British Science Week
6TH - 15TH MARCH
We're celebrating British Science Week with a city-wide round-up of the amazing engineering developments, scientific achievements and world-changing breakthroughs to come out of NE1...
STEAMING INTO THE 20TH CENTURY
Pioneering railway engineer and Geordie hero, George Stephenson built the world’s first steam locomotive right here in the city in 1814! This ground-breaking feat of engineering could haul around 30 tons of coal at a speed of four miles per hour - drastically changing the face of the rail and coal-mining industry. Fast-forward to 2020, and George Stephenson’s purpose-built railway workshop has now been transformed into the Boiler Shop - one of NE1’s much-loved venues!
CONNECTING THE WORLD
Northumbria University has a seemingly endless list of notable alumni who have gone on to achieve incredible feats, but a special mention goes out to Northumbria graduate, Sir Jonathan Ive - Chief Design Officer at Apple! He designed the iMac, iPod, iPhone, iPad and MacBook. Head over to the Apple store in intu Eldon Square and see how a Northumbria Uni graduate has helped change the digital world!
LIGHTBULB MOMENT
North East native, Joseph Swan created the world’s first-ever incandescent lightbulb in the 19th century. After many failed public experiments, Swan publicly demonstrated a working lamp to an audience of over 700 people in The Lit & Phil in 1879 - as we told you about in Issue 188! Shortly after, The Swan Electric Light Company began installing light bulbs in homes and landmarks across England.
NE1’S NOBEL PRIZE WINNERS
Peter Higgs: In 2013, born and bred Tyneside native, Peter Higgs, was awarded a Nobel Prize in physics for his scientific breakthrough with the Higgs boson theory or more commonly known - ‘The God Particle’. A momentous discovery, 'The God Particle' is a universe-wide field that gave mass to all matter after the Big Bang, forcing particles to turn into stars, planets and everything else know of today - complex stuff! Peter's Higgs boson theory was confirmed after scientists observed a new 'God' particle at CERN's Large Hadron Collider in Geneva.
Dr Catherine Douglas and Dr Peter Rowlinson: Dr Catherine Douglas and Dr Peter Rowlinson of Newcastle University won the LG Nobel Prize for Veterinary Medicine in the US for their work which investigated stress levels in dairy cattle! Their ground-breaking study found that giving a cow a name and treating her as an individual can increase a farmer’s annual milk yield by almost 500 pints!
Dr Claire Rind and Dr Peter Simmons: This Newcastle University duo bagged the LG Nobel Prize for their investigation on how locusts managed to avoid mid-air collisions - and how it could be translated in car safety! They studied the reactions of nerve cells in locusts and used clips from Star Wars videos, too!
CUTTING EDGE SCIENCE
Did you know that leading scientists at the Life Science Centre are the first people in Europe (and only the second in the world) to gain a license for stem cell research on human embryos? As well as researching new fertility treatments, it also means that the Life Science Centre can develop new remedies for the likes of diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. The team made medical history back in 2005 when they became the first group of scientists to successfully clone a human embryo. Incredible work!
MARVELLOUS MEDICINE
Tyneside hero, Thomas Addison, shaped the future of medicine with his investigative work into the world of dermatology. Thomas is perhaps best known for his discovery of 'Addison's disease' - a skin disorder that relates to issues with adrenal glands. Addison's monograph has became an important medical contribution - helping to treat sufferers around the world!
