SCIENCE ISSUES CAFE is a monthly discussion group in North Carlton (Melbourne, Australia) which allows lay people to get together and hear about the latest research or discuss the big issues in science today. Click on the link to see our history.

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Each month we have a presentation by a scientist in his
or her field, who then leads the discussion. 

We meet on the first Monday of the month. 

See under "Meetings" for details of topics and dates. 

Next meeting:

Monday 6th July 2009

Speaker: Emma Burrows

TOPIC: Interaction between genes and environment in psychiatric illness

The phrase use it or lose it is commonly used in our vocabulary however
is often associated with the physical.  Exercise regularly or lose your
fitness.  It is now becoming evident that the same applies to your
brain.  Keep your mind active or lose brain function.  And just like you
need to vary the types of exercise you do, your brain also benefits from
diverse experience.

Emma Burrows works with Associate Professor Tony Hannan at the Florey
Neuroscience Institute and in their laboratory they are testing how
exposing mice to stimulating or enriched environments improves their
memory and mood.  Emma will discuss her research into the interaction
between genes and the environment within psychiatric illness.  She will
comment on how keeping mice active with toys and novelty has been shown
to increase performance in memory tasks, strengthen connections in the
brain and is beneficial for a number of mouse models of brain disease.

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You can also participate by joining this website. As a member you will be able to contribute comments to the forum, and you also are given your own page (like having your own website) on the Science Issues website. To become a member, click on "join" at the top right on the menu bar, and follow the instructions.

This site is still very much under construction...

so please visit us again soon