Published: Jan. 14, 2008

The workings of the heart and the world of genetics will be explored during the Jan. 19 CU Wizards show at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Professor Leslie Leinwand of CU-Boulder's molecular, cellular and developmental biology department will present the free program "Hope For a Broken Heart" at 9:30 a.m. in the Duane Physics and Astrophysics Building, room G1B30.

During the show, the audience will get to see and touch real hearts, measure their own heart rates and blood pressure and find out how particular substances and activities affect their heart rates, including exercise and energy drinks. They also will learn about genetics and find out who in the audience has certain genes.

Leinwand, who is internationally known for her research on genetic heart defects, directs CU's Colorado Initiative in Molecular Biotechnology, which was founded in 2003 to foster new research, teaching and technology development in the fields of life sciences, physical sciences, math, computational sciences and engineering.

The CU Wizards series runs September to June and features presentations on astronomy, chemistry and physics. Though intended primarily for students in grades five through nine, the Saturday shows are educational and entertaining to people of any age.

For more information about CU Wizards call (303) 492-5011, or visit the Web site at .