Ref. 29361-15A SUCCESSFUL bid to bring science lectures to the drinking public was all down to body language.

The Great Western pub, near Swindon station, played host to Dr Harry Witchel, a lecturer from the physiology department of the University of Bristol's medical school.

About 50 people, mainly scientists from Swindon's research councils but including some non-scientists, went to hear Body Language And Beyond.

The lecture, the first of its kind in Swindon, was part of a national programme called SciBar, which is backed by scientific institutions across the country and aims to bring science to a wider audience.

Dr Witchel, originally from New York, covered everything from differing ideas of personal space to the meaning behind certain postures people adopt in everyday life.

These can express everything from sexual attraction to intellectual or physical dominance.

Dr Witchel, who arrived in Britain in 1991 and has won several awards for public and academic lectures, said: "It is very important to get people really involved in science, and you have to start where they start."

As well as giving lectures for adults from non-scientific backgrounds, Dr Witchel speaks to younger people, One of his most popular subjects among younger audiences is the science of the Spiderman film.

He said: "With something like science for young people, you can talk about the discovery of DNA until you are blue in the face, but if you start to talk about Spiderman the movie they have all seen it and they have all been there."

The South of England SciBar project co-ordinator is Amanda Tyndal, 31, a specialist in science communication who originally trained as a pharmacologist.

She said: "It seems to be all right to admit knowing nothing about science but, if you admitted say, not knowing who Shakespeare was, you would be a social outcast.

"We want to bring science to as many people as possible. This is only the 22nd of these lectures in the UK."

Following the success of the initial Swindon lecture, the plan is to offer further ones at the same venue on the first Tuesday of each month.

The subjects have yet to be decided.

Entry to the lectures is free, although small donations are invited, and each lecture is followed by a question-and-answer session.

Swindon co-organiser Dr Chantelle Jay, an entomologist who works at the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council in Swindon, said: "We are trying to bring science to people in an informal setting that they are used to."

Barrie Hudson