Pulse

Following the new interface to the COS Funding Opportunities database we have updated our quick-start guide (PDF document).

http://www.swan.ac.uk/media/Media,7641,en.pdf

The Swansea Science Café offers opportunities for anyone to find out more about new, exciting and topical areas of science. Designed to be informal and entertaining, the café typically runs on the last Wednesday of every month at the Dylan Thomas Centre. Entry is free and talks start at 7:30pm.

For future events see http://www.sciencecafewales.org/

Nature does it, so why can’t we? Nanomedicine from an ethical point of view

Christian Lenk, University of Goettingen

Wednesday, 28^th May at 7:30pm Dylan Thomas Centre

Nanomedicine is a new discipline which deals with the application of nanotechnology for medical purposes in diagnosis, prevention and therapy. “Nanos” is the greek word for “dwarf”, and nanotechnology aims on the molecular structure of things, to create new materials with new qualities which arise from characteristic effects on the molecular and atomic level. This approach is especially interesting for medicine, because there are a lot of structures in the human body which are very difficult to reach and to influence. For example, one branch of research is the so-called “drug targeting”, to bring pharmaceutical agents exactly to the place where they are needed. In the case of tumors, this would mean that one could treat only the diseased body part and could drastically reduce harmful side-effects. However, the small size of nanoparticles could also bear some problems, i.e. that they accumulate in parts of the body where it is not intended, for example in passing the cerebral blood-brain barrier.

There is also an “utopic” meaning of nanotechnology in medicine. Some scientists dream of nanotechnological applications like small machines which circulate in the human vascular system and remove plaques from the inside of the blood vessels. Some applications could not only be useful for the prevention or treatment of diseases, but also for the improvement of bodily functions or even for the integration of new functions into the human body. Examples for such ideas are small implants into the human eye to enable the perception of infra-red light or implants into the inner ear for communication purposes. The talk at the Science Café will present non-utopic and utopic projects in this field of research together with considerations from the side of medical ethics on risk assessment and the social and normative implications of nanotechnology.

Mae Caffi Gwyddoniaeth Abertawe yn cynnig cyfleoedd i bawb ganfod mwy am feysydd gwyddoniaeth newydd, cyffrous a chyfredol. Mae’r caffi, sy’n anffurfiol a difyr, fel arfer yn rhedeg ar ddydd Mercher olaf pob mis yng Nghanolfan Dylan Thomas. Mae mynediad am ddim ac mae’r sgyrsiau’n dechrau am 7:30pm.

Am ddigwyddiadau sydd ar ddod ewch i http://www.sciencecafewales.org/

From Monday 23^rd June (Term ends on Wednesday 25^th June)

Monday – Thursday        8am – 8pm (Staffed 9am – 5pm)

Friday – Saturday          8am – 5pm (Staffed 9am – 5pm)

Sunday                         Closed

Term-time opening hours begin Monday 15^th September (Term starts on 22^nd September).

Full details: http://www.swan.ac.uk/lis/library/opening/

The Company of Biologists has completed the digital retroconversion of the archives of its journal, Development. The entire contents of Development’s predecessor, JEEM (the Journal of Embryology and Experimental Morphology) are now freely available online.

The complete archive of JEEM, from its first issue in 1953 through to the final one in 1986 (after which the journal was renamed Development) can be accessed through Development’s website  (http://dev.biologists.org). It comprises over 40,000 pages of material, published over 33 years, and is now made available online for the first time. The archive is entirely free of charge for everyone irrespective of whether a personal or institutional subscription is held for Development’s current content.

The WCC would like to invite you to our Technology Day on ‘Composites and the Environment’ on the 05/06/08 in the Environment Centre, Bangor University.  

Natural Composites,

Dr. Morwenna Spear, BioComposites Centre at Bangor University 

Designing out Waste and Maximizing Recycled Content,

Ms Rebecca Huck, BioComposites Centre at Bangor University 

Life Cycle Assessment of Composites,

Dr. Cris Arnold,Swansea University 

Recycling of Carbon-Fibre Reinforced Composites: An overview of industrial challenges,

Mr. John Davidson, Milled Carbon Ltd 

Use of Recycled MDF Fibres in Wood Plastic Composites,

Dr. Rob Elias, BioComposites Centre at Bangor University

TALK AND INTERACTIVE WORKSHOP 

Are You Making the Most of Your Composites,

Dr. Jane Claricoates, Swansea University 

You are warmly invited to the next Sustainability Forum meeting, on  

Tuesday 27^th May 

Our invited speakers on Tuesday will be:

Sara Thomas from Swanturbines Ltd Rob Bousie from the Marine Energy Research Group, Swansea University 

who will speak on:

Marine Renewable Energy – Environmental Impact Assessment

Swanturbines Ltd, http://www.swanturbines.co.uk/ , is a spin out company from the School of Engineering and are based on campus in the Digital Technium.  The company retains close links with the University through collaboration with the Marine Energy Research Group in theSchool of Engineering.  Sara and Rob’s presentation will focus on the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of the proposed tidal energy turbines. The Forum is open to all staff and students and meets 

1.00 - 2.00pm in Room 226a, Wallace Building  

(Room 226a is on the first floor of Wallace: with your back to the stairwell turn right from the first-floor landing, Room 226a is 5 doors down on the left after the double fire doors.)  We look forward to seeing you there.  Bring your lunch along! The mode of the Sustainability Forum alternates between a) discussions on matters of your choice, relevant to sustainability and its practical development at SU, we welcome themes for discussion this year, and b) a 30-40 minute presentation from an invited speaker, with time allowed for questions and discussion around the speaker’s theme.   

Forum dates for 2007 – 2008:

If you have suggestions for future speakers please contact: Jonny Williams on 513718 

British Standards Online (BSOL) has had a facelift. The search interface has been revised and the login procedure has changed. Full details are in the LIS guide to BSOL (PDF). Please contact us if you have any problems accessing or using the new BSOL service.

The Swansea Science Café offers opportunities for anyone to find out more about new, exciting and topical areas of science. Designed to be informal and entertaining, the café typically runs on the last Wednesday of every month at the Dylan Thomas Centre. Entry is free and talks start at 7:30pm.

For future events see http://www.sciencecafewales.org/

Nature does it, so why can’t we? Nanomedicine from an ethical point of viewChristian Lenk,University of Goettingen Wednesday, 28^th May at 7:30pm Dylan Thomas Centre

Nanomedicine is a new discipline which deals with the application of nanotechnology for medical purposes in diagnosis, prevention and therapy. “Nanos” is the greek word for “dwarf”, and nanotechnology aims on the molecular structure of things, to create new materials with new qualities which arise from characteristic effects on the molecular and atomic level. This approach is especially interesting for medicine, because there are a lot of structures in the human body which are very difficult to reach and to influence. For example, one branch of research is the so-called “drug targeting”, to bring pharmaceutical agents exactly to the place where they are needed. In the case of tumors, this would mean that one could treat only the diseased body part and could drastically reduce harmful side-effects. However, the small size of nanoparticles could also bear some problems, i.e. that they accumulate in parts of the body where it is not intended, for example in passing the cerebral blood-brain barrier. There is also an “utopic” meaning of nanotechnology in medicine. Some scientists dream of nanotechnological applications like small machines which circulate in the human vascular system and remove plaques from the inside of the blood vessels. Some applications could not only be useful for the prevention or treatment of diseases, but also for the improvement of bodily functions or even for the integration of new functions into the human body. Examples for such ideas are small implants into the human eye to enable the perception of infra-red light or implants into the inner ear for communication purposes. The talk at the Science Café will present non-utopic and utopic projects in this field of research together with considerations from the side of medical ethics on risk assessment and the social and normative implications of nanotechnology.

Mae Caffi Gwyddoniaeth Abertawe yn cynnig cyfleoedd i bawb ganfod mwy am feysydd gwyddoniaeth newydd, cyffrous a chyfredol. Mae’r caffi, sy’n anffurfiol a difyr, fel arfer yn rhedeg ar ddydd Mercher olaf pob mis yng Nghanolfan Dylan Thomas. Mae mynediad am ddim ac mae’r sgyrsiau’n dechrau am 7:30pm. Am ddigwyddiadau sydd ar ddod ewch i http://www.sciencecafewales.org/

LIS will be running 2 hands on workshops for staff on the EndNote bibliographic management package on:

Tuesday 10^th June 2-3.30pm Thursday 19^th June 3.30-5pm

EndNote allows you to build up your personal database of references which can be formatted automatically in Word when you write papers or books. It is available for use on campus or can be bought at a discounted price for use at home. You can find more information about EndNote on the LIS web pages at:http://www.swan.ac.uk/lis/HelpAndGuides/bibliographic_referencing/endnote/

Please book by e-mail to Susan Glen (address on the Contacts page of this site) giving your name and department and the date which you would like to attend. The workshops will be held in PC Room 3 in the Library & Information Centre.

The Science Direct ejournals service has added some useful new features.

Refining a search simplified
A new navigation pane on the search results page provides a view of the research output on a subject by year, by content type or by journal/book titles with the most results. By using these filters you can refine your search results without having to return to the search form.

Quickly evaluate articles before reading them
Preview tabs provide quick access to the important article assessment components: the abstract, figures/tables and references. These tabs are on the results page, the table of contents page and the article page.

Reference information available without scrolling to the foot of articles
Full reference information displays as a pop-up within the body of a paper when the cursor moves over a reference marker.

More information (with screenshots): http://www.info.sciencedirect.com/news/releases/

Not using Science Direct? Read more about it.