STEMNET Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Network

Oxford University Scientific Society is hosting a debate on Wednesday, 25th April, 2012. The debate will begin at 19:00 in the University of Oxford's Sheldonian Theatre; doors open 45 minutes earlier. This will be open to everybody and free to all.

Dr Aubrey de Grey will propose the motion "This house wants to defeat ageing entirely" and Professor Colin Blakemore will be opposing. The debate will be chaired and moderated by Professor Sir Richard Peto. This debate will address the whether it is feasible and appropriate to consider ageing as a target of decisive medical intervention, raising the possibility of substantial extension of human lifespan.

Aubrey de Grey is currently Chief Science Officer of SENS Foundation, a biomedical research charity that aims to develop, promote, and ensure widespread access to rejuvenation biotechnologies that address the diseases and disabilities of ageing. Its research agenda consists of the application of regenerative medicine to ageing - not merely slowing the ageing clock, but resetting it to early adulthood.

Colin Blakemore is Professor of Neuroscience at the University of Oxford Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences. He is an expert in vision, development of the brain and neurodegenerative disease. He is active in communication of science and is president and adviser to several charities concerned with brain disorders. Colin Blakemore was formerly Chief Executive of the Medical Research Council, the UK's largest public funder of biomedical research.

Along with presentations and discussion from Aubrey de Grey and Colin Blakemore, the debate will provide an opportunity for questions from the audience.

The entire event will be moderated by Professor Sir Richard Peto, Professor of Medical Statistics and Epidemiology at the University of Oxford, and an expert on the hazards of smoking and benefits of stopping.

Oxford University Scientific Society is a student society that aims to disseminate science research and to promote scientific discussions. For more information on the debate, please visit: http://users.ox.ac.uk/~science/

Directions and contact information for the Sheldonian can be found at the facility's website:http://www.ox.ac.uk/subsite/sheldonian_theatre/sheldonian_theatre/

> For background information on Dr de Grey and Prof. Blakemore, please see the following links:http://www.sens.org/users/aubrey-de-grey
> http://www.dpag.ox.ac.uk/academic_staff/colin_blakemore/
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aubrey_de_Grey
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colin_Blakemore

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