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Shop demos

THE HUNGRY HIPPOS OF THE IMMUNE SYSTEM

Will Branchett/Adam Byrne/James Cook

Macrophages are special white blood cells that ‘eat’ the dirt and bacteria in your lungs to keep them clean. In this shop demo find out more about why macrophages are so important for healthy lungs.

PERSONALISED MEDICINE: YOUR GENETIC BARCODE

Ruth Verstraten/Hima Anbunathan/Liz Starren

Your genes are unique, a bit like your own personal barcode. As scientists discover more about what your genetic barcode means, they are able to prescribe medicines designed to match your genes, so they are better at treating disease and have fewer side effects. This shop demo will explore the fascinating future of personalised medicine.

WHO’S LIVING IN YOUR LUNGS?

Mike Cox/Leah Cuthbertson/Phil James/Elena Turek

In this shop demo, join scientists researching microbes in the lungs and discover how different species of bacteria are identified using DNA extracted from throat samples.

BUGS IN YOUR LUNG LININGS

Jeremy Parker/Miriam Moffat

In this shop demo discover all about the special cells that line your lungs and the bugs that live there. Hear about the ways that scientists are studying how bugs and lungs interact by growing lung cells outside the human body.

BIOINFORMATICS: THE NEEDLE IN THE HAYSTACK

Mark-Paul Clark

Today it is possible for scientists to map a huge amount of complex information about a person’s DNA. Understanding this information involves computer models, statistics, maths and engineering. In this shop demo find out about the power and the problems of bioinformatics and how it will shape medicine in the future.

SWEET BLOOD AND YOUR VESSELS

Anna Zetterqvist

Diabetes is one of the fastest growing diseases. It affects how sugar is regulated in the blood and without treatment causes damage to cells in the body, particularly blood vessel cells. In this shop demo find out how scientists are trying to understand more about how diabetes affects blood vessels to develop new treatments for the future.

SMALL SCIENCE FOR BIG PROBLEMS

Andrew Thorley/Alexander Cryer

Nanotechnology uses tiny particles, 1/70^th the width of a human hair. In this shop demo discover how scientists are developing nanomedicines for lung cancer that deliver drugs straight to the tumour with far fewer side effects that current lung cancer treatments.

SPECIAL DELIVERY FOR THE LUNGS

Nura Mohamed

Pulmonary arterial hypertension is a disease affecting the lungs. Current drugs cause side effects, however research is exploring the use of tiny machines called nanoparticles to deliver the drugs and prevent side effects. Discover more about these tiny machines and how they work.