Nerd Nite SF #58: Diabetes, Global Maritime Trade, and Face Mites!

"Sweet Nothings from Deep in Your Tummy: A Tale of the Pancreas and Diabetes" by Tommy Hennings

"Diabetes mellitus" literally means sweet, excess urine. Besides requiring a very, ahem, intimate patient-doctor relationship, diabetes has one underlying trait in all of its types: the dysfunction of a certain type of cells within the pancreas. But wait a minute–what is the pancreas, anyway? Come learn about how this organ that looks like a corn cob micromanages blood sugar, why it ends up dropping the ball, and the big changes brewing in diabetes research and treatment.

Tommy is a PhD student at UCSF researching pancreatic beta-cell development and dysfunction, who has lived with type 1 diabetes for 8.5 years.

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"Two Billion iPhones Crossing the Ocean" by Daniel Chin

Nearly all our gadgets and toys come to us from massive factories overseas–everything from the clothes we wear to the cars we drive and the phones we use to navigate the world. But how many of us know the incredible journey that our clothes and cars and phones take before they get to our homes? A professional seafarer and marine engineer will share the fascinating story of modern global maritime trade and the people who bring us "90 percent of everything" created around the world. We will also see what happens when this normally smooth-running machine of global commerce is stymied by technological failures, labor disputes, and pirates!

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"Meet Your Face Mites: A Story of Discovery, Evolution, and Intrigue" by Michelle Trautwein

Right now, deep in your pores, eight-legged creatures are happily making your face their home. Our face mites are perhaps our closest companions, yet we know very little about them. But as we learn more, our mites may offer us a glimpse into our own evolutionary past. What do they look like? Where did they come from? Are you sure that I have them? Come get the answers to all your face mite questions!

Michelle is an entomologist at the California Academy of Sciences and focuses on the Earth's most lovable creatures: flies and face mites.