As part of the Oxford Science Festival there have been a series of talks at the Amey Theatre at Abingdon School over the last few days.

On Saturday evening we went to hear Professeur Ian Shipsey talk on ‘Bionic Hearing:The Science and the Experience’.

The most common cause of deafness is damage to the sensitive hairs of the inner ear (cochlea). For most people with hearing loss a hearing aid is the best and cheapest remedy and works by amplifying sound. For people with severe hearing loss, the cochlear implant or “bionic ear” developed in the late 1990s is the best approach. Over 200,000 people worldwide have regained their hearing using this device. An external microphone and digital sound processor transmit sound to an internal receiver that sends signals to 10 electrodes implanted into different points on the cochlear from high to low tones.

As one of the beneficiaries Professeur Ian Shipsey spoke movingly about regaining his hearing in 2002, after 12 years of deafness, and hearing his child’s voice for the first time. Professeur Shipsey is a Professeur of Physics but he hopes by doing these lectures on Cochlear Implants to reach others who can benefit from the procedure.

It was fascinating to hear sentences spoken, and music played, as he hears them with his implant.

Abingdon astronomical society are holding an observing event to watch Mercury crossing the face of the Sun. The transit starts at 12:12BST and ends at 19:40BST on 9th May 2016.

Abingdon Astronomical Society will have a number of specialist telescopes for viewing the Sun, giving you several different views of our nearest star. So do go and join members of the society at the Abingdon United Football and Social Club on Northcourt Road to enjoy this rare astronomical event. In the event of bad weather there will be no observing, so please check their website www.abingdonastro.org.uk/aas_blog in case of cancellation.

(Picture taken at Clubs and Societies Day of the Abingdon Astronomical Society stall with Mercury transit image superimposed)

The ATOM Science Fair took over the Market Place from 10am to 4pm.

Children were enthralled by the wonders of Science. This particular stall was run by Siemans who make MRI Scanners near Eynsham.

Diamond Light Source, the UK’s national synchrotron science facility, located at the Harwell Science Park were also there, as were exhibitors from Culham Science Centre.

Then there were a number of stalls run by the NHS, Oxford University, and other organisations doing medical research.

I am told next year will be even bigger as ATOM becomes even more an important part of the Oxford Science Festival, with sponsorship for a paid coordinator.

P.S There was a stall selling armbands for Music in the Park. They do have a habit of selling out, so better late than never.