• 17:30 - 18:30
• Bristol-Myers Squibb Lecture Theatre, Cambridge

The Antarctic environment is changing more rapidly than expected. Over the past few years we have observed warming of the Southern Ocean, melting of ice shelves from below, reduction in sea ice, intense heat waves over the continent and storms that have devastated penguin colonies.

The sea ice that forms around Antarctica as the sea freezes during the winter has been shrinking in extent and has decreased so much around the western Antarctic Peninsula that the UK’s icebreaker, the RRS Sir David Attenborough, has remained south near Rothera station until mid-winter, supporting science in the cold dark conditions for the first time.

These changes impact not only local Antarctic environments and its animals but also affect the whole planet. The loss of ice mass has contributed to global sea level rise and the fresh water entering the ocean will affect global ocean circulation. Antarctica may be remote but change there impacts the rest of the planet, its ecosystems its and people. 

• 17:30 - 18:30
• Bristol-Myers Squibb Lecture Theatre, Cambridge

Early identification of sex related pheromones of agricultural pests opened similar opportunities for insect vectors of human pathogens. Although small molecules, sophistication in structural requirements for biological activity of the often-novel chemical structures for these pheromones and other semiochemicals must be accommodated. This is achieved by exploiting natural catalytic systems for synthesis with the exact natural isomeric chemistry. Particularly useful are promiscuous enzymes from extremophile organisms that can robustly accept wider ranges of biochemical reaction conditions as well as novel substrates. New developments in sustainable food production have followed with delivery including such biotechnological production, plant genetic engineering and ecosystem management. Also are new offers of sustainable opportunities for human health, as potential impact from infectious disease grows. More realistic but radical scientific thinking could provide: the perennialisation of all arable crops; new interventions in achieving the One Health global concept.