Dr Andrew Murray, Reader in Metabolic Physiology from the Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience discusses the body’s responses to altitude and considers the different evolutionary strategies adopted by Sherpas and other high-altitude dwelling people.
As we ascend to high altitude, our bodies experience low oxygen availability - a condition known as hypoxia. In response, our heart rate and breathing rate are adjusted in an attempt to maintain oxygen supply to our vital organs, whilst levels of oxygen-carrying red cells increase in our blood. Despite this, we are limited by the low oxygen available to us, and this impacts on our ability to think and exercise. In human populations that have spent thousands of years residing at altitude, such as the Himalayan Sherpas, there has been a selection of genetic variations which enable them to live, work and reproduce in this environment.
In this talk, Andrew Murray will discuss work that he has carried out for more than 15 years and across two major research expeditions in collaboration with the Xtreme Everest Research Group. Andrew will look at some of the paradoxes of our own bodies' responses to altitude, and consider the different evolutionary strategies adopted by Sherpas and other high-altitude dwelling people.
Finally, Andrew will describe how this research is beginning to help in the treatment of patients who are experiencing hypoxia in other life-threatening contexts, such as the intensive care unit.
From Darwin’s paper on evolution to the development of stem cell research, publications from the Society continue to shape the scientific landscape.
Mathematical Proceedings is one of the few high-quality journals publishing original research papers that cover the whole range of pure and applied mathematics, theoretical physics and statistics.
Biological Reviews covers the entire range of the biological sciences, presenting several review articles per issue. Although scholarly and with extensive bibliographies, the articles are aimed at non-specialist biologists as well as researchers in the field.
The Spirit of Inquiry celebrates the 200th anniversary of the remarkable Cambridge Philosophical Society and brings to life the many remarkable episodes and illustrious figures associated with the Society, including Adam Sedgwick, Mary Somerville, Charles Darwin, and Lawrence Bragg.
Become a Fellow of the Society and enjoy the benefits that membership brings. Membership costs £20 per year.
Show All
Musical instruments like the clarinet and saxophone do not obviously have anything in common with a bowed violin string. This talk will explore the physics behind how these instruments work, and it will reveal some unexpectedly strong parallels between them. This is all the more surprising because all of them rely on strongly nonlinear phenomena, and nonlinear systems are notoriously tricky: significant commonalities between disparate systems are rare. For all the instruments, computer simulations will be used to give some insight into questions a musician may ask: What variables must a player control, and how? Why are some instruments “easier to play” than others?
In the millennium poll, James Clerk Maxwell (1831-1879) was voted the third greatest physicist of all time – behind Newton and Einstein. He is best known for his equations of electromagnetism and thermodynamic relations, but his interests and achievements extended far beyond these fields. His profound insights across many extraordinarily diverse areas have laid the foundations for much of contemporary physical science.
The day will begin with an overview of James Clerk Maxwell’s life and achievements. The talks following will focus on just a few of the fields where he did seminal work, and in which current research is revealing interesting developments.
There will be a small exhibition of artefacts including some of Maxwell’s models from the Cavendish collection. The exhibition catalogue can be found here
James Clerk Maxwell had strong links with the Cambridge Philosophical Society during his time at Cambridge. He studied mathematics as an undergraduate – initially at Peterhouse, but moving to Trinity before the end of his first term. He graduated in 1854, and shortly afterwards presented his first paper On the transformation of surfaces by bending to the Cambridge Philosophical Society. His career took him to Aberdeen, King’s College London and ther family estates at Glenlair before returning to Cambridge in 1871 to become the first Cavendish Professor of Experimental Physics. He was President of the Cambridge Philosophical Society 1875-1877. In 1879 he died in Cambridge at the age of 48.
Please Note: Due to building works, the CPS office at 17 Mill Lane, Cambridge is now closed until further notice. Business operations as usual. Please contact us by email only: philosoc@group.cam.ac.uk
Cambridge Philosophical Society17 Mill LaneCambridgeCB2 1RXUnited Kingdom
Office Hours: (Temporarily closed)Monday and Thursday -10am-12pm and 2pm-4pm.
philosoc@group.cam.ac.uk