A look at how chemistry influences our everyday lives, from the basic elements up to very large molecules. The talks will focus on how elements and molecules interact with each other and with us; how they benefit us and how humans have manipulated them for their own purposes.
It will include the good, the bad and the ugly side of the compounds that keep us healthy and beautiful, as well as how we can have too much of a good thing. As Paracelsus, the father of toxicology, said: “It is the dose that makes the poison.”
• Speaker Kathryn Harkup is a chemist and author. She completed a doctorate on her favourite chemicals, phosphines, and went on to further postdoctoral research before realising that talking, writing and demonstrating science appealed more than hours slaving over a hot fume hood. Her first book was the international best-seller A is for Arsenic: The Poisons of Agatha Christie, which was shortlisted for a Mystery Readers International Macavity Award and a BMA Book Award. She has also written Making the Monster: The Science of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, and Death by Shakespeare: Snakebites, Stabbings and Broken Hearts. Her most recent book, Vampirology: The Science of Horror’s Most Famous Fiend, was published June 2021.
Cost: £12 (£15 to non-members) or £5 for virtual attendance online via Zoom