SCIENCE IN THE KITCHEN: Small errors in the brain: why are they important?

Miesto laboratorijoja is launching a new series of events for local residents and beyond.

SCIENCE IN THE KITCHEN – a series of informal, short talks on science. Scientists from various fields will give 30-minute talks, followed by Q&A sessions and even more informal discussions. Over a drink or dinner, together with your neighbours, when after work you still feel like doing something interesting or learning something new, but not too much, because, after all, it’s already after work.

The ‘Science in the Kitchen’ series will be launched on the evening of 30 September by neuroscientist Urtė Venclovaitė with a talk entitled ‘Small errors in the brain: why are they important?’.

What the lecture is about:
Proteins are among the most important chemical tools in our bodies, but in order for them to function properly, they must adopt a specific structure. What happens when this process goes awry? In this lecture, we’ll take a brief look at proteins, their structure, and what happens when they fail to adopt the correct shape and can no longer perform their functions properly. From there, we’ll move on to Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases – exploring how protein abnormalities and their accumulation may be linked to neurodegenerative diseases. I’ll also talk a little about my journey into this field and why I chose to research neurodegenerative diseases in particular. You certainly won’t need any prior knowledge of biology – just curiosity!

About the researcher:
Urtė Venclovaitė – a neuroscientist who began her scientific career by studying biochemistry at Vilnius University, before going on to complete a Master’s degree in Neuroscience at Heidelberg University in Germany. For more than five