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SUMMARY:Life and Death of a Cell - Professor Ron Laskey\, University of Ca
 mbridge
DTSTART:20120224T173000Z
DTEND:20120224T183000Z
UID:TALK30611@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Janet Gibson
DESCRIPTION:Abstract\n\nEach of us starts life as a single cell\, a fertil
 ized egg\, which divides repeatedly to form the hundred trillion cells tha
 t make up the adult human body.  This poses extraordinary logistical probl
 ems.  How do we produce the right numbers of blood cells and nerve cells\,
  to give just two examples from many?  More remarkably\, how do we maintai
 n the right number when blood cells are continuously replaced\, yet nerve 
 cells are not?  This lecture will look at the delicate balance of cell pro
 duction and cell death and will consider the consequences of errors in the
 se processes\, including cancer from over-production of some cells\, or ne
 urodegenerative diseases from excessive cell death and failure to replace 
 dead cells.\n\nBiography\n\nRon Laskey recently retired from the Charles D
 arwin Chair of Animal Embryology in the University and the Directorship of
  the MRC Cancer Cell Unit in the Hutchison/MRC Research Centre at Addenbro
 oke’s. He has been a Fellow of Darwin College since 1982 and has organis
 ed two of the College’s Lecture Series.\n\nHis main interest has been th
 e control of cell proliferation and why it goes wrong in cancer. Some of t
 he proteins studied in his work are in advanced clinical trials of new scr
 eening tests for some of the common cancers.\n\nRon Laskey is a Fellow of 
 the Royal Society\, a Member of Academia Europaea\, Vice President of the 
 Academy of Medical Sciences and a former President of the British Society 
 for Cell Biology. He is President of the Biochemical Society from January 
 2012. His work has been recognised by several awards\, including the Louis
  Jeantet Prize for Medicine\, the Royal Medal of the Royal Society and a C
 BE. On a lighter note he has written and recorded albums of Songs for Cyni
 cal Scientists and More Songs for Cynical Scientists\, now combined as Sel
 ected Songs for Cynical Scientists.\n\n
LOCATION:LMH\, Lady Mitchell Hall
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