Neurons

Talking Back to the Brain: Using Light to Uncover the Language of Neurons

Presented by Andrea Yung, Christina Welsh, and Matthias Minderer Studying the brain is like learning a foreign language – the language by which neurons communicate. Neuroscientists have made great progress by listening in on the neurons’ conversations. But, to be sure that we understand their language correctly, we have to be able to talk back to the neurons and then study their reaction. Optogenetics is … Continue reading Talking Back to the Brain: Using Light to Uncover the Language of Neurons

Bees

From Dancing Bees to RoboBees: How Honeybees Behave and Why Need Them

Presented by Elizabeth Petrik, Ryan Kuzmickas, and Kevin Ma Honeybees are creating a buzz in the media lately, particularly due to the large numbers of mysterious bee deaths attributed to Colony Collapse Disorder. This lecture will explore how these amazing creatures play an important role in our economy and inspire the future of robotics, as well as what we know about the threats to bee … Continue reading From Dancing Bees to RoboBees: How Honeybees Behave and Why Need Them

Pandoraviruses: Relics of a hidden domain of life?

Since the first discovery of virus by Martinus Beijerinck in 1898, viruses have been classified in a number of different ways. First, viruses were considered a poison, then a life-form, next demoted to classification as a biological chemical, and finally correctly characterized as non-living organic matter. Their current classification is based on three tenets of life that viruses don’t exhibit – the ability to synthesize … Continue reading Pandoraviruses: Relics of a hidden domain of life?

Be the Change You Wish to See in Your Genes

In today’s busy world, it can be hard to find time to exercise. Various factors, such as sedentary jobs and the presence of TV and video games at home, can contribute to inactivity in adults and kids alike. Both fitness experts and medical professionals encourage taking small steps toward a more active lifestyle, such as using the stairs instead of the elevator, or biking instead … Continue reading Be the Change You Wish to See in Your Genes

ScienceEd

Sparking Scientific Curiosity: (R)evolutions in the way we teach and learn

Presented by Kevin Harlen, Greg Kestin, Katie Dagon, and Ben Morris Science education is a hot topic many of us have heard discussed widely in the media, by politicians and in America’s school systems. This talk will shed light on the different aspects of science education, why they are important and how they will impact us today and in the future. Our presentation will open … Continue reading Sparking Scientific Curiosity: (R)evolutions in the way we teach and learn

earthrise

Earth Formation: The making of planet earth

Presented by Katherine Rosenfeld, Laura Schaefer, Anjali Tripathi For millennia, our understanding of Earth came from our own experiences on the planet. Today, with the ability to observe other planets in the Solar System and planets around other stars, we have a better sense of our place in the Universe and how the Earth formed and evolved. This evening’s lecture will begin with current knowledge … Continue reading Earth Formation: The making of planet earth

Cerebral Organoids: A tool to study human brain development

It has long been a goal of the scientific community to understand the mysteries of how the human brain develops from just a few cells into an organ capable of coordinating conscious thought. Slowly but surely, scientists are illuminating this black box of biology, both through studies of human brain cells and of living brains in laboratory animals like mice. These approaches have their limitations: … Continue reading Cerebral Organoids: A tool to study human brain development

Brains in a Dish Establish New Tool for Developmental Neuroscience

Researchers studying neural development are plagued with an ever-present difficulty: how does one study the developing human brain without using invasive methods or being restricted to post-mortem tissue? Due to the complexity of human brain development, research has been able to answer few questions about neural developmental defects beyond those observable in animal models or in human cell cultures. This task is further complicated by … Continue reading Brains in a Dish Establish New Tool for Developmental Neuroscience

Antibiotic Resistance – Super Drugs for Superbugs

Presented by Amy Rohlfing, Marina Santiago, and John Santa Maria Many of us have heard of “superbugs” from the media – deadly bacteria gone wild, that are no longer responsive to antibiotic treatments. Our lecture will begin with Amy’s description of what bacteria are, what antibiotics are, and what antibiotic resistance is. We will concentrate on the antibiotic penicillin as an example in this lecture.  … Continue reading Antibiotic Resistance – Super Drugs for Superbugs

1001 Bites: The road to a successful malaria vaccine

The public health world has been abuzz recently with the results of the Phase I clinical trial of a malaria vaccine that proved 100% effective in protecting vaccinated people against Plasmodium falciparum infection when they were bitten by infected mosquitoes [1, 2]. P. falciparum is the species of malaria parasite that causes the most severe cases of disease – multiplying quickly in the blood and … Continue reading 1001 Bites: The road to a successful malaria vaccine