The Eunoia and Biology Societies came together on Friday evening to hear a lecture from Dr Dunford entitled “Brain Talk” covering the topic of neuroscience, which was the area of study for her thesis.
She began by talking the audience through the basics of the nervous system, including the make up of the brain and the spinal cord. She then went on to talk through the research she conducted before arriving at Bloxham. This included research in to the production of nitric oxide in the spinal cord and how this production may not occur in some neurons in the spinal cord of mice with a form of Motor Neurone Disease . This gave everyone a great insight in to how scientific research is carried out, as well as what advances are being made in the world today.
One of the highlights of the talk was when the audience was played a recording of nerve impulses taken from a ‘dead’ spinal cord that was being artificially kept alive. These noises, which sounded like repeating pips, turned out to be the spinal cord trying to continue to walk. This gave us a very tangible connection to Dr Dunford’s work and the world of neuroscience. Overall, the lecture was very interesting and informative for everyone, not just those taking Biology.
Thank you to Max Langer for the report above.