Science Circle

The COVID-19 Pandemic A Year On
2021-01-09 10:00 - 11:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Auditorium
The COVID-19 Pandemic A Year On

The last time The Science Circle presented on the COVID-19 pandemic was back at the beginning of April when we were alarmed that the number of known cases in the world had reached 1 million. By the time of this presentation, a conservative estimate of the number of cases worldwide will have reached 100 million, with no end yet in sight. One bright piece of news in recent days, however, has been the beginning of vaccinations in some countries and the unprecedented race to create more vaccines.

Photo: Utrecht University
Over three Saturdays from 9 January through 23 January, we will revisit one of the most pressing issues of our times, now a year after the novel coronavirus was identified.

On the first Saturday (9 Jan), Phil Youngblood Ph.D., will talk with you about where we have come over the last year and perhaps what we will see in 2021, as well as the many ways the pandemic has taken a toll on us this past year.
On the second Saturday (16 Jan), Robert A. Hendrix, MD, will present the medical side of the pandemic, that is, what we have learned about how this new virus affects the human body and how the vaccines work.
Finally, on the third Saturday (23 Jan), we will hold a “Fireside Chat” intended to address the types of issues that is of most interest to our audience about these issues.
Presentation by Phil Youngblood

Dr. Phil Youngblood

Reference work in the library

Previous lectures on film

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Non-members can register for the free events through SC members.
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Fireside Chat CRISPR
2021-01-04 17:00 - 18:00 | Fireside
While CRISPR science is fun, a more intimate talk about the implications and ethics. I will come with my own potential topics but come with those questions burning your brain about CRISPR. Do you fear the genome editing future? Do you want to speculate on what society and biology will be like in 10, 20, 100 years? Is this a good thing or a bad thing?

Fireside Chat with Dr. Stephen Gasior

Dr. Stephen L. Gasior

Reference work in the library

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Classical Sunday Concerts
2021-01-03 07:00 - 08:00, 2020-12-27 07:00 - 08:00, 2020-12-20 07:00 - 08:00 | The Lighthouse Café
CLASSICAL SUNDAY CONCERTS
Sundays at 7 AM PST
Weekly piano concerts by Earl Kiech at the lighthouse cafe.

Wake up quietly, start your afternoon relaxed or take a seat in a comfortable armchair to end your day with us.
No matter what time zone you are in, Earl’s music balances a stressful week at any time of the day.
This is the perfect time to catch up with colleagues and friends.

CRISPR 2020: Year in Review
2021-01-02 10:00 - 11:00 | Auditorium
Figure NobelPrize.org. Using the genetic scissors, researchers can edit the genome of practically all living things.

Every year there are new advances in genome engineering. In this talk, the most important and interesting news in CRISPR-based gene editing from 2020 will be presented. Come learn about Technology Advances, New Tools, Intellectual Property, and Target Genes and Modified Organisms from a former published practitioner in the field. Of special note this year is the awarding of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry to Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier for their work in CRISPR. Thus, the talk will start with a little deeper history of its discovery and invention. This year CRISPR was used for more than just gene editing, so those will be of particular interest and discussed as well.
Non-members can register for the free events through SC members.
Presentation by Dr. Stephen Gasior (Xootfly)

Dr. Stephen L. Gasior

Reference work in the library

Previous lectures on film

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EXTRA
Fireside chat
Monday, January 5 at 5 PM PST
Fireside chats are intimate gatherings with the last speaker to have a free-form discussion. Audience drives the discussion with their questions or topics.

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Follow the Food Special
2020-12-27 12:00 - 13:00 | Auditorium
Follow the Food is a BBC documentary sponsored by one of the big three agriculture companies, Corteva Agrisciences. It covers the current food chain, challenges to feeding the world, and new technologies in world agriculture.

Come watch the Special Episode Follow the Food Chain on Sunday December 27th at 12 PM PST
Features a Q&A afterwards with a Corteva Agrisciences Scientist.

Virtual Worlds: Past, Present and Future
2020-12-26 09:00 - 11:30 | Auditorium
Guests

1. Bill Harp, Panama

2. George Djorgovski, USA

3. Phil Youngblood, USA

4. Steven Van Hook, USA

09:00 – 10:00 George Djorgovski & Bill Harp
10:00 – 10:30 Intermezzo, with musical accompaniment by Earl Kiech
10:30 – 11:30 Steven Van Hook & Phil Youngblood

Matthew Burr

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Urban agriculture and sustainable food
2020-12-19 10:00 - 11:00
Urban agriculture and sustainable food: field trip to a Second Life backyard food garden with Delia Lake

UN Sustainable Development Goal #2 is Zero Hunger, yet worldwide, hunger is increasing.

Getting fresh food to people with little waste and reduced greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs)
Food – one of the essentials for life.
Over 4 B people worldwide and growing live in urban areas.
1/3 of food produced worldwide is wasted, with people in affluent countries wasting even more, while almost 1 B people experiencing food insecurity.

Most food is produced far away from where it is eaten and is transported to us. All told, it’s estimated that it takes about 10 kcal of energy for every 1 kcal of food we get.

Can we get fresh food to people with little waste and reduced greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs)? Yes, we could grow a significant portion of our food in or near urban areas where most people eat it, but as Joni Mitchell said it in Big Yellow Taxi (1970). “Don’t it always seem to go, that you don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone? They paved paradise, put up a parking lot.”
There is a nascent and growing movement toward urban and suburban farming. I have been growing vegetables in RL urban environments for decades, and in SL since 2008. On this Second Life fieldtrip we’ll explore a few ways that each of us might advance urban farming in our solid lives.

Linda M. Kelley

Reference work in the library

Previous lectures on film

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Classical Sunday Concerts
2020-12-13 07:00 - 08:00, 2020-10-25 07:00 - 08:00, 2020-10-18 07:00 - 08:00, 2020-10-11 07:00 - 08:00, 2020-10-04 07:00 - 08:00 | The Lighthouse Café
CLASSICAL SUNDAY CONCERTS
Sundays at 7 AM SLT
Weekly piano concerts by Earl Kiech at the lighthouse cafe.
Wake up quietly, start your afternoon relaxed or take a seat in a comfortable armchair to end your day with us.
No matter what time zone you are in, Earl’s music balances a stressful week at any time of the day.
This is the perfect time to catch up with colleagues and like-minded people.

Recent Developments at Chemistry World
2020-12-12 10:00 - 11:00
Chemistry World was established as a joint venture between Texas A&M University and the Florida Institute of Technology by Dr. K (Dr. Wendy Keeney-Kennicutt) and Winkelmann Teichmann (Dr. Kurt Winkelman) as part of NSF-funded research to examine the effectiveness of virtual worlds in the teaching of chemistry content. They worked with Xandi Mars and Random Cole, SL designers who are based in Texas and who work extensively with Texas A&M. The results of the study were published in the Journal of Chemical Education. The result is an asset to the chemistry education community in Second Life which supports a realistic teaching environment which includes a laboratory, a classroom, offices to meet with TAs/faculty, and space to “hang out”. In addition there is an area for practising camera skills, and a series of platforms which host two laboratory experiments which include an ideal gas law activity and a precipitation titration activity.

Amidst the SARS-COVID-2 pandemic in late Spring 2020, Dr. Shaw assumed management of the region. The idea was to use its facilities to supplement the lab activities for a freshman chemistry for engineers course in Fall 2020. In spring 2021, it will be used to supplement an advanced Bioinorganic chemistry class. This tour will highlight the facilities built as part of the original study, will show the current builds of 3D bioinorganic models, and will show the current state of the Solid-State Models activity developed since April 2020. The logistics of implementing these SL activities will be described.

Dr. Mike Shaw

Reference work in the library

Previous lectures on film

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Classical Sunday Concerts
2020-12-06 07:00 - 08:00, 2020-11-29 07:00 - 08:00, 2020-11-22 07:00 - 08:00, 2020-11-15 07:00 - 08:00, 2020-11-08 07:00 - 08:00, 2020-11-01 07:00 - 08:00 | The Lighthouse Café
CLASSICAL SUNDAY CONCERTS
Sundays at 7 AM SLT
Weekly piano concerts by Earl Kiech at the lighthouse cafe.
Wake up quietly, start your afternoon relaxed or take a seat in a comfortable armchair to end your day with us.
No matter what time zone you are in, Earl’s music balances a stressful week at any time of the day.
This is the perfect time to catch up with colleagues and like-minded people

Virtual Worlds for University Students: Some Thoughts and Experiences
2020-12-05 10:00 - 11:00 | Virtech
Virtual Worlds for University Students: Some Thoughts and Experiences

Virtual Worlds such as SL have a great potential as an educational platform, and there is an extensive literature on the subject. Likewise, they can offer social and psychological benefits, which can be very important, especially in the times of a social distancing. Much of this is due to the subjective sense of presence, including the avatar self-identification.

Our immediate motivation to re-introduce VWs as a viable online venue for the Caltech students (the undergraduates in particular, especially the incoming class) to socialize, interact, network, collaborate, and learn collectively until the pandemic is no longer limiting such interactions in the physical space. At the moment, the students in this cohort (roughly 18 to 22 years old) depend on the traditional social media for such interactions. Later on, we plan to introduce educational activities such as the lectures, office hours, etc. We thus created Virtech, a Caltech sim in SL, and I will describe the process that led to this choice. The initial response from the students was mostly enthusiastic, but mixed, and their feedback was very valuable, as we continue to develop Virtech.
This presentation will take place on Virtech sim, followed by a guided tour and exploration.

George Djorgovski (SL: Curious George)

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Kuhn: A Primer in Scientific Paradigm Shifts
2020-11-28 10:00 - 11:30 | Auditorium
Guests

1. Stephen L. Gasior

2. Giuseppe Longo

Matthew Burr

Previous panels on film

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The Biochemistry of Our Senses
2020-11-21 10:00 - 11:00 | Auditorium
“The Biochemistry of Our Senses”
All living things become aware of, and interact with their environment and each other through, their senses. While the mechanism of sensory perception may be complicated, it all comes down to chemistry and physics, with chemistry being mostly electricity and energy levels in atoms. No magic required.
Understanding the chemistry of biology reveals secrets about how life exists, how living things are all related, and provides important clues about how and why living things evolved from each other.
Join me in exploring the fascinating and dynamic world of the very small, the menagerie of molecules that create familiar tastes and smells, that help us to see and feel, that mess with or fool our natural systems, and that make up us and the rest of life and living things.

Dr. Phil Youngblood

Reference work in the library

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Fire, flood, drought, repeat … environmental challenges for human habitability
2020-11-14 10:00 - 11:00 | Auditorium
Every morning when I awake, I notice it’s too cloudy to see the sunrise. You may have noticed this too where you are. Smoke from the megafires in the western US has blanketed my dawn sky. I am thousands of miles away so safe from the flames, but not safe from the fallout – none of us are. I had hoped against hope that this year we would not be having to deal with fire maelstroms and megafires but if anything, they are worse than last year. Some communities are seriously grappling with the science and ethics so that they can effectively address these challenges over the long-term. Join us to hear updates and discuss what we can do.

Linda M. Kelley

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Cyber security
2020-11-07 10:00 - 11:00 | Auditorium
A presentation by Myron Curtis

This presentation discusses, as an example of what can be done across the Nation, California’s progress in developing comprehensive career pathways to a variety of Cybersecurity jobs in order to fill existing and future unfilled positions. Global demand for information security professionals has been growing exponentially and has reached a critical point. It is imperative; therefore, that we build a workforce of qualified cybersecurity specialists and trained users (including technicians and managers).
We need coordinated and linked education, training, and workforce development programs in order to fill that demand.
Thus, California is developing a framework for the design, development, and implementation of a California Cybersecurity Career Education Pipeline and Pathway Project (CCCEPPP) to prepare 50,000 entry-level cybersecurity professionals in California from 2020-2030 and reduce current/future state workforce capability skills/gaps.
In order to maximize efficiency and meet diverse key stakeholder needs, California seeks innovative ways to balance the academic and professional demands of cybersecurity programs to achieve enhanced student access to quality, cost-efficient and available cyber-security programs statewide.
The California Cybersecurity Workforce Development and Education Strategy has 15 recommendations to lay out a framework, blueprint, and structure for the design, development, and implementation of a California Cybersecurity Career Education Pipeline and Pathway and additional educational toolkits to serve statewide cybersecurity workforce development and education in “high need” essential workforce areas and sectors at all levels of education and training (K-12, Associates, Bachelors, Graduate, Professional Cortication/Training). Model curriculum, extra-curricular activities, cyber-competitions, professional and career development, and a host of related issues are included.
Paraphrased from the Executive summary in the California Cybersecurity Workforce Development and Education Strategy v3o GM[19781].pdf

Professor Myron Curtis

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Recent Developments in Materials Science
2020-10-31 10:00 - 11:30 | Auditorium
Recent Developments in Materials Science
Join Matt Burr and Mike Shaw for a discussion about materials. What new materials such as graphene and nanotubes hold promises for new technologies? What are the prospects for advanced batteries? What can we look forward to with breakthroughs and novel materials?

Guests

1. Dr. Michael J. Shaw

2. Dr. Kurt Winkelmann

Matthew Burr

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Microbial life beyond Earth
2020-10-24 10:00 - 11:00 | Auditorium
Introduction to astrobiology and the scientific search for evidence of microbial life beyond Earth, especially on moons in the solar system. Review, with questions welcome, the very real and exciting possibility of finding such life in the fairly near future, and its far-reaching implications. For a general audience, brief discussion of key basic principles in areas of microbiology, physics and chemistry that drive, inform and focus the search.

James Woods
Previous work in the Film Collection

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The Dragon’s Smile
2020-10-17 10:00 - 11:00 | Auditorium
A presentation by Dr. Mary Anne Clark.

Snooping in the Databases: Amelogenin in the Komodo Monitor

I love browsing the databases when new genome sequences are published. I’ll be talking about looking for the gene for amelogenin in the genome fragments of the Komodo monitor, whose genome was published in 2019. I’ll describe how I found the gene, how you can do your own snooping in the databases, and what I learned about lizards in the process.

Dr. Mary Anne Clark

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Emerging Technologies - The Future is Here!
2020-10-10 10:00 - 11:00 | Auditorium
A presentation by Phil Youngblood, PhD.

Every technology, from fire and the wheel long ago, to quantum computers and companion robots today, is at some point an “emerging technology,” that is, an application of science well beyond ‘concept’ or experimental stage, something that is very real but is not mainstream yet. Emerging technologies may only be known by those who follow the field closely or may be known more widely, but most people have not yet experienced them firsthand… but soon will!

What are the emerging technologies of the 2020’s? Join me as we examine eight interrelated technologies that will shape your world in the next decade:
— 5G communications
— artificial intelligence (new applications)
— 3D printing (new applications)
— brain machine interface
— immersive spaces (like SL)
— augmented/virtual reality
— autonomous transport
— robotics

Dr. Phil Youngblood

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