Hello again Science Fans!
This year is a leap year, when one day is added to the calendar to account for the difference between the tropical year and the common year. The tropical year is the time it takes Earth to make one complete orbit around the Sun, or 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, and 45 seconds. It would be pretty difficult to have a calendar that matched that exactly, so we use the common year length of 365 days. That means we fall slightly behind the actual year by almost 1/4 day. So every 4 years (with exceptions) we add one day to the calendar, that being February 29, to get back in synch, more or less.
Back in the day, namely 46 BC, the Julian calendar was imposed, named after Julius Caesar. That calendar was 11 minutes and 14 seconds longer than the tropical year. The Julian calendar was in use, without adjustment or correction, until 1582. By that time, we were 12.7 days off. Pope Gregory XIII reformed the calendar by instituting leap day in any year evenly divisible by 4, unless it was also divisible by 100, except when it was divisible by 400 (that’s why 2000 was a leap year). What about those 12.7 days? In 1582, Thursday, October 4 was followed by Friday, Oct 15, thereby getting things back in synch, more or less, and the Gregorian calendar came into being. Those with birthdays on October 5 through 14 probably weren’t too happy about that. But the Gregorian calendar wasn’t accepted everywhere. It wasn’t until 1752 that England switched, and by then another one-day correction was needed.
There are other calendars too. In the Assyrian calendar it is 6766, the Hebrew calendar shows 5784, and in the Mayan calendar it would be 13.0.11.6.3. Then we have the Stardate calendar where dates are calculated differently depending on which Star Trek series you are watching!
Thanks to today’s Mercury News for some of these calendar facts. Astronomer Andrew Fraknoi has some thoughts about this too.
Just to muddy the waters a bit more, we change our clocks forward one hour in two weeks as we switch to Daylight Savings Time. Much of the rest of the world that observes Daylight time will switch two weeks later.
Space Stuff
Odysseus, the first privately owned spacecraft to land on the moon successfully made it onto the surface, only to trip and fall over on its side. It is still in communication with Earth (I’ve fallen over and I can’t get up!), but most of the antennas are not pointing where they should. The approach to the moon was also drama-filled as the laser range finders were determined to be malfunctioning. Without those, Odysseus would not have been able to adjust speed for a soft landing. One of the experimental parts of the mission, NASA’s Navigation Doppler Lidar, was activated through a software update and was used to guide the lander safely to the surface. It had nothing to do with the fall, which was caused by one of the lander’s feet catching on a rock. In any event, this is the first time in 50 years that the US has landed on the Moon.
We’ve written several times about OSIRIS-REx, the probe that returned from the asteroid Bennu after sampling the surface. It collected much more of the asteroid than planned, and the sample container couldn’t be opened at first. Once NASA got the container open, it found 1.81 ounces of sample inside, which when added to the sample material outside the container, added up to a total of 4.29 ounces, far more than the mission objective.
OSIRIS-REx isn’t done. It is now on its way to another asteroid, Apophis, and has been renamed OSIRIS-APEX
For the first time, astronomers have detected dark matter. Using the Subaru Telescope on Maunakea in Hawaii, researchers indirectly observed dark matter in the Coma Cluster of the cosmic web. The story explains how, and why this is significant.
NASA’s New Horizons probe, launched to explore the outer reaches of our solar system, visited Pluto in 2015, and continued collecting data as it went away from the Sun. It has detected much more dust than expected, meaning either new dust is being produced, or solar winds are pushing dust further into space.
Back in 1987, we were able to see a supernova in the Large Magellanic Cloud, some 168,000 light years away from Earth. While scientists have been able to observe the remains from this explosion ever since, they have not been able to determine what happened to the remnant core star…until now. Such supernovas result in either a neutron star, or a black hole. Using the James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers have now answered that question.
Those of you planning to travel to see the April 8th total solar eclipse may be treated to a bonus. Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks, discovered in 1812, is due to make its closest approach to the sun less than 2 weeks after the eclipse. It should appear about 25 degrees away from the sun during totality. Of course, you won’t need to travel to the path of totality to see the comet.
Nature and Climate
Many, many animals migrate with the seasons, some going tremendous distances to breed and raise their young. This year, a record number of sandhill cranes arrived in Nebraska during the first week of their annual migration. Sandhill cranes stop for a few days in Nebraska where they rest and eat corn kernels left from the fall harvest before continuing north. The record number this early in the migration season appears to be caused by Nebraska’s relatively mild winter this year.
Meanwhile, the portion of the Atlantic Ocean where hurricanes tend to form is much warmer than usual, which, when combined with the effects of El Niño in the Pacific, may result in more extreme hurricanes this year. In fact, scientists are considering adding a sixth category to the scale used to classify hurricanes because of the stronger storms that have formed these past few years.
If every household in the US installed a heat pump, what would happen?
Lately I’ve been interested in linguistics, the development of languages. I’ve written before of my Ukrainian friend and her daughter. At the age of two, when her language skills were just starting to emerge, they moved to Germany from Ukraine, where she was emersed in German. She also started picking up some English from watching cartoons on TV. To her, I doubt there’s a recognition that these are different languages, but it is interesting to watch as her communication skills improve.
Within Germany, which is a relatively small country compared to the US, there are quite a few dialects with totally different words being used in various parts of the country to describe the same thing. Add in differences with Austrian German and Swiss German, and it is a wonder German speakers can understand each other at all! YouTuber “Feli from Germany” did a video about this recently that compares Swiss, Austrian, Bavarian, and Northern German that is eye opening.
What happens with a group of scientists from different parts of the world are isolated together for six months…in Antarctica? They develop a unique accent!! Recognition of this helps explain how American and British English have diverged the way they have.
A somber anniversary
Yesterday marked the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The cost has been huge, both in terms of property loss in Ukraine and human life on both sides. At first, it seemed unlikely that Ukraine stood a chance against the supposedly powerful Russian military. Yet they have persevered, made advances, and continue to frustrate Russia’s attempts to take over the country.
This is in large part due to the aid, both financial and military, provided by the US and our allies around the world who see the threat to Europe and democracy that Russia poses with this invasion. That US aid is in jeopardy right now as the hard right faction in the US Congress blocks a bill supported by most lawmakers as well as most of the public.
Professor Heather Cox Richardson provides some history and context on the current situation.
Slava Ukraini (Glory to Ukraine).
Have a great week in Science!
Bob
Upcoming Events:
Click to see the next two weeks of events in your browser.
Monday, 02/26/2024
Understanding Aging: The Importance of Taking out the Trash - 02/26/2024 12:00 PM
Sonoma State University - Biology Colloquium Rohnert Park
Speaker: Dr. Hiroshi Ebata, Buck Institute
Exoplanet Deep Interiors with JWST - 02/26/2024 12:10 PM
Campbell Hall, Rm 131 A Berkeley
Observations of exoplanetary atmospheres provide a valuable upper boundary condition for studying their interiors. The species that appear in transmission and emission spectra are formed from the composition of the uppermost convective region minus any condensates and after chemical reactions induced by the lower temperatures and pressures. As such, if the planet's atmosphere is depleted in metals compared to its bulk, this indicates the presence of a core or composition gradients in its interior. Further, disequilibrium chemistry can be indicative of fast mixing resulting in a hot interior. JWST observations of WASP-107 b show exactly this, which we interpret as being the result of strong heating from eccentricity tides. Further, the atmospheric abundance measuremets are precise enough to indicate the presence of a roughly 12 Earh mass core, a reasonable value in the core-accretion context, though we do not know whether or not it is made of many layers. I'll also discuss how this type of work can be extended to directly-imaged planets, thanks to the increasing quality of those observations and the availability of RV and astrometric mass measurements. While true brown dwarf comparisons are likely to be roughly stellar throughtout their bulk, planets of a few Jupiter masses may still be significantly enhanced and not necessarily fully-mixed; this will provde a new avenue for investigating these objects that sit between the core-accretion and nebular collapse regimes.
Speaker: Daniel Throngren, UC Berkeley
A multiscale approach to tackle water, energy, and infrastructure challenges for a sustainable future - 02/26/2024 12:30 PM
Shriram Center Stanford
Shifting toward a circular economy for a sustainable future requires developing, optimizing, and diffusing water and resource recovery technologies. Transitioning these technologies from laboratory to commercial scale is a process that often spans years, if not decades. The conventional approach for biological resource recovery processes involves performing lab-scale experiments in parallel for different designs and conditions. However, such an approach is costly and limited by the number of reactors that can be operated concurrently. In this talk, I will demonstrate an alternative hybrid (computational and experimental) framework that addresses two fundamental challenges in upscaling water and resource recovery technologies: 1) Understanding the processes at each relevant scale and 2) transferring information and understanding across scales. First, I will use an energy-positive wastewater recovery process, the Staged Anaerobic Fluidized-bed Membrane Bioreactor (SAF-MBR), to demonstrate how high-fidelity computational fluid dynamics simulations can be leveraged to improve our understanding of the processes at relevant scales and better constrain the design and operating parameter spaces for the bioreactor. Second, I will present the development of an adaptive hybrid modeling method that enables the transfer of information and understanding across scales. The hybrid approach combines expensive fine-scale and coarse upscaled models to understand and predict the transport of chemicals and precipitation/dissolution reactions in porous media. The proposed hybrid framework has the potential to address challenges in upscaling water and resource recovery technologies from laboratory to commercial scales and accelerate the transition to a circular economy for a sustainable future.
Speaker: Yinuo Yao, Texas A & M University
Surprises in the n-type cuprates - 02/26/2024 02:30 PM
Birge Hall Berkeley
The n-type cuprates have long been considered the little cousin of the p-type cuprates, with an apparently simpler phase diagram dominated by antiferromagnetic correlations. Through angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) studies, we reveal that there are surprises and important insights to be learned from a prototypical n-type cuprate Nd2-xCexCuO4. In the first part of the talk, I will show our recent experimental progress culminating in the observation of Bogoliubov quasiparticles in the n-type cuprates for the first time with ARPES. This reveals that the single low energy cuprate band is fragmented into two sectors of states - AF-reconstructed states that provide the pairing interaction and gossamer states that form the Cooper pairs [1]. In the second part, I will discuss our recent discovery of a new gapped regime in underdoped n-type cuprates [2]. This anomalous normal state gap is formed on the antiferromagnetically reconstructed electron pocket, revealing a similar hierarchy as the pseudogap and superconducting gap in the p-type cuprates. By ruling out antiferromagnetism and charge order, as well as considering its particle-hole symmetry and doping dependence, we deem this gap to be consistent with incoherent pairs with a temperature scale reaching ~150K at low dopings. Our results suggest that the n-type cuprates may have pairing temperature scales comparable to the p-type cuprates.
Speakers: Ke-Jun Ben Xu, Stanford University
Mechanotransduction in unexpected places - 02/26/2024 04:00 PM
James H. Clark Center (Bldg 340) Stanford
Speaker: Rose Hill, Stanford University
Spinning Tales: Exploring Muons - 02/26/2024 04:00 PM
Sonoma State University - What Physicists Do Rohnert Park
Dr. Maarten Golterman will delve into the fascinating world of muon anomalous magnetic moment and its implications through the lens of quantum field theory.
Speaker: Maarten Golterman, San Francisco State University
Pathogen Emergence at the Forest Edge: A One Health Approach to Understand Spillover - 02/26/2024 04:00 PM
Valley Life Sciences Building Berkeley
My research investigates how anthropogenic forest change alters the ecology, evolution and transmission of zoonotic viruses. In this seminar, I will discuss longitudinal studies of unique communities of people and wildlife along the perimeters of accelerated forest loss in the Congo, Amazon and Mekong basin forests. This work investigates theory and mechanisms that enable viruses to have more opportunities to adapt at the edge of ecosystem boundaries - influencing virus host plasticity and ultimately increasing spillover risk as new forest edges are formed through anthropogenic activities. I will describe studies characterizing (i) ebolavirus transmission cycles and spillover risk in human and eastern gorilla populations in east Africa and (ii) the emergence of zoonotic coronaviruses in karst cave systems of Myanmar. These studies will ultimately inform functional relationships between forest change, biodiversity loss, and virus transmission to improve our ability to predict high-risk systems for disease emergence.
Speaker: Tierra Smiley Evans, University of California, Davis
On the many-body physics of embryonic development - 02/26/2024 04:15 PM
Physics North Berkeley
While the complexity and robustness of embryonic development are plain to see, a physicist might ask whether there are simple principles that underlie them. Can we ever have a “Theory” or is it just a matter of filling up repositories of data, tabulating what happens, but not why? Focusing on the development of a sea squirt, we develop theoretical approaches pointing to the origins of the embryo’s mechanical and chemical dynamics based on recent live-imaging and single-cell gene expression measurements. The physical models we propose go beyond rationalizing dynamics; in fact, they form the basis of parametric inferences that give insight into the dynamics of hidden variables and the origins of their collective modes. In particular, I will present 1) the first mechanical atlas for an embryo, where we provide the first glimpses of mechanical stresses in living and unperturbed embryos at single-cell resolution over time, and 2) the first interactome, where, through the construction of a Heisenberg-like model for the effective transcriptomic degrees of freedom, we identify a compact set of spatial (cell-cell) interactions that underlie the complex correlation structure we observe. The overarching theme that I hope to convey 1) the power of effective, or phenomenological, models when analyzing modern high-dimensional measurements of complex biological systems, and 2) the necessity of such models if we are to glean insights into dynamical principles that have the potential to shed light on a broader scope of phenomena than the one at hand.
Speaker: Madhav Mani, Northwestern University
Geologic Hydrogen - A Critical Part of a Net-Zero Strategy? - CANCELED - 02/26/2024 04:30 PM
Stanford University Energy Seminar Stanford
Hydrogen is projected to play a significant if not crucial role in the future energy mix, with the IEA forecasting an increase of almost an order of magnitude compared to hydrogen consumption today. This increase is driven by the possible dual use of hydrogen: to provide a clean or green high energy density fuel as well as a clean “chemical building block” towards more circular sustainable chemical manufacturing industries. Current technology to produce large volumes of hydrogen with low/zero CO2 footprint at competitive low cost (e.g. < 1 USD/kg) struggle to scale to the projected volumes needed in a few decades. Methane reforming or electrolysis routes appear inadequate to scale up fast in either a carbon-neutral or a cost-effective way for some time to come. Without a realistic view to low-cost bulk volume hydrogen, the energy transition may significantly slow down. The possibility of producing hydrogen generated in situ from iron-rich rocks in the subsurface is not new but perhaps attractive to jumpstart a clean “hydrogen economy”. Indeed, as is well known, naturally occurring serpentinization reaction mechanisms are slow hence stimulation and production techniques need to be developed to make this a real opportunity. I will discuss new insights and ideas partly developed with colleagues at MIT to radically increase production rates in a sustainable way, which brings the prospect of fundamentally changing the landscape for a carbon-constrained energy future. Naturally produced hydrogen from the subsurface seems the cleanest way to produce low-cost, bulk volumes of hydrogen. I will put these ideas in the context of recent discoveries, in as much as this is known in the public domain, for example the recent discovery in Europe (France, Albania). Alongside, I will stress, as with any production of large volumes of hydrogen, the need for a careful assessment of possible atmospheric effects caused by processing and conversion of hydrogen as an integral part of studies into large scale hydrogen production. This field is still quite immature, with only rudimentary quantitative knowledge of the many (natural and anthropogenic) fluxes of hydrogen.
Speaker: Dirk Smit, Oxford University
Editor's Note: This talk has been replaced with a talk by Jeffrey Rissman. See our listing for details.
Decarbonizing the Industrial Sector - 02/26/2024 04:30 PM
Stanford University Energy Seminar Stanford
Jeff Rissman will draw from his new book, Zero-Carbon Industry, exploring the pathways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the industrial sector. Accounting for a third of global emissions when including purchased electricity and heat, decarbonizing the industrial sector is a key part of reaching nations’ net zero targets. The talk will provide an overview of emissions and energy use in global industrial sector, the key technologies that can aid in reducing industrial emissions to zero, and discuss the necessary policy frameworks to help commercialize these technologies and deliver them at scale.
Speaker: Jeffrey Rissman, Energy Innovation
Editor's Note: The original speaker, Dirk Smit of Oxford University, is unavailable. This talk is the substitute.
Dark Energy: Past, Present, and Future - 02/26/2024 07:00 PM
Hewlett Teaching Center Stanford
Dark Energy was initially suggested as an explanation for the accelerated expansion of the cosmos, yet its true nature remains unknown. In this lecture, we will explore this mysterious aspect of the Universe alongside the human stories of discovery. We will begin by revisiting the discovery of the expanding Universe and the rise of the Big Bang and the cosmic inflation. I will then discuss the motivation for dark energy and its current state of study, including emerging inconsistencies in our measurement of the expansion rate of the Universe from different probes. Finally, we will look ahead to future experiments and theoretical considerations that can help refine our understanding of the Universe.
Speaker: Sandy Yuan, Stanford University
Register at weblink. Attend in person or online.
Tuesday, 02/27/2024
Ocean solutions to global climate challenges: ARPA-E’s perspective on ocean-based carbon dioxide removal (CDR) at scale - 02/27/2024 12:30 PM
Mitchell Earth Sciences Building (04-560) Stanford
As we grapple with the urgent need for sustainable solutions to global climate challenges, the vast potential of our oceans offers promising pathways. This session will explore the critical role of maritime sustainable energy in achieving a sustainable future at scale. Dr. Freeman will shed light on ARPA-E’s significant investments in ocean farming, carbon capture measurement technologies at sea, and the broader vision for the 2050 blue economy.
The Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy, known for its high-risk, high-reward funding model, has been at the forefront of driving impactful technology development since 2009. With a total of $3.68B in competitively awarded federal R&D funding, ARPA-E continues to fuel innovation at the nexus of environmental science, engineering, computing, and physics.
Speaker: Simon Freeman, ARPA-E, US Department of Energy
Register at weblink to attend in person or online.
Room 350
Who Gets to Discover the Unknown - The Rubin LSST Ecosystem and the Future on the Cosmic Frontier - 02/27/2024 03:30 PM
Hewlett Teaching Center Stanford
Large-scale cosmic surveys have measured the expansion rate of the universe as a function of time and found strong evidence that the rate is accelerating. Our knowledge of fundamental physics might be greatly enhanced by understanding the microscopic origin of this acceleration and the impact of the fundamental constituents of the universe on its evolution. The Rubin Observatory's Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) is a cosmic survey that, over the course of a decade, will deliver the deepest, widest view of the optical-NIR universe ever. This will allow determination of different tracers of cosmic evolution to unprecedented precision. It will also create an inventory of our Solar System, map the Milky Way, and discover new phenomena - optical transients - which herald previously unknown phenomena.
This talk will explain the ways that the LSST Discovery Alliance (LSST-DA) - a non-profit coalition of member institutions dedicated to enabling LSST science through support of those doing that science - is designing its programs to help you do science with Rubin LSST. LSST-DA will also advocate for inclusive access to scientific data and create inclusive excellence for cosmology and astrophysics.
Speaker: Larry Gladney, Yale University
Understanding Dolphins Through Their Sexual Behavior - Livestream - 02/27/2024 07:00 PM
American Cetacean Society
Dolphins are much loved cetaceans and a species known for social interaction. What do we know about their mating strategies? What are the variables affecting female receptivity? What is the influence of sociosexual behavior on female social grouping and calf rearing?
Join us to hear from one of the prominent marine biologists contributing to the body of research that is providing insights into the answers to these questions, and more. We are delighted to host Dr. Tim Markowitz, Cetacean Field Research Coordinator of The Marine Mammal Center, and contributing author in the recently published book, Sex in Cetaceans: Morphology, Behavior, and the Evolution of Sexual Strategies, for what is certain to be a fascinating presentation.
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Teaching Language Models how to coordinate - Livestream - 02/27/2024 07:00 PM
IEEE Computer Society of Silicon Valley
Large Language Models, despite their astounding reasoning abilities, are not faithful problem solvers. While their abilities are strongly correlated with scale, even humongous models like GPT-3.5 or GPT-4 can become inconsistent reasoners. Recent advances in verbose prompting techniques like chain-of-thought try to elicit step-by-step decomposition so that the model can solve a sequence of simpler problems to finally reach the goal. Augmenting external tools like web search or calculators has also been proposed to offload deterministic tasks. However, foundational language models learn neither problem decomposition nor tool usage. In this talk, the speaker will present potent solutions towards offloading reasoning subtasks in the case of mathematical problem solving: how to teach an auxiliary (and potentially frugal) language model to coordinate with black-box solvers, symbolic or language model-based, to successfully answer mathematical problems. This talk will focus on successfully teaching language models to perform reasoning from non-human feedback and how rewards beyond just the correctness of the final answer are essential for better learning.
Speaker: Tanmoy Chakraborty, IIT Delhi
Wednesday, 02/28/2024
Transforming culture in marine biology, one diver at a time - Livestream - 02/28/2024 11:00 AM
Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
What can be done to increase diversity in STEM in the absence of affirmative action? What about marine biology, in particular? In this seminar, educational sociologist and USC Associate Dean Julie Posselt will share the current state of evidence about recruitment in STEM. She will present new findings from her ethnographic research with The Diversity Project, a UCLA program that prepares talented undergraduates from minority-serving institutions to thrive in marine biology graduate programs. Central patterns in how the program is designed and how students learn scientific SCUBA diving on Mo’orea involve the instructors’ race-conscious approach to marine biology’s disciplinary culture and their proactive approach to the learning curves associated with diving and research. She will discuss implications for recruiting and training students in ways that are not remedial or stigmatizing, but rather focused on identifying and cultivating talent and evolving culture.
Register at weblink
Spawning, Genomics, and Regeneration - Livestream - 02/28/2024 03:40 PM
Estuary and Ocean Science Center
Recent scientific advances have made it possible to induce broadcast spawning in corals, and to rear juvenile corals. These are critical advances for reef restoration efforts, especially in light of recent mass mortality events. However, while breeding corals and other marine invertebrates for population management and conservation is increasingly viable, very little has been done to characterize the genetic diversity of aquarium-spawned corals. I will discuss recent findings on the genetics of corals spawned in the Coral Regeneration Lab at Cal Academy, efforts to improve growth and survival rates in young corals, and how this work can apply to other keystone marine invertebrates.
Speaker: Elora López-Nandam, Research Scientist, California Academy of Sciences
See weblink for Zoom information
The Ocean & Humanity - Toward a Symbiotic Existence - 02/28/2024 05:30 PM
Ocean Plant San Francisco
Join us for salon II of our Resilient Edge Series to review humanity’s relationship with the ocean and a path toward a more symbiotic relationship.
We'll hear from George Orbelian, long-time environmental activist, Ocean Beach surfer, and current Buckminster Fuller Board member, as well as other ocean stewards in conversation with Ocean Plant's Eric Luttmann.
let's explore:
how the ocean health affects human healththe ocean's current statethe plan to restore ocean health
Senate Bill 1137 was passed by the California Legislature in 2022. The bill prohibits the drilling of new wells and performing remedial operations within a “Health Protection Zone” (“HPZ”) which is defined as 3,200 feet from residences, schools, health facilities, any building housing a business open to the public, etc. It also contains some new regulations regarding oil spills and emissions.There are some exceptions where the public health and safety must be protected and in the case that a Court has found that the prohibition against drilling results in a “taking” of private property for which the aggrieved party is to receive compensation.
California oil and gas operators complain that the legislation was rushed to passage without consideration of more sensible regulations supported by science.They assert that the requirements in their present form would be too costly to comply with and force many operators to cease their operations. This would lead to increases in California’s already high gasoline price and locally imported oil would have to be imported from foreign countries with lax environmental standards. Almost 1,000,000 signatures were gathered on a petition to rescind Bill 1137 and then it could be sent back to the legislature to craft more reasonable rules that make sense scientifically, protect the public and allow operators to produce oil without undue burdens. The petition will be on the November 2024 ballot and the public can decide the matter. The implementation of the bill was to take place on January 1, 2023, but has been stayed pending the outcome of the ballot measure.
Supporting the bill and opposition to the Referendum are several environmental and local groups who claim that leaks and emissions from oil and gas operations harm the health and well-being of persons living and working adjacent to the oil fields. Such groups include Earth Justice, Greenpeace, the Sierra Club and some recently formed neighborhood citizens groups.
Astromycology in Space Exploration - Livestream - 02/28/2024 06:00 PM
Night Sky Network
Fungi hold immense promise as cell factories for a sustainable future. Their remarkable versatility, coupled with their ability to produce a vast array of valuable bioproducts, makes them indispensable allies in our efforts to address global challenges and create a more sustainable processes. By harnessing the power of these microbial marvels, we can pave the way for a future where biotechnology plays a pivotal role in addressing the pressing needs of humanity while safeguarding the delicate balance of our planet and our exploration of outerspace locations.
At the same time, fungi can also be critical since they can be responsible for the production of unwanted compounds (e.g., mycotoxins) and infect many different organisms, posing as a threat to our own health (as highlighted by the fungal priority pathogens list released by the World Health Organization), and therefore our survival outside our planet, especially in long term space missions.
For all of these reasons astromycology needs to better research the impact of fungi in space exploration, to develop new processes and technologies that can be safely used during space missions (and also transferred to our planet and daily lives), in order to better plan and implement safer and more sustainable space missions.
Speaker: Marta Filipa Simões, Macau University of Science and Technology
Science on Tap: Integrating Aquaculture to Improve Olympia Oyster Restoration in Elkhorn Slough, CA - 02/28/2024 07:00 PM
Museum of Art and History Santa Cruz
Can aquaculture be adapted to support conservation and ecosystem restoration? The only native oyster on our coast, the Olympia oyster, is depleted throughout its range. Many estuaries in central California are facing local extinction. Without a healthy oyster population, these estuaries lose vast amounts of biodiversity and cannot protect shorelines from storms and erosion. Oyster recovery is therefore central to estuary habitat restoration and resiliency. In 2018, The Elkhorn Slough Reserve partnered with Moss Landing Marine Labs to explore aquaculture as a conservation strategy for oyster recovery. Beginning with just 200 oysters collected from the slough, we developed a hatchery for them to reproduce in. Their offspring were then transplanted back out to sites around the estuary where they grow into parents of the next generation. Aquaculture is adept for producing baby oysters and maintaining fast growth rates, both important factors for restoring a natural population. However, Olympias are not common in aquaculture and the knowledge needed to grow this species was not readily available. Our aquaculture program combines ecology and physiology experiments to enhance native oyster restoration and support adaptive management in the Elkhorn Slough. This presentation will describe our journey over the last five years to re-establish oyster habitat and re-learn the oyster’s ecology.
Editor's note: This event was originally scheduled for January 31, 2024
Data Science for Social Good - 02/28/2024 07:30 PM
Marin Science Seminar San Rafael
Speaker: Dr. Abby Smith, NORC at University of Chicago
Fascinating mushroom spores - 02/28/2024 07:30 PM
Bay Area Mycological Society Berkeley
In this talk we’ll explore the world of mushroom spores - where they are formed, how they are spread and where they 'want' to end up. We'll see why some spores are coloured and others have warts, and how wind, rain and animals all play their roles.
Else Vellinga is a mycologist who is interested in naming and classifying mushroom species in California and beyond, especially Parasol mushrooms. She has described 22 species as new for California, and two California species are named after her! She got her training at the National Herbarium in the Netherlands, and her PhD at the University of Leiden.
Thursday, 02/29/2024
Silicon Valley Leaders Symposium - Robert Stevens - 02/29/2024 12:00 PM
San Jose State University San Jose
Speaker: Robert Stevens, Chief Executive Officer & President at CSW/Stuber-Stroeh Engineering Group, Inc.
Electric Fireside Chat with San Francisco Commissioner Angelique Tompkins - Livestream - 02/29/2024 12:00 PM
San Francisco Environment Department
Environment Department Commissioner Angelique Tompkins will join Director Tyrone Jue to discuss the year ahead for Climate action in San Francisco. Learn more about Commissioner Tomkins' background by visiting her page on the Department's website.
Chante Harris, Urban and Climate Innovation Champion - Livestream - 02/29/2024 12:15 PM
Stanford Energy
2024 will continue to be an unprecedented year for investment in and big wins in the decarbonization of infrastructure. From the $12.5 billion acquisition of Global Infrastructure Partners by BlackRock to General Atlantic's recent acquisition of Actis, this year is shaping up to be one of the biggest where we see investors double down on clean energy adoption through distributed and large capital projects across shipping ports, data centers, railroads, and others. This moment presents a unique opportunity for highly competitive risk-adjusted returns that integrate incumbent and promising emerging technology solutions at scale while bettering communities' resiliency, well-being, and overall health.
Much of the early discussion around climate was around the invention of breakthrough gigawatt-scale technologies that could lower emissions at a lower cost than today. Fast forward, and most of the focus today is on the pace at which technology and infrastructure come together to decarbonize our built environment.
To tackle climate change, technologies must reach commercialization. To do so, our understanding of climate technology and the investment that accelerates its deployment must evolve. Join this discussion where we'll dive into how climate tech founders and their investors can close the gap by building ecosystem capacity and testing new capital structures that build on the core competencies of venture capital and project finance.
Chante Harris is a champion of social and finance innovation. Throughout her career, she has successfully scaled nationwide campaigns, technologies, and ideas for the Obama Administration, Fortune 500 companies, and startups. Her writing and work have been featured by Business Insider, Thrive Global, The Milken Institute, and other notable publications.
Register at weblink to receive connection information
Note time change from original listing
Network-aware Methods for Measuring Economic Inequality - 02/29/2024 12:30 PM
Sutardja Dai Hall Berkeley
Speaker: Meryem Essaidi, UC Berkeley
Attend in person or online (see weblink)
AI-Assisted Power Grid Dispatch and Control - 02/29/2024 01:30 PM
Environment & Energy Building (Y2E2) Stanford
Speaker: Di Shi, New Mexico State University
Room 292A
UC Berkeley Astronomy Colloquium - 02/29/2024 03:30 PM
Physics North Berkeley
Speaker: Natalie Batalha, UC Santa Cruz
Using Communication Science to Communicate USGS Science - Livestream - 02/29/2024 06:00 PM
US Geological Survey Public Lecture Series
Join us and learn ...
How social science helps us better inform people about natural hazards risks Human behavioral analysis of earthquake drills like ShakeOutCase studies of the Earthquake early warning system, ShakeAlert®️
Speaker: Sara McBide, USGS Earthquake Science Center
NightLife - 02/29/2024 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 60,000 live animals (including familiar faces like Claude, our alligator with albinism), the night is sure to be wild.
Step inside the iconic Shake House and our four-story Osher 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 7:30 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 BigPicture Natural World Photography competition.
Bask in the glow of one of the largest living indoor coral reef displays in the world: our 212,000-gallon Philippine Coral Reef habitat.
Take in the interstellar views from the Living Roof, then grab a bite from the Academy Café and head to the West Garden outdoor bar to drink and dine under the stars.
After Dark: Simple Machines - 02/29/2024 06:00 PM
ExplOratorium San Francisco
Have you thought about how astounding everyday tools and machines are? Through fundamental physics, they can multiply our force and make our lives more efficient. Tonight, explore the science behind simple machines by playing with kinetic gadgets, pendulums, and other mechanical marvels. What effects do you have with a turn of the crank? Do you possess the patience for the Machine with Concrete? (Hint: it might take a few billion years). Then hear from our artist in residence Catie Cuan, who turns robots into her dance partners.
Ages 18+
Friday, 03/01/2024
Computational Approaches for Understanding and Engineering Biomolecular Condensates - 03/01/2024 02:00 PM
Etcheverry Hall Berkeley
The interior of cells contains numerous components that must be carefully organized in space to fulfill a wide range of biological functions. The most common form of intracellular compartment does not have membranes. Instead of membranes, these compartments, known as biomolecular condensates, are maintained and spatially segregated through phase separation.
Understanding biomolecular condensates is crucial, as they play significant roles in both health and disease, and present novel opportunities for bioengineering and materials design. In addition to experiments, molecular modeling and simulations have emerged as powerful tools, offering us the detailed perspectives needed to elucidate the physicochemical principles governing the properties of biomolecular condensates.
In this talk, I will discuss our current efforts to develop quantitatively accurate computational models for understanding and engineering biomolecular condensates, especially within the context of intracellular phase separation.
Speaker: Jerelle Joseph, Princeton University
Room: 3108
First Friday Nights - 03/01/2024 05:00 PM
CuriOdyssey San Mateo
Come together as a family, visit early, and stay late!
Swing into the weekend with live music, a food truck, animals and fun! On the first Friday of every month, from 5 pm until 8 pm, parents and kids celebrate together at CuriOdyssey.
Dance to some of your favorite pop and rock hits, while enjoying animal presentations and science activities. Activities and programs are different each time, so make it a monthly tradition.
Public Astronomy Viewing Nights - 03/01/2024 07:00 PM
Sonoma State University Public Astronomy Rohnert Park
Sonoma State University hosts astronomical viewing nights open to the public. Events are weather dependent. Check the weblink for cancelations prior to attending.
Experiencing the Great North American Eclipse! - 03/01/2024 08:00 PM
College of San Mateo Bldg 36 San Mateo
On April 8 the Great North American Eclipse will occur. This will be an eclipse you will want to experience and photograph. It will be the last total solar eclipse visible in the Contiguous United States until August 23, 2044. In this presentation you will learn from an accomplished eclipse chaser how to best experience a solar eclipse whether as an astrophotographer or just for the joy of viewing it!
Speaker: Rob Hawley, Fremont Peak Observatory Association
Room: Planetarium
Saturday, 03/02/2024
Building Scalable & Reliable AI apps with Cloud Native Technologies Workshop - 03/02/2024 09:30 AM
Hacker Dojo Mountain View
Cloud Native (CN) technologies provide scalable and reliable platforms to host AI based technologies. This 1-day workshop is intended to expose and educate attendees on the available tooling in the CN space from Kubernetes to Kubeflow and ecosystem; including their purpose and path to successfully leveraging them.
Both CN and AI technology stacks continue to rapidly evolve. Managers and developers are pressed for time and may miss knowledge of recent innovations around tooling and practices. Through a combination of tutorials, field study, and discussion we can reset and take advantage of these technologies.
Attendees will have knowledge and confidence to leverage the CN + AI technology stacks. To those with little experience, you will learn; the basics of popular tools, CN best practices, and points of concern when integrating. To those with more experience; you will learn about recent developments in tooling, techniques, and resources.
Speaker: Ronald Petty, RX-M
Advance registration required at weblink
Salamander Search at Sanborn - 03/02/2024 10:30 AM
Sanborn Science and Nature Center Saratoga
Sanborn is famous for its amphibians; you just need to do some extra searching to find them! Join us for a fun day of looking under rocks, logs, and other unique hiding spots that Sanborn’s Salamanders call home!
Ages 4 - 12, with registered adult
Register at weblink
Randall Museum Science Festival - 03/02/2024 10:30 AM
Randall Museum San Francisco
This year’s celebration includes a special family-friendly Science Festival for visitors of all ages. Kids and their families can enjoy free live animal encounters, discover more information with community partners from the science world, and for a small fee, drop in to explore the fun of hands on science from 10:30am - 4:00pm.
Nike Missile Site Veteran Open House - 03/02/2024 12:00 PM
Nike Missle Site Mill Valley
Veterans of the Nike program come to the site to share their stories with visitors and give guided tours of SF88 between the hours of 12pm - 3pm
The SF-88 Nike Missile Site is the most fully restored Nike missile site in the country. During the tense years of the Cold War, from 1953 to 1979, the United States Army built and operated close to 300 Nike missile sites in the United States. These sites were designed to be the last line of defense against H-Bomb carrying Soviet bombers that had eluded the Air Force’s interceptor jet aircrafts. SF-88 in the Marin Headlands was one such site. Today, Golden Gate National Recreation Area works together with a dedicated group of volunteers to preserve the site as it was during operations to remind visitors of the physical and psychological effects of the Cold War on the American landscape.
Will California’s End-of-life Law Help You If You Need It? - Livestream - 03/02/2024 03:00 PM
Bay Area Humanists
California is one of 11 jurisdictions in the United States that provides Medical Aid In Dying (MAID) for its citizens. Do you know who qualifies for MAID in California, and who does not? We will discuss the current law, its restrictions, and what might be done to amend it to include the many people who are barred from accessing it.
Speaker: Marcia Hofer, clinical psychologist, retired
Register at weblink to attend
Starry Nights Star Party - 03/02/2024 07:30 PM
Rancho Cañada Del Oro Open Space Preserve Morgan hill
The San Jose Astronomical Association (SJAA), working with the Santa Clara County Open Space Authority (OSA), is glad to co-host a public star party at Rancho Canada del Oro (RCDO) Open Space Preserve. This site, just 30 minutes south of downtown San Jose, features dark skies. It's dark enough to see the band of our Milky Way galaxy in the summer.
Do not bring your own telescope (binoculars are welcome, but please no tripods). SJAA club members will set up their telescopes to help star party guests get the most knowledge and enjoyment out of the dark night sky.
In addition to traditional telescopes, the SJAA has incorporated Electronically Assisted Astronomy (EAA) into the Starry Nights Program. We will be using an automated telescope with a camera-like sensor to show live images on an iPad.
See weblink for additional information and to register
Sunday, 03/03/2024
Solar Observing - 03/03/2024 01:30 PM
San Jose Astronomical Association San Jose
It’s there for us year round, lighting our days and providing energy for our lives, so maybe it’s time to give it a closer look. Join SJAA for amazing and detailed views of the Sun, and be assured that we’ll be using special telescopes that will keep your eyeballs perfectly safe.
We’ll have white-light telescopes with dense solar filters that reveal sunspots. Further, we’ll show you hydrogen-alpha telescopes that isolate a very specific color of red that reveals prominences (often thought of as solar flares) and intricate texture within the Sun’s chromosphere (its atmosphere).
We can also share with you a little about how the Sun works and how complex magnetic fields drive the number of sunspots and prominences that we’ll see on a given day.
Around 1:45, we'll have a short, informal introductory talk, and at other times, you can enjoy the views and ask questions about the Sun, telescopes, or astronomy in general.
We're also planning station for your get a better feel for a huge scale of our solar system! And you'll get a solar system you can fold up and carry in your pocket.
You may bring your own telescope. If you have a properly filtered white light or H-alpha telescope and want to share views with others, please arrive at 1:30 or earlier, so you have time to set up before the event officially starts.
Weather dependent. Sign up at weblink
Monday, 03/04/2024
Conservation & Ecology of the Red-legged Frog - 03/04/2024 12:00 PM
Sonoma State University - Biology Colloquium Rohnert Park
Speaker: Jeff Alvarez and Jeff Wolcox, The Wildlife Project and Sonoma Mountain Preservation Foundation
Does Moral Practice Need Moral Theory? - 03/04/2024 12:30 PM
Margaret Jacks Hall (Bldg 460) Stanford
Speaker: Taylor Madigan, Stanford University
See weblink for instructions to gain entry to the building.
Room 126
Controlled Nuclear Fusion: Scientific Achievement or Power to the Grid? - 03/04/2024 03:30 PM
Stanford Linear Accelerator (SLAC) Colloquium Series Menlo Park
On Dec 13, 2022, the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at Lawrence Livermore National Accelerator Laboratory achieved Ignition. 2.05MJoule produced by 192 lasers were converted into 3.15Mjoule of fusion power. The first time on earth, controlled nuclear fusion produced a net positive power reaction. This is a major scientific milestone that took decades to plan, build and deliver. A boost in private and public funding already preceded this event, but this major success boosted the enthusiasm even further. As of today, about 40 privately funded start-ups around the world are in place and race to deliver nuclear fusion anywhere from a few years from now to within the next two decades or so. In parallel the largest science experiment, the tokamak based Fusion reactor is under construction by an international collaboration in the south of France (ITER) and presently faces a series of technical set-back. Between the sprawling enthusiasm in the private sector and ITER’s and NIF’s status today, a lot of scientific and technical questions still have to be resolved, some specific to laser driven inertial confinement fusion, others specific to magnetic confinement fusion, but also many in common. The challenge to deliver a First Fusion Power Plant (FPP) within a decade is now out there. Like the word “Power Plant” indicates, it is supposed to deliver net electrical power to the grid. Apart from controlling the fusion process itself, this provides an additional layer of engineering challenges that have to be solved in parallel in order to meet the decadal timeline. Some of the major impediments that have to be overcome towards net power production will be discussed.
Speaker: Norbert Holtkamp, Stanford University
Attend in person or online via Zoom.
This event was originally scheduled on February 5, 2024
How does the brain know it's cold? - 03/04/2024 04:00 PM
James H. Clark Center (Bldg 340) Stanford
Speaker: Viktor Feketa, Yale University
A Magic Show of the Neutrinos - 03/04/2024 04:00 PM
Sonoma State University - What Physicists Do Rohnert Park
Dr. Kam-Biu Luk will present an exploration of an intriguing phenomenon called neutrino oscillation.
Speaker: Kam-Biu Luk, UC Berkeley
UC Berkeley Physics Colloquium - 03/04/2024 04:15 PM
Physics North Berkeley
Speaker: Joel Fajans, UC Berkeley
Navigating Africa's Trifecta of Energy, Climate, and Development with Pragmatism - 03/04/2024 04:30 PM
Stanford University Energy Seminar Stanford
The talk will delve into a comprehensive exploration of the interplay between energy, climate, and development on the African continent. The discussion will acknowledge the critical intersection of these three elements and propose pragmatic approaches as the guiding principle for charting a sustainable course forward. The African continent, rich in resources and potential, faces a unique challenge of balancing its burgeoning energy needs with the imperative of mitigating climate change and fostering inclusive development. This talk aims to unravel the complexities inherent in this trilateral relationship, emphasizing the practical consequences and tangible outcomes that arise from strategic decision-making. By adopting a pragmatic lens, I will dissect existing paradigms, shedding light on solutions that work in real-world contexts. The presentation will draw from concrete examples, successful case studies, and lessons learned from across the continent. The audience can expect to gain insights into actionable strategies that harmonize energy production, climate resilience, and socio-economic development. Ultimately, the talk seeks to inspire a shift in mindset, encouraging stakeholders to approach the challenges of energy, climate, and development in Africa with a problem-solving orientation. As the continent navigates this trifecta, the pragmatic perspective becomes a beacon, guiding the formulation of policies and initiatives that not only address immediate concerns but also pave the way for a sustainable and prosperous future.
Attend in person or online (see weblink)
NASA Spacecraft Swarms for Low Earth Orbit and Beyond - 03/04/2024 07:30 PM
California Academy of Sciences San Francisco
Humanity’s future in space will depend on autonomous robotic spacecraft, whether in orbit around Earth or exploring the far reaches of our solar system. Spacecraft swarms, or groups of autonomous cooperative spacecraft, have the potential to revolutionize future space exploration and science missions. In 2023, NASA’s Starling project launched a team of four satellites to test swarm technologies in orbit around Earth. Additionally, Starling will be exploring advanced space traffic management techniques to cope with an increasingly crowded Low Earth Orbit environment. Nicknamed Inky, Pinky, Blinky, and Clyde, these robotic spacecraft are paving the way for a future in which telescopes can be as large as a planet, hundreds of autonomous spacecraft can coordinate to map the Solar System, and thousands of satellites can sustainably orbit Earth to benefit humanity.
Speaker: Scott Miller, NASA Ames
Tuesday, 03/05/2024
Exploring many-body problems with arrays of individual atoms - 03/05/2024 03:30 PM
Hewlett Teaching Center Stanford
Are Dogs Our Best Friends? - 03/05/2024 05:00 PM
Wheeler Hall Berkeley
Wednesday, 03/06/2024
Understanding AI: Humanities x Social Sciences x Technology - 03/06/2024 09:30 AM
Social Sciences Building Room 820 Berkeley
Evolving Organisms to Grow new Nanomaterials for Energy, the Environment and Medicine - 03/06/2024 12:00 PM
Stanley Hall Berkeley
Molecular and cellular bases of coral symbiosis and its breakdown - 03/06/2024 12:00 PM
Weill Hall Berkeley
A Whole-Ecosystem Approach to Monitoring Coastal Nitrogen-Cycling Archaeal Populations - Livestream - 03/06/2024 03:40 PM
Estuary and Ocean Science Center
What You Need to Know About Generative AI - 03/06/2024 05:30 PM
Commonwealth Club San Francisco
Rotorcraft Flight Control Technology - Advancements and Future Challenges - 03/06/2024 06:30 PM
Santa Clara University Santa Clara
Renewable Power: Powering Electric Cars and Storing Renewable Energy with Energy-dense Batteries- Livestream - 03/06/2024 07:30 PM
Marin Science Seminar San Rafael
Thursday, 03/07/2024
UC Berkeley Tech Policy Summit - 03/07/2024 08:30 AM
University Club Berkeley
UC Berkeley Astronomy Colloquium CANCELED - 03/07/2024 03:30 PM
Physics North Berkeley
The Complex Systems View of AI Ethics - 03/07/2024 04:00 PM
Sutardja Dai Hall Berkeley
NightLife Intersections: Dance - 03/07/2024 06:00 PM
California Academy of Sciences San Francisco
After Dark: Living Systems - 03/07/2024 06:00 PM
ExplOratorium San Francisco
Xeno in Vivo: A Live Multimedia Opera Performance - 03/07/2024 07:30 PM
ExplOratorium San Francisco
Friday, 03/08/2024
Catalytic Depolymerization of Plastic Waste to Produce Value-Added Chemicals - 03/08/2024 02:00 PM
Etcheverry Hall Berkeley
Ancient human footprints at White Sands National Park - 03/08/2024 03:30 PM
McCone Hall Berkeley
Xeno in Vivo: A Live Multimedia Opera Performance - 03/08/2024 07:30 PM
ExplOratorium San Francisco
In Town Star Party - 03/08/2024 08:15 PM
San Jose Astronomical Association San Jose
Saturday, 03/09/2024
North Bay Science Discovery Day - 03/09/2024 10:00 AM
Sonoma County Fairgrounds Santa Rosa
Family Nature Adventures: Bees - 03/09/2024 10:30 AM
Chabot Space and Science Center Oakland
International Women's Day at the Lawrence Hall of Science - 03/09/2024 11:00 AM
Lawrence Hall of Science Berkeley
Monday, 03/11/2024
Sonoma State University Biology Colloquium - 03/11/2024 12:00 PM
Sonoma State University - Biology Colloquium Rohnert Park
Symbolic Systems Forum - 03/11/2024 12:30 PM
Margaret Jacks Hall (Bldg 460) Stanford
Unintended Environmental Consequences of Investment Stimulus Policy - 03/11/2024 02:00 PM
Evans Hall Berkeley
Mechanisms of co-translational folding and assembly of proteins - 03/11/2024 04:00 PM
Stanley Hall Berkeley
UC Berkeley Physics Colloquium - 03/11/2024 04:15 PM
Physics North Berkeley
Electric vehicle green charging with marginal emissions signals - 03/11/2024 04:30 PM
Stanford University Energy Seminar Stanford