Hello Science Lovers and Shoppers, and Happy Birthday Ed.
I have not paid much attention to what is coming up on the calendar for awhile. Needless to say I had no idea that Thanksgiving is just a few days away! It’s been a crazy year and I have to say I’m looking forward to it being 2024. Aside from my friends, I am also thankful for applied science. For instance, science based medicine, recently it’s been big in the life of friends, family, and myself. Watching people get excited about science and understanding a little bit better is always very cool. I think it is how we come to understand most of what we know about just about everything. Especially when you use art to enhance and inspire. Sadly, politics has gotten too involved in the process of science though.
One of many cool natural phenomena that happen this time of year is the migration and wintering over of Western Monarch Butterflies in California's State Parks. If you haven’t been to see the monarchs you really should. If you have consider this a reminder to do it again!
I’m still grappling with genetics, I was never a very good student in the life sciences. (herb says… Please at least read the abstracts and intros to the following links.) There is much to learn but science often gives us hints as we learn more about a subject that should make us be more careful until we really know. Consider fetal alcohol syndrome for instance. I, like many guys (and probably a lot of women), never thought much about the epigenetic effect of alcohol on sperm. Not so though, sperm carry a vast amount of epigenetic information.
You have probably heard about TikTok and maybe fallen down the time/webhole watching it. The question of privacy is a common issue there, but how about your car? The wider discussion of this and what’s in your refrigerator is telematics. You might want to think about it when you are buying the latest tech for the holidays for yourself or as gifts.
Speaking of gifts, I can’t stress enough how we should be making good decisions about gifts, especially during the holidays. I think the best gifts are those that engage people and make them curious and want to think. It’s also a chance to turn someone on to what you think is cool! (after the 3rd paragraph, you may not want to give so much alcohol as gifts!-} For my take on gifts I think that museum stores are the places to go. Whether you want art, history, or SCIENCE gifts we have local museums all over the bay area to take care of your gift list. Your patronage there supports the institution and it is a local business as well. Not only that, consider joining it, the discount you get on quality gifts may cover the cost of admission and get you in for a full year! I know there are others, but I recently discovered REACH & TEACH local business in San Carlos. “Reach and Teach - Books, Toys, and Fair Trade Gifts is a highly interactive and hands-on immersive environment focused on peacemaking, gender equality, and sustainable living.” They also have a lot of great science and tinkering stuff for mostly youth but I have to admit I know a lot of adults that would love and learn from them as well. It really is a cool place. There’s a ton of restaurants, pubs, and shopping options there as well. (OK, that’s a pitch for San Carlos in addition to R&T!) Here’s something else to consider…
We’re heading into the holiday breaks and the number of presentations in and around the SF Bay Area is lower as usual. Don’t be too concerned though, there’s still more than you could attend if you tried to make it to them all!
1- Astronomy on Tap Tucson #93: The Dark Matter Double Feature - Livestream - 11/21/2023 06:30 PM
2- Science Saturday: Monarch Madness - 11/25/2023 10:00 AM
3- Family Astronomy: The Moon and Tides - 11/25/2023 06:00 PM
Here are a few articles I have seen recently that I have been saving to share with you…
The First Scientist’s Guide to Truth: Alhazen on Critical Thinking
It’s a bit of a cliche that tourists screw it up wherever they go
A Slow-Moving Disaster in California looks like a good holiday read.
Opinion: To Boost Gender Equity in the Sciences, Follow the Evidence
Did you know that the origin of the pentaradial body plan of echinoderms from a bilateral ancestor is one of the most enduring zoological puzzles1,2? Starfish are walking heads with their buttholes pointed to the sky.
Here’s a News in Brief from Science Magazine for further reading!
We don’t endorse or get compensated for anything we list here. Every once in awhile we do come across something that looks interesting and fun. Mathematics: A Quick Revue falls under that category. It says “The show is a celebration of mathematics and the performing arts intended for the general public.”
Learn some Science Lessons from Thanksgiving Traditions this week!
herb masters
Forget the yule log on TV… put a loop of this on your screen! (Find some better music though!)
“Since you cannot do good to all, you are to pay special attention to those who, by the accidents of time, or place, or circumstances, are brought into closer connection with you.” Saint Augustine
“I celebrated Thanksgiving in an old-fashioned way. I invited everyone in my neighborhood to my house, we had an enormous feast, and then I killed them and took their land.” Jon Stewart
Upcoming Events:
Click to see the next two weeks of events in your browser.
Monday, 11/20/2023
Stem Cells and the MS in Biotechnology at Sacramento State - Livestream - 11/20/2023 12:00 PM
Sonoma State University - Biology Colloquium Rohnert Park
Speaker: Alexis Arellano and Rana Ghobashy, UC Davis
How nonlinearity distorts the evidence for photoinduced superconductivity - 11/20/2023 02:30 PM
Stanley Hall Berkeley
Over a decade of research has suggested that some metallic compounds can be transformed into superconductors by illuminating them with intense beams of laser light. Recently, we have shown that the experimental evidence for this effect could literally be an optical illusion produced by the high-intensity laser illumination. By examining several influential results on photoinduced superconductivity in K3C60, we have identified a fundamental flaw in their analysis that exaggerates the apparent photoinduced changes to the conductivity.
Speaker: Steve Dodge, Simon Fraser University, BC
Tuesday, 11/21/2023
Determining the age and origins of nuclear materials for nuclear forensics investigations - 11/21/2023 03:30 PM
Earth and Marine Sciences Building Santa Cruz
Speaker: Christine Chen
Astronomy on Tap Tucson #93: The Dark Matter Double Feature - Livestream - 11/21/2023 06:30 PM
Astronomy on Tap
The Dark History of Matter- Speaker: Haley Bowden
What is Dark Matter, Anyway?- Speaker: Hayden Foote
Mushroom Medicine: Latest News, Controversies, and Uses - 11/21/2023 07:00 PM
Mycological Society of San Francisco San Francisco
Join Dr. Christopher Hobbs author of the ground-breaking book Medicinal Mushrooms (first edition, 1989), for a lively-discussion on all things fungal and healthy!
A thorough and practical review of the science and traditional use of the most widely-researched medicinal mushrooms (especially turkey tails, shiitake, cordyceps, maitake, and chaga), based on many years of on-going clinical practice will be presented. Focus on lesser-known constituents and benefits--ergothioneine, chitin, and phenolics.
Learn about their current use in modern integrative health care, and in the kitchen as one of the healthiest and most nutritional foods you can eat! Christopher will share some of his favorite recipes and some great traditional recipes for a variety of fungi.
Learn how to make mushroom extracts at home for clinical and personal use to maximize healing and nutritional benefits.
Attend in person or online (see weblink)
Wednesday, 11/22/2023
The John and Mary Louise Riley Seminar Series at Bodega Marine Laboratory - CANCELED - 11/22/2023 11:00 AM
Coastal and Marine Sciences Institute
Join us for the John & Mary Louise Riley Seminar Series, featuring speakers from within the marine sciences community and beyond.
Please register to join us on Zoom.
This event has been canceled
Saturday, 11/25/2023
Science Saturday: Monarch Madness - 11/25/2023 10:00 AM
Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History Pacific Grove
Let’s celebrate the return of Pacific Grove's monarch butterfly population during Science Saturday: Monarch Madness. Get an up-close view of butterflies, follow their migration, and learn about other pollinators. We encourage you to come dressed like your favorite butterfly!
Makerspace Science Talk with Jack Driscoll-Natale - 11/25/2023 11:30 AM
Seymour Marine Discovery Center Santa Cruz
Jack Driscoll-Natale is a 12th-grade student at Pacific Collegiate School. He invented H20 Monitoring For All, an affordable water quality monitoring system that makes continuous water quality monitoring accessible to local communities for environmental stewardship, ecological monitoring, and more! Jack’s invention received international recognition at STEM competitions. Now, he is working with the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute on further development while patenting his device.
Family Astronomy: The Moon and Tides - 11/25/2023 06:00 PM
Chabot Space and Science Center Oakland
Kick off the holiday season with a family workshop all about the Moon. Join us on an exciting and educational adventure as we delve into the captivating relationship between the Moon and tides. Discover how these celestial bodies influence the ebb and flow of our planet’s oceans in this interactive and hands-on workshop. Guests will receive complimentary cider, hot chocolate, and cookies. (Program does not include after-hours general admission or the planetarium.) Public telescope viewing will begin at 7:30pm.
Recommended Ages 8-Adult.
Monday, 11/27/2023
Paleoart and Scientific Illustration - 11/27/2023 12:00 PM
Sonoma State University - Biology Colloquium Rohnert Park
Speaker: Reid Psaltis, Cal State Monterey Bay
Quantum Textures of the Many-Body Wavefunctions in Magic-Angle Graphene - 11/27/2023 02:30 PM
Stanley Hall Berkeley
Interactions among electrons create novel many-body quantum phases of matter with wavefunctions that reflect electronic correlation effects, broken symmetries, and collective excitations. Many quantum phases have been discovered in magic-angle twisted bilayer graphene (MATBG), including correlated insulating, unconventional superconducting, and magnetic topological phases. The lack of microscopic information of possible broken symmetries has hampered our understanding of these phases. In this talk, I will discuss a series of experiments where we use high-resolution scanning tunneling microscopy to study the wavefunctions of the correlated phases in MATBG
Speaker: Kevin Nuckolls, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Control of movement in Hydra - 11/27/2023 04:00 PM
James H. Clark Center (Bldg 340) Stanford
Dr Adrienne Fairhall is a Professor in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics and adjunct in the Departments of Physics and Applied Mathematics at the University of Washington in Seattle. She obtained her Honors degree in theoretical physics from the Australian National University and a PhD in statistical physics from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel. She joined the UW faculty in 2004 and now co-directs the University of Washington’s Computational Neuroscience Center. Her research group focuses on mathematical modeling of neural systems, collaborating with experimentalists on a wide range of model organisms, from hydra to mosquitoes to primates.
Speaker: Adrienne Fairhall, University of Washington
Room: Auditorium
UC Berkeley Physics Colloquium - 11/27/2023 04:15 PM
Physics North Berkeley
Speaker: Lindley Winslow, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Energy Seminar: Fireside Chat with Sally Benson - 11/27/2023 04:30 PM
Stanford University Energy Seminar Stanford
Join us to hear Sally Benson, Professor of Energy Science & Engineering, discuss what she learned about policy making during her time as Deputy Director for Energy and Chief Strategist for the Energy Transition in the White House's Office of Science and Technology Policy.
Attend in person or online (see weblink)
Tuesday, 11/28/2023
Proteomics in Sleep Disorders: Insights into Pathobiology - Livestream - 11/28/2023 12:00 PM
Stanford University
X-ray measurements to understand the science of fire spread by ember transport - Livestream - 11/28/2023 12:30 PM
Stanford University
Observation of Pines' Demon in Sr2RuO4 with Momentum-Resolved EELS - 11/28/2023 03:30 PM
Hewlett Teaching Center Stanford
What does (and doesn't) a fossil-fuel free world look like? - 11/28/2023 03:30 PM
Earth and Marine Sciences Building Santa Cruz
Plan for Planet - 11/28/2023 04:00 PM
James H. Clark Center (Bldg 340) Stanford
Wonderfest: Fast & Faraway: The High-Redshift Universe - 11/28/2023 07:00 PM
Hopmonk Tavern Novato
Wednesday, 11/29/2023
The John and Mary Louise Riley Seminar Series at Bodega Marine Laboratory - 11/29/2023 11:00 AM
Coastal and Marine Sciences Institute
Unraveling the Mysteries of the Universe Through Human Consciousness and AI - Livestream - 11/29/2023 03:00 PM
Commonwealth Club
Energy and Resources Group Colloquium - 11/29/2023 04:00 PM
Giannini Hall Berkeley
Toward a practical theory of deep learning: feature learning in deep neural networks and backpropagation-free algorithms that learn features - Stream - 11/29/2023 04:00 PM
Sutardja Dai Hall Berkeley
Under Fire and Under Water in the American West - 11/29/2023 05:30 PM
Commonwealth Club San Francisco
Science Uncorked: Bodega Head's Northbound Geologic Journey - 11/29/2023 06:00 PM
Gourmet au Bay Bodega Bay
Thursday, 11/30/2023
Berkeley Institute for Data Science Seminar - Livestream - 11/30/2023 12:00 PM
Berkeley Institute for Data Science
On the Integration of Hydrogen into Hybrid Energy Systems: Reliability Assessment, Optimal Operation and Planning - 11/30/2023 01:30 PM
Environment & Energy Building (Y2E2) Stanford
Doing a lot with a little: The molecular profile of a single sensory neuron links experience with behavioral plasticity - 11/30/2023 03:30 PM
Weill Hall Berkeley
The Science Behind Science Fiction: To Boldly Go - 11/30/2023 05:00 PM
The Crown: Royal Coffee Lab & Tasting Room Oakland
NightLife - 11/30/2023 06:00 PM
California Academy of Sciences San Francisco
Six Eruptions at Two Volcanoes Over the Past Three Years - Livestream - 11/30/2023 06:00 PM
US Geological Survey Public Lecture Series
Active Galaxies: Monsters of the Deep (Space) - Livestream - 11/30/2023 06:00 PM
Night Sky Network
After Dark: Light at the Museum - 11/30/2023 06:00 PM
ExplOratorium San Francisco
Faster! Catching up to Electrons on the Move - 11/30/2023 07:00 PM
Stanford Linear Accelerator (SLAC) Public Lecture Series Menlo Park
Stellar Paternity Tests: Tracing Stars Back to the Clusters of their Birth - 11/30/2023 07:00 PM
Los Altos Public Library Los Altos
Friday, 12/01/2023
Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics Seminar - 12/01/2023 12:00 PM
Earth and Marine Sciences Building Santa Cruz
Public Tours of Bodega Marine Laboratory - 12/01/2023 02:00 PM
UC Davis Bodega Marine Laboratory Bodega Bay
First Friday: Light Up the Night - 12/01/2023 06:00 PM
Chabot Space and Science Center Oakland
Getting Started with Astronomical Spectroscopy - 12/01/2023 08:00 PM
College of San Mateo Bldg 36 San Mateo
Saturday, 12/02/2023
Instrument Petting Zoo at the Lawrence Hall of Science - 12/02/2023 11:00 AM
Lawrence Hall of Science Berkeley
Sunday, 12/03/2023
Solar Observing - 12/03/2023 01:30 PM
San Jose Astronomical Association San Jose
Monday, 12/04/2023
Abiotic Factors Affecting Egg Deposition Site Selection & Early Larval Development of Two Local Lotic Amphibians - 12/04/2023 12:00 PM
Sonoma State University - Biology Colloquium Rohnert Park
The dance of the muon - 12/04/2023 03:30 PM
Stanford Linear Accelerator (SLAC) Colloquium Series Menlo Park
Leveraging the phyllosphere microbiome for plant health - 12/04/2023 04:00 PM
James H. Clark Center (Bldg 340) Stanford
Energy Innovation in California - 12/04/2023 04:30 PM
Huang Engineering Center Stanford
Exploring the AI Revolution - 12/04/2023 06:00 PM
Commonwealth Club San Francisco
The Remarkable Death of A Massive Star - 12/04/2023 07:30 PM
California Academy of Sciences San Francisco