taste of science: Illusions and Cell Death

The virtual reality machine inside your head: Using illusions to learn about the brain

While it may be fun to throw on an Oculus and dive to the depths of the ocean or fly through space, it’s more fun to realize that you have your own state-of-the-art virtual reality equipment! In fact, the VR setup you have is customized and comes with a lifetime warranty. Come learn how vision, time, and consciousness are all constructions of your brain. By studying illusions, we can better understand the software running under the hood.

Speaker: Dr. Sarah Eagleman, Stanford

Ferroptosis: The most metal form of cell death

Cells have been dying for a long time.. well, since they have existed! However, the study of cell death is only a little over a century old. In fact, apoptosis (the most well-studied cell death) was discovered in 1972. Since then, it has become increasingly apparent how important it is to regulate how and when cells die in development and disease. Here, I describe a new form of cell death called ferroptosis, and how it is regulated by survival mechanisms in human cancer cells.

Speaker: Megan Conlon, Stanford