Pint of Science comes to Cardiff!

The annual Pint of Science festival appears in Cardiff for the first time ever – starting with a ‘sold out’ neuroscience event at Little Man Coffee shop.

Undeterred by torrential rain, around 50 people turned out for the ‘Beautiful Minds’ event in Cardiff town centre on Monday 15 May, which kicked off the UK-wide Pint of Science festival with two talks from leading Cardiff University neuroscientists.

Covering 26 cities across the UK, Pint of Science is a non-profit organisation that brings together some of the most brilliant scientists to local pubs and cafes to discuss their latest research findings and make science accessible to all.

Curious Connections

Dr Matthias Gruber, Lecturer in Neuroscience at Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), spoke with passion during his ‘Curious Connections’ talk, before Professor of Functional Neurosurgery at the (BRAIN) Unit, William Gray, got the audience thinking about neurogenesis and epilepsy.

The evening began with Dr Gruber taking the floor to address how curiosity might benefit learning as it energises the brain. With Twitter competitions and prizes to be won, Dr Matthias sparked the audience’s curiosity with a question he would not answer until the end, before explaining why a curious brain learns even uninteresting information better than a non-curious one!

Prof Gray, who is Cardiff University’s Professor of Functional Neurosurgery and an internationally renowned expert in epilepsy, followed with a first-hand perspective on the ‘Neurology of Epilepsy’ and how it can change our view of the brain.

Referencing the innovative new therapies that Cardiff University is developing to combat the symptoms of epilepsy, Prof Gray discussed how the average adult human creates around 700 neurons each day but stress and epilepsy can reduce hippocampal neurogenesis.

‘A great success’

The BRAIN Unit also turned out to show their support by hosting an information stand with details about the centre’s BRAIN Involve project, chocolate brains, and how to apply to study neuroscience.