TEDx is a programme of public events to help communities share ideas
Scientists at the University of Liverpool have taken part in TEDx, a programme of public events designed to help communities discuss and share ideas on a variety of topics.
Professor Tara Shears and Professor Tom Solomon presented their research field to more than 400 people at Liverpool’s Playhouse theatre, where audiences are encouraged to take away new knowledge and share their thoughts with others.
Professor Shears, from the University’s School of Physical Sciences, discussed describing how it is essential to understanding the universe. Professor Solomon, Head of the University’s Institute of Infection and Global Health, talked about discussing his work on Ebola and other emerging infectious diseases.
Here are their ‘takeaway’ thoughts on health and the universe:
Professor Solomon (@RunningMadProf):
“We may fear infectious diseases more than most things in our lives, but in fact the riskiest thing you will do today is get in your car.”
“Viruses don’t aim to kill their host as they need the body to help them move on and evolve.”
“Viruses don’t change just by themselves; they change in response to the world around us is. Since Charles Darwin first presented his theory of evolution, our climate has changed, population has increased, and global travel is easier, making new diseases more likely.”
Professor Shears (@tarashears):
“Antimatter might sound like science fiction, but it is science fact.”
“If it wasn’t for antimatter being that little bit different to normal matter, we wouldn’t be here right now. The universe would be full of light instead.”
“Everything we’ve measured in our experiments at CERN can account for about a galaxy’s worth of antimatter, not the half a universe we think was there at the beginning. The nature of antimatter is something we just don’t understand at all yet.”
To watch the presentations please click on: ‘Why antimatter matters’, for Professor Shears, and ‘Sex, Drugs and Emerging Viruses’, for Professor Solomon.
