
Over the last few weeks I have been learning to drive, mostly in Swindon, but more recently, in Cheltenham. Today I was driving around the streets of Cheltenham, and ended up going to the Cheltenham Science Festival. After many years intending to go, we finally got there! It lasts nearly a week, and today was the last day. Lots of well-known scientists and TV science presenters attend and give talks (this year’s programme included Brian Cox, Lord Martin Rees (Astonomer Royal), Steve Backshall, Chris Lintott, and Kate Humble amongst many others). We went to a talk by Jim Al-Khalili (theoretical physicist who has presented several TV science programmes) and Johnjoe McFadden (molecular geneticist) about the fascinating new field of Quantum Biology. It made me realise the importance of the interdisciplinary Natural Sciences degrees, and the new sciences developing at the boundaries between the traditional sciences. In the case of this talk, Al-Khalili and McFadden were talking about the subject of their book – “Life on the Edge: The Coming Age of Quantum Biology” – where Quantum Physics meets Biology, though other interdisciplinary areas are developing, such as mathematical and computational biology, biophysics and materials chemistry. The study of atmospheres and oceans is also underpinned by a large number of scientific disciplines.