Get your brain working in 2016 with a great day of public talks at the University of York, says STEPHEN LEWIS

TOO much turkey, mince pies and booze over the festive season? Head still pounding from singing in the New Year?

If you fancy a little light mental exercise to blow away the cobwebs and get the old brain working again, the University of York has just the thing.

This Wednesday is its annual York Talks day, when researchers give snappy, 15-minute summaries of their latest research.

They'll be talking about some amazing stuff - everything from how proper sleep helps children learn language to how we can develop a fairer, more equal society 'beyond the welfare state'. But it's all aimed at ordinary people like you and me. It'll be free, fun, accessible - and if one of your resolutions is to be a bit more thoughtful in 2016, a great way to kick off the New Year.

"YorkTalks is a great public platform for us to showcase some of our most inspirational, innovative research," said Professor Deborah Smith, the university's Pro-Vice-Chancellor for research.

"It illuminates the amazing breadth of work underway across the University.

"Our researchers will explore a variety of issues ranging from the science behind a form of early onset dementia to the essential elements of successful international peace agreements and the medieval roots of the House of Commons. We hope York residents will be inspired to join us."

There will be 16 15-minute talks in all at the National Science Learning Centre at the university throughout the course of the day, organised in four sessions. Attendance is free, but you must register online for a ticket in advance for each session you want to attend.

Book tickets here: york.ac.uk/news-and-events/events/public-lectures/spring-2016/york-talks-2016/

Meanwhile, here are just a few of the highlights from each session:

Session one, starts 9.10am:

- The medieval roots of the House of Commons. Historian John Cooper and art historian Tim Ayers turn detective to find out how the medieval royal chapel of St Stephen was converted to become the House of Commons.

Session two, starts 11.30am:

- Sleep talk. York has one of the most sophisticated sleep labs in the country. Using it, Lisa Henderson and her team of cognitive neuroscientists have been able to observe how certain types of sleep patterns in young children help them remember words and build vocabulary. Parents take note...

- Taking on the tobacco giants. Kamran Siddiqi's pioneering York research on effective tobacco-control measures is saving the lives of TB sufferers in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal, some of the poorest countries in the world. He explains how...

Session three, starts 1.45pm:

- The route to a more equal society. Political philosopher Martin O'Neill looks at how market reform could encourage a more equal distribution of wealth

- We regret to announce that the train leaving... Mathematical economist Jacco Thijssen uses his own mathematical model to show why the High Speed 2 rail link between London and the North of England is going to be... late.

Session four, starts 3.45pm

- The air we breathe. The EU decision to cut taxes on diesel cars in the 1990s had catastrophic consequences in terms of air pollution and cost tens of thousands of lives. Atmospheric chemist All Lewis reveals how our political leaders have known about the danger for years - but failed to act.

- From gribble to stubble. The gribble is a tiny marine animal that eats holes in the hulls of wooden boats. But its extraordinary digestive system could hod the clue to breaking down the stubble from things like rice crops for use as a biofuel, helping to cut global carbon emissions. Simon McQueen-Mason of the Centre for Novel Agricultural Products explains how...