LONDON MEETING
24-25 MARCH 2006
WWW.NEXTGENERATIONSCIENCE.ORG
From Molecules to Behaviour
University College London, the ‘Godless place on Gower Street’, was the setting for
the second meeting of teachers and students from the Rotterdam-London Next
Generation Science Programme. This was a fitting location for a meeting focused not
just upon excellence in science, but also upon building links between people of
different backgrounds and cultures. UCL itself was originally established to provide
an egalitarian alternative to Oxford and Cambridge, and was the first English
university to be open to all, regardless of race, or political or religious belief. Also
appropriate was the involvement of the EU Network of Excellence ‘Cells into Organs’.
The theme of the meeting ‘From Molecules to Behaviour’ is intricately entwined with
many of the research themes of ‘Cells into Organs’, and the expertise of several
network members was used during the meeting.
Professor Claudio Stern from the
Department of Anatomy and
Developmental Biology, opened the
meeting by welcoming the students and
teachers to UCL. He spoke of the
colourful history of the university, and
the current opportunities for students in
his department, where a wide variety of
courses, from history of medicine to
neuroscience, can be followed.
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‘He who thinks and thinks for
himself will always have a
claim to thanks; it is no matter
whether it be right or wrong,
so as it be explicit. If it is right,
it will serve as a guide to direct;
if wrong, as a beacon to warn.’
– Jeremy Bentham, ‘Spiritual
Father’ of UCL.
Professor Stern was followed by the
writer and distinguished Developmental Biologist, Lewis Wolpert, who talked,
sometimes controversially, about the nature of science itself. The main thread of his
argument was that despite the ‘long tradition that science is evil’, reliable science has
zero ethical content, and so there should be no areas that scientists cannot investigate.
Science is universal, and culture-free, where the individual is irrelevant as the facts
are always the same no matter who discovers them. Professor Wolpert argued that
ethics comes into play only when it comes to technology, the application of knowledge,
not with science itself, which is more the pursuit of knowledge.
‘There is no such thing as ‘off-limits’ in science’
– Professor Lewis Wolpert
Professor Wolpert’s talk stimulated plenty of questions from the audience, such as
‘Does there need to be a conflict between religion and science?’. There was also a
question about the idea of ‘reliable’ science, particularly after the many revelations
of unreliable science in the media recently, and Professor Wolpert made it clear that
although he believes that scientific knowledge is value-free, how science is performed
can indeed raise ethical questions.
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From Genes to Behaviour -Asymmetry in the Brain
Imagine you are shaking somebody’s hand - which hand do you use? It will probably
be the right one (even if you are left-handed) and this is just one example of
asymmetric behaviour which, though influenced by social and environmental factors,
often has an underlying biological cause. In his lecture, Professor Steve Wilson used
examples of asymmetric behaviour to give us our first glimpse of how molecules, such
as the protein products of functioning
genes, can influence behaviour. At the
Is there any physical difference
between the left side and right side
end of his lecture (as for the other
of the brain?
lectures during the meeting) there was
an opportunity for the students to
Yes, there’s a difference in the
formulate questions in groups and this
size of some areas, for example, the
produced some interesting discussions
language centre.
around the topic.
Q
A
‘Could you engineer a creature with
both sides of the brain dealing with
logic; a double left-sided brain?’
Asymmetries are widespread throughout the animal kingdom, and were probably
already present half a billion years ago, as shown by fossils of animals which were
attacked more often on one side than on the other. Frogs and chickens show obvious
asymmetries in the way they obtain their food, as do certain fish which develop their
mouth on one side of their body.
Humans also exhibit asymmetry in
What about asymmetries in our
their behaviour, and the human brain
feet – we walk on them both, but is
has more pronounced asymmetries
there still a difference?
than in many other mammals. One
Yes, asymmetries occur throughout
obvious indication of this asymmetry is
the body; for example, if you look at
the fact that the right side of the
footballers who have a preferred foot,
brain is associated with emotions
they will show prominent differences in
whereas the left side of the brain
muscle mass and dexterity.
generally deals with logic and
language. Professor Wilson discussed
some of his research in zebrafish which throws light on how these differences arise. A
region of the brain called the forebrain shows asymmetry in most vertebrates, and in
zebrafish this asymmetry is easily visualised. This makes it possible to investigate
what happens when genes are disrupted and Professor Wilson demonstrated how,
when certain genes are lost, the asymmetry of the brain is randomized. In cases
where the brain asymmetry is reversed compared to normal, some behavioural
patterns (such as which eye a fish uses when it looks at itself in the mirror) are also
reversed, showing how genes can indeed affect behaviour.
Q
A
Professor Steve Wilson, Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology, UCL
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‘I was so enthusiastic about the new
research that I talked about it in almost all
my classes the next week.’
– NGS teacher
Lab Demonstrations
When it came to the laboratory demonstrations, the staff and researchers at UCL
excelled themselves in both the quality and the organisation of the demonstrations.
Thanks to the generosity of the demonstrators, both the students and the teachers
were able to participate, and for the teachers this was particularly welcome as it
allows them to bring what they have seen back into their classrooms.
The demonstrations covered many aspects of the theme, from observations at the
molecular level, through early developmental events, to complex neurological and
behavioural processes. Participants were able to use electron and confocal
microscopes, manipulate developing embryos from various organisms, learn about
how the brain processes spatial memory and pain, and during the demonstration on
biological clocks they were encouraged to start their own investigations by recording
their sleep patterns.
Lab demonstrations led by researchers from the Department of
Anatomy and Developmental Biology, UCL.
Claudio Stern – Early embryonic development
David Becker – Confocal microscopy
David Whitmore – Biological clocks
Neil Burgess and John O’Keefe – Memory and spatial awareness
Yoshiyuki Yamamoto – Development and evolution of blind cavefish
Mark Turmaine – Electron microscopy
Maria Fitzgerald – Neurobiological pathways in pain
Stephen Wilson – Neural development in zebrafish
Courtesy of Dr David Becker
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Science Quiz
Later in the day the participants used their newly acquired scientific knowledge
when, during the Science Quiz, they answered questions set by the lab demonstrators.
They were also able to correctly identify human, mouse, chick and zebrafish embryos;
no easy feat because during early
development, vertebrate embryos often look
Which senses are
very similar to each other. As well as assessing
enhanced in the Mexican
the uptake of scientific knowledge however, the
Cave Fish?
Science Quiz had a less serious side, and was
above all a bit of fun and a chance for team
building and some friendly competition.
It was based on a traditional English pub
quiz, with questions on science in the media
and weird science, as well as snippets from
both this meeting and the previous NGS
meeting in Rotterdam. The participants
(students and teachers) also had to use their
acting skills to perform science charades,
some of which were truly inspired. The
‘Membrains’ won the prize for best name, and two teams played on the NGS
acronym, calling themselves the ‘NederEngland Girl Scientists’ and ‘Nobody Gets
Where is the ‘pain’ centre
Smarter’ – in the latter case this was not idle
in the brain?
boasting as they did, by a narrow margin, win
the quiz. In the end however, it wasn’t the
winning that was important, but rather how
many chocolate coins Quentin Cooper threw at you for a smart answer; competition
for these was hot, especially amongst the teachers…
Which fictional nuclear
power technician has been
known to shout: ‘In this
house, we OBEY the laws
of thermodynamics’?
Developed by Dr Claire McNulty, NGS science consultant
Presented by Quentin Cooper, BBC Radio 4 journalist
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Embryonic Research and Cloning Workshop
During this workshop the students were separated into two groups of 15, and they
then discussed various aspects of embryonic research and cloning with either Sammy
Lee or Arlene Klotzko. After about an hour the groups got together and had a
feedback session about their discussions. The group led by Sammy Lee focused on
the technology of human cloning and amongst other things addressed the question ‘Is
a clone true life?’. Arlene Klotzko talked about the social, ethical and legal
implications of human cloning, including whether we are now on a ‘slippery slope’
which could lead to the compromising of moral principles.
‘Is this progress, or are we becoming more morally corrupt?’
– NGS student
These sessions brought out some interesting points, including the coining of the term
‘frone’ – your headless clone in the freezer, which you keep for spare parts, and the
idea that females are stronger than males, at least in embryonic terms. At the end of
the session, when the reasons for human cloning, and the implications of the
technology were discussed, the workshop leaders praised both the level of
understanding and the moral stance of the students.
Dr Sammy Lee, scientific consultant at the Portland Hospital, London
Dr Arlene Klotzko, author and bioethicist
Poster Workshops
During the poster workshops the students were given a taste of how scientific
research is often presented. They were split into small groups and spent some time
with the workshop leader discussing a particular experimental result, which they were
encouraged to interpret. Then, in quite a short space of time, the students had to
produce a poster explaining the research. During an informal poster session they
had to stand by their posters and explain to the other participants about ‘their’
research. The resulting posters were excellent and the ability of the students to
explain often complex experiments and scientific theories was very impressive. This
exercise gave them a taste of actual research and how experiments are designed
and interpreted, and introduced them to the world of scientific conferences, where
poster sessions like this are used routinely by researchers to present their results.
Poster workshops led by:
Professor Lewis Wolpert; Professor Steve Wilson; Dr Daniel Glaser; Professor Frank
Grosveld; Professor Isabel Palmeirim; Professor Claudio Stern; Dr Corinne Houart
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The Sally-Ann test
Autism and Our Social Brain
- Sally has a marble in her basket.
- When Sally leaves the room, Ann puts the
marble into her box without Sally seeing.
- When Sally comes back into the room,
where will she look for the marble – in her
basket, or in Ann’s box?
Many animals exhibit social behaviour, such as grooming and looking after young,
but there are some social behaviours which seem to be particular to humans, such as
taking another’s perspective and being aware of one’s own emotions. One characteristic important for these social behaviours is the ability to ‘mentalise’; to think
about thoughts and attribute mental states to others, and it is this ability which is
often impaired in people with autism. Professor Uta Frith discussed this in her lecture,
and explained a little about the tests for mentalising ability and which areas of the
brain are involved with this process. The audience was fascinated by her account of
how we distinguish between our own thoughts and other’s, and how we can ascribe
complex meaning and behaviour to simple objects moving in a particular way. The
talk prompted many questions about autism, social behaviour and mentalising,
including a searching question from one student about the ability of animals, in
particular pets, to be aware of the moods and emotions of others. Professor Frith
answered that this area needs more research and encouraged the student to ‘Go
ahead and study it!’.
Although most children over the age of 5
correctly say that Sally would look for the
marble in her basket, children with autism
often point to where the marble actually is,
as they cannot distinguish between their
own thoughts, and Sally’s.
Professor Uta Frith, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, UCL
Epigenetics
X-inactivation
In female mammals, one X
chromosome is randomly inactivated
in every cell. This is why calico cats
have patches of black and orange fur,
depending on which X chromosome
has been inactivated.
Even though identical twins have exactly the same genetic material, they still exhibit
differences; for example where one twin is diabetic and the other is not. This can be
due to epigenetic differences and Professor Frank Grosveld explained in his talk
about the emerging field of epigenetics; the study of reversible heritable changes in
gene function that occur without alterations to the DNA sequence. One example of
this is X-inactivation, and another is imprinting, where for certain genes only the copy
inherited from the father is used and for others only the maternal copy is used. In
general, paternal imprinted genes promote growth and maternal ones inhibit
growth, perhaps in the latter case to protect the mother. Professor Grosveld went on
to explain how epigenetics can be important in medicine, for example in cancer
diagnostics. This discussion was taken up by the audience, when diseases on the X
chromosome were mentioned, where females may not become as sick as men because
half of their X chromosomes have been randomly inactivated.
Professor Frank Grosveld, Erasmus medical Centre, Rotterdam
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The Adolescent Brain
In the final talk of the meeting, Dr Sarah-Jayne Blakemore talked about something of
immediate interest to her audience; social cognition and the adolescent brain. She
first explained how the brain is hardwired for social interaction, a degree of which
is evident even in newborn babies who prefer to look at faces than other objects,
and who imitate facial expressions in others.
Later, as the brain develops, the speed of
How do blind babies know
signal transmission along axons increases
how to smile and show their
and neuronal connections (synapses) are
emotion in their faces?
reorganised, with an initial proliferation of
Smiling appears to be innate;
synapse formation followed by pruning. This
blind babies do not need to see
pruning occurs mainly during adolescence
other people smiling – they start
and one area of the brain which is
to smile at the same time as other
particularly affected is the pre-frontal
babies.
cortex, which is responsible for executive
function (for example planning and
organisation) and socialisation and empathy. Therefore this could have consequences
for how adolescents approach certain tasks, for example by making them less able
to read social situations correctly and take other people’s perspectives.
Q
A
These radical changes
Can the pruning of synapses be reversed?
occurring in the brain
could explain some of the
Yes, there are examples of children brought
mood and behavioural
up in Romanian orphanages, where the brain
changes that traditionally
development was delayed because of lack of
occur during puberty,
stimulus but, with the right attention, they were
which have previously just
eventually able to develop normally.
been put down to
hormonal changes. Dr
Blakemore also suggested that brain development during adolescence might be
influenced by environmental factors, as the brain appears to be particularly
malleable during puberty and adolescence.
Q
A
‘ If adolescent brains are
‘under construction’
shouldn’t we investigate
new training techniques?’
Dr Sarah-Jayne Blakemore, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, UCL
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Teacher Workshop 1: Science Learning Approaches
This session introduced the teachers to ‘Learning Skills for Science’, a recently
developed set of resources aimed at enhancing the core skills which are essential for
science learning. This approach was developed by the Weizmann Institute of Science
and has been produced for UK schools by the Gatsby Science Enhancement
Programme in collaboration with the Nuffield Curriculum Centre. The workshop
focused on the area of scientific reading, and a structured approach to reading was
introduced. Although this may seem intuitive, complex tasks such as reading scientific
articles often benefit from deconstruction, to enable more efficient execution.
Angela Hall, Science Learning Centre, Institute of Education
Sally Johnson, Gatsby Science Enhancement Programme
Teacher Workshop 2: NGS - The Way Forward
The second teacher workshop focused on generating concrete plans for the
continuation of the NGS network. Five groups were made, linking together teachers
from one London and one Rotterdam school; these groups were then asked to outline
project proposals which they would like to implement together. The ideas were then
critiqued by other teachers in order to share expertise and identify the strong and
weak points of each proposal.
Junior Science Café series-Trinity and Calvijn
Organised by students in linked London and Rotterdam schools, who will research a
topic, find a speaker and produce a synopsis. Students from partner schools will
send questions for remote participation. Host students to write article for publication
on website.
European science city trip- Trinity and Calvijn
Linked schools meet in a different European city and follow a programme with a
strong scientific focus. Students who organised JSC to be involved.
Science-based exchange programmes- Preston Manor and Het Marnix; Blaise Pascal
and Howard of Effingham
One-to-one exchange programmes which will include science activities developed in
the NGS programme, e.g. Science Quiz, workshops for students with inspiring, etc.
scientists
Joanna de Jong-Keogh, British Council Netherlands
Beatrice Boots, Platform Bèta Techniek
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‘The London meeting really began to bring people together.’
‘Thanks to these days we got more interested in
the world of science’
– NGS Student
The Future of NGS
At the end of the meeting, three different contributors to the NGS programme all
summed up in the same way. Professor Claudio Stern from UCL, Quentin Cooper the
radio presenter, and Lloyd Anderson the Director of Science at the British Council, all
focused on the exciting and rewarding aspects of science, and encouraged the
students to consider scientific careers, whether as researchers, ethicists, lawyers or
one of the many other options open to them. Information about some of the degree
programmes that could lead to these careers is available at www.anat.ucl.ac.uk.
Although this was the last scheduled meeting in the Rotterdam-London phase of NGS,
the relationships built continue in the form of joint projects and planned activities,
such as the compilation of the ‘Alternative Guide to Careers in Science’. As Lloyd
Anderson said, ‘The future of NGS depends on the teachers’ and it was encouraging
to learn that during the second teacher workshop some concrete ideas for
continuation had been proposed.
‘Science is a social activity’
– Professor Claudio Stern
NGS will now be taken to different locations during the next phase of the
programme, when schools from the Durham area and the Wageningen area will take
part in a new partnership. They will again be witnessing top-class research, but this
time at the Wageningen University and Research Centre, where the themes will be
‘Food in the modern world’ and ‘Adapting to a changing world’, and then in 2007
when Durham University will host the NGS programme.
‘What do you find interesting and exciting? That
will be what you do
best.’
- Professor Claudio Stern
Feedback and comments from current NGS participants are helping to shape future
meetings, and it is hoped that the individual networks created during the NGS
programme will interact, forming an extended virtual network of students, teachers
and academics to help promote and sustain science and scientific research in our
society.
‘The only truly adventurous thing to do is science’
– Quentin Cooper
More information about the NGS programme can be found on our website:
www.nextgenerationscience.org
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Abridged Programme
Friday 24 March
Saturday 25 March
10.00 - 10.30
Arrival at UCL
10.30 - 11.30
Lectures. Students formulate questions together in small
groups - Q&A sessions facilitated by Quentin Cooper
09.30 - 10.00
Arrival and registration at University College London
10.15 - 10.30
Warm-up for students & teachers. Quentin Cooper
10.30 - 10.40
Welcome by Professor Claudio Stern, UCL and Lloyd
Anderson, British Council Science
10.30 - 11.00
Professor Uta Frith, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience
Title: Autism and our social brain
10.40 – 12.00
Lectures. Students formulate questions together in small
groups - Q&A sessions facilitated by Quentin Cooper
11.00 - 11:30
Professor Frank Grosveld, Erasmus Medical Centre
Title: Epigenetics
10.40 - 11.20
Professor Lewis Wolpert. Dept. of Anatomy and
Developmental Biology
Title: Belief and the unnatural nature of science
11.30 - 11.40
Break
11.40 - 13.5
Student poster session led by experts:
A. Professor Lewis Wolpert
B. Professor Steve Wilson
C. Dr Daniel Glaser
D. Professor Frank Grosveld
E. Professor Isabel Palmeirim
F. Professor Claudio Stern
G. Dr Corinne Houart
11.40 - 13.15
Teacher session on the way forward
Facilitated by Joanna de Jong-Keogh, British Council
Netherlands, and Beatrice Boots, Platform Bèta
Techniek
13.15 - 14.15
Lunch and poster presentation
14.15 - 15.15
Lecture
Dr Sarah-Jayne Blakemore. Institute of Cognitive
Neuroscience
Title: The adolescent brain
Students formulate questions together in small groups
Q&A session facilitated by Quentin Cooper
15.15 - 15.30
Closing remarks and future plans
Professor Claudio Stern, UCL and Dr Lloyd Anderson,
British Council Science
11.20 - 12.00
Professor Steve Wilson. Dept. of Anatomy and
Developmental Biology
Title: From genes to behaviour
12.10 - 13.00
Lunch
13.00 - 17.00
Lab demonstrations / Student and teacher workshops
Lab demonstrations delivered by the Dept. of
Anatomy and Developmental Biology
Student workshop
Title: Embryonic research and cloning
Group A, led by Sammy Lee, discuss the scientific and
clinical aspects
Group B, led by Arlene Klotzko, discuss legal, moral and
societal aspects
Teacher workshop
Science learning approaches
Led by Angela Hall and Sally Johnson, Science Learning
Centre, Institute of Education
18.00 - 19.30
Dinner at International Student House
20.00
Science quiz. Presented by Quentin Cooper
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Participating schools
London: Ashmole School; Ellen Wilkinson School for Girls; Howard of Effingham;
Preston Manor High School; Trinity Catholic High School
Rotterdam: Calvijn Christelijke Scholengemeenschap; Erasmiaans Gymnasium;
Marnix Gymnasium; Penta College CSG Blaise Pascal; Rotterdam Montessori Lyceum
Project Manager: Joanna de Jong-Keogh
Project Co-ordinator: Dagmar Dijkstra
Science Consultant/Report Writer: Dr Claire McNulty
Photos: Sander Foederer
except when attributed to Dr David Becker
Design: J. Peres
Cover: Breast cancer cells in culture
Photo courtesy of Dr David Becker