Science at AMNH

Eating one’s own kind is a natural behavior found in thousands of species, including humans. In this podcast, Museum Research Associate Bill Schutt explains new research about this widespread behavior, such as why so many fish eat their young, and when sexual cannibalism can be an evolutionary advantage.

This lecture took place at the Museum on February 17, 2017.

Biologists today have the knowledge, the tools, and the ability to influence the evolution of life on Earth. Do we have an obligation to bring back species that human activities may have rendered extinct?

In this podcast, host and moderator Neil deGrasse Tyson leads a panel of experts in a discussion about this possibility - and the technology needed to get there. You will hear from George Church of Harvard University and MIT, Hank Greely of Stanford University, Gregory Kaebnick of the Hastings Center, Beth Shapiro of University of California Santa Cruz

The 2017 Isaac Asimov Memorial Debate took place at the Museum on March 29, 2017. Watch a video version here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LnAtMeSVeY

The late Dr. Isaac Asimov, one of the most prolific and influential authors of our time, was a dear friend and supporter of the American Museum of Natural History. In his memory, the Hayden Planetarium is honored to host the annual Isaac Asimov Memorial Debate — generously endowed by relatives, friends, and admirers of Isaac Asimov and his work — bringing the finest minds in the world to the Museum each year to debate pressing questions on the frontier of scientific discovery. Proceeds from ticket sales of the Isaac Asimov Memorial Debates benefit the scientific and educational programs of the Hayden Planetarium.

Slow lorises may look like big-eyed Ewoks, but their cute countenance has made these primates a target of the illegal wildlife trade. In this podcast, Mary Blair, primatologist and Director of Biodiversity Informatics Research at the Center for Biodiversity and Conservation, discusses how research on these endangered animals can contribute to a better understanding of wildlife trafficking and the risk of zoonotic disease spread.

This lecture took place at the Museum on March 1, 2017.

To learn about upcoming SciCafe events, visit amnh.org/scicafe. For a full transcript of this podcast, visit http://www.amnh.org/explore/news-blogs/podcasts/scicafe-the-search-for-slow-lorises

Watch a video version of this lecture here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpKUM_rSXhI

The SciCafe series is proudly sponsored by Judy and Josh Weston.

SciCafe: The Search for Slow Lorises, and related activities are generously supported by the Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA) program of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

In 2015, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) achieved a milestone, operating at the highest energy ever used by an accelerator experiment. Particle physicist James Beacham discusses what we’ve learned about gravitons, Higgs bosons, dark matter, and what’s next for the LHC.

This lecture took place at the Hayden Planetarium on February 6, 2017.

Support for Hayden Planetarium Programs is provided by the Horace W. Goldsmith Endowment Fund.

Since the days of the conquistador Hernán Cortés, rumors have circulated about an ancient White City of immense wealth hidden in the Honduran interior. But it was not until 1940 that hundreds of artifacts surfaced and tantalizing stories of the crumbling walls of this lost city were confirmed. In his new book, The Lost City of the Monkey God: A True Story, bestselling author Douglas Preston ventures deep into the Honduran jungle in a riveting, non-fiction narrative about the unearthing of an ancient lost civilization, while he provides a rich tapestry of historical, economic, social, political, and environmental context for the discovery.

This lecture took place at the Museum on January 18, 2017.

Inspiring fear and fascination alike in humans, insects are capable of incredibly complex behavior like personality, and language. Just in time for Valentine’s Day, behavioral ecologist Marlene Zuk examines the bedroom lives of bugs, showing how six-legged sex lives can be just as interesting as our own.

To learn about upcoming SciCafe events, visit amnh.org/scicafe. Watch a video version of this lecture here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3a-1G5dI48Q

The SciCafe Series is proudly sponsored by Judy and Josh Weston.

Join Rockefeller University professor Leslie Vosshall as she demonstrates what is—and what will be—possible with CRISPR gene editing.

This lecture took place at the Museum on January 4, 2016. To watch a video version, visit the AMNH Youtube Channel, or the SciCafe section of AMNH.tv.

The SciCafe series is proudly sponsored by Judy and Josh Weston.

SciCafe: Modifying the Mosquito with CRISPR, and related activities are generously supported by the Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA) program of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

You may have heard of the Big Bang – but what was the universe like before that fateful beginning? In this podcast, Brian Keating traces the history and theories that have lead to our current understanding of the universe, and the questions that still remain.

This lecture took place at the Museum on December 12, 2016.

Support for Hayden Planetarium Programs is provided by the Horace W. Goldsmith Endowment Fund.

When black holes collide, the energy of the event generates intense gravitational waves. These waves were predicted by Einstein in his theories, but scientists have only recently been able to detect them experimentally. In this SciCafe, Barnard College professor and astronomer Janna Levin shares her scientific research on the first recordings of a gravitational wave from the collision of two black holes 1.3 billion years ago.

This lecture took place at the Museum on December 7, 2016. Watch a video version here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLeQtSR_hrA

The SciCafe series is proudly sponsored by Judy and Josh Weston.

Since 2009, earthquake activity has increased throughout the central United States, specifically in areas employing new and emerging oil and gas production technologies. Join Dr. Justin Rubinstein, deputy chief of the Induced Seismicity Project at the United States Geological Survey, as he discusses this new breed of human-caused earthquakes.

This lecture took place at the Museum on November 10, 2016.

The Annual IRIS/SSA Lecture Series is presented in collaboration with the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology and the Seismological Society of America.