Professor Emeritus Philippa Gander, Massey University Philippa will explore how the circadian body clock modifies the functioning of our brain and body across the day/night cycle and programmes us for sleeping at night, ideally for about a third of our life. Many aspects of modern life interfere with these genetically driven requirements, but the scientific […]

Dr Samuel Mehr (University of Auckland) Music - what is it, how does it work, and why does it exist? Henry Wadsworth Longfellow famously described music as "the universal language of mankind". Recent insights from cognitive and developmental psychology, cross-cultural data science, and evolutionary anthropology show that he had the right idea. Sam will present […]

Dr Tim Payn, SCION Everything that can be made with fossil-based materials today can be made from a tree tomorrow. Forests are wonderful things, providing a huge range of products and services and a home for biodiversity. But the outlook for natural forests is grim. This is why planted forests are critically important. In his […]