Dr Nicola Pirastu of the University of Edinburgh describes his research into how genes influence the food you eat, the drinks you like, and even the temperature you drink them at!
Thousands of people are having their DNA sequenced, including in the ORCADES health study, but what does it mean and what can you learn from it? Dr Lucija Klaric of the University of Edinburgh explains the science, using examples from studies in Orkney and Shetland.
Moving from large-scale studies of genes to large-scale studies of their products - proteins - will profoundly change biology and medicine. University of Edinburgh postgraduate student Andy Bretherick describes how he is using these new technologies to learn about the underlying mechanisms of disease.
Prof. Jon Side tells how the Newtonian picture of an ordered universe inspired the 18th-century radical Thomas Paine to envisage a better world, ruled by reason.
Visit the Mull Head Visitor Centre to find out what can be seen on this popular Local Nature Reserve, including its archaeology, birdlife, plants, invertebrates, and microscopic phytoplankton. Microscopes will be set up by Sydney Gauld from the Orkney Wildlife Information and Records Centre and the Council’s Environment Officer, Eileen Summers. Then join County Archaeologist, Julie Gibson to see the Brough of Deerness and discuss how it has been occupied by people over time. Booking essential. Tickets £3 & £1.
Go back far enough and we’re all related, and our parents are therefore also all related. Prof. Jim Wilson of the University of Edinburgh presents discoveries from the largest ever genetic study of any kind involving 1.4 million participants and which focuses on the effects of inbreeding on health and the risk of disease. Sponsored by the Kristin Linklater Voice Centre
Global challenges - including environment, food, water and energy - are so great, says Prof. Iain MacLeod of Strathclyde University, that to tackle them we need the complex problem-solving strategies of engineers - and a revolution in education and thinking. Supported by IESIS, a Scottish engineering institution.
Thousands of years ago, when sea level was lower than today, Orkney was a single landmass with a wooded landscape – with remnants which can still appear today at very low tides. And these, says Dr Scott Timpany of Orkney College UHI, give us clues to lost lands.
See bubble shapes and find how to make giant colourful bubbles – and tubes! Philip Noble is a scientifically trained visual artist who has given bubble shows in over 20 countries. Something for the whole family.
Just how are the Scots are related to the Irish, Welsh and English? How are people from different parts of Orkney related to one other? Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland postgraduate student Ed Gilbert reveals the results of his studies into these and other questions of genetic structure.
The story of how radio operator Bill Sutherland maintained the vital flow of information from the front line with extraordinary bravery, and the equipment he used. Serena Sutherland, Prof. Tom Stevenson, Dorothy Brankin, and Sandy Firth. Supported by d and h, Kirkwall
Eoin F. Scott Memorial Lecture Icelanders are genetic cousins to Orcadians, both originating by hybridisation between Norse and Celtic settlers. Prof. Agnar Helgason of DeCode Genetics, Reykjavik describes his studies into Icelandic origins using both ancient and modern DNA. Sponsored by the Kristin Linklater Voice Centre
A science festival has a radical role in developing a creative climate for a region. Here is the story of how it began, and how Orkney was involved from an early stage in the concept.
