Obesity and Baby Boomers

Café Scientifique

 August 3

Professor Lynne Cobiac

         Deputy Chief, Science CSIRO Food and Nutritional Sciences

Presented

Obesity and Baby Boomers

Lynne shared some interesting research on dietetics and nutrition.

Many people in their seventies or eighties who are pre - baby boomers are thinner than the rest of the population because they used to eat three meals a day and were more active. More research is still to be done as obesity is increasing, however, today we can access food quickly and because of technology many people are less active. 

Lynne discussed some of the latest research on epigenetics which looks at a persons genotype to determine which foods may affect their health.

Apples are good for you. However, you do not want to look like an apple. Having lots of weight around your stomach is an indicator that you may have health problems in the future. Men generally put weight on around the stomach whereas women generally put weight on around the hips which is not as harmful as the stomach.  As a woman being a two fruit - apples and pears is not recommended.

"What's a photon between friends?"

Café Scientifique 
March 16

  

Dr Olivia Samardzic

Co-Director Centre for Australian Space Education

Special Projects Officer Australian Institute of Physics

Presented

"What's a photon between friends?"

Dr Samardzic was our inaugural guest scientist.
The first Cafe was very successful, Olivia discussed many issues related to lasers and the applications of lasers. 

  

Body in the Brain

Café Scientifique 
June 22

Professor Ian Gibbins

Head of Flinders Medical Science and Technology, Anatomy

and Histology

Presented

Body in the Brain: the feeling of being yourself

Ian discussed the neuroscience on the construction and perception of body image inclusive of anatomical history. 

How do we know our place in space? How do we understand our bodies and how do we communicate this with others? How do we differentiate between our body and someone else's body. Ian shared and showed many examples in the Cafe Discussions to answer these questions.