A new model for the origin of life: Coupled phases and combinatorial selection in fluctuating hydrothermal pools Hydrothermal fields on the prebiotic Earth are candidate environments for biogenesis. We propose a model in which molecular systems driven by cycles of hydration and dehydration in such sites undergo chemical evolution and selection in a dehydrated surface phase followed by encapsulation and combinatorial selection in a hydrated phase. This ...
Where: Mountain ViewCost: Free
Adventure Tuesday Club: Counting With CrittersA four-week class, for ages 4 to 5. Adult attendance is not required. Numbers are everywhere, especially in nature. "Count" on meeting some animal ambassadors.Register online with the link listed below.Class ID: CC-390
'Sand Wars'Most of us think of it as a complimentary ingredient of any beach vacation. Yet those seemingly insignificant grains of silica surround our daily lives. Every house, skyscraper and glass building, every bridge, airport and sidewalk in our modern society depends on sand. We use it to manufacture optical fiber, ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $15 General, $10 Student/Senior
Annual Consumer Electronics Show DownloadThis is one of our more popular meeting topics - a look at some of the latest and greatest, and sometimes weirdest new products shown at the Consumer Electronics Show. Additionally, there are a number of related events that are held just before and after CES that will be talked ...
Where: Santa ClaraCost: $10 General, $5 members at door, free in advance
Rocks and FossilsThe Fremont area is known for its Ice Age fossils, but there are also other fossils that help geologist determine our past. Learn about the Hayward Fault and how it moves these rocks through time. Reading: Mammoth Mary
Particulate iron is a significant fraction of the total iron pool in the ocean, usually accounting for at least a third and often the majority of the total iron pool. Most iron studies to date have focused on the dissolved iron fraction, but studying the particulate iron fraction has the ...
As more and more data moves to the cloud, data replication has become prohibitively costly and there is an acute need for efficient, fault-tolerant schemes for data storage. Coding theory offers solutions for fault-tolerant storage that are potentially far more efficient than replication. At the same time, the cloud storage ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Computational Epidemiology: The role of big data and pervasive informatics Pandemics such as H1N1 influenza are global outbreaks of infectious disease. Human behavior, social contact networks, and pandemics are closely intertwined. The ordinary behavior and daily activities of individuals create varied and dense social interactions that are characteristic of modern urban societies. They provide a perfect fabric for rapid, uncontrolled ...
Dr. Sylvia Earle – fondly dubbed "Her Deepness" by the New York Times – holds the women's record for the deepest ocean dive and has led more than 100 undersea expeditions, logging more than 7,000 hours underwater. Formerly chief scientist of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Dr. Earle has garnered countless ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $20 General, $7 Students, $12 Members
Due to its enormous heat capacity and ability to move heat around the globe, the ocean plays an out-sized role in climate and climate change. The ocean is at the center of contemporary questions such as: Why have global-mean surface temperatures not warmed in the last decade despite CO2 continuing to rise ...
Where: Palo AltoCost: $45 General, $30 Members
Birds of the San Francisco AreaJoin us for an illustrated talk about Bay Area birds by a local photographer and Bay swimmer.The program will cover bird anatomy, adaptation and migration, with a handout and reading list, and features photos & two short films on aquatic birds that live in or visit our area, especially in ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: Free
Breast Cancer and the Patenting of GenesGeneticist Mary-Claire King spent over a decade tracking down a gene mutation that she believed leads to a hereditary disposition to breast and ovarian cancer. Then a biotech company stepped in and patented the gene! Legal arguments over whether this naturally occurring gene can be patented went all of the ...
Dr. Vint Virga (The Soul of All Living Creatures) is likely the only veterinarian in the country whose fulltime job is tending to the psychological welfare of animals in captivity. What does it mean when an elephant lowers her head and folds her trunk beneath it? Or when a zebra ...
Alan Rockefeller is a mycologist and photographer specializing in mushroom identification and taxonomy.Alan has been collecting mushrooms for ten years, and has traveled to Mexico to collect mushrooms for the past 8 years. Alan is a network security expert who has a mushroom DNA lab in Berkeley and posts all ...
What actually happened to Darling Clementine? Historian Joel Pomerantz explores the California floods of 1862. Learn how this historic storm, which killed thousands and caused a number of San Francisco houses to collapse, can be an example for what a really extreme weather event could be like in our future.
Bridging the Nature-Culture Divide III: Saving Nature in a Humanized World ConferenceSan Francisco's Presidio is the location and focus of a conference that examines how stewardship decisions balance natural, cultural, and scenic values at one of the nation's premiere national parks. Leading thinkers and experts from the US and Canada will provoke discussion, push boundaries and inspire solutions.The Cultural Landscape Foundation ...
How will San Francisco address its sewer and stormwater systems' aging infrastructure? As a result of rigorous technical studies and community input collected through the Sewer System Improvement Program's Urban Watershed Assessment, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission is working on a slate of recommended projects and programs. Come hear ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $10 General, Free for members
PLANNING AND CONTROL FOR NEXT GENERATION SPACE ROBOTSIn the first part of the talk, Dr. Marco Pavone will discuss the design of a hopping robot for the in-situ exploration of small Solar system bodies. The actuation of the robot relies on spinning three internal flywheels, which allows all subsystems to be packaged in one sealed enclosure and ...
Explore your creative urges and art-hop around the museum as NightLife curates an evening crawling with creativity.Lend your hand to a living, breathing mural wall with Paint Pens Collective and let your eyes wander at pop-up galleries by Roll Up Gallery and ArtSpan, all set against an awe-inspiring backdrop of ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $12 General, $10 Members
Positive Computing: Technologies for Compassion and Well-beingRafael A. Calvo is Director of the Positive Computing Lab at the University of Sydney. His work focuses on the design of systems that support psychological well-being in areas of mental health, medicine and education. He has a PhD in Artificial Intelligence and has worked at Carnegie Mellon University, Universidad Nacional ...
Storyteller, explorer and photographer Daniel Fox brings you along on his journey into the wild. From grizzly bears in Alaska to crocodile-like caimans in Argentina, the images of his journeys bring the contours of the wilderness into stark relief and make clear the inherent connection between humans and the natural ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $20 General, $8 Members, $7 Student
Introduction to TMJ Disorders: Diagnosis and TreatmentTemporomandibular disorders or "TMD", often referred to as "TMJ", are disorders affecting the jaw joint and the muscles for chewing. They cause pain in daily life and restrict range of motion in the jaw. This talk will provide an introduction to the subject and will discuss the diagnosis and treatment for ...
Where: Palo AltoCost: Free
Racing with Copepods (Premier showing)Bazooka Mama Productions is proud to announce the premier of Racing with Copepods at The Randall Museum.Join us as we watch twelve middle school youth take a sailing course where they study the fastest of all animals: copepods. They connect with the natural marine world and meet Her Deepness, oceanographer Dr. ...
Join Exploratorium scientist Ron Hipschman for colorful explorations of the physical world.In 1960, the laser was known as "a solution looking for a problem." Now we can hardly imagine life without them. Learn what's special about laser light, how it's made, and how it's used in everything from DVD players ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: Free with admission
Friday, 01/23/15
LSST@SLAC: Tony Tyson: Understanding the LSST CCDsLike all detectors, our CCDs have "features" which should be understood if we are to maximize the science. I will review thick CCD detectors, their science justification, their care and feeding, modeling, lab measurements, and impact on Camera and other LSST subsystems including Data Management.
Where: Menlo ParkCost: Free
Biotic Games- Playing with Living CellsThe Riedel-Kruse Lab combines basic research and engineering approaches by working on biophysics of development and biotic games. Biotic games require biological process to run and could have a similar impact on society as conventional video games based on electronics; and we design and engineer biotic games specifically targeted at ...
Where: StanfordCost: Free
In Treatment: Psychiatry and the Archives of Modern SexualityThis talk explores the encounter of sexual- and gender-variant people with psychiatry and psychoanalysis in mid-twentieth-century America and examines the role of psychiatric scrutiny and stigma in the making of modern sexuality. Focusing on the archive of St. Elizabeths Hospital, the federal hospital for the mentally ill in Washington, DC, ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Peer Effects and Interventions in Online Networks: Causal Inference with and without ExperimentsPeer effects (i.e., social interactions, interference, social influence, spillovers) are common in many settings of interest to social scientists, epidemiologists, system designers, and policy-makers. Researchers often aim to estimate these peer effects themselves and/or estimate what would happen under a global (i.e., network-wide) treatment that functions partially through peer effects. ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Institute of Transportation Studies Friday Seminar: Clean Transportation as the path to a Clean GridVehicles account for nearly 23% of global energy consumption, and global GHG emissions from vehicles will increase significantly by 2050. Transportation electrification is needed soon and at significant scale to meet climate targets and through the deployment of plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) a unique opportunity exists to transform two major ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Night HikeHike under the beautiful crescent moon through the redwoods from twilight to moonlight on an easy 1-3 mile hike. After the hike, stay and explore other amazing objects in the night sky through our telescopes (weather permitting) or tour the Telescope Makers Workshop. Hike will take place rain or shine.**Advanced reservations ...
Where: OaklandCost: $12
Saturday, 01/24/15
The Bay Model Wants You!!! Become part of Sausalito's very own attraction known around the world! We have a variety of volunteer positions that are suited for people just like you! Greet visitors, lead tours, work with school groups, and more! Come and be a part of one of the largest working hydraulic models in ...
Local amateur mycologist and co-founder of the Bay Area Mycological Society, Debbie Viess, will share her fascination with the wonderful world of fungi: how and where to find them, and why it is so much fun, as well as scientifically important to study and collect them!Debbie will provide beautiful and ...
Where: Mountain ViewCost: Free
Jazz Under the StarsThis event is weather dependent. Latest weather updates.See the first quarter moon and more thru our telescopes, while listening to KCSM Jazz 91 FM. Dress warmly and come by anytime between 6 & 10 p.m. Free parking in Marie Curie Lot 5. Directions here.No food or drinks in the observatory. Children are ...
Where: San MateoCost: Free
Sunday, 01/25/15
Geology HikeTake a moderate 2-mile hike to discover the history and geology of the reservoir and surrounding area. See and touch a mix of ancient geologic evidence along the Calaveras-Hayward Fault and Diablo Range, including preserved volcanic lava. Dress in comfortable clothes that can get dirty and wear sturdy hiking shoes ...
This month we celebrate the animals that are the champions of the cold: Animals of the Arctic. We recommend teaming our free classroom program at 12 pm and 2 pm with a Docent-led tour at 11am, 1pm or 3pm for a truly immersive marine mammal experience.FREE Classroom Programs: Animals of the ...
Program presented at 11:00 AM, 2:00 and 3:30 PM.Join Exploratorium scientist Ron Hipschman for colorful explorations of the physical world.In 1960, the laser was known as "a solution looking for a problem." Now we can hardly imagine life without them. Learn what's special about laser light, how it's made, and ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: Free with admission
Monday, 01/26/15
Mini Monday Feathers, Fables & FurEncourage your young naturalist's curiosity at Mini Monday, a special day for children and their caregivers. Animal encounters, activities and crafts help connect your child to our natural world and all its wonders. Ages: 2-5 + AdultFee: $20 for the first child ($10 museum members), $6 for each additional child ...
Where: Walnut CreekCost: $20 for the first child ($10 museum members)
Caroline Farrior is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis (NIMBioS) located at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Caroline is a plant ecologist who studies how competition among plants and their access to resources shape the dominant plant strategies that drive landscape-level patterns such as forest structure, ...
Joe V. Selby, MD, MPH, is the first executive director of the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI). A family physician, clinical epidemiologist and health services researcher, he has dedicated his career to patient care, clinical research and administration. At PCORI, he works to identify and address strategic issues and opportunities ...
We will consider the political context of energy policy in Japan since the 1970s oil shocks. I will argue that political arrangements in Japan after World War II made it attractive for politicians to pursue energy conservation by making energy, particularly for automobile transportation and electricity usage, expensive for the ...
Where: StanfordCost: Free
Nerd Nite East Bay #26: Urban Farming, Pipe Organs, and Use-Based TaxesGrab a beer! We'll blast the tunes from the farms-to-the-roads in January's installment of Nerd Nite East Bay. Pilar Reber shares how she is growing the urban farming community, Don Crawley (an alumni from Nerd Nites Seattle, Vancouver, and Kansas City) will pull out all the stops in describing pipe ...
