Image:Cosmic Waves

29 April
2023

Cosmic Waves

Society members' visit the Mullard Radio Astronomy Observatory in Cambridge, site to the discovery of pulsars in 1967.

Image:Humanity’s quest to discover the origins of life in the universe

06 March
2023

Humanity’s quest to discover the origins of life in the universe

Dr Emily Mitchell, Assistant Professor and Curator of Invertebrates in the Department of Zoology, Cambridge and previous Henslow Fellow recently gave a talk at the American Association for the Advancement of Science Annual Meeting in Washington DC on the Origins of Life: Humanity’s Quest to Discover the Nature of Life in the Universe.

Image:Cosmic Wonder

13 January
2023

Cosmic Wonder

Cambridge researchers create tetrataenite rare-earth-free magnets in the laboratory, which could help in the transition to low-carbon technologies.

Image:Early career researchers talk about the importance of funding support

03 January
2023

Early career researchers talk about the importance of funding support

The Cambridge Philosophical Society has funded a number of early career researchers at The Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences (INI) in Cambridge, as part of the Society's grants and funding for scientists of the future.

Image:Scientific treasures shown at the Wren Library

24 November
2022

Scientific treasures shown at the Wren Library

Following on from our summer visit to the National Museum of Computing (TNMOC) on Bletchley Park, CPS visited the Wren Library at Trinity College Cambridge. The tour was kindly hosted by Dr Nicolas Bell, Librarian at The Wren.

Image:History beneath our feet

02 August
2022

History beneath our feet

Society Fellow in Earth Sciences, Professor Marian Holness explores the geological and social history of cobbles at Trinity College Cambridge.

Upcoming Events

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17

02

Why there’s no such thing as “the” scientific advice

Professor Stephen John

  • 18:00 - 19:00 Bristol-Myers Squibb Lecture Theatre Lent Term

During the Covid-19 pandemic, U.K. policy-makers claimed to be "following the science". Many commentators objected that the government did not live up to this aim. Others worried that policy-makers ought not blindly "follow" science, because this involves an abdication of responsibility. In this talk, I consider a third, even more fundamental concern: that there is no such thing as "the" science. Drawing on the case of adolescent vaccination against Covid-19, I argue that the best that any scientific advisory group can do is to offer a partial perspective on reality. In turn, this has important implications for how we think about science and politics. 

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03

03

Protein self-assembly – understanding and controlling the machinery of life

Professor Tuomas Knowles

  • 18:00 - 19:00 Bristol-Myers Squibb Lecture Theatre Lent Term

Proteins are the active molecules of life. However, most proteins do not work on their own in health or disease; a key challenge, therefore, is understanding how these molecules interact with each other to give rise to function or malfunction. This talk will outline our efforts to discover, understand and use the basic principles that drive protein assembly into larger scale structures and phases. I will discuss how controlling transitions between such phases can help us ameliorate biological malfunction when it occurs in disease, and well as develop new classes of functional materials.

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