A longstanding challenge is to design molecular structures that fold and function in the crowded, complex environment of the cell. My lab is developing methods to repurpose natural RNA structures that have the intrinsic ability to fold stably inside cells and to bind small molecule or protein ligands. These engineered ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
The Net: Utopia vs. DystopiaJoin us for an enlightening and provocative evening as we explore the Internet's double-edged sword: its ability to spread knowledge and democracy and its potential risk to civil liberties and personal freedoms. This exciting evening will feature prominent speakers with diverse viewpoints on the impact the Internet has had on ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $25
Black Holes: The Science Behind the Science FictionLick Observatory hosts a Summer Visitors Program (SVP), inviting the public to observe through both the 36-inch Great Lick Refractor and Nickel 40-inch Reflecting Telescope. Each evening also features two speakers, who present programs even if clouds or fog prohibit viewing.Lick astronomers present multimedia lectures on their research or ...
Where: Mt. HamiltonCost: $9.50
Houge Park Start PartyMeet with members of San Jose Astronomical Society for a Star Party, weather permitting.
Where: San JoseCost: Free
Saturday, 09/28/13
Being Human 2013The 2nd Annual Being Human conference will examine human nature a variety of evolutionary, scientific and philosophical perspectives.Designed to foster a deeper understanding of what it means to be human, this thought-provoking event will present groundbreaking insights from a spectrum of leading scientists, philosophers, educators and thinkers on the frontiers ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $50.00 - $257.00
Eye-Opening Science: Conversation and Controversy Earth 2.0: Where is it...Can We Visit?NASA scientists from the SETI institute will be discussing their latest research with Academy Fellows & Scientists and would like to invite you to join them for a small gathering in an intimate Saturday morning setting. Come join them in the conversation while enjoying pastries, coffee and tea. The topic ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $35 General, $25 Members & Seniors
While new treatments are offering hope where there once was none, the reality of age-related vision problems is daunting. Conditions such as macular degeneration, glaucoma, and cataracts can have a devastating impact on quality of life. As options for activities dwindle, and as vulnerability to falls and injury increases, the ...
Where: NovatoCost: $10 Donation
Science Saturday: Sea OttersCelebrate Sea Otter Awareness Week at the Museum! Find out if you'd rather have otter fur or blubber, see what it's like to eat like a sea otter, examine real otter fur, make a craft to take home, and more! Discover just how important otters are to Monterey Bay as ...
Where: Pacific GroveCost: Free
Exploratorium's Fog FestivalCelebrate the enigmatic and ever-changing nature of fog and explore the science behind what is one of San Francisco's most salient meteorological phenomena at the Exploratorium's first-ever Fog Festival from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday, September 28, 2013 inside the museum and in its Outdoor Gallery. From the science behind ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: Included with museum admission
Hawk Talk and Banding DemoCome to Hawk Hill in the Marin Headlands and get an up-close view of the fall raptor migration with the Golden Gate Raptor Observatory (GGRO), a cooperative program of the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy and National Park Service.A GGRO docent gives an hour-long talk about hawk monitoring and identification ...
Where: SausalitoCost: Free
The Little Carquinez Strait Boat Race at the Bay ModelThis is an activity for kids 5-8 who enjoy racing homemade boats. It is amazing what wads of aluminum foil and a little imagination can produce. Tin foil provided. Come and create your own ship design and sail your boat from Suisun Bay to the mouth of the Napa River ...
Where: SausalitoCost: Free
Fog City: The Talk ShowFilmmaker Sam Green has been exploring the intersection between cinema, performance, and public programs for several years. In this latest iteration of his form-blending practice, Green will present a live talk show on the subject of fog and San Francisco, using materials and several of the subjects from his documentary film ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $25 for adults; discounts available
San Mateo County Astronomical Society Star PartyThe City of San Carlos Department of Parks and Recreation and the San Mateo County Astronomical Society have open Star Parties twice a month.Reasons to AttendIf you have kids interested in space or planets bring them here for a real life view of planets, nebula, star clusters and galaxies.If you ...
Where: San CarlosCost: Free
Across a Sea of Suns: Charting Other Worlds, Distant EarthPrograms include concert, a talk by a University of California astronomer about current research, and (weather permitting) viewing through the historic Great Lick Refractor and the Nickel 40-inch telescope. Knowledgeable local amateur astronomers outside the buildings provide additional telescopes and informal astronomy discussions.Due to safety concerns, children under the age ...
Where: Mt. HamiltonCost: $40 General, prefered options available
Have you ever thought about the history of the atoms that make up your hand or your heart? They existed long before you did, and astronomers can actually trace back their story to ancient times and ancient processes in our cosmic neighborhood. In this non-technical talk, Andrew Fraknoi will discuss ...
Where: Pleasant HillCost: $20 adults, $10 children
Stacking the Space ShuttleOn our quest to land astronauts on Earth's moon we built the most massive and most powerful rockets to reach our goal. Assembling such vehicles require a specialized building where it all comes together. At NASA's Kennedy Space Center the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) was built for this purpose. The ...
Hawk Talk and Banding DemoCome to Hawk Hill in the Marin Headlands and get an up-close view of the fall raptor migration with the Golden Gate Raptor Observatory (GGRO), a cooperative program of the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy and National Park Service.A GGRO docent gives an hour-long talk about hawk monitoring and identification ...
Where: SausalitoCost: Free
Monday, 09/30/13
Mini Monday - Home in the BurrowSpecial morning featuring the newest exhibit at Lindsay Wildlife Museum - The Burrow. Crawl into the burrow and discover wildlife that live in a world of darkness beneath our feet. Encourage your young naturalist's curiosity at Mini Monday, a special day for children and their caregivers. Animal encounters, activities and crafts ...
Where: Walnut CreekCost: $15 for 1st Child ($8 museum member)
Robot Morality: Can a Machine Have a Conscience?Can we out-source morality to a robot? This isn't just a question from a sci-fi movie. Instead it's a question that comes from rapid advances in the field of robotics. Engineers, for example, have tried to program robots to make moral decisions – and to make such decisions when confronted ...
Where: Santa ClaraCost: Free
Junior Academy: Naturalist Know-how Learn how to be a naturalist! Each month a new nature skill will be presented. October's skill is Stones, Spiders and Scum -- Up Close! Explore the hidden side of everyday things by learning to use a microscope. Variations of the monthly skill will be available each week. This program ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: Free with Academy admission
S4: SMALL SATELLITES FOR SECONDARY STUDENTSKevin John ('07) of Sonoma State's NASA Education and Public Outreach group will talk about an exciting ongoing project to teach STEM principles to middle and high school students, through the thrill of building electronics and launching them on high-powered rockets.
New materials afford access to novel physical effects and are a constant source of disruptions in photonic device functionality and performance. Significant opportunities exist in the mid-infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum; while it is rich in vibrational absorption bands of gaseous chemicals and atmospheric transmission windows, devices remain underdeveloped ...
Poverty and profit tend not to mix. Yet, the alleviation of the former is creating a tremendous opportunity for the latter. Close to one billion people have risen above the poverty line over the past twenty years, entering the global consumer marketplace. The trend is anticipated to continue – potentially ...
Where: StanfordCost: Free
BaySci Science Education ForumThe 2013 BaySci Science Education Forum will focus on science discourse (argumentation) as a critical scientific practice illuminated in the Next Generation Science Standards. A panel of language arts and science education experts and Bay Area district leadership and teachers will present examples and strategies for encouraging successful student discourse ...
"A Reason for Reason" skeptical speaker series toys with immortality in September... Please join us and tell fellow critical thinkers!When people complain about aging, they are actually complaining about are age-related diseases. "Aging" is a mental construct, a mass hallucination, a convenience of language. The scientists focused on curing aging are ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: Free
Tuesday, 10/01/13
Exploring Complex, High-Dimensional Data For Hidden StructureHow does one search for a needle in a multi-dimensional haystack not knowing what a needle is and not being sure there is one in the haystack? Solving this sort of problem might seem to be impossible, yet this is exactly what Dynamic Quantum Clustering (DQC) manages to do. Several ...
Where: Mountain ViewCost: Free
FREE Educators' Open House and Resource FairEnergize your teaching for the new school year by attending the free Educators' Open House at Lindsay Wildlife Museum. Explore and learn about our new exhibits - The Burrow and Hive Alive. Learn about Lindsay Wildlife Museum's school programs, which can be scheduled at the museum, at your school site, or ...
Where: Walnut CreekCost: FREE
Hydrodynamics and Topological Defects in 'Living Liquid CrystalsActive matter is a distinct category of nonequilibrium matter where energy injected at the scale of microscopic constituents is converted into organized motion and function at the macroscopic scale. Examples are bacterial suspensions, epithelial cell layers, the cytoskeleton of living cells, and self-propelled colloids. In this talk I will describe ...
When biologist Aaron Hirsh leads twelve college students to a remote fishing village on the Sea of Cortez, they come upon a bay of dazzling beauty and richness. As the group pursues various threads of investigation-ecological and evolutionary studies of the sea, the desert, and their various species of animals ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: Free
Don't Fade Away: Saving the Vivid Yellows of Matisse and Van GoghThe masterpieces of Henri Matisse, Vincent Van Gogh, Georges Seurat and many of their contemporaries are currently undergoing catastrophic changes, including paint discoloration and loss. This damage, which threatens many works of art of our cultural heritage, is associated with three specific yellow pigments: cadmium yellow, chrome yellow, and zinc ...
Fighting an Environmental Trigger for ALS, Alzheimer's and other Tangle DiseasesIn a remarkable scientific detective story, Cox and his colleagues journeyed to small islands in the Pacific, high lakes in the Andes, remote villages in Japan and markets in western China in search of an elusive killer. Their studies of tribes with the highest known rates of the "tangle" diseases ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $20 non-members, $8 members, $7 students
Robotic Surgery - Engineering from a Surgeon's PerspectiveRobotic surgery has made considerable strides in the last 15 years. FDA-approved robotic systems have revolutionized surgery by giving surgeons better visualization and precision. However, even with the most sophisticated systems, the limitations of surgical robotics are clear to the surgeons who use them. Technologies that are new or greatly ...
Drawing allows the designer to directly reach an audience. In the digital age, however, the tool has seen profound changes in a relatively short amount of time, altering not just how we draw but how we design. Four experts share their thoughts on the communicative power of drawing.Panel:+ John Kriken ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $10 General, Free for Members
Following the discovery of methane trapped in naturally-occurring gas hydrates (NGH), their energy potential has led to increased research. Being largely (>99%) methane, the energy contained is the cleanest possible from a fossil fuel source. For countries with limited energy resources, such as Japan and India, methane trapped in NGH ...
Extreme Weather in a Changing ClimateExtreme weather and climate events can have serious impacts on human and ecological systems. Changes in the magnitude and frequency of extreme weather associated with changes in the average climate are likely the most serious consequence of human induced global warming. Understanding what the future portends is vital if society ...
Computer Virus-antivirus Co-evolutionOver the past twenty-five years, computer malware (viruses, worms, targeted attacks, etc.) and anti-malware software have engaged in a complex dance - a co-evolution - with the black-hats inventing ever more creative infection and evasion techniques, and the white-hats responding in-kind with ever-more innovative defenses. In this talk, Professor Nachenberg will provide a fascinating ...
Where: StanfordCost: Free
How the Universe Went from Smooth to Lumpy: The Modern Origins StoryThe talk will provide an overview of the modern understanding of our origins in astrophysics. The story begins in the infant universe, which we now know was remarkably smooth compared to what we see around us today, with only tiny differences in its properties from one part to another. By ...
Distinguished actor and writer Peter Coyote, a passionate advocate for wildlife and wild nature, will be joined by Camilla Fox, Project Coyote Executive Director, and Bob Crabtree, Project Coyote Science Advisory Board Member and Yellowstone Ecological Research Center's Chief Scientist, in a rare Bay Area event! Peter, Camilla, and Bob will share their ...
Acupuncture has an undeserved reputation as one of few effective SCAMs (Supplements, Complementary and Alternative Medicine). Discover what THEY don't want you to know: acupuncture is based on fantasy, is not effective, and cannot be effective.Speaker Mark Crislip, M.D., has been a practicing Infectious Disease physician in Portland Oregon since 1990. He ...
Join the Climate Change and Health IdeaLab (CHIL) for a conversation with Kristin Aunan, Senior Research Fellow at the Center for International Climate and Environmental Research-Oslo (CICERO), about her work on climate mitigation and human health in China.Dr. Aunan's research focuses on the co-benefits of greenhouse gas mitigation (benefits to ...
High Frequency Design On PCBSonoma State Engineering Science Lecture SeriesSpeaker: Mr. Tamir Moran, Principal Hardware Engineer
Where: Rohnert ParkCost: Free
Lawrence Hall of Science Educator NightJoin us for this special after-hours event. Explore the Lawrence Hall of Science and the resources we offer to help you get the most out of your school year, from field trips to curriculum to professional development. Enjoy wine, beer, and snacks while you do hands-on science activities and connect ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free for Educators
Cafe InquiryMeet up with rationalists, skeptics, and freethinkers south of San FranciscoCafe Inquiry is a social event hosted by the Center for Inquiry|San Francisco. We'll meet at Café Borrone http://www.cafeborrone.com/ between Kepler's Books and the British Banker's Club! Look for the black balloon.For more information or if you have questions please ...
Fog is the stuff of legends, extolled by writers, expounded upon by filmmakers, and studied by meteorologists across the globe. Swirling, beautiful, and occasionally creepy, fog is a salient part of San Francisco's identity-something we may love, or hate, but which we rarely ignore.After Dark: Fog, the Exploratorium's adults-only (18 ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $15; $10 for members
Sharktoberfest NightLifeTake a bite (and a sip) out of NightLife this week as Sharktoberfest returns!Sample local beers from the brew masters at Ale Industries, Almanac Beer Co., Anchor Brewing, Calicraft Beer, Drake's Brewing Company, Mad River Brewing Company, Social Kitchen and Brewery, Speakeasy Ales & Lagers, Triple Voodoo Brewing, and others ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $12 General, $10 Members
Chronic Low Back Pain: Causes and TreatmentsLow back pain is one of the most common causes of chronic pain having an astounding impact on the individual, their family, and society as a whole. This talk will review the causes of low back pain with specific attention to both serious causes that need immediate attention, and those ...
Where: Palo AltoCost: Free
Electricity: It's AliveRobert Porter will spend a few minutes taking some of the mystery out ofelectricity. Many people find this awesome power to be incomprehensible. It'sinvisible and you cannot taste it. But when you get shocked you know it! Itpowers our Prius and our brains. Porter will talk about the few elements ...
