Stimulating Spring Week on University of Auckland campus

The University of Auckland

19 October 2015

Stimulating Spring Week on University of Auckland campus

Poor child heath: a way forward, recovery after stroke, osteoporosis, contemporary New Zealand artists in Berlin, and exercise as the medicine for sustainable health are among some of the topics being aired at the Centre for Continuing Education’s Spring Week on Campus.

University of Auckland academics who are both expert in their field and passionate about teaching adults will be offering the stimulating programme from Monday November 16 to Friday November 20.

Those attending need no experience of university study — just a love of learning and an interest in the key issues of our time.

The session on “Human Pluripotent Stem Cells:The fountain of youth?”, for example, will look at the critical role stem cells play in the body by acting as a renewable source of cells for tissues and organs that need to be constantly repaired or regenerated such as the blood, skin and hair. While adult stem cells are restricted in the repertoire of cell types they can produce, embryonic stem cells can generate all 200 cell types of the body, making them ‘pluripotent’.

Another lecture explores the hidden world of cancer and new technology that lets us examine tens of thousands of genes at once, transforming our understanding of cancer. Our team of clinicians, biologists and data experts are peering deeply into the hidden world of human tumours.

“Nudging and Manipulation” explains and assesses the currently trendy idea of “nudging” as a means by which policy makers can harness psychological quirks to make people save more money, eat more healthily, save the planet…all without coercion or having to spend much money.

In another session, Associate Professor in Applied Clinical Neuroscience Dr Cathy Stinear, talks about brain recovery after a stroke and why some people recover well and others hardly at all. She will describe the latest neuroscience research into brain recovery after stroke and what it means for stroke victims.

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