Zone Reports

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The Sustainability Zone was a themed zone for primary schools, supported by Wellcome. There were six scientists participating:

• Matt Bower works at the Scottish Government to maintain safe drinking water
• Maia Elliott writes at Global Food Security about how our food system could be made healthier and more sustainable
• Lyndsay Christie is a PhD student researching the diseases that infect fish and how we can control these to improve the health of fish
• Liam Taylor, the zone winner, studies how climate change affects the icy regions of our world
• Dionne Turnbull studies plant diseases and how plants can defend themselves from these infections
• Brendan Marrinan is a geo-environmental consultant where he assesses the contamination of land before someone can start building on it

Students in this zone showed great awareness of the current issues surrounding sustainability and the environment, and there were lots of discussions in ASK and CHAT about climate change, pollution and health. There were also a large number of questions about the scientists’ lives outside of work, their hobbies and families.

Fetlar Primary School on the Shetland Islands took part in this zone with a class of four students, who were all very engaged throughout the activity. Two of these joined both the evening chat and the 3hr open live chat from home. Continue reading →

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The Epidemic Zone was a themed zone supported by Wellcome with six scientists participating:

• Verity Hill is a PhD student, using genetics to better understand the spread and evolution of the Ebola virus
• Trystan Leng uses maths to study the spread of sexually transmitted infections through populations and how to control that spread as part of his PhD research
• Raquel Medialdea Carrera is a field epidemiologist at the European Centre for Disease Control and identifies epidemics and how to control them
• Danny Ward, the winner of this zone, is a PhD student trying to understand how bacteria are able to infect living things and how we can stop them doing so
• Catherine Smith is an infectious disease data scientist working at UCL using coding to assess disease epidemiology
• Andy Guise conducts research and lectures on inequality, health and homelessness at King’s College London

Students were very interested in the zone theme, asking about each of the scientists’ areas of research in addition to general questions about epidemics and diseases. A third of the questions put to the scientists in ASK concerned careers and education, but students were also interested to know about the scientists’ spare time and hobbies. Continue reading →

Read the full report The Food Zone was supported by Wellcome and involved six scientists. Stephen models the environmental impact of livestock farming, and looks at the effect of food sharing on the sustainability of food systems in cities Simran is a PhD student using design and technology to tackle the problem of food production and consumption in future cities Paul is researching how to get the most from permanent grassland, including food production, supporting wildlife and reducing the risk of flooding Mark is looking at Salmonella Typhimurium: how it responds to different conditions, its physical characteristics and the genes within the bacteria Jenny is looking at the effects different types of fishing can have on the environment, helping make fish products more ‘eco-friendly’ Ali, the winner of the Food Zone, is a sports nutritionist who works with athletes to find out how foods can make you better at sports … Continue reading →

Read the full report The Heart Zone was a primary school zone supported by Wellcome. Samuel, the winner of the zone, works on new technologies for assessing the state of the heart and its arteries Pankaj is a doctor and scientist, who also lectures in cardiovascular medicine Lucy looks at the heart and blood vessels of unborn babies to see how they are affected by changes in their environment Kate is studying for her PhD and is focusing on the shape of the heart in patients with aortic stenosis Jordan processes blood samples, separating them into groups and filtering them before they are ready for testing Emma programs pacemakers, monitors patients during operations and performs ultrasound scans on the heart in her work at a hospital Students in this zone were very excited to talk with scientists which came across in the lively and fun chats. Students wanted to know … Continue reading →

Read the full report The Healthy Cities Zone was supported by Wellcome and encouraged students to think about how we could build healthier places for us to live. Urslaan is a data scientist who makes sure databases for roads, railways and other transport are correct Nicola is an environmental geologist, looking at maps and ground investigation information to test the soil for chemicals Helen specialises in designing infrastructures for cyclists and pedestrians Daniel, the winner of the Healthy Cities Zone, is an environmental scientist who measures air pollution within the demolition and construction industries Becky teaches courses in ecology and conservation and researches how people’s actions affect wildlife Andrew is an environmental scientist looking at how we pollute our environment, the impact of this influence and possible solutions This was the busiest zone in June’s event, with the highest number of students logging in and questions in Ask. We also … Continue reading →

Read the full report The Berkelium Zone was a general science zone supported by Wellcome. Yewande is researching the use of nitric oxide as an anaesthetic and the affect the gas has on brain cells Tim is studying earthquakes and how they behave, the dangers they pose and the opportunities they offer Melanie is a technician in the Biomedical Science department at the University of Sheffield Hayley is a PhD student using mathematics to model WiFi signals Carl is a manager at a chemical plant responsible for the quality and productivity the plant delivers Alex, the winner in this zone, is studying the impact of non-native plants on small rivers and streams Students in this zone really engaged with the scientists’ work, as well as generally about areas such as space and animals, with nearly half of all questions asked being about science topics. We also ran an evening chat … Continue reading →

Read the full report The Californium Zone was a general science zone supported by Wellcome, with six scientists from a range of fields. Thomas investigates the earth beneath our feet to make sure buildings and tunnels don’t collapse, and homes don’t flood Hayley works in cellular pathology, turning biopsies into slides to help diagnose a patient Ella, the winner of this zone, is a first-year PhD student researching how neurons talk to each other David designs and builds new CT scanners for research in dentistry Alison is a PhD student researching how to utilise microalgae for biotechnology applications Alex is a neurosurgeon in training, performing brain and spine surgeries Students engaged well with the scientists’ research, with one of the most popular topics both in Ask and Chat being Ella and Alex’s work with the brain. This zone was the quietest of all June’s zones as two schools with a … Continue reading →

Read the full report The Climate Zone was supported by Wellcome and specifically for students in Year 6 and Year 7. In this zone, we worked with a PhD researcher who will be analysing the language of the questions asked to find out what students think about the climate. Because of this, we asked teachers not to brief their class on the climate before taking part. We edited the questions on the profiles of the scientists to try and prompt students to think about the climate, and within chats moderators encouraged students to stay on topic. Six scientists took part in the zone: Stephen is a Climate and Environmental Specialist for the United Nations, Stephanie, the winner of the zone, is looking for ways to improve wind turbines to make renewable energy cheaper and Rehemat is studying 50 million year old plankton fossils to see how they lived through climate … Continue reading →

Read the full report The Enquiry Zone was supported by Wellcome and was for Year 6 students to work with scientists to develop a citizen science project. The scientists involved each suggested a research idea which they refined with the students in the live chats and ASK section, and students then voted for the project they most wanted to carry out at their school. Sakshi wanted to work with students to find out how boys and girls are different from each other, Martin’s experiment idea was to measure the breath of students and see if that could tell us how students feel during the day and Luke wanted to find out what students think about regenerative medicine and stem cells. Jennifer, the winner of this zone, proposed a project that would look at how much primary school students knew about their own bodies and Dan wanted to find out whether … Continue reading →

Read the full report The Genes Zone was a themed zone supported by Wellcome. Yinka is studying the DNA of cows in Africa to improve the amount of milk they can produce, Stéphane is researching the effect different lifestyles have on human sperm quality and Matt is a bioinformatician making pictures to explain patterns in gut microbes. Juhi is a PhD student researching genetic causes of pregnancy complications, Gemma teaches NHS staff about genetics and how it can help them provide better care for patients and David, the winner of this zone, is a postdoctoral research fellow studying the genetics of depression. Students were very engaged with the zone theme and over 50% of questions in ASK were about science topics, relating to all things genetics. The scientists were great at explaining things in a way students could understand and often provided videos and links to support their answers.

Read the full report The Immune System Zone was supported by Wellcome. Sian is researching new medicines through microbial fermentation, Max (the winner of this zone) is a PhD student using gene editing to understand how white blood cells cause cancer and Lizzie works with biotech companies to help them communicate information about diseases to doctors. Francis is a post-doctoral researcher finding out how we can use a patient’s immune cells to fight cancer, Ben works in an immunology lab finding new ways to help people with arthritis and Ashlea is a PhD student studying how the immune system works and how it can go wrong. This zone had the highest number of questions asked (897) and approved (489) out of all the zones in March’s event, with students engaging well with the topic and wanting to find out more about the scientists’ work. There was an even mix of … Continue reading →