Hello again Science Fans!
It has been a busy week in both Science and the world.
One year ago this past week, the Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade.
This weekend, the mercenary military Wagner Group almost staged a coup in Russia before retreating under promises of immunity.
The Summer Solstice occurred on Wednesday morning, the first day of astronomical summer in the northern hemisphere.
The world watched as rescuers from Canada and the US tried to find five people aboard a deep-sea submersible, the Titan, that was on a journey to explore the wreck of the Titanic. Three people with a lot of experience doing such dives and designing submersibles will conduct a webinar Monday at 3:00 to discuss this tragedy, as well as the safety record of submersibles over the past 60 years.
Other recommendations for this week include:
Truth-O-Meter: Fact-checking content generated by a LLM - 06/27/2023 07:00 PM, online or in person in Mountain View
SETI Talks - Unveiling ‘Oumuamua and its Mysterious Visit to Our Solar System - Livestream - 06/28/2023 08:30 AM (yes, that early…one of the participants is in Europe)
BayCon2023: Science Fiction Convention - 07/01 - 04/2023 10:00 AM, Santa Clara, with Andrew Fraknoi giving talks the first three days
Before getting into the science news, I also want to mention that the remaining four Music of the Spheres events at the Lick Observatory still have tickets available. These are on Saturday evenings and include a live concert, observation through Lick’s two main telescopes, an astronomy lecture, and amateur scope viewing. All the Friday lecture events are sold out. The next Music of the Spheres is July 8.
Let’s go way back in Earth time, some 1.6 billion years ago. Scientists have discovered the remains of a lost world of lifeforms that thrived on Earth then and may be the oldest ancestors of the lineage that eventually produced plants, animals…and us.
Last week, Herb mentioned a report that we’ve pumped so much groundwater that we’ve changed the Earth’s spin. The USGS has significant research data on land subsidence, especially in the San Joaquin Valley. I found this photograph, which I originally saw in a USGS presentation on the subject, showing the amount of subsidence in one spot between 1925 and 1977.
For the metric-challenged, that’s almost 30 feet! And it has only gotten worse since then. One important takeaway from the presentation was that we can’t just simply pump all that water back to raise the land levels. The structure of the soil changes when the water is pumped out, and it won’t go back. Here’s a link to a 2019 presentation on the same subject in the San Joaquin valley. Meanwhile, the Bay Area’s groundwater is back to pre-drought levels due to this past winter’s rains and recharging projects.
It seems every week brings another new discovery from the James Webb Space Telescope. This week we have a report on starlight from distant galaxies with extremely bright supermassive black holes or quasars. The light is so bright it outshines all the light from the stars in that galaxy.
NASA and the Canadian Space Agency created a challenge to see what sort of food could be grown by future space travelers. A recent event in Brooklyn showcased some of the results, including edible fungi, flies, and microgreens. Maybe growing potatoes on Mars ala The Martian isn’t so far fetched! And the FDA has approved lab-grown chicken for production and sale to the public. Bon appetite!
I’ve written before about the US Electrical Grid and how it doesn’t appear to be ready to support the energy transition from fossil fuels. Here’s an in depth look at the problem from the NY Times.
Lastly, how about 192,000 lightening strikes in an 11 hour period? In the largest volcanic eruption of the 21st century (so far), the Hunga Tonga volcano generated that many, far more and far higher than previously recorded anywhere.
Have a great week in Science!
Bob
Upcoming Events:
Click to see the next two weeks of events in your browser.
Monday, 06/26/2023
Two Stanford Bio-X Talks - Livestream - 06/26/2023 12:00 PM
Stanford University
YIORGO SKINIOTIS, Professor of Molecular & Cellular Physiology and of Structural Biology and Photon Science “The calcium sensing receptor under the electron microscope: from mechanism to therapeutics”
12:30 PM AXEL BRUNGER, Professor of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, of Neurology & Neurological Sciences, of Photon Science, and (by courtesy) of Structural Biology “Calcium triggered exocytosis: from structures to potential therapeutics”
See weblink for connection information
Dive In: The Loss of the Titan - Livestream - 06/26/2023 03:00 PM
Ocean Elders
It was reported by US Coast Guard Rear Adm. John Mauger that the Titanic-bound submersible that went missing on Sunday with five people on board suffered a catastrophic implosion, killing everyone on board. A remotely operated vehicle found the tail cone of the Titan about 1,600 feet away from the bow of the shipwreck.
Captain Don Walsh has been sharing his expertise in submersibles for over 60 years, since his historic dive to the deepest part of the ocean in 1960. Dr. Sylvia Earle has spent many hours in submersibles and founded DOER - Deep Ocean Exploration and Research - in 1992 and CEO Liz Taylor expanded the firm’s scope and capabilities to include ROV and submersible design, manufacturing and support services. All three are experts in this field and all three have been inundated with requests for comments about this tragic accident. They will hold a dedicated webinar to discuss what happened and why, and address the safety of certified submersibles over the last six decades.
Tomorrow’s Extremes: California’s Climate on the Edge - 06/26/2023 05:30 PM
swissnex San Francisco San Francisco
With wildfires becoming increasingly frequent and intense, droughts gripping the land, and sea levels steadily rising, it's evident that climate change has reached a critical point in California.
The state is grappling with the profound impacts of this global crisis. How has climate change transformed California's landscapes, from the scorching valleys to the towering forests? What are the consequences for society, including agriculture, public health, and economic stability? In the face of such challenges, what insights can experts like Prof. Dr. Sonia I. Seneviratne and Dr. Noah Diffenbaugh offer to shed light on the gravity of the situation and provide potential solutions? Join us as we delve into the pressing issue of climate change in California and its profound effects on society.
Prof. Dr. Sonia I. Seneviratne from ETH Zurich and Dr. Noah Diffenbaugh from Stanford's Doerr School of Sustainability will be presenting their work and personal research projects on Global Warming, taking first a global perspective and then diving into the local effects we have all witnessed in the past few years.
Truth-O-Meter: Fact-checking content generated by a LLM - Rescheduled - 06/26/2023 07:00 PM
SF Bay Association of Computing Machinery
Editor's Note: This event has been moved to Tuesday, June 27, 2023
Tuesday, 06/27/2023
The Future of Robotics: Human Aids or Replacements? - 06/27/2023 03:00 PM
Commonwealth Club San Francisco
What will our future with robots look like? Robots are already rolling out of the research lab and into the real world. In the last decade, robotics has gone through a revolution; the price of robotics systems has decreased 100-times and the number of new companies in robotics has increased 100-times.
The pandemic has accelerated demand for robotics, a key technology for enabling remote work, managing dynamic production lines, meeting the demand for 1-hour deliveries, and filling vacant positions for "dull, dirty, dangerous" jobs. Robotics technologies also offer the promise of supporting an aging population to live at home longer, to enable sustainable agricultural practices, and to reshore manufacturing back to the Americas.
Our speakers will share some highlights of their careers in robotics, including their favorite robotics applications and their insight into what the next major developments in robotics will look like.
Plus: We’ll be bringing some robots as well, for the audience to interact with.
Panel: Alexander Kernbaum, SRI International; Jasmine Lawrence, Everyday Robotics Corp.; Andra Keay, Silicon Valley Robotics; Gerald Anthony Harris, Quantum Planning Group, Moderator
Getting to Know the White Sharks off the California Coast - Livestream - 06/27/2023 07:00 PM
American Cetacean Society
Off the California coast, adult white sharks aggregate predominantly in the early fall to winter months. During this time while the sharks are coastal, researchers have access to study them. Over the last 30 years, marine scientists Scot Anderson and Paul Kanive of the California White Shark Project have been collecting data to discover important characteristics about this population of white sharks. They have learned a great deal about abundance and population trends, behavior and energetics, fine and large-scale movement patterns, and other nuances about their social construct. Please join us to learn from Scot Anderson and Paul Kanive as they share the details of their fascinating research efforts and findings.
Register at weblink to attend
Wonderfest: 3 Ages of Water - 06/27/2023 07:00 PM
Bookshop West Portal San Francisco
As the "universal solvent," water supports interesting chemistry, geology, and, of course, biology. If there is an elixir of life, it is water. In The Three Ages of Water, Dr. Peter Gleick describes the long, fraught history - and future - of humanity's relationship with this precious resource. Water has shaped civilizations and empires, and it has underpinned centuries of technological advance: from agriculture and public health, to our search for life on other worlds. But is our current relationship with water all wet? Drawing from the lessons of the past, Dr. Gleick charts a visionary path toward a sustainable future for water and for the planet.
Truth-O-Meter: Fact-checking content generated by a LLM - 06/27/2023 07:00 PM
Hacker Dojo Mountain View
A text obtained by a Large Language Model (LLM) such as GPT4 usually has issues in terms of incorrectness and hallucinations. We build a fact-checking system 'Truth-O-Meter' which identifies wrong facts, comparing the generation results with the web and other sources of information, and suggests corrections. Text mining and web mining techniques are leveraged to identify correct corresponding sentences; also, the syntactic and semantic generalization procedure adopted to the content improvement task. To handle inconsistent sources while fact-checking, we rely on an argumentation analysis in the form of defeasible logic programming. We compare our fact checking engine with competitive approach based on reinforcement learning on top of LLM or token-based hallucination detection. Our approach is an instance of what we call "Shaped-charge learning architecture" which is intended to combine an efficient LLM with explainable inductive learning. It is observed that LLM content can be substantially improved for factual correctness and meaningfulness. https://github.com/bgalitsky/Truth-O-Meter-Making-ChatGPT-Truthful
Speaker: Boris Galitsky
See weblink to register
Editor's Note: This event was originally scheduled for June 26 and is now a hybrid event. Attend in person or online.
Wednesday, 06/28/2023
SETI Talks - Unveiling ‘Oumuamua and its Mysterious Visit to Our Solar System - Livestream - 06/28/2023 08:30 AM
SETI Institute
Get ready to unravel the mysteries of 'Oumuamua, the captivating cosmic messenger that has puzzled scientists and enthusiasts alike since 2017. We are thrilled to invite you to a thought-provoking panel discussion, with two distinguished speakers, Jennifer Bergner and Olivier Hainaut, who will shed light on the true nature of this celestial phenomenon alongside Berger’s recent research published in Nature.
Olivier Hainaut, an esteemed astronomer at the European Southern Observatory, will guide us through 'Oumuamua's extraordinary journey through space, providing insights into its unique trajectory and peculiarities. With a deep understanding of cosmic dynamics, Hainaut will present the latest findings and theories from scientific observations.
Jennifer Bergner, assistant professor of chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley, will unravel ‘Oumuamua’s fascinating characteristics that have sparked debate and intrigue in the scientific community. Drawing from her work, Bergner will present a comprehensive analysis of its orbit and activity, offering valuable insights into its potential origin and nature. It could be a comet, after all.
Our panelists will exchange ideas and explore various hypotheses and interpretations surrounding 'Oumuamua's enigmatic nature through a discussion with SETI Institute Senior Astronomer Franck Marchis. Prepare to be captivated as they present a balanced and informative forum encompassing scientific facts, emerging theories, and thought-provoking possibilities.
Join us for this engaging event, where the scientific community and enthusiasts alike will have the opportunity to deepen their understanding of 'Oumuamua and engage in a meaningful exploration of its mysteries. Let's come together to unravel the secrets of this celestial visitor and expand our knowledge of the vast universe we inhabit.
Register at weblink to receive Zoom information
Modeling marine food webs to study their sustainability in a changing world - Livestream - 06/28/2023 11:00 AM
Coastal and Marine Sciences Institute
Speaker: Dr. Fernanda Valdovinos, UC Davis
See register at weblink to receive Zoom information
Digital Dilemmas Salon: Social Media in Armed Conflicts - 06/28/2023 06:00 PM
swissnex San Francisco San Francisco
Join us for the second event in the ‘Digital Dilemmas Salon Series’, focusing on generating insights and proposed actions about how social media could be designed to better serve the needs of vulnerable people living in armed conflict.
The acceleration of the global digital transformation is profoundly affecting society, business, and governance - and armed conflicts, notably in relation to the use of social media.
Social media platforms have amplified the speed, scale, and reach of both accurate and false information, magnifying their impact on individuals and communities - this is true everywhere, and the consequences in armed conflict are especially acute, literally a difference between life and death. People may be directed away from help and towards harm; vulnerable communities can be targeted for mob violence; humanitarian organizations can lose trust and access empowers the voice of affected populations while keeping them from harm.
This salon will generate insights and proposed actions about how social media could be designed to better serve the needs of vulnerable people living in armed conflict - ways to empower the voice of affected populations while keeping them from harm.
'Wild Life' Screening - 06/28/2023 06:00 PM
Patagonia Palo Alto
Join POST and Patagonia Palo Alto for an exclusive and free screening of National Geographic’s newest documentary titled WILD LIFE. While this event is free and open to the public, space is limited and RSVP is required.
It was a chance run-in at a remote Argentinian climbing village in 1991 that changed the life of Kristin McDivitt forever. Though she’d met the infamous Doug Tompkins years prior - he had founded The North Face and Esprit while Kris worked alongside Yvon Chouinard to grow Patagonia - they shared a connection that quickly blossomed into a lifelong romance and partnership. Together, they founded Tompkins Conservation, their sights set on preserving some of the last truly wild land on the planet.
From Oscar®-winning filmmakers Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, WILD LIFE is a sweeping portrait of a conservationist who never stopped evolving and of those who shaped her on a journey to become a global leader of conservation and wildlife preservation. From the epic climbing trips of Doug, Yvon Chouinard and the pioneers of a new kind of outdoor lifestyle to the heated controversy brewing in South America as two Americans purchased local land to a love story as wild as the terrain it unfolded on, the film prompts audiences to ask themselves - what makes life worth living?
RSVP at weblink
Peninsula Gem & Geology Society - 06/28/2023 07:00 PM
Peninsula Gem & Geology Society Los Altos
Mary Pat Weber will show us how to put together a show display case. Our speaker will be remote so this meeting can be attended over Zoom, but we will also stream it to large monitor in the meeting room for those who wish to come and socialize and participate in the silent auction and door prizes.
Thursday, 06/29/2023
After Dark: Ecological Futures - 06/29/2023 06:00 PM
ExplOratorium San Francisco
There’s no question that humans are having a grave impact on our climate - or that artists, scientists, and advocates are reflecting on our changing world and building creative solutions. Tonight, look at that human impact through the meditative and immersive lens of artist Miwa Matreyek as she shares her kaleidoscopic, dreamlike multimedia performances Infinitely Yours (2019) and This World Made Itself (2013). Then, explore how thinkers in the realms of science, design, and technology are making unexpected and creative changes big and small to help slow our impact on the environment and encourage deeper understanding of and empathy for the natural world.
NightLife: Says Who? Vol. 3 Gender - 06/29/2023 06:00 PM
California Academy of Sciences San Francisco
What's gender got to do with it? More than you think. Hear how scientists push the boundaries of the binary to create change and expand inclusion. The third and final volume in the NightLife: Says Who? series amplifies the work of scientists who are paving the way for progress in a patriarchal system that often works against them.
Featured partners and events:
They’re challenging the status quo and breaking barriers in science: Join comedian Francesca Fiorentini for a biting stand-up set followed by a no-holds-barred panel discussion with cardiac surgeon, Dr. Amy Fiedler, director of research at the Distributed AI Research Institute (DAIR), Dr. Alex Hanna, astrophysicist Dr. Nia Imara, and Academy head librarian, Rebekah Kim. These brilliant minds are ready to spill the tea on what it's really like to push against the man in the world of science. Join the Academy’s Institute for Biodiversity Science & Sustainability (IBSS) Program Manager, Kel Larkin, for a talk exploring the fun-damentals of gender and the diverse ways gender is expressed throughout the animal kingdom.
Says Who? Series Essentials
While partners and panels will change with each event, every Says Who? will feature these activations:
Tell: Grab the narrative by the horns and record your own story with Sarah Shimazaki, host of the podcast, Outside Voices.
Craft: Get hands-on with take-home MakeArt Kits from the Museum of Craft and Design created to help you rewrite old narratives by infusing personal experience with artistic expression.
Capture: Snap your story with a portrait from film photographer Holiday Hagan.
Design: Immerse yourself in the world of zines with Rock Paper Scissors Collective, create your own, and explore zines from other local creators.
Listen: Gather ‘round to hear Drag Story Hour readers Panda Dulce, VERA!, and Jota Mercury read all about standout moments from the Academy’s history as one of the oldest scientific institutions in the West. Plus, discover the untold stories of some incredible Academy scientists of the past told by passionate Academy scientists of the present.
Next Generation Topographic Mapping - Map what you want, where you want, when you want with topoBuilder - Livestream - 06/29/2023 06:00 PM
US Geological Survey Public Lecture Series
Learn About:
The history of topographic mapping at the USGS
Advancements in mapping technology
How to create your own custom on-demand topographic maps (no special skills or software required!)
Upcoming map types and customizations
Speaker: Ariel Doumbouya, USGS National Geospatial Program
See weblink to connect to the lecture
Friday, 06/30/2023
Sunset Science: Asteroid Day - 06/30/2023 06:00 PM
Chabot Space and Science Center Oakland
Have you ever wondered about the difference between an asteroid and a comet? Did you know that there are people designated as asteroid hunters? Do you know how many known asteroids are in our solar system? Discover the answers to these, and other asteroid-related questions during our summer program series, Sunset Science. Celebrate International Asteroid Day at Chabot Space & Science Center with special guest speakers, Galaxy Explores demos, and hands-on workshops with staff educators.
Saturday, 07/01/2023
San Vicente Redwoods Bay to Bay Hike - 07/01/2023 09:00 AM
San Vicente Redwoods Trailhead Santa Cruz
Explore this beautiful preserve that is a unique mix of forest restoration, sustainable timber harvesting, watershed protection, Indigenous stewardship, and public access. This program is made possible in part by Peninsula Open Space Trust.
Additional details and registration at weblink
BayCon2023: Science Fiction Convention - 07/01/2023 10:00 AM
Santa Clara Marriott Santa Clara
BayCon is a convention about science fiction, science, writing, and more. It will take place July 1-4.
Astronomer Andrew Fraknoi will be speaking on the first images and results from the James Webb Space Telescope, Fermi's Paradox (Where are the Alien Visitors?) and the Upcoming Eclipses of the Sun (Oct. 2023 and Apr. 2024) that will be visible in the U.S. He will also be signing copies of his children's book "When the Sun Goes Dark" in the exhibit area.
For more information and the program, see weblink.
Natural Connection: The Environment and You Festival - 07/01/2023 11:00 AM
ExplOratorium San Francisco
How can you connect with the natural world? In celebration of the West Coast premiere of The Great Animal Orchestra, join us for an all-ages festival featuring hands-on activities, performances, and artworks that invite us to observe, listen to, and act in community with the environment. Learn about native Bay Area flora species, reflect on the local landscapes through drawing and poetry, and meet local organizations that are thinking about ways to create positive change and live in relationship with the natural world. Don’t miss live multimedia performances of Infinitely Yours by Vancouver-based artist Miwa Matreyek. Using her signature technique of vibrant, layered projections that she then interacts with while performing in silhouette, her visual storytelling is a compelling examination of climate change that appeals to audiences of any age.
Summer Science Fundays - Float Your Boat - 07/01/2023 11:00 AM
Lawrence Hall of Science Berkeley
As part of its season of summer programs and exhibits, The Lawrence Hall of Science will host ten Summer Science Fundays, each offering family-friendly shows, hands-on science activities, and more. Summer Science Fundays include events that will be familiar to Lawrence members and repeat visitors, and exciting new opportunities to explore science.
The Lawrence Hall of Science is UC Berkeley’s public science center, with a mission to inspire and engage through science discovery and learning in ways that advance equity and opportunity. In addition to exhibits and programs for kids and families, The Lawrence develops curricula and learning materials for educators and researches how kids learn science.
July 1 - Float your Boat: What does a boat need to float and sail? Join us in our Forces that Shape the Bay exhibit, where we’ll be engineering our own small boats out of recycled materials. Discover what it takes to make a sail that works and a boat that floats.
Summer is a bustling time at The Lawrence Hall of Science because our most important visitors are out of school, yet still brimming with curiosity. Our Summer Science Fundays provide a gigaton of fun and educational activities for families. Summer Science Fundays showcase local community organizations, including SaveNature, Cal Taiko Band, Les Aerielles, and more, to bring a variety of unique experiences to our visitors.
Sunday, 07/02/2023
BayCon2023: Science Fiction Convention - 07/02/2023 10:00 AM
Santa Clara Marriott Santa Clara
See our July 1 entry
Infinitely Yours - 07/02/2023 01:00 PM
ExplOratorium San Francisco
Immerse yourself in an emotional, dream-like meditation on climate catastrophe and the Anthropocene, the period of time, which constitutes a distinct geological age, when human activities have had a significant environmental impact on Earth.
In Infinitely Yours Miwa Matreyek shape-shifts to express the impact humans have on the environment from various perspectives. From traversing landscapes overflowing with trash to joining a school of fish caught in a trawling net, Miwa’s performance invites you to experience an emotionally impactful illustration of familiar headlines. She also asks you to reflect on what it might mean for all of us - humans, other life, and the Earth itself - to be living in this changing world.
Miwa Matreyek is an animator, director, designer, and performer based in Vancouver who has a background in animation by way of collage. She creates live performances where she interacts with her animations as a shadow silhouette. Her productions are cinematic and theatrical, fantastical and tangible, illusionistic and physical.
Monday, 07/03/2023
BayCon2023: Science Fiction Convention - 07/03/2023 10:00 AM
Santa Clara Marriott Santa Clara
See our July 1 entry
Tuesday, 07/04/2023
BayCon2023: Science Fiction Convention - 07/04/2023 10:00 AM
Santa Clara Marriott Santa Clara
Thursday, 07/06/2023
The Ideological Subversion of Biology - Livestream - 07/06/2023 04:00 PM
Skeptical Inquirer
NightLife - 07/06/2023 06:00 PM
California Academy of Sciences San Francisco
After Dark: See for Yourself - 07/06/2023 06:00 PM
ExplOratorium San Francisco
Friday, 07/07/2023
The Winged Sentinels of Monterey Bay - 07/07/2023 04:00 PM
Seymour Marine Discovery Center Santa Cruz
First Friday: Lifecycle of the Stars - 07/07/2023 06:00 PM
Chabot Space and Science Center Oakland
Lick Observatory Evening with the Stars - SOLD OUT - 07/07/2023 08:30 PM
Lick Observatory Mt. Hamilton
Saturday, 07/08/2023
Summer Science Fundays - Fun with Physics - 07/08/2023 11:00 AM
Lawrence Hall of Science Berkeley
Lick Observatory Music of the Spheres - 07/08/2023 08:30 PM
Lick Observatory Mt. Hamilton
Sunday, 07/09/2023
Solar Observing - 07/09/2023 02:00 PM
Tilton Ranch Morgan Hill