A brief history of nano – which goes back further than you might think – and where we are now. A story that includes scientists, futurologists, hucksters, terrorists, politicians, the media, and everyone else.  Alongside the genuine excitement in the possibilities, nanotechnology has also come with the unwelcome accompaniment of a great deal of both hype and alarmism.  How much is the reality swamped by the Hollywood plot device, and what does it tell us about the link between science and the public?

Michael is Research fellow at Nottingham Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Centre, part of Nottingham University were he is responsible for the day to day operation of the Nottingham Nanotechnology and Nanoscience Centre microscopy suite.  He also has reponsible for the production of the worlds smallest periodic table which was written on a human hair.  This feat was recognized by the Guinness Book of Records in 2011.

After the success of the past couple of social nights decided to hold another one.  Simple meet up the bar at Vat & Fiddle, come along and have a drink, a bit of food and discuss the topics skeptical and otherwise of the day.  All are welcome

Did Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin really land on the Moon in 1969? Yes!

There have been many conspiracy theories proposed over the years since 1969 that insist Neil and Buzz didn't land on the Moon's surface. Buzz’s famous response to a conspiracy theorist was to punch them, but Megan Whewell will take you through some of the more popular theories and explain how you can respond using less violence and more science.

Megan Whewell works at the National Space Centre in Leicester, and as part of her job she presents public talks during school holidays. Over one holiday those talks asked the question "Did the moon landings really happen?". She considers these talks a wholehearted success because she got, on average, one ‘conversion’ a day from conspiracy theorist to believing in the Apollo programme.

Jonny Scaramangan  attended a fundamentalist Christian school in the '90s where he learned that the Loch Ness Monster disproved evolution, God disapproved of the NHS, and homosexuals were an abomination to God. He talks about what students learn in these schools today, and what we should do when the parent's right to freedom of religion conflicts with the child's right to a sound education. 

Jonny is a PhD candidate at the Institute of Education, where he is researching student experiences in Britain's 50 Accelerated Christian Education schools. He has written for the Guardian the Times Education Supplement, New Humanist, and Liberal Conspiracy. His broadcast appearances include BBC Radio 4, BBC2, BBC local radio, and Channel 4's 4Thought TV.

His blog is at leavingfundamentalism.com

Pseudoscience is defined in Wikipedia as “a body of knowledge, methodology, belief, or practice that is claimed to be scientific or made to appear scientific, but does not adhere to the scientific method, lacks supporting evidence or plausibility, or otherwise lacks scientific status.”

Pseudoscience stories in the press range from matter orientation system machines to find people from traces of their DNA to QLink pendants to help your body deal with poor nutrition, pollutants, stress and electrical currents. Come along and find out how to separate the wheat from the guff.


Suzanne Elvidge is a freelance science, biopharma, business and health writer with more than 20 years of experience. She is editor of Genome Engineering, a blog that monitors the latest developments in genome engineering and that aims to educate (and sometimes to entertain!) and has written for a range of online and print publications including European Life Science, the Journal of Life Sciences (now the Burrill Report), In Vivo, Life Science Leader, Nature Biotechnology, PR Week and Start-Up. She specialises in writing on pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, healthcare, science, lifestyle and green living, but can write on any topic given enough tea and chocolate biscuits. She lives just beyond the neck end of nowhere in the Peak District with her second-hand bookseller husband and two second-hand cats.

Although Christmas is not a time that many people associate with science, there is plenty of science to be found around it.  This talk will touch on just a few of the scientific underpinnings of our celebration, such as the time of year we hold it, the nature of the Star of Bethlehem, and more unusual topics such as why Christmas trees are Christmas-tree shaped.  With a rich seasonal mix of chemistry, astronomy, biology, physics, psychology and even a little law, plus the definitive calculation as to how fast Father Christmas really has to travel, what better way could there be to get into the Christmas spirit?

Michael Merrifield is professor of astronomy at the University of Nottingham.  His primary area of research involves trying to understand the formation and evolution of galaxies by studying the motions of stars in nearby systems.  He is a frequent speaker in schools, astronomical societies, Cafes Scientifiques, etc, and is also regularly to be seen in the “Sixty Symbols” and “Deep Sky Videos” series on YouTube.  If you are still trying to find gifts for Christmas, he also runs a company that makes scientifically-accurate sculptures of astronomical objects called “Crystal Nebulae.”