BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//Talks.cam//talks.cam.ac.uk//
X-WR-CALNAME:Talks.cam
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:The Spark of Life - The story of Ion Channels - Professor Fran Ash
 croft
DTSTART:20130917T173000Z
DTEND:20130917T183000Z
UID:TALK46696@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Dr Dervila Glynn
DESCRIPTION:What do a herd of ‘fainting’ goats\, a shivering pig\, a c
 hild with cystic fibrosis\, a person who feels no pain\, a migraine suffer
 er and someone with a rare inherited form of diabetes have in common? The 
 answer is that all of them have genetic errors in a particular kind of pro
 tein\, known as an ion channel\, that regulates the electrical activity of
  the body. Humans are electrical machines and your ability to read this pa
 ge and to understand its message\, to laugh and cry\, to see and hear\, an
 d to move your limbs\, is due to the electrical events taking place in the
  nerve cells in your brain and the muscle cells in your limbs. And that el
 ectrical activity is initiated and regulated by your ion channels. These l
 ittle-known proteins are essential for every aspect of our lives\, from co
 nsciousness to fighting infection\, from sexual attraction to the beating 
 of our hearts. They are also used as weapons of warfare by the immune syst
 em and by bacteria. It is therefore not surprising that a multitude of med
 icinal drugs work by regulating the activity of ion channels\, and that im
 paired ion channel function is responsible for many human and animal disea
 ses. This lecture charts the development of our understanding of animal el
 ectricity\, illustrates the key role of Alan Hodgkin and Andrew Huxley in 
 this quest\, and explains how electrical impulses are generated by ion cha
 nnels. It discusses the ways that ion channels regulate our lives and the 
 dramatic consequences when things go wrong. It also shows how an understan
 ding of the ion channels involved can lead to a new therapy for patients b
 orn with a rare form of diabetes. In brief\, its aim is to 'sing the body 
 electric'. 
LOCATION:West Road Concert Hall
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR