PINT OF SCIENCE FESTIVAL
19-21 MAY 2025
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Space is big, you may think it's a long way down the road to the pharmacy, but that's just peanuts to space. Come and learn from our researchers about some of the coolest new findings in our Universe. They’ll be discussing microgravity effects on your body, how cold plasmas can treat disease and will tell you all about neutrinos, the greatest travelers in the cosmos!
How does space flight affect the brain?
Steven Jillings
University of Antwerp, Faculty of Sciences
Going to space does not leave the human body unaffected. Changes in the muscles, bones and heart are well known, however, the effects of spaceflight on the human brain remains largely unexplored. Using different MRI techniques to image the brain, we have been characterizing the structural and functional brain changes in cosmonauts directly after a 6 month-long space mission, and also after 6 months of being back on Earth. What are those changes? Come and find out!
Warm-hearted cold plasma
Yury Gorbanev
University of Antwerp
99% of the visible universe is made up of different types of plasma. Low-temperature atmospheric pressure (cold) plasmas are ionised gases that have immense potential for green chemistry, the food industry, agriculture, and biomedicine. I will talk about the phenomenon of plasmas and their applications, focusing on promising novel anti-cancer therapies and their translation from bench to clinic.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZH7ZH_FxtE
Hunting down neutrinos
Maja Verstraeten
University of Antwerp
Neutrinos are as mysterious as they are abundant. Billions of neutrinos are currently passing through every square inch of the earth, including you! Neutrinos can reveal some secrets of our universe. Such as its state immediately after the big bang or the nature of dark matter. But of all particles from the standard model, we still know the least about neutrinos. I will reveal some mysteries that we have uncovered about these fascinating particles and about their far-reaching implications. You’ll also learn what current and future neutrino research still has in store. Until then!
