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Overview

An opportunity for Fellows to meet and socialise whilst discovering and sharing science. Hosted by Professor Dame Pratibha Gai and Professor Ian Graham.

Research Weekends at Chicheley Hall are part of the Fellows' Social Programme at the Society. These relaxed weekends allow Fellows and their guests to socialise, whilst also joining informal discussions and talks on a range of scientific topics.

Join hosts Professor Dame Pratibha Gai and Professor Ian Graham for this weekend on 24 - 25 March 2018. Each day will feature a series of relaxed talks, lively discussion and opportunities to enjoy the surroundings of Chicheley Hall.

To cover some of the accommodation and catering costs we ask for a contribution of £85 from Fellows and Foreign Members. Guests of Fellows are very welcome, and we ask for a contribution from guests of £110.

To register for this Fellow's Research Weekend or for further information please contact the Scientific Programmes team on fellowship@royalsociety.org.

Organisers

Schedule

13:30-13:45
Welcome by hosts
13:45-14:35
Insect pheromones and beyond

Abstract

The study of insect sex pheromones has contributed many extremely powerful chemical tools for manipulating insect behaviour. Although this includes both pests and beneficial insects, there has been relatively limited practical value in terms of pest management or conservation. The lepidopterous sex pheromones, which have received most attention, are powerful attractants but only for the male insects. The first identification of aphid sex pheromones and the first sex related pheromones for haematophagous insects, including mosquitoes and sandflies, opened up new possibilities but practical value has still been difficult to realise. The chemical synthesis is complicated by very strict stereochemical requirements and sustained delivery is hampered by high volatility and chemical instability. It has long been considered possible to overcome such problems eventually by using GM to produce the pheromone, for example from a crop to be defended against insect attack, and this has been technically achieved for the aphid alarm pheromone in wheat. However, although the behavioural impact on aphids and their parasites was impressive in the lab, the precise conditions for response were not achieved in field trials. Another group of signal chemicals or semiochemicals, in addition to the pheromones, that is now showing promise relates to host recognition and location. Indeed, by delivery from companion plants in agricultural situations operating with low external inputs such as is necessary for small holder farming in sub-Saharan Africa, plant stress related semiochemicals can control insect pests including the fall armyworm currently causing havoc in the region. Similar stress related semiochemistry is now showing promise for protection of farm animals from insect-vectored pathogens. These host derived semiochemicals may also be developed more effectively by GM technologies in ongoing studies.

Speakers

14:35-15:25
The Nanosculpting and Nanoengineering of materials at the interfaces of science

Abstract

Nano to macro-scale, synthetic or natural; particles can have unique forms engineered by nature or humans, and yet their shapes are often determined by their environments. At one extreme synthetic particles comprising structures with hierarchical shells can be described as being coated by grass-like fats and trees, where their shapes are distorted by the phases of matter they exist. Nanosculpting can create new “Janus”, “Saturn” and “Boojum” supermolecules, which can have potential applications in optical filters and meta-materials. At the other extreme, nature provides us with a vast array of unique monodisperse and potentially anisotropic particles based on spores and pollen, with length scales of microns and above. When the biologically active content of such particles is removed the resulting deflated spheres and ellipsoids can be used as empty vesicles, and reflated for the transport materials, such as dyes, magnets, and insulin. In between the nano- and macro-structures of particles there exists a strange regime that is neither; where the molecules appear as molecular grains in the macroworld, and have properties similar to those of granular matter. The molecules are of unusual shape, densely pack together, and behave like polymers. They form helical and plaited macrostructures without the need for local chirality or even molecular interactions. They exhibit anisotropic flow properties, with the possibility of exhibiting anisotropic entropic behaviour. Thus, within the interfaces separating the sciences, and the regime between the macro and nano-worlds, there is much to explore.

Speakers

15:25-15:45
Tea
15:45-16:35
Glycans and their receptors are amongst nature’s smartest structures

Abstract

All living cells are coated with a sugar-rich layer which is called the glycocalyx. Clusters of sugars (glycans), on the periphery of the glycocalyx serve as ligands for sugar-recognition proteins, called lectins, on partner cells. Glycan-lectin recognition can be exquisitely specific. Many important biological processes depend on the ability of cells to appropriately communicate with each other via these sugar-lectin interactions and to respond accordingly. For example, lectins on the surfaces of viruses and bacteria are known to recognise sugars on target cells and attach to them as the first step of infection. Conversely the adaptive immune system is triggered when sugars on the surfaces of pathogens bind to lectins expressed by cells of the host immune system. Although these examples of glycan-lectin recognition are now relatively well understood, many biological processes that are likely to be similarly controlled by glycan-lectin interactions remain enigmatic. For example, how do immune cells in the gut distinguish between beneficial and harmful microbes, how do cancer cells evade the immune system, and how does a developing foetus escape rejection by the mother despite expressing "foreign" antigens? This talk will provide insights into the roles of glycans and lectins as “smart” molecules in biological recognition.

Speakers

18:00-18:50
From smart lighting to smart earthquake prediction

Abstract

In a 2016 report, Goldman Sachs said: “The rapid adaptation of LEDs in lighting marks one of the fastest technology shifts in human history.” In the near future LED lighting will move from being passive to active: to “smart lighting”. There is increasing evidence that sunlight (if not excessive!) is good for our health. Next generation smart LED lighting will mimic sunlight indoors and reproduce the changing spectrum of sunlight from dawn to dusk. Next generation smart lighting will be used for communications, called LiFi, which will mimic WiFi but have certain key advantages. Next generation smart lighting will be central to the Internet of Things (IoT) and to water purification. Recent research on optimising the structure of GaN LEDs using machine learning has been used to predict laboratory earthquakes one week in advance by analyzing the acoustic signals emitted, and this is looking promising for the prediction of real earthquakes. At present, the acoustic signals only reliably give ten seconds warning of an earthquake.

Speakers

10:00-10:15
Welcome by hosts
10:15-11:05
Active matter: nature’s machines

Abstract

Active materials such as bacteria, molecular motors and self-propelled colloids are nature’s engines. They extract energy from their surroundings at a single particle level and use this to do work. Active matter is becoming an increasingly popular area of research because it provides a testing ground for the ideas of non-equilibrium statistical physics, because of its relevance to the collective behaviour of living creatures, from cells to starlings, and because of its potential in designing nanomachines. Dense active matter shows mesoscale turbulence, the emergence of chaotic flow structures characterised by high vorticity and topological defects. Researchers are starting to consider how mesoscale turbulence might be harnessed to provide coherent flows and sources of energy. Moreover the ideas of active matter suggest new ways of interpreting cell motility and cell division. In particular recent results indicate that active topological defects may help to regulate turnover in epithelial cell layers and contribute to controlling the structure of bacterial colonies.

Speakers

11:05-11:55
Assessing photonic Nano-structures

Abstract

Nano-structures of suitable dielectric materials (such as silver or gold) can have large cross sections for scattering and absorption of light in particular spectral ranges.  After centuries where use of this was made in stained glass windows, more scientific optical scattering experiments were initiated by Faraday’s work on colloidal suspensions and Mie’s analysis with Maxwell’s equations of  the scattering resonances in simple spheres.  These resonances, later identified with the surface plasmons of Ritchie, can now be studied in detail on individual nanostructures by electron microscopy where the precise geometry and composition can be assessed on the atomic scale. Moving on from spheres and cylindrical rods, structures of increasing complexity such as tori, starfish and slit ring resonators can be characterised.  With nearly the same precision, the optical response of the structure can be probed by photon-induced near field electron microscopy (PINEM). Through light scattering as well as near field enhancement of light intensities, a wide range of potentially exciting applications has been opened up in solar cells, Raman spectroscopy, photo-catalysis, medicine and even in perfect optical imaging and cloaking. After its remarkably slow gestation, the field is now exploding dramatically.  Assessing the current state of these sometimes over-hyped developments is however inevitably a challenge.

Speakers