Tuesday

Can cryptozoology, the investigation of animals such as Bigfoot, the Yeti and the Loch Ness Monster be considered a science? That’s the question that ZSL asks tonight, with three talks chaired by Nature editor Henry Gee. 7:30pm, no need to book.

Wednesday

Unusual event at Imperial this evening: the NW Thames Foundation School Academic Symposium. Put simply, six young academic doctors at Imperial showcase their research work, with a guest lecture from Sir John Savill, Chief Executive of the Medical Research Council. 6pm; free and open to to all.

Thursday

TalkScience@BL returns to the British Library with Professor Tim Lenton leading a discussion on geoengineering the climate, looking at the kind of projects being considered and which might be feasible. Doors at 6pm, £5 entry.

Over at Kew Gardens, there will be a discussion entitled Hard Rain, on the bigger picture of all the environmental issues facing out planet. The talk will be preceeded by a slide show of photos by Mark Edwards set to Bob Dylan’s “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall”. 7pm, £5 entry.

Last but not least, the Dana Centre asks whether we should limit family size in the UK. 7pm; free but book.

Friday

A two day event appealing called Unclean Beings begins today at the Wellcome Collection, in association with their Dirt exhibition. As they put it “‘Dirt’ has long been a potent label for deviance and taboo. But where does this powerful stigma come from? And what is it like to be regarded by the world as morally contaminated?”

Tonight’s event opens with theatre and a late night viewing of the exhibition: 7-9pm.

Saturday/Sunday

The second day of the Unclean Beings event at Wellcome: a series of talks by writers, curators and scientists, including the famous blogging Belle de Jour, Dr Brooke Magnanti.

The two day event is £30 full price/£25 concession for both days.

You can follow the Nature Network London Google calendar of events in London at https://blogs.nature.com/london/2011/05/17/scientific-events-calendar. Updated daily.