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Cats, dogs and the future of health at the Cheltenham Science Festival

stock photo © Jevtic

Press release issued: 2 June 2015

Five University of Bristol academics will be taking part in The Times Cheltenham Science Festival this week, debating subjects from how technology could manage our well-being to how well we know our cats and what’s really going on in the mind of a dog.

Professor Ian Craddock, Director of SPHERE based in the Faculty of Engineering, will discuss the ethics of moving health from the hospital to the home using the Internet of Things technologies, such as fitness wristbands and smart watches, with social scientist Professor Madeline Murtagh from the School of Social and Community Medicine on Wednesday 3 June at 8pm.

Animal behaviour and welfare experts, Drs John Bradshaw and Rachel Casey, from the School of Veterinary Sciences, will take a glimpse into the hidden world of cats with executive producer, Helen Thomas from BBC Cat Watch 2014: The new Horizon experiment  on Sunday 7 June at 10 am.

Channel 4 investigated the secret lives of dogs in order to help people understand their behaviour and make them happier at home.  Vet School dog behaviourist, Dr Emily Blackwell; vet and presenter, Mark Evans, and series producer Kirsty Wilson, will explain what a dog’s actions tell us about what they are thinking on Sunday 7 June at  2 pm.

The Festival runs from 2 to 7 June and offers a wide programme of debate and discovery about science. As well as over 165 ticketed events, the Festival also has free and interactive zones. Visitors can tour Doc Brown’s Invention Lab in the Discover Zone, lock eyes with a Triceratops in the DinoZone, fly a plane in the GE Pavilion, land on Mars in the Siemens Curiosity Zone, and enjoy a glass of wine and some debate in the University of Warwick What If? Zone and get up close and personal with BBC presenters in the BBC Science Zone. The six day Festival delivers a mix of cutting-edge research, serious debate, live experiments, surprising discoveries and entertaining events, in a tented science village in the centre of Cheltenham.

The future of health: ethics and privacy will take place on Wednesday 3 June at 8 pm in the BBC Science Zone, Imperial Gardens, Cheltenham GL50 1QA. Tickets are priced at £8, full members ten per cent off.

The wild cat in your home will take place on Sunday 7 June at 10 am in the BBC Science Zone, Imperial Gardens, Cheltenham GL50 1QA.  Tickets are free and seats will be allocated on a first-come first-served basis.

Dogs: their secret lives will take place on Sunday 7 June at 2 pm in the EDF Energy Arena, Imperial Square, Cheltenham GL50 1QA.  Tickets are priced at £9 reserved seating, full members ten per cent off.

Further information

The Times Cheltenham Science Festival runs from 2-7 June 2015 and offers a wide programme of debate and discovery about science.

For more information, visit the Festival website or contact the box office on tel 0844 880 8094.

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