Did you know that your body is teeming with microbes? That not all bacteria is harmful, some are, in fact, essential for survival? The fruits of such research are available at your doorstep, so to speak.
In an endeavour to promote scientific temper and make the latest research in science accessible to the public, the Bangalore Life Science Cluster (BLiSc) has introduced several initiatives: Science Café, Out of the Lab, and the Jigasya Project: Speaking Science in Mother Tongues. Each initiative takes science to a different sector of the public. Science Café will host lectures by scientists associated with BLiSc in cafés, book stores, parks, performance spaces, and other activity centres. Out of the Lab conducts lectures in apartment blocks. While the Jigasya Project focuses on science communication in Tamil and Kannada, which is indeed unique as the representative language of science is English. Speaking about the Jigasya Project, Mahinn says: “All of science is in English, and so students of other languages are losing out. We had a mix of lectures in Kannada and Tamil at NCBS,” says Mahinn Ali Khan, head of communications, BLiSc.
BLiSc is composed of three premier centres for biological research: National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS), the Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine (inStem), and the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms (CCAMP).
“We wanted visibility of science by engaging with the public. We observed that science talks attracted only a certain audience. We wanted to widen our reach and so we set up these initiatives, in which we have scientists give talks to the public. We wanted the talks to be more interactive, less instructional, and create a platform for exchange, where people would be encouraged to ask questions.”
Science Café will be kicked off with a talk titled The Billions (of Bacteria)that enrich us by Dr Deepa Agashe. “We requested scientists to volunteer to give a talk and Dr Agashe agreed. Bacteria is a relevant topic today. The lecture will focus on how bacteria benefits us, and will answer questions on how we get to be containers of microbes, how many animals forged multiple relationships with bacteria, and will reveal information on the many new and exciting discoveries about animal-microbial symbiosis,” says Mahinn
So if you are enthused about the vast world of the sciences, keep a look out for Science Cafe lectures that have been organised for the year.
The Billions (of Bacteria)that enrich us will be held on June 24 at 11 am at MyBoTree, 5th block, Koramangala. For details visit their Facebook page www.facebook.com
