It's nearly Science Festival Time!

Hopefully most of you will by now settling down with a large Laphroaig/Prosecco/Buckfast/Irn Bru to peruse our great Edinburgh Science Festival line up coming in April. We've got Stevyn Colgan (we promise not to try and kill him this time!) of QI and Skeptical Bobby fame; Dr Lorna Dawson, from the amazing James Hutton Institute in Dundee, who can take a small soil sample and narrow it down to a few meter radius piece of land in Scotland; and our old friend Ash Whiffen with her Maggots.

Before then we've a movie night and an Underground too.

On top of all that, we still have our April talk and another movie night up for you!

Our next event:

Skeptics Cinema & SciScreen presents: A Plastic Tide

The Banshee Labyrinth 29-35 Niddry Street, EH1 1LG, Edinburgh - Thu Mar 23, 7:30 PM In a change to our originally planned movie, we are now showing the documentary A Plastic Tide. Over eight million tonnes of plastic enters the ocean each year, killing sea life. Now new evidence says it's entering our food chain with unknown health effects. Pre-movie presentation by Dr Mark Hartl, Associate Professor of Marine Biology, Director, Centre of Marine Biodiversity & Biotechnology. Microplastic contamination is now ubiquitous in the (marine) environment. Efforts to put mitigating government policy measures in place require a monitoring programme to establish baseline concentrations in order to gauge impact and effectiveness.

Our following event:

Skeptics Underground: Science in the age of alternative facts

Jeremiah's Taproom 7-8 Elm Row EH7 4AA, Edinburgh - Sun Apr 2, 2:00 PM Today's world is one more saturated with science than any other in history, with technology reaching into all aspects of life, understanding of our biology and origins greater than ever, and with humans able to affect the very climate of the Earth. At the same time, we live in an information era, and also in an era of misinformation. From climate change, to vaccination to evolution, science faces the challenge of imposing facts in an opinion driven world. We will discuss these challenges and how best we can sort the good information from the bad.

Coming Events:

The Science Behind the Fiction - Investigating with DNA on-screen and off

Banshee Labyrinth on 4 April 2017 7:30 PM

Dr Tunde Huszar - The Science Behind the Fiction - Investigating with DNA on-screen and off-screen.

Crime investigation drama series are ever so popular. We all enjoy watching the chase, but some may wonder how much of it is real, if a... Read More

Lies, Damn Lies, and MRIs: The search for truth-telling

Banshee Labyrinth on 4 April 2017 7:30 PM

Dr Faye Skelton - Lies, Damn Lies, and MRIs: The search for truth-telling

The ability to spot a liar is a useful skill, but of particular importance for police officers and other professionals working to establish the truth. It can save tim... Read More

Stevyn Colgan - The Skeptical Bobby

Banshee Labyrinth on 5 April 2017 7:30 PM

Stevyn Colgan was a police officer in Scotland Yard for 20 years, as part of the Problem Solving Unit finding imaginative solutions to quell tensions in communities, from dog shows to lollipops.

Stevyn Colgan is an author, artist, public s... Read More

The Phantom of Heilbronn and other forensic faux pas

Banshee Labyrinth on 6 April 2017 7:30 PM

Emma McClure - The Phantom of Heilbronn and other forensic faux pas

In this talk, prison lawyer Emma McClure examines the issues with forensic techniques, highlighting the amusing, confusing and sometimes tragic consequences of fai... Read More

Dr Lorna Dawson - Death, Dirt and DNA

Banshee Labyrinth on 10 April 2017 7:30 PM

Soil forensic science as used in criminal investigations.

Lorna Dawson is a Principal Soil Scientist in the Environmental and Biochemical Sciences group at the James Hutton Institute, and has over 25 years experience in managing and condu... Read More

Dr Lucina Hackman: Forensic Anthropology and its Use in Criminal Investigations

Banshee Labyrinth on 11 April 2017 7:30 PM

Dr Lucina Hackman: Forensic Anthropology and its Use in Criminal Investigation

Forensic anthropologists are crucial in helping to identify the deceased when there are limited clues to their identity. Dr Hackman's talk will examine how her w... Read More

Niamh Nic Daeid: Does Forensic Science have a Future?

Banshee Labyrinth on 12 April 2017 7:30 PM

Niamh Nic Daeid: Does Forensic Science have a Future?

Forensic science is in crisis and has recently been described as unfit for purpose, with no foundational scientific validity and in some cases, no better than witchcraft. This presentati... Read More

Ashleigh Whiffin - Maggots, Murder & Museums: The Sequel

Banshee Labyrinth on 13 April 2017 7:30 PM

Ashleigh Whiffin, Assistant Curator of Entomology at National Museums Scotland (NMS) will be back at Edinburgh Skeptics for round two: “Maggots, Murder & Museums: The Sequel”.

She’ll be sharing her passion for insects, expl... Read More