Nerd Nite SF #155: Phages, Nudibranchs (Sea Slugs), and Speech Therapy

We’re bringing the late summer heat with three amazing talks! Who needs antibiotics when you’ve got viruses to fight on your behalf? Sounds too good to be true? How about the REAL nudies under the sea? Who knew sea slugs could be so dazzling? And how do you teach kids to talk? Perhaps more importantly, how to you get them to stop talking? So many questions, so little time. Come on down for all the answers you never knew you wanted.

Phage Against the Machine: A History of Bacteriophages

Speaker: Yug Varma

What’s a phage? How come I’ve never heard of it before? And how will phages save us from superbugs? Join Yug as we explore the brief history of bacteriophages, one of nature’s deadliest creatures that thankfully doesn’t hunt us. As we learn how the most momentous events of the 20th century shaped the fate of phages, we will learn what the future could hold for this enemy of our enemies.

Yug Varma is a biochemist and microbiologist who studies the microbiome and has been obsessed with phages for 20 years. 

Please Send Nudes: Fancy Slugs of the Sea

By: Tiffany Alcock

The ocean is full of vibrant, colorful marine life, but few are as fantastically arranged and strikingly decorated as the gastropod molluscs known as nudibranchs. Found worldwide and at virtually all depths, nudibranchs really get around! Get (your feet) wet with this dive into the bizarre body parts, sexy dance moves, and fabulous outfits of sea slugs.

Tiffany is a life-long water babe, who knew she would one day be a diver after taking a Discover Scuba class at age 10.

How to Teach Kids to Talk (and How to Deal with Them When They Do)

By: Amanda Maillet

Some pet peeves and pro tips from a  speech therapist who’s spent the last decade and a half negotiating with toddlers and teaching others how to do the same. We’ll go through some bad advice, better alternatives, and the brain science behind how we as humans learn to communicate.

Amanda has a BA in Linguistics from the University of New Hampshire and an MS in Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences from San Francisco State University.