Zone Reports

Read the full report The Parasites Zone was a themed zone funded by the Wellcome Trust. Mark is an epidemiologist who is interested in removing parasitic infections that harm vulnerable populations, Linda is a PhD student who studies the malaria parasite, Koi (who won the zone) uses big data to understand the life of parasitic worms that live in human blood, Franco works on allergy and infectious diseases and Claire is an immunologist who researches parasitic infections and treatments. All the scientists took an active role in both the ASK section and live chats and answered a similar amount of questions. The zone was largely on topic, with a majority of the focussed on parasites and the scientists’ work, but received the fewest amount of questions compared to the other zones in this event.

Read the full report Ecosystems was a themed zone funded by the Wellcome Trust, and was a zone specifically for Primary Schools. Vincent is a PhD student who uses maths to look at how species move within their environment, Luis researches the interaction between oil spills and marine sediments like beaches and the seabed and Joe is a biologist who studies animals with the aim of protecting them and educating people as to why we need nature. Joanna is a zoologist who studies how animals interact with their environment and Hannah researches animals that live on our sea shores and makes sure they are protected. All the scientists were very good at adapting their answers and describing their work in ways to engage younger students, and the live chats were lively and fun. This was a quiet zone with a lower than average number of questions approved and live chats … Continue reading →

Read the full report The Cells Zone was a themed zone funded by the Wellcome Trust, and included five scientists whose work relates to cells in different ways. Sam uses polymers and proteins to research how cells evolve, Rob works in a cancer hospital using radiotherapy to treat cancer cells and Matt grows brain cells in order to study brain disorders such as Parkinson’s disease. Kylie studies white blood cells in the lungs to try and find out what happens to them when someone has lung disease, and Rebecca is a structural biologist who uses electron microscopes to study cells and proteins within them. This was a busy zone with a high amount of questions in ASK and some engaging live chats which focused on the topic of cells, as well as other aspects of the scientists’ work and science in general.

READ THE FULL REPORT The Platinum Zone was a general science zone funded by the Wellcome Trust. Daniel works with Embryonic Stem Cells and is funded by the organisation. Lowri studies people’s behaviour in relation to energy consumption, Greg is a doctor who researches how we can prevent diseases like cancer and diabetes, Kelly is an Intellectual Property Analyst for a chemical company and Giovanna is an experimental physicist who works with tiny electrical circuits. The zone was quite busy throughout the two weeks, with a higher than average amount of live chats (22) compared to the rest of the zones in this event. There was an even spread of activity within the live chats from the scientists, and in the ASK section Lowri, the winner of the zone, accounted for 42% of all activity by scientists

READ THE FULL REPORT The Gold Zone was a general primary school zone funded by the Wellcome Trust. Omur studies how stem cells become neurons to help cure brain disease, Chris looks at the birth and formulation of galaxies, Hayley researches sleep and how DNA relates to people’s sleeping patterns, Maddison creates tiny structures to improve smartphones and Jimi works with mass spectrometers to help fight cancer. The zone was very quiet during the first week, however in the second week activity picked up and it became the one of busiest zones in the March event, with the highest number of questions approved and answers given. Students were interested in the work of the scientists, especially on the topics of cancer and sleep. There was an extremely high number of comments, with 629 in total and over 90% of student comments were from Lathom Junior School. Students interacted really well … Continue reading →

READ THE FULL REPORT The Fat Zone was a themed zone funded by the Wellcome Trust. Majid looks at blood vessels in obesity, Hannah is a Lecturer in Health and Exercise Physiology, Sam researches how to keep healthy as we get older with Cancer Research UK, Charlotte studies how fats stored in the liver affect our health and Richard studies the role of a hormone that can make people healthier when they eat less food. A large amount of questions were focussed on the topic, with interest in health related topics revolving around exercise and diets, for example. There was a high percentage of active students (92%) and chats were busy and engaging. There was a below average number of students logging in compared to the rest of the zones in this event which resulted in a lower number of questions approved.

READ THE FULL REPORT The Heart Zone was a themed zone funded by the Wellcome Trust, and Michael and Loan do research with the Trust. The scientists looked at areas such as the genetics of heart disease, stem cells involved in heart repair, blood vessel development, and how fat damages the heart. This was one of the busiest November zones in the live chats and also saw over 1000 questions submitted by students in ASK. The heart was the strong focus of the zone, with student’s especially keen to find out about heart diseases and treatments. The scientists also talked about their research and what they get from doing their work. Cristina, in particular, engaged strongly in ASK and live chats, in which Praveen also worked hard to connect with the students.