What we’re about
INTRODUCTION BY THE GROUP ORGANISER, BOB
Cafe Science - Basingstoke is a not-for-profit group where anyone is welcome to explore the latest ideas in science, technology and climate change. As the organiser for the group, I now run the group diary from Norwich where I am based, so you will be very unlikely to see me at any in-person events.
ABOUT LOCAL IN-PERSON TALKS
We encourage our subscribers to attend in-person talks hosted by local science discussion groups that are within easy reach of Basingstoke. The groups we mostly publicise include Science in Reading, Henley Science Cafe, Romsey Science Cafe, Salisbury Science Cafe and Winchester Skeptics in the Pub.
The in-person events include a speaker plus a break with a follow-on Q&A discussion of the presentation topic. The speakers will often be researchers and experts in their field invited from local companies and academic centres and are specialists in the subjects under discussion.
IN-PERSON ADMISSION / DONATION FEES
You should be aware that groups running in-person talks will often request an admission fee or donation of up to £5 towards speakers and group expenses.
ONLINE LIVESTREAM TALKS
For those unable to attend the in-person talks, we also provide details of lectures and discussions delivered as on-line livestream talks that you can watch with your family, friends and neighbours. Why not make the most of this great social opportunity by inviting others to join you in a cafe or at home and then have your own discussion afterwards about the topic you watched. The livestream talks and discussions include those from The Royal Institution, The Royal Society, Gresham College and occasional University public lectures.
BOOKING LIVESTREAM EVENTS
Access and booking arrangements for online live stream talks are always handled by the talk organisers outside of this meetup site. Please ensure you take the time to read the booking instructions carefully.
NOTIFICATIONS
Join this meetup group to receive email notifications via Meetup of any in-person and live stream science and technology talks, debates and lectures that we hear about.
Upcoming events (4+)
See all- Gresham College: "Why Do We Fear?"Barnard's Inn Hall, London
This livestream is available online from Gresham College to Basingstoke Science subscribers.
ADVANCE BOOKING AND PAYMENT IS REQUIRED FOR THIS TALK.
More details and booking instructions on the Gresham web site:https://www.gresham.ac.uk/whats-on/why-fear
SUMMARY
#### Part of:
Why do we have emotions?
Fear is one of the earliest emotions to have evolved. Most vertebrates – and possibly some invertebrates – show fear when they are threatened. At its most core, fear keeps us alive, helping us flee from predators or avoid dangerous environments. But why does this process sometimes backfire, leaving us paralysed by otherwise harmless phobias? And why do so many people deliberately seek out fearful situations, from horror movies to parachute jumps, when instinct tells us to do the opposite? Can understanding the biology of fear help us conquer it, or simply make us more vulnerable to its impact?The livestream will go live at 5.55pm, and the introduction will begin at 6.00pm. If you register but miss the livestream, the video will be available to you via the same link for two weeks after the event date.
For more information on livestreams, see the information below, or visit our FAQs page. Please use the event link you have been provided with.
By booking to attend events at the Royal Institution, you confirm that you have read and accept the Ri's event terms and conditions. You also agree to abide by our code of conduct, and help to create a great experience for yourself and your fellow participants.
- Royal Society - Unravelling the molecular basis of Huntington's diseaseThe Royal Society, London
Meet world-leading researchers from universities and science institutions across the UK at the Royal Society’s public events of cutting-edge science. Tonight's lecture is "Unravelling the molecular basis of Huntington's disease" as the Royal Society Ferrier Prize Lecture delivered by Professor Gillian Bates FRS.
This livestream event requires prior registration with the Royal Society at the web address below.
SUMMARY
Professor Gillian Bates FRS is awarded the Ferrier Medal 2025 for her work in understanding the molecular basis of Huntington’s disease and consistently producing highly impactful findings which have moulded the course of this field.This talk covers how in 1993, the mutation that causes Huntington’s disease, a devastating neurodegenerative disorder, was found to be an extra-long CAG repeat in exon 1 of the huntingtin gene (HTT) that encodes a polyglutamine tract in the HTT protein. Over the last 30 years, the Bates lab has been unravelling the first molecular steps by which the mutation causes neuronal dysfunction and neurodegeneration. The mutant CAG repeat is unstable, expanding in specific neuronal cells with age, and the rate of this somatic expansion is known to drive the age of disease onset and rate of disease progression. The Bates lab have found that the mutant HTT pre-mRNA is alternatively processed to generate the small HTT1a transcript, the longer the CAG repeat, the more HTT1a is produced. This encodes the aggregation prone HTT1a protein, that they have shown to be highly pathogenic, representing the second step in the pathogenic cascade. Their recent preclinical studies demonstrate that lowering the HTT1a transcript is much more effective than lowering full-length HTT and may explain the failure of a large huntingtin-lowering clinical trial. Their data indicates that huntingtin-lowering strategies should be designed to target the HTT1a transcript.
SPEAKER
Gillian Bates FRS is Professor of Molecular Neuroscience at the Queen Square Institute of Neurology, UCL and co-directs the Huntington’s Disease Centre with Professor Sarah Tabrizi. She received a first class BSc in Genetics from Sheffield University, an MSc in Biomolecular Organisation from Birkbeck College, and a PhD in the Molecular Genetics of Cystic Fibrosis from Imperial College.She began her work on Huntington’s Disease (HD) as a postdoctoral scientist when she joined Hans Lehrach’s lab at the ICRF and became a member of the international Huntington’s Disease Collaborative Research Group that identified the HD mutation in 1993. She established her independent lab at KCL and generated the first mouse model of HD in 1996, since which her research has been directed toward understanding the molecular basis of HD and validating therapeutic targets. Since her discovery of the alternatively processed HTT1a transcript in 2013, a major focus of the group has been to investigate how best to design huntingtin-lowering strategies for therapeutic benefit. She was elected to the Academy of Medical Sciences (1999), EMBO (2002) and the Royal Society (2007).
## Attending the event
- The event is free to join, please register via Eventbrite for a ticket
- Live subtitles will be available in-person and virtually
### Attending online
- The lecture will also be livestreamed here and on the Royal Society YouTube channel
- You can take part in the live Q&A via Slido
- This event will be recorded (including the live Q&A) and the recording will be available on YouTube soon after the event
For all enquiries, please contact awards@royalsociety.org.
- Science in Reading: "Lichens, Drones & Dinosaur Bones"Zerodegrees Microbrewery & Restaurant Reading, Reading
Basingstoke Science Cafe members are invited to the Science in Reading event "Lichens, Drones & Dinosaur Bones" delivered by Dr Brian Pickles – University of Reading at Zero Degrees in Reading.
Science in Reading monthly meetups are held upstairs at Zero Degrees (9 Bridge St, Reading RG1 2LR) from 7pm with the talk starting at 7.30pm.
More information about this event and the organisers can be found at the following web address.
https://www.meetup.com/science-in-reading/events/311264906Please 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.
- 7:00pm Arrivals
- 7:30pm Welcome and Introductions
- 7:35pm Lichens, drones, and dinosaur bones: dinosaur discovery in Canada (Dr Brian Pickles – University of Reading)
- 8:20pm Comfort Break
- 8:30pm Q&A
- 9:00pm Networking
- 9:30pm End
More Information
Lichens, drones, and dinosaur bones: dinosaur discovery in Canada (Dr Brian Pickles – University of Reading)
For over 120 years dinosaur skeletons have been collected from Alberta, Canada, in the area now known as Dinosaur Provincial Park. Over 50 dinosaur species have been described from the Park, along with all sorts of other extinct animals, and there are so many bones you are often tripping over them. This makes it one of the best places in the world to learn about dinosaur ecology. Brian's novel research is using modern organisms (lichens) and technology (drones) to find fossils (dinosaur bones). He is also studying biodiversity using bonebeds and tracksites, and examining exquisitely preserved specimens like "mummified" hadrosaurs! The talk will cover some of the exciting research that he and his students are working on, using both modern technological approaches and good old fashioned digging around in the dirt.
Time: 7pm until late (talk starts at 7.30pm)
Venue: Downstairs @ Zero Degrees (Reading)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)
Look forward to seeing you there!
- Royal Society: "Unravelling the origins of childhood cancer"The Royal Institution, London
This livestream public talk from the Royal Society by Professor Sam Behjati is titled "Francis Crick Prize Lecture: Unravelling the origins of childhood cancer".
ADVANCE BOOKING IS REQUIRED FOR THIS FREE TALK.
register via EventbriteTalk details can be found below.
https://royalsociety.org/science-events-and-lectures/2025/10/francis-crick-prize/SUMMARY
The Francis Crick Medal and Lecture 2025 is awarded to Professor Sam Behjati for fundamental discoveries into the developmental roots of childhood cancer.Cancer is a leading cause of death in children in the UK. It is thought to arise before birth during human development. However, the precise origin of most types of childhood cancer is unknown. Advances in our ability to read DNA and process vast genetic data sets have enabled investigations into the origins of childhood cancer. This includes retrospective lineage tracing approaches that build on using naturally occurring errors in DNA (mutations) as barcodes of human development. In this lecture Sam will present some of the insights retrospective lineage tracing has delivered which may pave the way for early detection and prevention of childhood cancer.
### Attending online
- The lecture will also be livestreamed here and on the Royal Society YouTube channel
- You can take part in the live Q&A via Slido
- Please connect to the livestream a few minutes before the talk starts.
- This event will be recorded (including the live Q&A) and the recording will be available on YouTube soon after the event
