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Membranes are ubiquitous in living cells but many questions remain outstanding. These include how to characterize a membrane's material properties and their interactions with the environment. Living membranes are generically out of equilibrium and I will discuss how active fluctutations may be involved in the control of the formation of protein assemblies. These structures have important implications on the organization of cells within tissues and the control of their shape. I will outline basic physical principles which may contribute used to understand the epithelium. In the last part of the talk, I will outline the role of elasticity in the behavior of active swimmers, from a single entity to a swarm.

The Science and Technology Facilities Council invites applications for its public engagement nucleus awards. These support novel public engagement programmes that inspire and involve target audiences with stories of STFC science and technology, as well as building and sustaining public engagement networks that develop communities of practice. Proposed programmes must focus on a topic within the council’s remit, which includes astronomy, solar and planetary science, particle physics, particle astrophysics, cosmology, nuclear physics and accelerator science. Applications that highlight the social, ethical, and economic benefits of research are welcomed. Applicants are particularly encouraged to propose engagement with audiences considered to have low science capital.

Applicant organisations must be based in the UK and the target audiences of the project must be primarily UK residents. Each application must include a researcher in an STFC-funded area of science or technology.

Awards are worth up to £100,000 each over three years. They may cover costs such as contributions to salaries, costs of materials, travel and subsistence, and equipment worth up to £10,000.

Research Councils UK, under the Global Challenges Research Fund, invites applications for its global engagement meetings. These aim to bring together developing country and UK researchers to showcase the opportunities available through GCRF and to discuss opportunities maximising the contribution of GCRF research into policy and practice. Applications are invited for the following meeting:

•in Nairobi, Kenya, to be held in partnership with the Department for International Development, the African Academy of Sciences and the British Institute in East Africa, from 31 January to 2 February 2018.

Applicants may be from academic or non-academic institutions, for example non-governmental organisations, charities or international funders, or they may be policy makers.

Selected attendees will have their travel, accommodation and any visa costs covered.