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Weekend of Science! On Sunday 1st October a group of Sixth Form and Year 11 attended the New Scientist Live conference in London Excel Centre. The Year 12 Biologists gained numerous ideas of what to study at University and this is what they thought:

“It was an amazing opportunity to learn about developments in the scientific world providing an insightful glimpse of a potential future with DNA data storage, synthetic organisms and much more. There were several exhibitions in areas such as technology, humans, space, engineering, and earth that engaged and inspired us to find out more about the world we live in.”

Jun-San Chakma. Year 11

“It made it clear to us how little people know about the most endangered species and the state of the oceans, there were some uncomfortable truths spelled out to us. The most impressionable of the Earth talks were ‘How to feed the world sustainably’ by Charles Godfray, and ‘When is it too late to save a species?’ by Sam Turvey. Spurted on to do something that will make a difference we have arranged for WHSG students to get 10p of their hot drink purchase when they bring a reusable cup at break time!” Jenna Williams Year 12

“The whole event, especially the talks, really helped to inspire our personal statement writing. I was impressed by the almost unimaginable applications of Synthetic Biology in Paul Freemont’s who described how our increased biotechnological skills put a whole new spin into the engineering world. The genetically engineered glowing trees are not yet on sale, but this amongst human bionic enhancements is heading our way. We also heard of an ingenious new solution to storing information in the world’s most ancient text, the chemical DNA. Nick Goldman’s team encrypted Shakespeare’s works into the genetic code and sent it to America where it was decoded. They calculated all information belonging to human civilisation could be synthesised into DNA and would take up no more than the volume of a typical white van!” Ellen Williams & Jessica Breavington Year 13

If you would like to find out more watch:

Watch: Is DNA the future of data storage?

The event was a stimulating and educating experience that we would highly recommend for anyone with any scientific interest.