Bringing Hot Topics to Cold Auckland Nights

1 May 2006

Otago Winter Lecture Series: Bringing Hot Topics to Cold Auckland Nights

What do designer babies, global inequality and Whitebait have in common? They are just some of the diverse topics that will be discussed during the University of Otago Winter Lectures series being held in Auckland over the next three months.

The Winter Lecture Series is an Otago initiative taking the expert knowledge of New Zealand’s most research-intensive university to New Zealand’s largest city.

The University’s Auckland Centre manager, Ms Adrienne Molloy, says the challenging and illuminating series of 11 public lectures gives Aucklanders a chance to get involved at the cutting edge of some of today’s critical issues.

“This Winter Lecture Series is a real opportunity for people to gain a greater insight into a range of important issues facing us and the implications of our decision making in the future,” she says.

To kick-start the inaugural lecture series, Professor Mark Henaghan from the Faculty of Law will be discussing Designer babies – Is it any Business of the Law? This week’s topical lecture will look at the legal implications for genetically designed babies and explore what role law should play in it, if any.

He asks: “Should parents be able to choose the genes of their future children, and is it anyone else’s business?”

Prof Henaghan is the Principal Investigator for the Human Genome Research Project, Te Kaupapa Rangahau Ira Tāngata - Law, Ethics and Policy for the Future – sponsored by the New Zealand Law Foundation.

His public lecture will be held on Thursday May 4 at 7.30pm, level 4, University of Otago House , 385 Queen Street.

Centrally located in the heart of New Zealand's largest city, the Auckland Centre is the focal point of the University of Otago’s Auckland presence, providing a resource and information centre for prospective Otago students, as well as a campus for a variety of mainly postgraduate academic programmes.

Other lectures being held at University of Otago House in May include:

Professor Philip Nel Political Studies, on Why all the Fuss About Economic Inequality? Thursday May 11 at 7.30pm.

Associate Professor Graham Wallis Zoology, on The Bio-Geography of New Zealand Galaxiid Fish – Why Molecular Geneticists and Geologists Should Talk to Each Other. Thursday May 25 at 7.30pm.

ENDS

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