London events for people with curious minds.
Monday 14 January
BANG!: This month's PubSci event features Claire Benson, discussing the history of explosives, how they save lives as well as take them, and how explosive knowledge increased our understanding of the cosmos. It's at the new venue of The Albert, Elephant & Castle. Free, just turn up, 6.30pm
LIT: Fiction Lab returns to the Royal Institution, where book lovers can discuss Strong Motion by Jonathan Franzen...a love story featuring a seismologist. Jokes about the Earth moving are surely compulsory. Free, just turn up, 7pm
Tuesday 15 January
EXTREMOPHILES: Them's be bacteria what can exist at extreme temperatures, pressures, radiation environments and other uncomfortable environments. Learn all about them at a SCI event in UCL's Department of Chemistry. Free, just turn up, 6.15pm
PARTICLE PHYSICS: Sean Carroll is at the Royal Institution to reveal some of the characters and connivances behind the Large Hadron Collider. £10, prebook or turn up, 7pm
SCIENCE SHOWOFF: The Science Showoff event returns to the Wilmington Arms, as a bubble of science communicators take to the stage to share their passions — everything from the geology of Skyrim to monkey penises. Free but suggested donation £5, just turn up, 7pm
QUIZ: The hard-working PubSci team are back with their second event in two days, in the shape of a science-themed pub quiz upstairs at the Ritzy, Brixton. £2, just turn up, 7.30pm
Wednesday 16 January
CHEMISTRY: UCL's Andrea Sella gives a Gresham lecture at Barnard's Hall, Holborn on how the zebra got its stripes, drilling down to a chemical level and explaining how simple reactions can lead to complex patterns. Free, just turn up, 1pm
DEATH: A fourth-generation funeral director gives a talk about the various requests from the diverse population of the East End, at Wellcome Collection. Free, prebook, 3pm
MARS: Sanjeev Gupta discusses the Curiosity rover at Imperial College. £10, prebook, 7pm
PAIN: What exactly is it, and how can we measure it? A panel of experts assembles at the Dana Centre in South Kensington to confabulate. Free, prebook, 7pm
DIETING: Louise Foxcroft speaks at Wellcome Collection about historic attitudes to dieting. Free, prebook, 7pm
Thursday 17 January
GENETICS: How far do you have to go back before you find a common ancestor for everyone on the planet? Steve Jones ponders our heritage at a Barnard's Inn Gresham lecture. Free, just turn up, 6pm
MEDICINE: The Dana Centre's series looking at migrant contributions to society takes a look at the Paralympics, mental health and Henry Wellcome's pharmaceutical laboratories. Free, prebook, 7pm
MOVEMENT: Wellcome Collection's late opening includes talks looking at how our minds perceive the physical realities of the body. Free, prebook, 7pm
Saturday 19 January
HEALTH TECHNOLOGY: London Connect are hosting a daytime event at Wellcome Collection, with a hands-on look at technologies that are changing healthcare. Find out how online personal records, new health-monitoring devices and other technologies and interfaces can enrich your life. Free, just turn up, 11am-3pm
Did we miss anything? Let us know in the comments, or tip us off about upcoming events by emailing [email protected]
Image by Paul Maritz under a Creative Commons licence.
