Finally Fighting for Science
I think we are in some truly history making times. How we get through them as a society, or even a species seems to be uncertain. Go ahead and call me a pessimist! Getting through them at all seems uncertain. One thing to realize is that “science” won’t tell us what to do to get through these times. Freedom really has nothing to do with “science” either. ‘There’s science, medical science, and statistical analysis and epidemiology, and public safety too. And then there’s freedom, which should have nothing to do with science at all, but now does. Choose one, not the others. Choose to believe in science, or more precisely, to believe the science, that certain things can be proved to be so, beyond all reasonable doubt.’
It seems important to determine what the science says before we can put it to use. Sadly it seems almost impossible to get educated reasonable people to agree on who or what to believe outside of their own circle of friends, associates, peers, or communities. I think that there are models that we can use to reach out to those that disagree in serious and important ways. They all rely on trust and respect from all of those in the conversation. Yelling and calling someone an idiot will not help. Here are two articles that, I think, apply to much more of science than the subjects of them are… Twelve Essential Tips for Researching Quality Health Information Online and Debunking a persistent COVID-19 lie. Yes, the Virus has been Isolated. Here’s a good resource as well, The Corona Virus Facts Alliance
‘Many people are exposed to this disinformation passively. What I mean by that is someone brings it up in conversation or they see it mentioned in the comments section on a post. Or they are even at a school board hearing on masks and it is mentioned by some maskhole. And here’s the issue, being exposed to incorrect information even once can be enough to sew seeds of doubt. So knowing it is wrong and why upfront is a bit like vaccinating yourself against these lies.’
Guys, the Vajenda isn’t just for gals! (I’m not sure if you know of Dr. Jen Gunter but you should.) Also take note of The misguided history of female anatomy and the wandering womb
Just in case you are looking for more to ponder… The future of humanity: can we avert disaster?
OK enough Hope, doom and gloom. Let’s see what looks interesting this week.
- Peering into the body - with less risk - Livestream is happening Wed @ 5:30
-The Periodic Table: How the Basic Elements of Life are Advancing Research – Livestream Thu @ noon
-Every Bird has a Story – Livestream is Sat @ 1:30
Of special note is the multi-day Buoy Days Thu and Fri at the explOratorium. There’s a special Member event Thu @ 9:15 AM which, if you are not a member, might inspire you to join! There are also two more to consider there or on line at 6:00 After Dark: Beneath the Bay and Collecting Kelp - Hybrid Event @ 7:30!
It's the beginning of another school year, and citizen science is a great way to get back into the swing of learning for curious people of all ages. There are hundreds of projects with classroom materials to choose from on SciStarter, and a free Foundations of Citizen Science training is available to introduce citizen science to your learners. Check out your favorite museum for lots of on-line suggestions for learning and getting ready to return to school. Here’s something to think about now that the kids are getting out a lot more and hopefully will continue to. Kids set free to roam on their own feel more confident navigating in adulthood
“It’s hard to argue with the famously authoritative Oxford English Dictionary, but”
Are you a registered voter in California? I hope that you take the time to vote before September 14th. You should have received a ballot by now. You only have to make 1 or 2 X’s and there is very little research to be done if any. Take it out now and vote if you haven’t already. Be sure you understand what “No” and “Yes” mean. Be sure to vote on the real ballot and not the sample ballot and fill out the entire back of the envelope before returning it to be counted. It is recommended that you reregister to vote every few years as our signature changes as we get less young. Comparing signatures is becoming more important and automated as well. Why am I going in to such detail? See above… “Many people are exposed to this disinformation passively.” Thank your poll workers for what they do and how well they do it.
Think calming Perseid thoughts.
Have a great week learning new and cool stuff.
herb masters
"We live in an era of unprecedented scientific breakthroughs and expertise. But we're also stymied by the forces of misinformation that undermine the true knowledge that is out there."Dr. Laolu Fayanju
Upcoming Events:
Click to see the next two weeks of events in your browser.
Monday, 08/16/2021
Measuring and Improving Engagement in Online Learning - Livestream - 08/16/2021 07:00 PM
SF Bay Association of Computing Machinery
With a lot of learning shifting online, many students turn their cameras off, making it impossible for teachers to understand whether their students are engaged. Teachers feel that they are teaching a vacant wall of icons while students are unable to show that they are engaged without inviting discomfort. This application allows teachers to enable a mode of encouraging and communicating engagement without making students turning their video on. Students who are uncomfortable turning on their cameras can convey relevant emotions and engage with the lesson, helping all participants in a video conference increase mutual engagement and trust.The application builds on facial landmark learning to detect and communicate engagement. It consists of four components: calibration, detection, communication, and reporting. The application first calibrates detection and display to the specific user, changing parameters for detection and the avatar that will be displayed to communicate engagement. It detects specific actions such as smiling or raising a hand, then conveys them through an avatar, e.g., if the user smiles, the avatar smiles. It also provides each student an aggregated engagement score and graph for the duration of the lesson. Optionally, they can even contribute to the teacherâs report which would average all studentsâ engagement, keeping individual scores anonymous, so teachers know if large sections of their classes found some parts of the class to be harder.
The application is a step towards communicating real-time engagement and measuring overall engagement, even without having the connection of communicatingin person. It could be useful for ad testing, initial screenings, and flipped learning. Meanwhile, the changing avatar can bring interest and fun not only to classes, but in regular video calls among friends.
Speaker: Manasi Ganti, Monta Vista High School
Tuesday, 08/17/2021
Two Talks: Popping the Science Bubble - Livestream - 08/17/2021 05:30 PM
Berkeley Public Library
Friendships Across Space and Time: Looking at Plants and their Microbial Partners
Speaker: Anna Scharnagal, UC Berkeley
Can I Pick Your Brain? Computational Methods for Brain Network Analysis
Speaker: Jennifer Cummings, UC Berkeley and UCSF
The History and Future of Quarantine - 08/17/2021 07:00 PM
Long Now Foundation San Francisco
Long Now is delighted to welcome back speakers Geoff Manaugh and Nicola Twilley to be our first in-person talk of 02021. Until Proven Safe: The History and Future of Quarantine, is the subject of their new book and their talk for us; a timely and resonant topic that they began researching 10 years ago. Limited tickets are available for members and the public.
Geoff Manaugh and Nicola Twilley track the history and future of quarantine around the globe, chasing the story of emergency isolation through time and space - from the crumbling lazarettos of the Mediterranean, built to contain the Black Death, to an experimental Ebola unit in London, and from the hallways of the CDC to closed-door simulations where pharmaceutical execs and epidemiologists prepare for the outbreak of a novel coronavirus.
But the story of quarantine ranges far beyond the history of medical isolation. In their new book, Until Proven Safe, the authors tour a nuclear-waste isolation facility beneath the New Mexican desert, see plants stricken with a disease that threatens the world’s wheat supply, and meet NASA’s Planetary Protection Officer, tasked with saving Earth from extraterrestrial infections. They also introduce us to the corporate tech giants hoping to revolutionize quarantine through surveillance and algorithmic prediction.
We live in a disorienting historical moment that can feel both unprecedented and inevitable; Manaugh and Twilley help us make sense of our new reality through a thought-provoking exploration of the meaning of freedom, governance, and mutual responsibility.
Speakers: Geoff Manaugh, Nicola Twilley
Also online at links on their webiste. See our weblink to that page.
Wednesday, 08/18/2021
Earth system predictions for resilient living marine resources - Livestream - 08/18/2021 11:00 AM
Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
Climate change has shifted from a looming global threat to a pervasive contemporary challenge to the resilience of marine ecosystems and the communities they support. Environmentally-informed decisions across time horizons - from days to decades - are critical for meeting this challenge. Current global models yield skillful predictions of basic ecosystem-relevant physical ocean properties in many regions. Numerous case studies, including for California’s Pacific sardine fishery, suggest that consideration of such predictions in management may promote both economic and conservation goals. Furthermore, global biogeochemical predictions experiments have found that critical ecosystem stressors (e.g., plankton, oxygen, acidity) are often more predictable than their physical counterparts, enabling more robust marine resources predictions in a changing climate. Despite these successes, observational advances and high-resolution regional ocean models are critical for fully realizing the value of earth system predictions for marine resource resilience. In this seminar, Charles will highlight upcoming efforts to advance these areas.
Speaker: Charles Stock, NOAA
Afternoon Hike at Rancho Cañada del Oro - 08/18/2021 05:00 PM
Rancho Cañada Del Oro Morgan Hill
On this moderate to strenuous 4-mile excursion, you’ll explore the Mayfair Ranch - Longwall Canyon trails of Rancho Canada del Oro. Expect around 500 ft. of gradual incline/elevation.
This wonderful preserve rests in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountain Range and is a hub for wildlife, such as deer, bobcats, mountain lions, and more! In the Spring, you can expect a colorful array of wildflowers adorning the hillsides, and you may get a chance to see a beautiful little creek running through Llagas meadow.
Sturdy walking shoes & your own water bottle is recommended. Please bring hiking poles if you think you need them. To ensure all our guests are comfortable, we ask that your four-legged friends stay home (this preserve is an active grazing site!). If you are a minor, ensure that you are accompanied by a parent or a guardian for the entirety of the hike. *Please note that this hike is subject to cancellation depending on rain/inclement weather*
Ensure that the e-mail address you provide is valid, so you receive our event updates! We look forward to hosting you!
Peering into the body - with less risk - Livestream - 08/18/2021 05:30 PM
UC Santa Cruz
Most medical imaging devices - X-rays and CT scans, for example - use radiation to peer into the human body to produce images and other data that can help care providers arrive at a clinical diagnosis. But there are health risks associated with too much exposure to radiation, even in a clinical setting. Though researchers are developing new technologies and techniques to build low-radiation diagnostic tools, which are safer for both patients and clinicians, there remain major challenges associated with improving the quality and sensitivity of these tools. This lecture will address these challenges and provide an overview of new technologies - including some currently in development at the UC Santa Cruz Radiological Instrumentation Laboratory - as well novel data acquisition methods and artificial intelligence techniques that can be used to improve the quality of the images and data produced by low-radiation medical imaging devices.
Register at weblink to receive connection information.
A robot CHIP (COVID Help Intelligent Patro) to enforce social distance & serve - Livestream - 08/18/2021 07:00 PM
SF Bay Association of Computing Machinery
The entire world is hurting because of COVID-19. We must stop its spread, stabilize its curve, and make better preparations for future outbreaks. Since the COVID-19 outbreak, counties have published safety guidelines that prompt people to socialize responsibly, and several cities are instituting social distancing circles in public parks. Many people disregard these guidelines, and enforcing them increases the burden on law enforcement. Few nations have started using Boston Dynamics' Spot robot to enforce social distancing guidelines; Spot is not a helper robot; it is an enforcer robot and quite expensive. My robot, CHIP (COVID Help Intelligent Patro) is a cost-effective public safety helper robot to assist law enforcement officers in ensuring that people socialize safely in parks during the pandemic by reminding them of the city/county guidelines and providing hand sanitizers, temperature readings, and emergency contact ability. Built using a combination of EV3, Arduino, Microbit, sensors, and motors; this robot works both in autonomous and remote-controlled mode. The robot was tested on a test-bed with social distancing squares for operational accuracy with different starting points and run-time duration. Design iterations based on the test result helped C.H.I.P achieve 83.7% accuracy, which shows incredible promise. Due to its high success rate and low-cost of about $250, C.H.I.P can effectively be used in high-population areas for infectious disease control and public safety. The practical applications of this device are enormous. Law enforcement officers, security personnel, corporate offices, corrections officers can all program C.H.I.P to meet their custom enforcement and public safety needs.
Speaker: Serena Ghandi, Cabrillo Middle School
Register at weblink to receive Zoom link
How Your Family Can Land on Mars and Explore the Solar System - Using NASAâs Solar System Treks - Livestream - 08/18/2021 07:00 PM
San Francisco Amateur Astronomers
Right now, NASA’s Perseverance rover is beginning its epic exploration of the ancient lakebed in Mars Jezero Crater while the Curiosity rover continues its investigations in Gale Crater. Using NASA’s Mars Trek data visualization portal, we’ll fly to Jezero and examine up close the amazing terrain that is Perseverance’s new home. We will then journey out across the Martian surface to explore some of the planet’s more exotic and exciting locations and landforms.
Also now, NASA is planning its return to the Moon with the Artemis Program, featuring a bold mix of robotic and human missions to the Moon. Using NASA’s Moon Trek data visualization portal, we will tour some of the key locations targeted for upcoming missions to the lunar surface.
After our tour of Mars and the Moon, we will continue our adventure using additional Trek portals to explore amazing sites and sights on a diverse range of alien worlds across the Solar System. We’ll explore ice volcanos on Ceres, signs of awesome destruction on Vesta, eruptive centers on Mercury, boulder fields on near-Earth asteroids, and ocean worlds of the outer solar system.
NASA’s Solar System Treks project produces a suite of online, interactive visualization and analysis portals. These tools enable mission planners, planetary scientists, and engineers to access data products and analyze data from a wide range of instruments aboard a variety of past and current missions, for a growing number of planetary bodies. Originally planned for mission planning and science, this technology has shown great benefits for public outreach. As we tour the Solar System in this presentation, you will get an introduction to the portals and how you can use them, at home, for free, to conduct your own exciting explorations across the Solar System.
Speaker: Brian Day, NASA
SETI Talks: Can we define life? Should we? - Livestream - 08/18/2021 07:00 PM
SETI Institute
What is the difference between you and a rock? Are stars alive? Is a computer virus a living being? These may seem like easy questions, but scientists have struggled to formulate a universal definition of life, to draw the line between the living and the inanimate. Can life even be defined? Is such an endeavor even helpful?
We think we can intuitively recognize whether something is alive or not. But nature shows many examples that are difficult to categorize as life or non-life. The challenge may intensify as other worlds in our universe open up to exploration. It is commonly said, the scientists Frances Westall and André Brack wrote in 2018, that there are as many definitions of life as there are people trying to define it. Is it possible to find life beyond Earth if we disagree about what life represents?
We invited two scientists to join us for this month's SETI Talks to discuss this state of affairs. Haley Sapers, an astrobiologist at Caltech who studies living organisms we might find on Mars, and Carol Cleland, a professor of philosophy at the University of Colorado, Boulder, who wrote The Quest for a Universal Theory of Life: Searching for life as we don’t know it.
Register at weblink to receive connection information.
Nerd Nite SF #119: A clock, some milk, and a dash of fungal affliction! - 08/18/2021 08:00 PM
Rickshaw Stop San Francisco
Hello friends. Ever wonder what it’s like to get suffocated by your own skin? Well then do we have the talk for you! Gordon Lau will explain chytrid fungus and make you feel better about not being an amphibian. We’ll also be learning about another animal phenomenon perhaps a bit closer to home: mammal lactation! Rounding out the evening will be a presentation on a clock that will tick independently for 10,000 years in a Texas desert, and never repeat a chime melody, not even once. If that all sounds fun, join us!
‘Chytrid-99’: The Amphibians Covid-19
Humans aren’t the only animals currently going through a global pandemic! Since it was first described in 1999, the deadly pathogen within the chytrid group of fungi called Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, or Bd for short (wouldn’t want to get tongue-tied from that scientific name!) has been implicated in precipitous amphibian die-offs across the world. Learn about what makes this fungus so deadly to our slimy friends of the undergrowth, along with tales of its spread right here in California!
Speaker: Gordon Lau, wildlife biologist
See weblink for additional information
Thursday, 08/19/2021
Buoy Days - 08/19/2021 10:00 AM
ExplOratorium San Francisco
Have you ever wondered how oceanic buoys operate and what they measure, or what critters cling to their undersides? Join marine scientists, technicians, and educators as they pull a one-ton NOAA carbon dioxide (CO2) buoy out of the water and explore its scientific instruments and the organisms that have colonized the buoy bottom.
At this two-day, in-person annual event, we’ll provide a close-up view of maintaining an ocean buoy and discuss the data it collects and why it’s critical to understanding the impacts of excess carbon in the ocean and atmosphere. We’ll even get up close and personal with the animals and plants that drift on Bay currents as plankton and settle on the buoy’s submerged surface. This year, we’ll pay special attention to kelp and other ocean plants, with take-home activities and talks about their essential role in providing ecological habitat and food for animals (including humans) and absorbing carbon dioxide.
On loan to us from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the CO2 buoy has been anchored between Piers 15 and 17 since April 2013, collecting data on water temperature, salinity, and CO2 levels in the atmosphere and in San Francisco Bay. Every year, we pull it out of the water to calibrate and replace the sensors and to clean off corrosion and marine organisms.
The periodic table represents a chemical blueprint for organizing the elements of life. By analogy to an orchestra, each element can be thought of as an instrument with a unique sound and personality. In this month’s Midday Science Cafe, you’ll meet two chemical biologists who not only listen to the music that nature plays by studying the structure and properties of elements, but also actively compose music by developing new ways to harness elements to advance the frontiers of research. Berkeley Lab scientist Kathy Shield will walk us through the f-elements, the elusive, and often dismissed, bottom two rows of the periodic table. These elements have truly amazing properties: some are radioactive, some glow, some help cure cancer, and some power your cell phone. UC Berkeley researcher Dr. Eva Ge will introduce us to the wonderful world of metals, which are essential for life and the function of all DNA, RNA, and one-third to one-half of all proteins. Additionally, unique properties of metals, such as spin or radioactivity, can be harnessed to create new diagnostics and therapeutics in medicine.
Evening Tours of Lick Observatory - SOLD OUT - 08/19/2021 06:00 PM
Lick Observatory Mt. Hamilton
The event will last approximately 4 to 6 hours. Visitors should be prepared to walk about one mile during the evening, including taking stairs. Events are held rain or shine.
The tour will start at the main building’s Visitor Center. Participants can learn about the unique history of the world’s first permanently occupied mountain top observatory, the eccentric California pioneer James Lick, technology used for observing on different telescopes along the tour route, and current science being conducted at Lick Observatory.
A highlight of the tour will be visiting the dome of the 3-meter Shane Telescope to see the mountain’s largest telescope up close. After the walking tour, there will be an opportunity to enjoy the sunset, and the Gift Shop will be open. During twilight, a history lecture about James Lick and the construction of the observatory will be presented. Once the sky is dark (and weather permitting), viewing celestial objects through the historic 36-inch Great Refractor Telescope will commence. Insights will be provided throughout the evening on how we find planets beyond our solar system, how exploding stars teach us about the evolution of the universe, how we discern the nature of galaxies and black holes, how new technologies are used to undo the blurring effects of Earth’s atmosphere, and about Lick Observatory’s rich astronomical history and bright scientific future.
Complimentary coffee, tea, and hot chocolate are included with the tour. The event will last approximately 4 to 6 hours. For safety reasons and due to late hours, children under the age of 8 cannot participate; this event is recommended for ages 12 years and up. Visitors should be prepared to walk about one mile during the evening, including taking stairs. Events are held rain or shine. Weather may restrict telescope viewings, but other activities will still take place. Due to historic construction of telescope domes and safety concerns, the telescopes are not wheelchair accessible at this time. Those having difficulty navigating stairs may also find the telescopes inaccessible.
Maximum of 30 people per tour.
Tickets go on sale July 30 at noon and are expected to sell out quickly.
NightLife - 08/19/2021 06:00 PM
California Academy of Sciences San Francisco
Calling all creatures of the night: explore the nocturnal side of the Academy at NightLife and see what's revealed. With live DJs, outdoor bars, ambiance lighting, and nearly 40,000 live animals (including familiar faces like Claude the albino alligator), the night is sure to be wild.
Step inside the iconic Shake House and our four-story Rainforest, where you can explore the Amazon’s treetops surrounded by free-flying birds and butterflies. Reservations for these exhibits are no longer required. However, please note that the last entry into the rainforest is 7:45 pm our animals need their sleep!
Venture into our latest aquarium exhibit Venom to encounter live venomous animals and learn the power of venom to both harm and heal.
Visit the BigPicture exhibit in the Piazza to marvel at the most recent winners of the Big Picture Natural Photography competition.
Bask in the glow of one of the largest living coral reef displays in the world: our 212,000-gallon Philippine Coral Reef tank.
Take in the interstellar views from the Living Roof, then grab a bite from the Academy Cafe and head to the West Garden outdoor bar to drink and dine under the stars. For adults 21+.
After Dark: Beneath the Bay - 08/19/2021 06:00 PM
ExplOratorium San Francisco
San Francisco Bay is a dynamic, active system that supports all sorts of ocean organisms. Dive below the surface at tonight’s After Dark and see what’s living underneath. Meet the algae and creatures that live underneath our data collection buoy during this once-a-year dry-docking. Find out what historical records of ocean data tell us about the health of the planet, learn about the possibilities of restoring underwater ecosystems, and even take home your own pressed sample of kelp!
On loan to us from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), our carbon dioxide (CO2) buoy has been anchored between Piers 15 and 17 since April 2013, collecting data on water temperature, salinity, and CO2 levels in the atmosphere and in San Francisco Bay.
Ocean Record Keepers With Dr. Emily Miller 7:30 p.m. Bechtel Gallery 3, Phyllis Wattis Studio
How can dried seaweed help ocean conservation efforts? To understand the future of the ocean requires an understanding of the past. To date, historical data has been largely limited to instrument records and observations that begin around 1950. Research technician Emily Miller shares how kelp and other marine algae from herbaria repositories, and the female scientists who collected them, are helping extend historical records all the way back to 1878. With this data, Emily offers a new perspective on upwelling cycles and documents these patterns to help understand the shifts in the foundation of the food web of Monterey Bay.
Kelp Need Help! With Francesca Koe 8:30 p.m. Fisher Bay Observatory Gallery 6
Scientists and divers have noticed North Coast kelp ecosystem collapse over the last few years. Learn how community science projects banded together to help the forests recover through urchin removal and how they support the kelp forests through monitoring and taking an active role in their restoration.
Algae Pressing With Sue Lisin 6:30-8:00 p.m. Fisher Bay Observatory Gallery 6
Start your own algae herbarium with this make-and-take activity. Using algae samples taken from the underside of our buoy and some professional plant preservation supplies we’ll provide them! You can press and preserve your own piece of seaweed.
Plankton Drag Demo With the Explainers
Look into the sea by gathering the ocean drifts with a net. See the charismatic and beautiful life under the microscope.
NOAA Buoy 6:00-10:00 p.m. Gallery 5
Check out the underside of our NOAA buoy during its once-a-year cleaning and maintenance window on the deck of our outdoor gallery.
Islands and Avian Evolution - Livestream - 08/19/2021 07:00 PM
Golden Gate Audubon Society
Islands play a key role in both the evolution of new avian species and the extinction of others. Because of their isolation, birds that arrive on islands evolve separately from their parent group and eventually become unique, thus a new species is born! But that isolation also makes them vulnerable to threats like hurricanes, volcanoes, rising seas, and introduced diseases or predator species. Although over 80 percent of bird species live on continents, 92 percent of extinctions since 1500 have been on islands. Join us to view some marvelous island species and learn about the conservation issues unique to islands.
Speaker: Bob Lewis
Collecting Kelp - Hybrid Event - 08/19/2021 07:30 PM
livestream and live @ explOÂ
The California coast is a dynamic, active system that supports all sorts of ocean organisms. Dive below the surface at tonight’s After Dark Online inspired by the Exploratorium’s once-a-year dry-docking of our data collection buoy and examination of the organisms that have taken residence on its underside over the past year.’
Featuring:
Ocean Record Keepers with Dr. Emily Miller
How can dried seaweed help ocean conservation efforts? Understand the future of the ocean requires an understanding of the past. To date, historical data has been largely limited to instrument records and observations that begin around 1950. Research technician Emily Miller shares how kelp and other marine algae from herbaria repositories, and the female scientists who collected them, are helping extend historical records all the way back to 1878. With this data, Emily offers a new perspective on upwelling cycles and documents these patterns to help understand the shifts in the foundation of the food web of Monterey Bay.
Dr. Emily A. Miller is a research technician in the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute Incubator Initiative program working with the Environmental Sample Processor (ESP) team. Her research focuses on understanding species responses to dynamic environmental processes over space and time. Emily holds a PhD in ecology from the University of California, Davis, a master degree in conservation biology from Columbia University, and a bachelors degree in integrative biology from the University of California, Berkeley.
Note: Live event free for members and donors, only a membership card and ID required for entry.
Hybrid event: Join us live in person (Adults Only 18+)Â or livestream below or via YouTube or Facebook
Friday, 08/20/2021
Bouy Days - 08/20/2021 10:00 AM
ExplOratorium San Francisco
Have you ever wondered how oceanic buoys operate and what they measure, or what critters cling to their undersides? Join marine scientists, technicians, and educators as they pull a one-ton NOAA carbon dioxide (CO2) buoy out of the water and explore its scientific instruments and the organisms that have colonized the buoy bottom.
At this two-day, in-person annual event, we’ll provide a close-up view of maintaining an ocean buoy and discuss the data it collects and why it’s critical to understanding the impacts of excess carbon in the ocean and atmosphere. We’ll even get up close and personal with the animals and plants that drift on Bay currents as plankton and settle on the buoy’s submerged surface. This year, we’ll pay special attention to kelp and other ocean plants, with take-home activities and talks about their essential role in providing ecological habitat and food for animals (including humans) and absorbing carbon dioxide.
On loan to us from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the CO2 buoy has been anchored between Piers 15 and 17 since April 2013, collecting data on water temperature, salinity, and CO2 levels in the atmosphere and in San Francisco Bay. Every year, we pull it out of the water to calibrate and replace the sensors and to clean off corrosion and marine organisms.
Double Stars: Observing Double - Livestream - 08/20/2021 07:30 PM
Tri-Valley Stargazers
About half the stars in the sky are multiple stars. They are fun to observe, particularly the ones with a wide range of temperatures which results in different colors. They are also very important scientifically as they are the only way we can measure the mass of the stars. Some doubles, as they go through their evolutionary process, result in type 1a supernovae which we use to measure the scale of the cosmos, with the significant discovery being the acceleration of the expansion.
Speaker: Gary Kader
See weblink for connection information and details
Saturday, 08/21/2021
Every Bird has a Story - Livestream - 08/21/2021 01:30 PM
Environmental Volunteers
Learn about local birds and their stories through a presentation and accompanying photography all provided by guest speaker Judy Kramer.
Join Judy Kramer and the Environmental Volunteers to learn about the stories of local birds, told through their photographs in Every Bird Has a Story. Explore their fascinating lives and behaviors; with a focus on babies, hunting for food, dabblers and divers, beaks, and one Judy calls the one that got away.
Register at weblink to receive Zoom information
Virtual Telescope Viewing - Livestream - 08/21/2021 09:00 PM
Chabot Space and Science Center
Join our resident astronomers on Facebook Live every Saturday evening live from Chabotâs Observation deck!
Each week, our astronomers will guide us through spectacular night sky viewing through Nellie, Chabot’s most powerful telescope. Weather permitting we will be able to view objects live through the telescopes and our astronomers will be available for an open forum for all of your most pressing astronomy questions.
Monday, 08/23/2021
Secure and Interpretable AI: Scalable Interactive and Practical Tools - Livestream - 08/23/2021 07:00 PM
SF Bay Association of Computing Machinery
We have witnessed tremendous growth in Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) recently. However, research shows that AI and ML models are often vulnerable to adversarial attacks, and their predictions can be difficult to understand, evaluate and ultimately act upon. Discovering real-world vulnerabilities of deep neural networks and countermeasures to mitigate such threats has become essential to the successful deployment of AI in security settings. We present the first targeted physical adversarial attack (Shape Shifter) that fools state-of-the-art object detectors; a fast defense that counters adversarial noise by data compression; and interactive systems that further democratize the study of adversarial machine learning and facilitate real-time experimentation for deep learning practitioners. To amplify people’s ability to interpret AI models, we present scalable interactive visualizations that have provided key leaps of insight, from increased model interpretability (Gamut with Microsoft Research), to model explorability with models trained on millions of instances (ActiVis deployed with Facebook), increased usability for non-experts about state-of-the-art AI (GAN Lab open-sourced with Google Brain), and our latest work Summit, an interactive system that scalably summarizes and visualizes what features a deep learning model has learned and how those features interact to make predictions. We conclude by highlighting the next visual analytics research frontiers in AI.
Speaker: Duen Horng (Polo) Chau, Georgia Tech
Register at weblink to receive connection information
Tuesday, 08/24/2021
Caring for Ourselves: The Science of Emotional Resilience - Livestream - 08/24/2021 02:00 PM
UC Berkeley
Afternoon Hike on the Coast with POST! - 08/24/2021 02:00 PM
Peninsula Open Space Trust Half Moon Bay
The Fungal World Wide Web - Livestream - 08/24/2021 04:00 PM
UC Merced
Paradise: Inside California's Deadliest Wildfire - Livestream - 08/24/2021 06:00 PM
Commonwealth Club - Online Event
Salish Sea Minke Whales: Insights From a 40-Year Study of Photo-ID - Livestream - 08/24/2021 07:00 PM
American Cetacean Society
Astronomical Observing Basics Virtual Bootcamp - Setup and Operation of Astronomical Telescopes and Binoculars - Livestream - 08/24/2021 07:00 PM
San Francisco Amateur Astronomers
Wednesday, 08/25/2021
The Fungal World Wide Web - Livestream - 08/25/2021 04:00 PM
UC Merced
Deepening Local and Regional Connections to Adapt to Sea Level Rise - Livestream - 08/25/2021 05:00 PM
SF Planning + Urban Research Assoc. (SPUR)
Mobile Blood Drives and the Impact on Collections During a Global Pandemic - Livestream - 08/25/2021 06:00 PM
Cafe Scientifique Stanford Blood Center
Thursday, 08/26/2021
Bright Galaxies, Dark Matter, and Beyond - Livestream - 08/26/2021 10:00 AM
Commonwealth Club - Online Event
Democratizinig Our Data - 08/26/2021 10:00 AM
Barrows Hall, Rm 820 Berkeley
Zoom Talk: Carnivorous Plants of the Garden - Livestream - 08/26/2021 01:00 PM
UC Botanical Garden
The Fungal World Wide Web - Livestream - 08/26/2021 04:00 PM
UC Merced
Learning to Become a Scientist: Our Journey into the World of Field Research - Livestream - 08/26/2021 05:00 PM
San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory
NightLife: Art Lab - 08/26/2021 06:00 PM
California Academy of Sciences San Francisco
After Dark: See For Yourself - 08/26/2021 06:00 PM
ExplOratorium San Francisco
Micromitigation: Fighting Air Pollution with Activated Carbon - Livestream - 08/26/2021 07:00 PM
Counter Culture Labs
Friday, 08/27/2021
Sunset Science - 08/27/2021 06:30 PM
Chabot Space and Science Center Oakland
Saturday, 08/28/2021
Zero Waste Living: How Do Busy People Achieve a Lighter Footprint? - Livestream - 08/28/2021 03:00 PM
Bay Area Humanists
Coyote Point Movie Nights - 08/28/2021 08:00 PM
Coyote Point Recreation Area San Mateo
Virtual Telescope Viewing - Livestream - 08/28/2021 09:00 PM
Chabot Space and Science Center
Sunday, 08/29/2021
Evening Tours of Lick Observatory - SOLD OUT - 08/29/2021 06:00 PM
Lick Observatory Mt. Hamilton
Monday, 08/30/2021
Deep Mutagenesis of a DNA Polymerase Clamp-Loader System - 08/30/2021 04:00 PM
Stanley Hall Berkeley
What the Heck is Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT)? A Psychology Professor Tells All! - 08/30/2021 05:00 PM
Speakeasy Science
Wonderfest: Aging and Cancer - Rival Demons? - 08/30/2021 07:00 PM
Hopmonk Tavern Novato