Nerd Nite Selwyn #05: The amazing world of fungi, Heart jeans (or genes) & a Movember special!

Reclaim your inner nerd – Think Tedx with beer!

Be there AND be square.

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Speakers:

“Put your heart into it”

Anna Pilbrow –Heart Geneticist

How does the heart work and what hampers its ability to do its job? Heart disease researcher, Anna Pilbrow, talks about our DNA and explains the mechanisms that create a susceptibility to heart disease.

Anna is the Deputy Head of Department, medicine at Otago University, Christchurch and leads the Christchurch Hearth Institute.

“The Mysterious World of Underground Fungi"

Dr Lauren Waller – Ecological Researcher and Lecturer

Mycorrhizae are fungi that live in the roots of nearly all plants on earth, offering nutrients to their plant hosts in exchange for carbon. But some of these so-called mutualists appear to cheat, taking carbon without returning the favour. Why do plants let the fungi get away with that?

In this talk, Dr. Lauren Waller, a lecturer in Ecology at Lincoln University, will take us underground, to take a look at the good, the bad and the beautiful interactions among plants and the fungal mutualists found inside their roots.

“Fire Fighting, Rugby and Mental Health”

Matt McIntyre - Movember Ambassador

Movember is not all about growing a slug, some cannot or are not allowed. It’s a lot more than this. Lets chat about how a conversation can help save lives…

Matt is a Movember Community Ambassador highlighting men’s health issues in our community. Growing up on a farm outside Ashburton, being an accomplished rugby player and a volunteer fire fighter and a father of 3 awesome girls, Matt has been a Movember advocate for the past 20 years.

Talks start 7pm