Science Cafe – Page 4

June 20: Hope for Huntington’s Disease

Huntington’s disease, a fatal neurodegenerative condition that strikes in the prime of life, is caused by a single gene defect. The mutant gene was identified in 1993 but hope for a cure was far from assured as subsequent research revealed an amazingly complex role for this gene in brain function. Now, a positive phase I clinical trial and a $45 million bet from Roche suggests a reason for optimism. And if the therapy works for HD patients could a similar approach work for other neurodegenerative conditions?

Dr. George Rebec will talk about this work and the implications.

February 28, Gravitational Waves

Gravitational waves were detected for the first time just a couple of years ago. Already the information from the violent events which makes these waves is giving us new insights into physics and astronomy. Michael Snow will explain what a gravitational wave is, describe how they are detected, and report on the latest news: the discovery of where the heavy chemical elements in the universe are made.

We’ll be in the back room of Bears Place (1316 E 3rd St) at 6:30 pm. As always, Bloomington Science Cafe is free and open to anyone (over 21)!

January 31, 2018: CBD – ‘Wonder drug’ or just ‘I wonder?’ drug?

Cannabidiol (aka CBD) is a compound isolated from Cannabis that has found a recent celebrity as a Cannabis-derived therapeutic. What is CBD and is it the “cure-all” that many websites and articles suggest? Come with curiosity and questions and we will work through some of what we know and what we don’t yet know about this interesting cannabinoid.

Join us for this talk by Neurobiochemist Heather Bradshaw, PhD.

We’ll be in the back room of Bears Place (1316 E 3rd St) at 6:30 pm. As always, Bloomington Science Cafe is free and open to anyone (over 21)!

Wednesday, November 29th: A bio-chemist walks into a bar…

Yeast is a wonder-microbe responsible for making bread and beer delicious, and it has helped scientists score Nobel prizes for years. Join us a Professor Matt Bochman explains how this single-celled organism has yielded scientific breakthroughs for decades and how science and craft beverages have recently joined forces to tickle your taste buds.

Yeast

We’ll be in the back room of Bears Place (1316 E 3rd St) at 6:30 pm. As always, Bloomington Science Cafe is free and open to anyone (over 21)!

October 25th: Why is it so hard to create safe and effective new drugs?

We rely on drugs to solve many of our problems: to treat diseases, to ease our pain, to entertain us. But drugs come with risks, and even a widely used ‘household’ drug such as acetaminophen results in hundreds of fatalities each year in the US.

Join us as Natalia Murataeva, Ph.D. talks about some of the challenges in developing drugs that are both effective and safe.

September 27th: Open Scholarship — How Publishing Innovation is Changing Scientific Research

The ability to verify and replicate scientific discovery relies on meaningful access to research output, historically communicated via academic journals, trade publications, and books. The rising costs to access scientific research coupled with advances in data-driven methods have made traditional publishing models so unsustainable that 90% of scientists interviewed by Nature Publishing Group believe we are facing a reproducibility crisis. In a world of computational methods, artificial intelligence, 3D modeling, and a linked open web, pay-to-access scholarly journals are no longer adequately communicating or enabling access to scientific discovery. Alternative models aim to drive publishing towards more open, accessible, and impactful practices.

Open Access logo
Join us as Jamie WIttenberg, head of IU LIbraries Scholarly Communication Department asks: What does it mean to publish openly? What is the relationship between reproducibility and openness? How does open access change the way we do science?

August 30th: Smog, a radical perspective

The problem of photochemical air pollution continues to be a serious threat to human health and welfare in many areas of the world. Ozone, the primary component of photochemical smog, can impair respiratory functions by causing inflammation and scarring of lung tissue. Because it is a secondary pollutant, control of ozone depends on an accurate understanding of the chemical mechanism leading to its production.

Philip S. Stevens from IU School of Public and Environmental Affairs and Department of Chemistry will describe and discuss current field studies designed to improve our understanding of the chemistry of photochemical smog, including measurements in both urban and remote areas.

July 26: Tiny is Beautiful

Science and Emerging Technologies of Nanocrystals

Nanoscience is an area of research that focuses on the study of materials that have very, very small dimensions. Nanoscience would be boring if those tiny objects behave just like big ones. Luckily they do not. In this talk, I will explain how the nanoworld provides scientists with a rich set of materials useful for studying the new properties of small-sized matter. Emphasis will be given to the sciences and applications of colloidal nanocrystals. Examples include nano-gold, nano-semiconductors and nano-X.

Xingchen Ye, assistant professor of chemistry, takes us through emerging areas of nano technology and explains his work on colloidal nanocrystals.

The STEM PhD Job Market

Join us as Dr. Steven Ouelette (CTO, Kinasense) explains the challenges facing STEM graduates, and discusses strategies to prepare for and navigate a wide variety of emerging careers in industry.

6:30pm, Wedneday, May 31, 2017 at Bears Place, the back room

The STEM PhD Job Market: Landing a Career Requires Thinking Beyond Academia Early and Often The academic postdoctoral market has been described as a “crisis”, “bubble”, and “glut.” There are far more postdocs than the number of available careers that require academic postdoctoral training. This talk will give an overview of current data that shows why STEM PhD graduates should reconsider a postdoctoral appointment as the default career path. Strategies and resources for enhancing graduate training to promote career readiness will be discussed. Finally, a case study will be presented that demonstrates these strategies in action.

The Art of Astronomy

Join us as Professors Liese van Zee and Caty Pilachowski take us through the basics of imaging science as applied in astronomy, and explain how knowledge of the electromagnetic spectrum inform us about different environments in the universe. Taken together, these principles provide an ability to interpret astronomical images in order to learn about the universe and understand our physical world.