How Bioweapons and Nuclear Technologies Could Destroy the World and How to Prevent It

We live in an era where nuclear weapons and biotechnology, once the stuff of science fiction, have become an everyday reality. Want to understand what we really know about them — what's a myth and what's fact? Join us at Noosfest, a mini science festival coming to Riga for the first time!

Biologist and myth-buster Alexander Panchin and physicist, nuclear energy and technology expert Dmitry Gorchakov will talk about the threats our world faces and how we can combat them. This science evening will be of interest to adults who are curious about science and the world around them, as well as to teenagers.

Science evening schedule:

🔬 17:00–18:30 — Alexander Panchin: “Epidemics and Bioweapons: Human Interference and Natural Factors”

What you’ll learn from the lecture:

— Real cases of epidemics and virus leaks from biolabs.

— The possibilities and risks of creating genetic weapons.

— A breakdown of conspiracy theories and myths about the origins of various viruses.

— How to distinguish scientific facts from speculation and magical thinking.

⚛️ 19:00–20:30 — Dmitry Gorchakov: “Nuclear Technologies in an Era of Global Crises and Dictatorships: The Road to Nuclear Apocalypse or Salvation From It?”

What you’ll learn from the lecture:

— How real the threat of nuclear war is today.

— Possible scenarios for the start and consequences of a nuclear conflict.

— What are the chances of surviving a nuclear explosion and what safety measures exist.

— Dangers associated with the capture of nuclear facilities.

— The likelihood of repeating catastrophes on the scale of Chernobyl and Fukushima.

— Radiation around us: myths and facts in the 21st century.

After each lecture, you’ll be able to:

— Ask your boldest and most unexpected questions.

— Take a photo with the speakers as a keepsake.

About the speakers:

Alexander Panchin — Biologist, PhD in Biological Sciences, Senior Researcher at the Institute for Information Transmission Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Member of the RAS Commission for the Fight Against Pseudoscience and the Falsification of Scientific Research, member of the Board of the Evolution Educational Foundation, and member of the Expert Council of the Harry Houdini Prize. In 2019, he won the Alexander Belyaev Literary Prize for his dystopian novel Apophenia.

Dmitry Gorchakov — Nuclear physicist, and expert on the atomic project of the environmental organization Bellona. For more than 20 years, he has been popularizing knowledge about nuclear technologies. He has visited many nuclear power plants and nuclear facilities in Russia and abroad and regularly publishes in the media and on his blogs. His main focus is the assessment of nuclear risks related to modern global conflicts.

Don't miss the chance to spend an evening with science communicators and find out what the future holds and how we can face it!

When: November 23, from 17:00 to 21:00
Where: Radisson Blu Hotel & Spa Daugava, Riga
Lectures will be held in Russian.

Google Maps link: Radisson Blu Hotel & Spa Daugava

Come yourself and bring your friends — it will be interesting and enlightening! 📚✨