Science in Reading

Reading Cafe Scientifique: The Common Cold: 30,000 Years of the Sniffles

Tue, Oct 6 · 7:00 PM BST

Zerodegrees Microbrewery & Restaurant Reading, 9 Bridge Street, Reading, GB

Links to the local STEAM Groups + Social Media Link Tree

We are looking for speakers for 2026 & beyond. If you would like to get involved and support your local Science community please get in touch – email: scienceinreading [at] gmail.com or twitter: Science in Reading (@Science_Reading) Speaking slot availability can be found via the website.

A friendly Science focused group entertaining the local community with the fascinating world of science – events from hands on workshops to engaging talks.

Our monthly meetups are held upstairs at Zero Degrees (9 Bridge St, Reading RG1 2LR) from 7pm.

So please do come along, grab a beer/food at the downstairs bar (the mango beer and wood fired pizza are epic) and enjoy a relaxed evening of talks + networking + beers.

Everyone welcome!

7:00pm Arrivals
7:30pm Welcome and Introductions
7:35pm The Common Cold: 30,000 Years of the Sniffles (David Miles – London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine)
8:20pm Comfort Break
8:30pm Q&A
9:00pm Networking
9:30pm End

The Common Cold: 30,000 Years of the Sniffles (David Miles – London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine)

Everybody knows what a cold feels like: miserable. The first cold virus was detected in a milk tooth shed over 30,000 years ago and ever since, the common cold has been a bane.

Yet while sore throats and blocked noses are annoyingly familiar, the processes that lead to them are not widely known and often misunderstood. Processes like the misdirected immune response that makes us ill with a cold instead of protecting us from illness. Like the way heating a building enhances cold virus transmission. Like the way that most cold viruses can only exist at all thanks to the society we’ve built over the last few millennia.

And, most importantly, what we can do about them.

David Miles is an infectious disease immunologist who spent ten years researching immunity to infections and the vaccinations that protect against them in various parts of Africa. He now lives in London and teaches on the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine’s online postgraduate course. His first popular science book, How Vaccines Work, was published in March 2023 and his second, Sneeze: The History and Science of the Common Cold, will be published in March 2026.

If you would like to get involved and support your local Science community please get in touch – email: scienceinreading [at] gmail.com or twitter: Science in Reading (@Science_Reading)

Speaking slot availability can be found via the website.

We meet 1st Tuesday of the month. Format is gathering from 7.00pm with talks commencing at 7.30pm. Talks timings are completely flexible but generally 40-60mins + Q&A with a ~20mins break to encourage social networking.

Contact’s: email: scienceinreading [at] gmail.com or twitter: Science in Reading (@Science_Reading)