CMAR PI Dr Rick Dunn, the systems biology theme lead, provided two Christmas science lectures to year 7 children on December 17th, 2013 to engage with the public about the importance of food and its impact on the human body in relation to health and ageing. Rick discussed how we produce energy from our food, how we digest brussel sprouts (and the consequences), how high sugar levels are not good and can lead to diabetes and other diseases in older adults (we tested Homer Simpson’s urine for glucose levels) and how we measure how much of a chemical is present in our bodies.