Cambridge Science Festival 2013 Cambridge University

Psychopath. No sooner is the word out than images of murderers, rapists, suicide bombers and gangsters flash across our minds. But not all psychopaths are violent, or even criminal. In fact, they have a lot of good things going for them. In this groundbreaking adventure, renowned psychologist Kevin Dutton reveals a shocking truth: beneath the hype and the popular characterisation, psychopaths have something to teach us.

Stefan Gates (BBC1’s Food Factory and CBBC’s Incredible Edibles) and Professor Andrea Sella (Incredible Edibles’ brilliantly bonkers chemist) take you on a gut-busting gastronomic journey to reveal the amazing, explosive science hiding in your food AND shows how to save the planet...by eating the weirdest, creepiest and wriggliest foods on earth. They'll also tackle the critical questions: How do you milk a camel? What's the fartiest food of all? What do sheeps' eyeballs taste like? Find out the answers to these questions and much, much more in this seriously funny and hilariously informative show.

How many guests need to come to a party, to guarantee that at least five of them either all know each other or are mutual strangers? Join Dr Colva Roney-Dougal and see some unexpected applications of the maths behind this still-unsolved problem, from modelling flu epidemics to galaxy formation.

Saturday 23 March 2013
11.00-12.00

Fifty years ago people imagined the Earth as a solid planet, unchanged for millions of years, until plate tectonics showed continents drifting 25cm each year. Mapping continental velocities using the Global Positioning System makes land look more like a glacier than a rigid plate. See how the Earth’s vigorous movements in the mantle that maintain these motions show us 50 years on that the Earth is a fluid, not a solid, sphere. With Professor Dan McKenzie.

The move to open access publishing has the potential to transform researchers’ communications and access to information by the public on a global scale. Join Cameron Neylon, PLoS; David Carr, Wellcome Trust; Neil Hammond, Rupert Gatti at Open Book Publishers, CUP and Professor John Naughton for a panel discussion and Q&A.

The Naked Scientists take you on an interactive journey through the workings of the nervous system. If you're brave enough, they'll read your brainwaves, reveal how your nerves send and receive information, activate your muscles electrically, fool your senses into seeing and feeling things that aren't really there and even spot when you are lying.