The exquisite machine: the new science of the heart
In this talk, Sian Harding will celebrate the tireless perfection of the human heart. Half of its muscle cells will be with us from birth until death, generally resisting the many dangers in our world. She will illustrate the heart’s subtle complexity, which can swiftly respond to, but also create, our feelings. She argues that the precise engineering of the heart, honed over 500 million years of evolution, has stymied our efforts either to reproduce or repair its intricate precision. The failure to produce a complete artificial heart despite 60 years of research, and the struggles of cardiac regenerative medicine, illustrate this point, as well us teaching us more about the superb design of the heart itself.
Royal Philosophical Society of Glasgow 222nd Lecture Series
Date: Wednesday 20 March 2024
Time: 19:30 - 21:00
Venue: Sir Charles Wilson Building LT 201
Category: Public lectures
Speaker: Professor Sian Harding, Imperial College London
Sian Harding is Emeritus Professor at Imperial College London. She was Head of the Cardiovascular Division there, as well as Director of the British Heart Foundation Cardiovascular Regenerative Medicine Centre. Her scientific work has focused on the cardiomyocyte in heart failure, and the new techniques of gene and cell therapy. Her recent book on the human heart was was published in 2022 by MIT press.