The Darwin College lecture series Cambridge 2014: Plagues

Fri 17 January 2014 - Fri 7 March 2014

Lady Mitchell Hall

17 January, Plagues and Medicine
Leszek Borysiewicz, University of Cambridge

This lecture will examine how ancient plagues influenced the concepts, the discipline and the practice of medicine as we know it today. Sir Leszek will reflect on the current and future demands on the medical profession and how it will need to evolve to combat new and emerging infectious disease threats.

24 January, Plagues and History
Mary & Chris Dobson, University of Cambridge

Plagues have changed history, stopped armies in their tracks and altered the fate of
nations. Here the Dobsons will examine the consequences of plagues on human history
and reflect on future challenges for our greying populations to come.

31 January, Silicon Plagues
Mikko Hypponen, CROF, Secure & Columnist
The digital era has created a global network and conduit for new plagues. Computer viruses, malware and spyware are not only threats to personal privacy and individual households, they constantly threaten financial institutions, government departments, and the security of nations. What are the future challenges and how can we combat them.

7 February, The Nature of Plagues
Angela McLean, University of Oxford

The majority of human infections have their origins in the animal kingdom. Natural ecosystems have evolved over millennia to co-exist, but when ecosystems collide and are disturbed, dynamics change and new species are exposed to microbes for which they have inappropriate defences with potentially profound consequences if they are efficiently transmitted in new hosts.

14 February, Plagues, Populations & Survival
Stephen J O'Brien, St Petersburg State University

Darwin’s theories of natural selection and evolution have had a profound impact on science. The new genomic era has reinforced this and our ability to decipher the DNA code has revealed much about the evolution of species. Most striking the survival of the fittest from disease pandemics can be traced to genetic traits acquired by natural selection.

21 February, The Human Plague
Stephen Emmott, Microsoft Research

How many humans was the earth built for and how many of us can it sustain? Stephen Emmott asks the hard questions about consequences about the human plague on the earth, its ecosystem and its sustainability.

28 February, Plagues & Economic Collapse
Ian Morris, Stanford University

From the biblical plagues, to modern day plagues of insects affecting our large monoculture system of agriculture, the effects often have profound effects on the economies of nations.

7 March, Plagues & Metaphor
Rowan Williams, University of Cambridge

Plagues are commonly present in the world’s literature and doctrines and are influential in forming society and common values. Lord Williams will take us onto a journey enlightening the intellectual and spiritual impact of plagues as metaphors.

Cost: free