Thursday January 17th
19:45 live music by Troubagroove
20:15 speakers
Café Loburg
Phage therapy involves the use of bacteriophages, the natural enemy of bacteria, to treat dangerous infections. It was pioneered in the early 20th century, but the simultaneous rise of mass-produced penicillin in the 1940s caused many scientists to lose interest in phage therapy. Recently, interest had been rekindled however, by the rise in antibiotic resistant pathogenic bacteria. If left unchecked, antibiotic resistance could lead to many bacterial infections that are currently cured easily to become life threatening.
Our speaker, Dr. Stan Brouns from the TU Delft is an expert on microbe bacteriophage interactions. He recently received funding to set-up a phage bank in the Netherlands.
Thursday December 13th
19:45 live music by Sun Inside
20:15 speakers
Café Loburg
More and more microplastics are ending up in nature. It is estimated that 51 trillion microplastic particles – 500 times more than stars in our galaxy – litter the seas. But are these dangerous? What effect do they have on marine flora and fauna, and on human health? And is there a solution to this?
These questions (and more) will be addressed in this Science cafe. Our two speakers, Prof. Bart Koelemans and Dr. Stefan Kools, will discuss where microplastics come from, how we measure their impact and the risks they pose.
Prof. Bart Koelmans is Professor Water and Sediment Quality at Wageningen University and Research. He is specialized in Microplastics in the marine and freshwater environment and will talk about the sources and impacts of microplastics.
Dr. Stefan Kools is a manager and scientific researcher at KWR Watercycle Research Institute. He works on general water quality issues and more specifically on microplastic measurement techniques and toxicity assays.
Exploring and discussing science with professionals, funky music and a drink.
