2006 in the College of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, with the aim of transforming basic science into potential new drug for tropical diseases. The DDU works in a novel way by bringing a Biotech company philosophy in to an academic environment.

Join chemist Laura Cleghorn at Dundee Science Centres award winning Infusion Coffee Shop in Dundee Science Centre on Wednesday 9th June at 6pm as she describes research from the unit on treatments for sleeping sickness. Their research resulted in the publication of an exciting study in the journal Nature. 

This should be a relaxed and thought-provoking talk, followed by questions from the audience.
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New Cafe Science Programme available

Cafe Science Dundee and Cafe Science Extra are pleased to announce the topics and speakers for our brand spanking new third season!

You can download the full programme here. We are really proud of the range of topics that will be covered and the excellent speakers that you will get to meet at our events. We hope to see you at an event soon!

It can be very difficult to work out what the really important choices that will improve our lifestyle are. Many choices will have a little or no impact on the risk of developing a disease, and there is still a lot of wrong or misleading information available.

So how do we know who to trust on healthy living advice, and how do we know when to spot bad advice? If the science linking a bad diet to heart disease, cancer and diabetes is so strong, why can’t we reduce the waistline of the population? If you need some help unpicking the good information from the bad, join us in Chambers Coffee House and Restaurant on Monday 31st May at 7pm for a discussion with Calum Sutherland about current health issues, and the obesity epidemic.

New Cafe Science Programme available

Cafe Science Dundee and Cafe Science Extra are pleased to announce the topics and speakers for our brand spanking new third season!

You can download the full programme here. We are really proud of the range of topics that will be covered and the excellent speakers that you will get to meet at our events. We hope to see you at an event soon!

Many of you joined us on Wednesday 12th May to hear from researcher Christine Demore about the latest advances in ultrasound technology and how the technology can be used in diagnosing and monitoring many diseases. Christine is developing new technology that will likely be used in the next generation of diagnostic imaging, so come along to hear about these developments, and what this could mean for the future of ultrasound. Afterwards there was a lively discussion with lots of questions from the audience, and the chance to try out Christine’s ultrasound machine for themseleves!

Why solar power? Solar cells (photovoltaics) have many advantages; they produce no CO₂ and are ‘plug and play’ – giving instant electricity whenever the sun shines.

… so what are the problems?  The sun doesn’t always shine, there can be pollution issues in the life-cycle, and they are not yet commercially competitive with fossil fuels and nuclear power.

Join us in Chambers Coffee House and Restaurant at 7 pm on Monday April 26th where Steve Reynolds will discuss some of his latest research towards the development of cheaper more efficient solar cells and panels. These advances in technology are central to a reduction in carbon emissions, and solar electricity will be required to provide a significant fraction of the World’s energy needs in the future.

This is a free event and no tickets are issued. Just turn up on the night!

Not really….  Our hand preference can tell us about our behaviour because it reflects the way our brains are organised.  

Over 70 people joined usn Dundee Science Centre’s award winning Infusion Coffee Shop on Wednesday 14th April to discuss the behvioural differences between the handedness groups, what this can tell us about our personalities, and dispelled some of the myths that surround being left handed.

Lynn’s talk was followed by a very lively question and answer session, with lots of the audience questions and thoughts provoked by the talk.

Lynn’s talk embodied the spirit of  Cafe Science with lots of audience particiaption and a lively discussion. You can view the videos of his talk on our YouTube channel or you can view the first clip below.

What makes us human? How unique are we compared to our closest evolution relatives?

This discussion looked at some of these primate species and what they may (or may not) show us about ourselves. It asked the audience to consider what makes us human, and to perhaps question some of their own presumptions?

Many of you joined us at Chambers Coffee House and Restaurant  at 7pm on Monday 29th March for an informal discussion about science, over coffee. In March it was the turn of Scott Hardie, was discussing the ‘Living Links to Human Evolution Research Centre’ at Edinburgh Zoo – a unique facility that has squirrel and capuchin monkeys living and learning together.

Scott’s talk embodied the spirit of  Cafe Science with lots of audience particiaption and a lively discussion. You can view the videos of his talk on our YouTube channel or you can view the first clip below.

New Cafe Science Programme available

Cafe Science Dundee and Cafe Science Extra are pleased to announce the topics and speakers for our brand spanking new third season!

You can download the full programme here. We are really proud of the range of topics that will be covered and the excellent speakers that you will get to meet at our events. We hope to see you at an event soon!

Join us in Dundee Science Centre’s award winning Infusion coffee shop at 6pm on Wednesday 10th of March for an informal discussion about science, over coffee. This month it is the turn of Pauline Lockhart, who will be discussing depression and how decisions about prescriptions are made. Pauline’s talk, which will then be followed by a lively discussion with the audience. Free Event. Everyone Welcome!

Pauline’s talk embodied the spirit of  Cafe Science with lots of audience particiaption and a lively discussion. You can view the videos of her talk on our YouTube channel or you can view the first clip below.

New Cafe Science Programme available

Cafe Science Dundee and Cafe Science Extra are pleased to announce the topics and speakers for our brand spanking new third season!

You can download the full programme here. We are really proud of the range of topics that will be covered and the excellent speakers that you will get to meet at our events. We hope to see you at an event soon!