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Boys' School Twins Meet Professor Lord Robert Winston

April 02, 2014 at 1:56 PM

An amazing opportunity arose for a small group of our Year 8 boys, the chance to join students from several local intermediate schools for a day in the LENScience classroom at the Liggins’ Institute at the Auckland University. The Institute is where New Zealand’s top scientists research early life nutrition and development, epigenetics and evolutionary medicine.

This was no ordinary day for the LENScience department as one of Britain’s top scientists and fertility specialists, the world renowned Professor Lord Robert Winston from the Imperial College in London was their special guest for the day.

When faced with the task of selecting only four boys to represent the School, what better choice than two sets of identical twins, Henry and Sam Copley and Oliver and Charles Jones, not only because of their unique, shared genetic makeup but also because of their fascination and love for science.

The day began with an introduction to the research work that is currently being undertaken at the Liggins’ Institute and a brief lesson on how the environment in our early developmental stages can impact on our health later in life.

The students investigated the effect of exercise on their heart rates by measuring their pulse rates using data loggers and stationary exercise bikes. Both exercise and recovery rates were automatically plotted by the data loggers and the twins could see how their brother’s heart rate patterns compared to their own. Professor Winston and the staff at LENScience were amazed at how Henry and Sam’s exercise and recovery rates were almost identical.  

The class was treated to a talk by Professor Lord Robert Winston about the work he has been involved in over the years, including interesting anecdotes from his ‘Child of our Time’ series.

After a shared lunch with the Professor, the boys returned to the classrooms where they met with a range of scientists in a more informal setting where they could talk with the professionals and ask questions about their work at the University.

The boys left the university that day, beaming from ear to ear as they had experienced an action packed day where they were immersed in the nature of science at its best.

*The Liggins Institute is a Large Scale Research Institute at the University of Auckland. It is a world leading centre for translational research on foetal and child health; the impact of nutrition on health throughout life; epigenetic regulation of growth and development; breast cancer; and evolutionary medicine. Their aim is to rapidly translate discoveries in basic science into therapies and strategies that will prevent or help people manage major health problems of the 21st century. They are committed to promoting awareness and understanding of science and provide wide-ranging opportunities for school students and teachers to learn about the latest advances in the life sciences within the context of current, applied biomedical research and links directly to the secondary science curriculum.

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