#leadingedgeresearch — Public Fediverse posts

What Do We Really Know About Microplastics?

🗓️ Start: Mon 28 Sep 2026 3:00 pm
⏳ End: Mon 28 Sep 2026 4:30 pm

Speaker: Prof. Iseult Lynch
School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Professor of Environmental Nanosciences
Microplastics have become one of today’s most talked-about environmental issues, but how much do we really know?

Join Professor Iseult Lynch of the University of Birmingham as she explores the latest scientific evidence, separating established facts from popular assumptions. Drawing on her internationally recognised research into microplastics, nanomaterials and environmental systems, she will examine what current science reveals, where uncertainties remain, and how researchers are improving our understanding of these invisible pollutants.

An engaging and thought-provoking afternoon for anyone interested in science, the environment and informed debate.

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https://u3acommunities.org/event/what-do-we-really-know-about-microplastics/

Antimatter Research, Accelerator Systems, and Practical Applications

🗓️ Start: Mon 27 Jul 2026 3:00 pm
⏳ End: Mon 27 Jul 2026 4:30 pm

Speaker: Prof. Carsten Welsch
Head of Accelerator Science, Liverpool University

From science fiction to serious science: antimatter research is now producing important advances in accelerator technology, imaging and precision instrumentation.

Professor Carsten Welsch shares insights from CERN and Liverpool into how antimatter is created, controlled and studied — and why these developments may matter far beyond physics laboratories.

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https://u3acommunities.org/event/antimatter-research-accelerator-systems-and-practical-applications/

Space Debris and new approaches to rectification

🗓️ Start: Wed 29 Apr 2026 3:00 pm
⏳ End: Wed 29 Apr 2026 4:30 pm

Speaker: Ray Fielding
Head of Sustainability and ISAM UK Space Agency

Earth’s orbits are becoming the world’s most valuable—and most vulnerable—commons. Every bolt, paint fleck, and abandoned satellite hurtling around our planet threatens the systems we rely on daily: GPS, climate monitoring, telecommunications, and future exploration. With over 36,000 trackable objects and millions more too small to detect, the challenge is accelerating faster than we can clean it up.

Join us as Ray Fielding reveals how the UK Space Agency is pioneering new strategies to tackle this orbital crisis. From active debris removal to in‑orbit servicing and manufacturing (ISAM), Ray will unpack the technologies reshaping how we build, repair, and protect our space infrastructure. Discover how global collaboration, engineering innovation, and sustainability thinking are converging to safeguard humanity’s access to space.

If you are not already subscribed, subscription is free and you will receive joining details and news about forthcoming Leading Edge meetings https://u3acommunities.org/subscribe-to-leading-edge/

https://u3acommunities.org/event/space-debris-and-new-approaches-to-rectification/

The Jimi Hendrix Experience – a study of musical expression

🗓️ Start: Tue 31 Mar 2026 3:00 pm
⏳ End: Tue 31 Mar 2026 4:30 pm

Speaker: Professor Milton Mermikides
University of Surrey

Why does some music hit us straight in the gut? Why can a single guitar phrase feel joyful, unsettling, or transcendent?

In this engaging and thought-provoking talk, Professor Milton Mermikides unpacks the hidden mechanics of musical expression, using the revolutionary work of The Jimi Hendrix Experience as his guide. Blending musical analysis with insights from science and psychology, he reveals how structure, sound, and performance combine to shape emotional impact.

From composition and harmony to tone, timing, and improvisation, the talk explores how Hendrix’s music communicates far beyond words. It also examines how subtle performance choices can transform meaning, turning a familiar piece into a powerful emotional event.

This is a talk for anyone curious about music, creativity, and why Hendrix still sounds so alive, urgent, and emotionally charged decades later.

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https://u3acommunities.org/event/the-jimi-hendrix-experience-a-study-of-musical-expression/

From Brains to Simulations: Understanding Cognition and Disease Through Models

🗓️ Start: Mon 23 Feb 2026 3:00 pm
⏳ End: Mon 23 Feb 2026 4:30 pm

Speaker: Dr Viktor Jirsa
Directeur of the Institut de Neurosciences des Systèmes, Chief Scientific Officer of EBRAINS, and leader of The Virtual Brain initiative

In this talk, Dr Jirsa will explore how scientists are now using computer models to simulate the human brain — helping us better understand how we think, how the brain changes as we age, and what happens when things go wrong.

Drawing on pioneering research from across Europe, he will show how virtual brain models can reveal patterns of brain activity, offer new insights into conditions such as epilepsy and mental illness, and open the door to more personalised approaches to brain health. Along the way, the talk will touch on one of science’s great questions: how the physical brain gives rise to the mind.

This accessible and engaging lecture is ideal for anyone curious about the brain, the future of medicine, and how modern science is helping us understand ourselves.

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https://u3acommunities.org/event/from-brains-to-simulations-understanding-cognition-and-disease-through-models/

Mind-blowing Advances in Materials Science

🗓️ Start: Mon 26 Jan 2026 3:00 pm
⏳ End: Mon 26 Jan 2026 4:30 pm

Speaker: Professor Mark Miodownik
University College London

Mark Miodownik is a pioneering materials scientist fascinated by how the stuff of our world—metals, ceramics, polymers, biomaterials—shapes human experience. His work celebrates the hidden stories inside everyday objects and explores how emerging materials can transform sustainability, medicine, and technology. Today’s mind-blowing advances in materials science—from self-healing structures to programmable matter and bio-inspired materials—reflect the curiosity and creativity Miodownik champions, revealing a future where smarter, greener, and more responsive materials redefine what’s possible.

Mark Miodownik’s books vividly reflect his deep passion for materials and their hidden magic. Stuff Matters—a bestselling, award-winning exploration of everyday materials—and Liquid: The Delightful and Dangerous Substances That Flow Through Our Lives both reveal his ability to turn complex science into gripping, human-centred stories.

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https://u3acommunities.org/event/mind-blowing-advances-in-materials-science/

Quantum Sensing and QuSIT Hub Developments

🗓️ Start: Tue 25 Nov 2025 3:00 pm
⏳ End: Tue 25 Nov 2025 4:30 pm

Speaker: Professor Professor Michael Holynski
University of Birmingham

Join us for a fascinating journey into the future of sensing.
Quantum sensing is unlocking a world we could never see before—revealing what lies beneath the ground, inside the human body, and beyond our current limits of perception.
Led by Professor Holynski, the QuSIT Hub is turning these breakthroughs into technologies that make a difference to people’s lives. From wearable quantum brain scanners that could transform healthcare to gravity sensors that help us map and protect vital infrastructure, this work connects deep science with real human needs—creating a future where quantum innovation serves both society and the planet.

If you are not already subscribed, subscription is free and you will receive joining details and news about forthcoming Leading Edge meetings https://u3acommunities.org/subscribe-to-leading-edge/

https://u3acommunities.org/event/quantum-sensing-and-qusit-hub-developments/

The Neuroscience of Consciousness

🗓️ Start: Mon 27 Oct 2025 3:00 pm
⏳ End: Mon 27 Oct 2025 4:30 pm

Speaker: Professor Anil Seth
University of Sussex
You may well know Anil Seth from television appearances or his popular science books.

When you look around, it feels like you’re simply seeing reality. But neuroscientist Anil Seth argues that what you see, hear, and feel is more like a story your brain tells itself, a ‘hallucination’ shaped and corrected by sensory signals. In this engaging talk, he explains how the brain’s predictions create not only our experiences of the world, but also our sense of self.

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https://u3acommunities.org/event/the-neuroscience-of-consciousness/

New findings near Black Hole Event Horizons

🗓️ Start: Mon 29 Sep 2025 5:00 pm
⏳ End: Mon 29 Sep 2025 6:30 pm

Speaker: Dr. Dan Wilkins
Kavli Institute, Stanford University

Recent breakthroughs near black hole event horizons are offering exciting new views into some of the universe’s most mysterious regions. Using powerful X-ray telescopes, scientists have observed light bending around black holes, just as Einstein predicted over a century ago.

They’ve also detected faint echoes of X-rays bouncing off material hidden behind black holes, something never seen before. These findings help researchers understand how matter behaves in extreme gravity, how black holes consume surrounding material, and how energetic jets are launched.

It’s a major step toward mapping the chaotic environments near black holes and unlocking secrets about space, time, and gravity itself.

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https://u3acommunities.org/event/new-findings-near-black-hole-event-horizons/

From Artificial intelligence to Hybrid intelligence

🗓️ Start: 30 June 2025 3:00 pm
⏳ End: 30 June 2025 4:30 pm

Speaker: Professor Prof. Catholijn M. Jonker
Delft University of Technology

Prof. Jonker’s research moves beyond viewing AI as a replacement for human intelligence. Instead, she develops systems that collaborate with and enhance human capabilities, creating Hybrid Intelligence (HI)—a blend of human and artificial intelligence aimed at achieving goals neither could reach alone.
HI integrates the strengths of humans (like creativity, ethics, and context) with those of machines (such as data processing and scalability). It emphasizes co-learning, co-adaptation, and mutual understanding, focusing on empowering rather than replacing humans.
This marks a shift from AI for automation to AI for augmentation, advocating for the co-evolution of humans and machines through trust, learning, and ethical collaboration—envisioning AI as a partner, not a competitor.

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https://u3acommunities.org/event/from-artificial-intelligence-to-hybrid-intelligence/

The JWST mission and particularly MIRI

🗓️ Start: 26 May 2025 3:00 pm
⏳ End: 26 May 2025 4:30 pm

Speaker: Professor Gillian Wright
Director of the UK Astronomy Technology Centre & Head of Site for the Royal Observatory Edinburgh

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is transforming astronomy with its advanced infrared capabilities.
Its Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) enables deep-space imaging, detecting exoplanets, distant galaxies, and cosmic dust. MIRI’s unparalleled sensitivity reveals early universe structures, star formation processes, and planetary atmospheres, expanding our understanding of the cosmos.

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https://u3acommunities.org/event/the-jwst-mission-and-particularly-miri/

A CRISPR way to precisely Edit the Genome

🗓️ Start: 28 April 2025 2:30 pm
⏳ End: 28 April 2025 4:00 pm

Speaker: Dr Andrew Bassett
Head of Cellular and Gene Editing Research, Sanger Institute

The Sanger Institute is arguably the foremost institute in the UK on gene editing.
CRISPR is a groundbreaking genome-editing technology that allows precise modifications to DNA.
By harnessing a natural bacterial defense mechanism, CRISPR enables scientists to cut and edit genetic material with unprecedented accuracy.
This revolutionary tool is transforming medicine, biotechnology, and genetic research, offering potential treatments for genetic disorders, cancer, and infectious diseases.
CRISPR’s efficiency, specificity, and versatility make it a powerful method for studying gene functions, engineering cells, and advancing personalized medicine.

If you are not already subscribed, subscription is free and you will receive joining details and news about forthcoming Leading Edge meetings https://u3acommunities.org/subscribe-to-leading-edge/

https://u3acommunities.org/event/a-crispr-way-to-precisely-edit-the-genome/