Kyushu University Science Course 2013
Science at Cambridge: Past, Present and Future
The University of Cambridge has an unrivalled reputation for scientific discovery. Our
researchers have continually pushed back the boundaries of every scientific
discipline, and made some of the most ground-breaking discoveries that the world
has seen. This course introduces you to Cambridge's most celebrated scientists,
theories, insights and legacies before moving on to focus on the many ways in which
Cambridge remains at the forefront of various scientific disciplines today. The course
is designed for students from any discipline, including those from non-science
backgrounds, and will offer an invaluable and accessible overview of cutting-edge
scientific research. We will delve into issues in both the natural and physical
sciences, and no field will be given pre-eminence.
We will start by discussing the work of Newton, Darwin, Rutherford, Whittle, Watson,
Crick and Hawking, concentrating on the techniques and intellects that made them
so successful in their respective fields. This will provide the starting point from which
to discuss current research that is being undertaken within the University today in
areas as diverse as Quantum Physics, Cosmology, Astrophysics, Zoology, Chemical
Engineering, Cancer Research, Biochemistry, Photonics, Anthropology and Botany.
In a series of interactive sessions we will discuss and demonstrate the techniques
and technologies that Cambridge scientists are using to answer fundamental
questions such as: How do we map stars?; How can we identify murderers?; How is
humanity affecting animals and habitats?; How can the study of plants help in the
development of new drugs?; How can we diagnose and cure cancer?; How do we
learn things?; What new engineering techniques are being used to create the
everyday products that we use?
Teaching Methods
Teaching is by means of lectures plus tutorial classes (seminars) for the period of the
course. The lectures aim to present the material, while the seminars aim to discuss
the material presented in the lectures. Topics to be discussed in seminars will be
distributed throughout the course. These do not form part of the course assessment,
but students are required to work through these for their better understanding of the
topics covered.
Method of Assessment
Final Exam: 80%
Seminar discussion and lecture participation: 20%
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Instructor: Dr Paul Elliott
Dr Paul Elliott is Director of Studies in Biology at Homerton College, Cambridge, a
lecturer in Animal Behaviour at Anglia Ruskin University, and a Fellow at Selwyn
College, Cambridge. His research focuses on the biology and control of aquatic pest
species (such as the notorious zebra mussel) and has led to numerous published
papers in both Zoology and Chemical Engineering. Paul is also an interviewer for
students wanting to take the Natural Sciences course at Cambridge University and
supervises on the 1st year “Evolution and Behaviour” course. He has a passion for
teaching and enthusing young people about science.
Field Trips
Much of the teaching on this course will take place outside the classroom, making
use of the museums, laboratories and University science facilities. Field trips will be
incorporated into the time tabled session and include:
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The University of Cambridge Department of Zoology
Cambridge University Museum of Zoology
Cambridge University Institute of Astronomy
The University of Cambridge Botanical Gardens and Sainsbury Laboratory
The Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences.
Anglia Ruskin University
The Stardome Planetarium
Selwyn College, Cambridge University (for a 3D science show)
Reading list
The following book provides a very nice series of discussions regarding some of the
characteristics which have made Cambridge scientists famous:
Harman, P., and Mitton, S. eds. 2003. Cambridge Scientific Minds. Cambridge
University Press.
A number of other relevant books, papers and websites are listed in the lecture
summaries below.
Vocabulary list
The lecture summaries listed below include a number of important words that will
help you understand the lectures. If there are any words that you do not understand,
you should look up these words in a dictionary before you start the course, and make
sure you are familiar with them and with their spelling. These words will help you
understand some of the science that we will be discussing, and they may well make
an appearance in the final examination!
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Session 1. Introduction
Summary:
In the introductory lecture, you will be introduced to Dr Paul Elliott, the course
organiser. Paul’s research at the University of Cambridge focuses on the biology and
control of aquatic pest species such as the notorious zebra mussel.
You will then learn about the incredible range of nobel-prize winning scientists that
have conducted their research at Cambridge University. You will also get to see the
places where cutting-edge research is actually happening!
Background:
Cambridge is one of the world's oldest universities and leading academic centres. It
is comprised of 31 Colleges (where students live and socialise) and over 150
departments, faculties, schools and other institutions (where all the work gets done).
During this initial tour, you will be introduced to the places where some of the
greatest ever scientific discoveries have been made. These will include:
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Trinity College, at which Sir Isaac Newton developed ideas for his book
'Principia Mathematica' (published in 1687) which established the
fundamental principles of modern physics.

Peterhouse college, at which Charles Babbage had his first ideas for a
calculating machine called a 'difference engine'.

Christ’s College, from where Charles Darwin was recommended to join the
HMS Beagle as the naturalist on it’s survey of South American waters.

The Cavendish laboratory, where the atom was split for the first time.
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The Eagle Pub (and site of old laboratories) where Francis Crick and James
Watson devised the structure of DNA in 1953.
References:
If you would like to find out about some of Paul’s work, you can read the following
scientific papers (available on request):
Elliott, P., Aldridge, D.C., and Moggridge, G.D. 2008. Zebra mussel filtration and its potential uses in
industrial water treatment. Water research. 42, 1664-1674
Elliott, P. and Zu Ermgassen, P.S. 2008. The Asian clam (Corbicula fluminea) in the River Thames,
London, England. Aquatic Invasions. March, 54-60.
Aldridge, D.C., Moggridge, G.D. and Elliott, P.E. 2006. A micro-encapsulated biobullet for the control of
biofouling zebra mussels. Environmental Science and Technology. 40 (3), 975 -979.
Elliott, P., Aldridge, D.C. and Moggridge, G.D., 2005. The increasing effects of zebra mussels on water
installations in England. Water and Environmental Management. Dec, 367-375.
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Session 2. Newton and other Cambridge Physicists.
Summary:
In this session, you will be introduced to the scientists whose amazing discoveries
have changed the face of physics. This lecture will be given whilst students are
punted down the river Cam past the colleges. Afterwards, you will learn about the
physics behind making rockets. You’ll get to put this knowledge into practice when
we launch our own water rockets up to 20 metres high. Be prepared to get wet!
Background:
Sir Isaac Newton (1643–1727) was an English physicist, mathematician, astronomer,
and alchemist, and is undoubtedly one of the most influential scientists in human
history. He described universal gravitation and the three laws of motion which
dominated the scientific view of the physical universe for the next three centuries.
Newton showed that the motions of objects on Earth and of celestial bodies are
governed by the same set of natural laws. In optics, he built the first practical
reflecting telescope and developed a theory of colour based on the observation that
a prism decomposes white light into the many colours which form the visible
spectrum. In mathematics, Newton developed the theory of calculus. All of these
theories will be practically illustrated whilst punting down the River Cam. In the
middle of the tour, we will reach Trinity College, where Newton became the first
Lucasian Professor of Mathematics.
Students will also be introduced to Physicists such as John Thomson who
discovered the electron in 1897 and Ernest Rutherford who announced that each
atom contains a positively charged nucleus.
References:
http://www-outreach.phy.cam.ac.uk/camphy/
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Session 3. Crime Scene Investigation
Summary:
In this practical session, we will concentrate on the growing field of forensic science.
Students will act as crime scene investigators and investigate a suspicious “death”,
using cutting-edge equipment. They must analyse the crime scene, conduct forensic
tests, undertake DNA analysis and scrutinise the evidence. As the crime-scene
unfolds, students must ensure that they work together to analyse all of the
information collected.
Background:
This practical will include DNA fingerprinting of pre-prepared samples in the
Laboratories at Anglia Ruskin University. These laboratories have recently been
used to study the genetic mutations of grey squirrels that have led to the creation of
a new black squirrel strain in the UK.
DNA profiling is a technique employed by forensic scientists to assist in the
identification of individuals on the basis of their respective DNA profiles. The DNA
profiling technique was first reported in 1985 by Sir Alec Jeffreys at the University of
Leicester in England and is now the basis of several national DNA databases.
Although 99.9% of human DNA sequences are the same in every person, enough of
the DNA is different to distinguish one individual from another. DNA profiling uses
repetitive ("repeat") sequences that vary a lot, called variable number tandem
repeats (VNTR). VNTRs loci are very similar between closely related humans, but so
variable that unrelated individuals are extremely unlikely to have the same VNTRs.
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Session 4. Evolution.
Summary:
The processes of natural selection and genetic drift have created every plant,
animal, and bacterium on Earth. We will be investigating these processes in more
detail, and will discuss the conflicting idea of creationism. You will also understand
why peacocks have long tails, how the eye evolved, and why organisms have sex (it
is not what you think!). At the end of the session we will visit the Sedgwick museum
of Earth Sciences, where a number of galleries explore the distant origins of life on
Earth, from the very first traces in muddy pools to the rapid development of marine
life and the first land animals.
Background:
2009 sees the bicentenary of Darwin’s birth, and the 150th anniversary of the
publication of his seminal work, ‘On the Origin of Species’. Darwin was an English
naturalist who presented compelling evidence that all species of life have evolved
over time from common ancestors, through the process he called natural selection.
His theory of natural selection came to be widely seen as the primary explanation of
the process of evolution and is the unifying theory of the life sciences, providing a
logical explanation for the diversity of life. This lecture will introduce you the
fundamentals of Darwinian selection.
In a modern context, Natural selection is still a very important theory. It can be used
to predict how parasites of humans will evolve and whether rare animals and plants
may persist for future generations. It is also important because artificial selection has
become a vital part of genetic engineering, with selectable markers such as antibiotic
resistance genes being used to manipulate DNA in molecular biology. Evolutionary
theory also has many applications in computer science. Evolutionary algorithms are
now used to solve multi-dimensional problems more efficiently than software
produced by human designers, and also to optimize the design of systems.
References:
Dawkins, R. 2006. The Selfish gene. Oxford University Press.
This is an entertaining book that covers many aspects of evolutionary biology.
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Session 5. Biodiversity.
Summary:
By the end of the lecture, you will understand the last four billion years of biological
evolution, and how every organism on earth is related to every other organism! You
will also learn about the threats that mankind is creating to the biodiversity of the
planet.
Students will also visit the Department of Zoology and the Cambridge University
Museum of Zoology where they can see the products of animal evolution. The
Zoology museum houses an extensive collection of scientifically important zoological
material designated as being of outstanding national and international significance
by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council. In addition, students will also get to
handle and study live animals such as snakes, owls, skunks and lizards.
Background:
Biodiversity found on Earth today is the result of 4 billion years of evolution. Although
the origin of life has not been clearly established by science, some evidence
suggests that life may already have been well-established a few hundred million
years after the formation of the Earth. Until approximately 600 million years ago, all
life consisted of archaea, bacteria, protozoans and similar single-celled organisms.
The history of biodiversity during the last 540 million years started with a rapid
growth during the Cambrian explosion, a period during which nearly every group of
multicellular organisms first appeared. Over the next 400 million years or so, global
diversity showed little overall trend, but was marked by periodic, massive losses of
diversity (which are now classified as mass extinction events).
Modern biodiversity is not very different from the biodiversity that existed 300 million
years ago, with estimates of there being between 2 million to 100 million species on
earth, the vast majority of them being arthropods. This lecture will introduce all of the
different types of animal, plant and unicellular organism on the face of the planet.
Students will learn what makes each organism so unique, and the threats that the
humans are causing to them. We may also have time to go on a biodiversity
“treasure hunt” in a college garden.
References:
To get an idea of the multitude of organisms on the planet, students should refer to
the Tree of life web project: http://www.tolweb.org/tree/
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Session 6: Astronomy
We will visit the Institute of Astronomy (IoA) and discuss the wide range of
theoretical problems studied there, ranging from the evolution of the universe,
through to theories regarding the formation and evolution of galaxies and stars, X-ray
sources and black holes.
Students will have the opportunity to use the Northumberland telescope which is the
only remaining large instrument from the early days of the University Observatory. It
was for some years one of the world's largest refracting telescopes with an accurate
clock-driven equatorial mounting to follow a star in its diurnal motion across the sky.
In addition, students will enter a huge inflatable dome to observe the beautiful sky at
night. The accompanying lecture, given by Mr Andrew Green BSc(Hons), will show
the students the constellations that can be observed in the night sky. Andrew is a
Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society & Fellow of the British Interplanetary
Society.
Background:
The Institute of Astronomy (IoA) came into being in 1972 by the amalgamation of
three institutions which had developed on the site. A wide class of theoretical
problems are studied there, ranging from models of quasars and of the evolution of
the universe, through theories of the formation and evolution of galaxies and stars,
X-ray sources and black holes.
Astrophysics is the branch of astronomy that deals with the physics of the universe,
including the physical properties (luminosity, density, temperature, and chemical
composition) of celestial objects such as galaxies, stars, planets, and the interstellar
medium. The study of cosmology is theoretical astrophysics at scales much larger
than the size of particular gravitationally-bound objects in the universe.
The Astrophysics Group at Cambridge carries out a wide range of research
programmes, with particular emphasis on the fields of cosmic microwave
background (CMB) radiation, star formation and galaxy evolution. Current CMB
experiments are aimed at detecting a particular mode of the CMB polarisation, which
if measured would give them direct information about conditions in the early universe
about 10-34 seconds after the big bang.
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Session 7: Chemistry and Chemical Engineering
Chemistry doesn’t necessarily need to be complicated. In this session, we’ll
investigate a number of exciting chemical processes such as nucleation, acid-base
reactions, and decomposition. Students will also investigate the properties of
Thixotropic compounds and Hydrogels.
At the end of this session, we will move on to discuss Chemical engineering, the
branch of engineering that deals with the application of physical science to the
process of converting raw materials or chemicals into more useful or valuable forms.
We can now use chemical engineering to make things that people want rather than
necessarily need. In this part of the session, we will visit the cutting-edge
Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology and explore some recent
innovations at Cambridge, including advanced heat packs, bendy chocolate, fat-free
cheese and ice-cream that doesn’t melt.
Background:
Chemical engineering is the branch of engineering that deals with the application of
physical science to the process of converting raw materials or chemicals into more
useful or valuable forms. In addition to producing useful materials, chemical
engineering is also concerned with pioneering valuable new materials and
techniques, an important form of research and development. The first real Chemical
Engineer was French physicist Sadi Carnot, who wrote about the thermodynamics of
combustion reactions in steam engines in 1824.
Chemical engineering is applied in the manufacture of a wide variety of products.
The chemical industry proper manufactures inorganic and organic industrial
chemicals, ceramics, fuels and petrochemicals, agrochemicals (fertilizers,
insecticides, herbicides), plastics and elastomers, oleochemicals, explosives,
detergents and detergent products (soap, shampoo, cleaning fluids), fragrances and
flavours, additives, dietary supplements and pharmaceuticals. Students will get an
introduction to some of these processes during this interactive lecture.
We may get a chance to have a tour of the Department of Chemical Engineering in
Cambridge. The academic staff at this department are active in one or more of four
research themes: Modelling (e.g. analytical modelling of fluid dynamics and transport
processes), Measurement (e.g. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and X-ray
diffraction), Microstructure Engineering (e.g. processing of microcapillary films) and
Processes (e.g. Sustainable generation of energy by gasification and combustion).
References:
A summary of how Chemical Engineering has been applied o the control of zebra
mussels can be found in the following paper:
Costa, R., Elliott, P., Saraiva, P.M., Aldridge, D.C. and Moggridge, G.M. 2008. Development of
sustainable solutions for zebra mussel control through chemical product engineering. Chinese Journal
of Chemical Engineering 16 (2008) 435-440.
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Session 8: Botany
Summary:
The University botanical gardens are home to an incredible diversity of trees, shrubs
and even the biggest flower in the world! We’ll have a gentle stroll around this
beautiful location and you’ll learn about some of the plant worlds’ strangest
innovations. Students will also get to visit the Sainsbury laboratory, one of the
newest laboratories at the University of Cambridge which houses 120 scientists
studying plant development.
Background:
Cambridge University Botanic Garden was established as a University teaching and
research resource by Professor John Stevens Henslow on land acquired in 1831,
and finally opened to the public in 1846. Henslow, who is perhaps now best
remembered for inspiring his pupil Charles Darwin with a love of natural science,
recognised the need to study plants in their own right. He was convinced that trees
were the most important plants in the world and these form the framework of the
Garden. Today the Garden welcomes around 100,000 visitors each year.
With a framework of mature trees and shrubs, there are some superbly landscaped
settings including: the Rock Garden, representing the alpine plants from the
mountains of every continent; the Lake and Water Garden, teeming with bird life;
tropical rainforest, the alpine house and seasonal displays in the Glasshouses; and
the historic Systematic Beds, displaying 1600 hardy representatives of more than 80
families of flowering plants.
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