Care for Science. Science cares for you

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For this edition, UAM has proposed as central axis “Science takes care of you. Take care of science”. As in past years, the aim is the public experiences first-hand how researchers work, although due to current circumstances the activities will be carried out for the first time in an online format. Don't miss any! 1. Luminescence: under the light of science. Fluorescence is a trait possessed by some molecules, which allows them to emit light (usually in the visible range) when they absorb light of a higher energy (ultraviolet). This type of molecules are present in some common foods as tonic water or oregano herbs. People who join this activity will confirm how this phenomenon can be easily observed by learning to prepare food extracts and to analyse them under UV light. In addition, we will show how the molecules that emit this light are “hidden” in unexpected places in our daily lives, we will name them and identify where some of them disguise in nature. 2. Online Observatory: Astronomical Observation from the couch of your house! From the Astronomical Observatory of the Autonomous University of Madrid, we are going to carry out an online astronomical observation session. We will show you live images of the Moon, the planets and the most characteristic objects of the night sky. In addition, we will tell you about the latest discoveries in astronomy and we will answer all your questions. 3. The digital frontier in "infaciencia": challenges of research on infant development. The study of infant development requires ingenuity and creativity. How can we study what they think? And how can we continue to do it when the situation gets complicated and we must see each other through a screen? We will try to answer these and other questions in our “Digital Infaciencia” workshop. Through videos with fragments of our research activity, quizzes and various interactive activities we will try to bring developmental psychology research closer to future researchers. 4. The Alphabet Game of Plants! Pass the Plant Wor(l)d: Solve the quiz and prove how much you know about plants. The proposed activity is based on the TV show “The Alphabet Game” focusing on plants. The idea is to prove how much the participants know about plants. The goal is to have fun while learning! using interactive and practical examples about plants and science! The participants will be distributed in two teams (red and blue) and each of them will be given a certain amount of time. They will be asked questions related to the plant world (from A to Z). For each answer, we will prepare a brief explanation with images, short videos or in vivo experiments with plants. 5. Family Activity: the periodic table of sustainable foods: The periodic table of sustainable foods is an online activity designed for the participation of the whole family (the individual participation is also allowed). Each family unit will have the opportunity to share their knowledge about the composition of food and its possible connection with the periodic table through a dynamic and joyful quiz. The teams will play in turns and the dynamics of the activity is as follows: a chemical element from the periodic table will be randomly assigned to a family unit. Such element will be associated to a guess, question or clue which will direct the participants to a specific sustainable food. The time spent by the participants to give an answer will be clocked. After a certain number of rounds (which depends on the number of participants), the team counting with more correct answers given in the shortest time will be the winner. 6. Heart, the organ that make us move. When you fall in love, your heart starts to pump harder, but do you really know how this vital organ works? Come discover some curiosities about it. 7. DNA-tective: Solve the mystery! The police have contacted us due to possible fraud. Apparently, a group of traders is selling bananas like Canarias bananas. That is why they need a group of scientists to clarify this whole problem. Do you want to help us? In this activity, the invitees will extract the DNA of a banana, with elements present in any house, and they will learn the basic notions of how PCR works. Then, based on the explanations, they will determine what results the PCR will give and, with that, that we can arrest or not possible scammers. 8. Gymkana room - Psychology Lab. Test your ingenuity by solving the challenges and discover how processes such as attention, memory or perception work and how the experiments are performed in a psychology Lab. 9. MARVEL Superheroes laboratory. The activity consists of carrying out very simple chemistry and physics experiments that will be related to the superpowers of some MARVEL characters. The diffraction of light will explain why the invisible girl of the fantastic 4 can be invisible. The Bernuilli effect why Ironman can fly, the synthesis of nylon is related to the spiderweb that Spiderman is capable of launching. With a catalysis reaction we will be able to explain the growth of the Hulk's muscles and with the cornstarch we will explain how Venom is able to behave as a fluid and a solid at the same time. 10. The seeds of equality: sow care and cultivate changes in equality. The activity consists of two workshops: a) A collaborative workshop focused on reflecting on the ethics of care and co-responsibility for domestic tasks, through a virtual mural of "The Icebergs of Productive and Reproductive Tasks" and "Table of Care". b) A theoretical-practical workshop for the exhibition and creation of a virtual community "Being Gardeners of Equality". 11. How to fight an epidemic in Early Modern History? As a Quiz, the activity is organized around historical events on the epidemics that occurred in different European and American areas during the 15th and 18th centuries. Through the resolution of a series of riddles, this activity focuses on the routes of transmission and mapping of infection, contemporary evidence, global networks of containment and remedies applied (therapeutic, cordon sanitaire and active interventions). The presentation of the problems is going to be accompanied by a balance of the biological impact, the economic-demographic repercussions and the adoption of health policies for their prevention. 12. How to prepare homemade carbon nanodots? Carbon nanodots (CNDs) are a new class of carbon nanomaterials with a wide range of applications, especially in the field of medicine (detection of genetic diseases, cancer treatment ...). They have a carbon structure and their size is less than 10 nm. These nanomaterials have excellent properties, such as photoluminescence, solubility in water, low toxicity, high chemical stability, easy functionalization and biocompatibility. The research group “Sensores Químicos y Biosensores” (Chemical Sensors and Biosensors) has developed a new methodology to synthesize these nanomaterials, so valuable for their numerous applications, using natural products and environmentally friendly procedures. In the proposed activity we will carry out the synthesis of carbon nanodots through the so-called “green chemistry”. For this purpose, we will use a regular microwave and tigernut as a natural precursor. As can be seen, the CNDs synthesis is a very easy and eco-friendly process. 13. Precision Nutrition and COVID 19. Meeting in TEAMS with the researchers of the ALIBIRD2020-CM(S2018 / BAA-4343) project “Precision nutrition therapeutic formulas for cancer”. The objective is to promote an interactive online debate where the public would ask questions via Twitter @alibird2020, including HT #DiálogoALIBIRD2020-CM, and will discuss some concerns around Food and COVID-19, such as: a) What is a PCR and how is it used in nutrigenetics and nutrigenomics? b) Precision Nutrition and COVID19. c) Nutritional approach to the COVID 19 patient: from healthcare practice to Nutrition research. d) How has bioengineering and telemedicine been used during the pandemic in the field of food? e) Food Waste and Circular Economy. 14. Studying human ethics in the lab. In this webinar we will explain the different ways in which we approach to the study of our ethical behavior (morality, cooperation, trust, generosity) in the lab. We will also expose in which way this behavior is affected by different biological variables. Participants will be able to carry out the different experiments through their computer, interspersing brief explanations on the theoretical basis of the different games, what daily behavior they resemble and to what extent different physiological variables, like some hormonal levels or the different forms of their receptors, influence these behaviors.