Nerd Nite East Bay

Doing the Devil’s Work: Bay Area Satanism and Political Activism.

Speaker: Simone Chavoor is a member of the Satanic Temple and the local independent group Satanic Bay Area.

New Approaches to Conservation on The California Trail.

The massive new California Trail project at the Oakland Zoo takes a unique approach to saving the endangered animals of our state. Recently rescued large local wildlife make up most of the fauna, with grizzly bears, black bears and mountain lions roaming through the Trail. Learn how huge California Condors are nursed back to health, and get the details on a critical breeding project that hopes to return heritage bloodline buffalo back to indigenous tribes in Montana. See how the Oakland Zoo’s new approach to conservation is repopulating species throughout California, and giving spectacular sunset views from a gondola high atop the Oakland Hills.

Speaker: Amy Gotliffe is the Conservation Director at the Oakland Zoo and The Conservation Society of California

Batteries Included: How Lazy Bacteria Use Weird Chemistry to Create Electricity in Your Gut.

Strange bacteria in harsh environments have adapted to breathe minerals instead of oxygen, and new research shows that common bacteria like Listeria, Enterococcus and Bacilli have been secretly using a similar pathway with vitamin B2 and heme found in the human gut to generate a shocking amount of electricity. Learn about the bacterial search for easy electron acceptors, and how a single bacterial cell can move up to one million electrons per second. Then consider how these electrogenic bacteria can be used to create living batteries, improve bio-solar energy production, and make more delicious cheese.

Speaker: Sam Light, UC Berkeley.