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In partnership with Cambridgeshire Older People's Enterprise (COPE), Talking Together brings our scientists and members of our local community together

What is Talking Together?

Talking Together is a unique initiative that brings older adults together for stimulating telephone-based conversations about, in our case, toxicology research. This initiative was set up during the COVID-19 pandemic by COPE to help combat feelings of loneliness within the older population. We, at the MRC Toxicology Unit, joined this programme for the first time in 2023.

Discoveries for better health: Autumn 2023

For our first discussion group, six of our researchers shared a whistle stop tour of some of the key areas of research we focus on. Over the course of 6 weekly telephone discussions, we talked to our group about topics such as chemotherapy, the microbiome, vaccines and more, and revealed how we can use this knowledge to make our environment and medicines safer. We also worked with illustrators Woven Ink to create a mural of this project capturing some of the key points discussed during each call.

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Take a closer look at each week's illustration:

Week 1 - Genomic imprinting

Week 2 - Mitochondria & 'forever chemicals'

Week 3 - The gut microbiome

Week 4 - RNA therapeutics

Week 5 - Vaccines and antibodies

Week 6 - DNA damage & chemotherapeutics