PET PET
  • My Account
  • Subscribe
Become a Friend Donate
  • About Us
    • People
    • Press Office
    • Our History
  • Get Involved
    • Become a Friend of PET
    • Volunteer
    • Campaigns
    • Writing Scheme
    • Partnership and Sponsorship
    • Advertise with Us
  • Donate
    • Become a Friend of PET
  • BioNews
    • News
    • Comment
    • Reviews
    • Elsewhere
    • Topics
    • Glossary
    • Newsletters
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Previous Events
  • Engagement
    • Policy and Projects
      • Resources
    • Education
  • Jobs & Opportunities
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
    • People
    • Press Office
    • Our History
  • Get Involved
    • Become a Friend of PET
    • Volunteer
    • Campaigns
    • Writing Scheme
    • Partnership and Sponsorship
    • Advertise with Us
  • Donate
    • Become a Friend of PET
  • BioNews
    • News
    • Comment
    • Reviews
    • Elsewhere
    • Topics
    • Glossary
    • Newsletters
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Previous Events
  • Engagement
    • Policy and Projects
      • Resources
    • Education
  • Jobs & Opportunities
  • Contact Us
  • My Account
  • Subscribe
  • Privacy Statement
  • Advertising Policy
  • Thanks and Acknowledgements
PETBioNewsReviewsEvent Review: Searching for the Secret of Life - DNA Then, Now and Tomorrow

BioNews

Event Review: Searching for the Secret of Life - DNA Then, Now and Tomorrow

Published 9 January 2013 posted in Reviews and appears in BioNews 631

Author

Rebecca Hill

PET BioNews

The inaugural London Science Festival, which ran from 19-26 October, promised numerous exciting and entertaining events, many of which have received excellent reviews. So I'm particularly disappointed that I chose to spend my Friday night at 'Searching for the secret of life: DNA, then, now and tomorrow'....


Searching for the Secret of Life: DNA Then, Now and Tomorrow

Organised by the London Science Festival and King's College London

Guy's Campus, King's College London, London SE1 1UL, UK

Friday 21 October 2011

'Searching for the Secret of Life: DNA Then, Now and Tomorrow', organised by the London Science Festival and King's College London, Friday 21 October 2011


The inaugural London Science Festival, which ran from 19-26 October, promised numerous exciting and entertaining events, many of which have received excellent reviews. So I'm particularly disappointed that I chose to spend my Friday night at 'Searching for the secret of life: DNA, then, now and tomorrow'.

According to the blurb, this event was going to 'explore the fascinating way in which DNA research has transformed since the discovery of the structure of DNA'. While I'm sure the research itself is fascinating, I would hesitate before describing the event in the same way.

At the beginning of the evening we were shown a pre-recorded video from Professor Ray Gosling, who worked with Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins at King's College London (KCL), representing the 'then' of DNA. He described a dinner held for 22 Nobel Prize winners whose research wouldn't have happened without this discovery; and his proclamation that 'within ten years every baby will be presented with a copy of their own genome' did seem to imply we were in for something special.

However, from there on it turned into something that made me feel like I had travelled back in time to my undergraduate days. In fairness to the speakers, they all gave good, clear presentations, which explained their research well. My issue with it was that they seemed to be just that — academic presentations best suited to a university lecture series.

The 'now' of DNA was dealt with by Dr Frances Williams from the Division of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, KCL, who gave a background on DNA and moved on to its use in twin studies.

Then we heard about DNA use in forensic science from Dr Denise Syndercombe-Court, of the Academic Haematology Unit, Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry. She managed to interweave scientific information, anecdotes and case studies well, but I did feel she had the lion's share of the allotted time in which to do this.

Finally, Dr Fiona Wardle, a research scientist also at KCL, was left with the task of explaining where DNA research is headed in the future — the 'tomorrow'. Her talk focused on the use of stem cells in regenerative medicine.

I think the London Science Festival was meant to appeal to all — from laypeople to academics — but I felt this event struggled to find its footing. The introduction was very basic, and probably unnecessary for what seemed to be an audience made up mostly of students.

Following this, the description of fairly complex scientific principles (such as the inner workings of twin studies and regenerative medicine) may not have held the attention of those without some prior knowledge. At the same time, though, the speakers' attempts to keep it superficial meant some of the nitty gritty scientific details, which I was interested in hearing, were lost.

And after just over an hour's worth of PowerPoint slides we were told, much to my disappointment, there was no time for questions. We could talk to the speakers at the wine reception afterwards, but it's always interesting hearing other people's queries, and I can't help thinking people might be cautious of approaching speakers one-on-one. Not to mention that, at nearly 9 o'clock on a Friday night, after a not very controversial or thought-provoking series of lectures, it was clear some people (myself included) just wanted to get home for the weekend.

Related Articles

Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the output from a DNA sequencing machine.
CC BY 4.0
Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the sequencing output from an automated DNA sequencing machine.
Reviews
12 August 2019 • 4 minutes read

Event Review: Unravelling the Double Helix

by Eleanor Mackle

So, you think Watson and Crick discovered DNA? I did too, until I attended a talk by Professor Gareth Williams at the Royal Institution, called 'Unravelling the Double Helix'...

Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the output from a DNA sequencing machine.
CC BY 4.0
Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the sequencing output from an automated DNA sequencing machine.
Reviews
19 October 2015 • 4 minutes read

Theatre Review: Photograph 51

by Daniel Malynn

Making her triumphant return to the London stage after 17 years, Nicole Kidman stars as Rosalind Franklin, the scientist whose pioneering work led to the discovery of the double-helix structure of DNA...

Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the output from a DNA sequencing machine.
CC BY 4.0
Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the sequencing output from an automated DNA sequencing machine.
Reviews
5 February 2013 • 4 minutes read

Book Review: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

by Rose Palmer

This is an extraordinary book about a woman who died on 4 October 1951, but whose legacy will continue exponentially. Henrietta Lacks was a poor black tobacco farmer who died, aged only 31, in the 'coloured ward' of John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore....

Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the output from a DNA sequencing machine.
CC BY 4.0
Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the sequencing output from an automated DNA sequencing machine.
Reviews
15 January 2013 • 3 minutes read

Podcast Review: Expert Explanations - Evolutionary Genetics/Genetics

by Rachel Lloyd

The Pulse-Project is a website which offers a wide range of freely accessible audio and video lectures on the sciences and medical humanities...

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

« Book Review: Chimera's Children - Ethical, Philosophical and Religious Perspectives on Human-Nonhuman Experimentation

Data-Label The UK's Leading Supplier Of Medical Labels & Asset Labels

RetiringDentist.co.uk The UK's Leading M&A Company.
easyfundraising
amazon

This month in BioNews

  • Recent
4 July 2022 • 3 minutes read

Podcast Review: Biohacked Family Secrets – The birth of the sperm bank

4 July 2022 • 3 minutes read

Book Review: Why DNA? – From DNA sequence to biological complexity

27 June 2022 • 4 minutes read

Podcast Review: Genetics Unzipped – Have a heart, the science of xenotransplantation

20 June 2022 • 5 minutes read

Documentary Review: Our Father

20 June 2022 • 4 minutes read

Podcast Review: How Far Could Genome Editing Go?

Subscribe to BioNews and other PET updates for free.

Subscribe
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • RSS
Wellcome
Website redevelopment supported by Wellcome.

Website by Impact Media Impact Media

  • Privacy Statement
  • Advertising Policy
  • Thanks and Acknowledgements

© 1992 - 2022 Progress Educational Trust. All rights reserved.

Limited company registered in England and Wales no 07405980 • Registered charity no 1139856

Subscribe to BioNews and other PET updates for free.

Subscribe
PET PET

PET is an independent charity that improves choices for people affected by infertility and genetic conditions.

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • RSS
Wellcome
Website redevelopment supported by Wellcome.

Navigation

  • About Us
  • Get Involved
  • Donate
  • BioNews
  • Events
  • Engagement
  • Jobs & Opportunities
  • Contact Us

BioNews

  • News
  • Comment
  • Reviews
  • Elsewhere
  • Topics
  • Glossary
  • Newsletters

Other

  • My Account
  • Subscribe

Website by Impact Media Impact Media

  • Privacy Statement
  • Advertising Policy
  • Thanks and Acknowledgements

© 1992 - 2022 Progress Educational Trust. All rights reserved.

Limited company registered in England and Wales no 07405980 • Registered charity no 1139856