Science (Audio)

Join senior level managers of various San Diego companies as they share the skills and experience that they are seeking from their engineering positions.   Series: "The Career Channel" [Show ID: 33677]

Panelists share their experiences about recently transitioning into a new opportunity, whether moving industries, changing job functions or developing a new company. Series: "The Career Channel" [Show ID: 33678]

Global warming due to CO2 emissions from fossil fuels remains an urgent issue that must be addressed. With the largest share of energy-related CO2 emissions in the US from coming transportation, it is critical to replace fossil fuels for powering vehicles. A team of researchers from UC Merced is developing hydrogen and fuel cell technologies for powering vehicles at TEEL, the Thermal and Electrochemical Energy Laboratory. Working on novel catalyst synthesis, membrane electrode assembly integration, multiphysics simulation, cell design and diagnostics and system integration, the goal of TEEL is to enable hydrogen and fuel cell technologies to achieve sustainable energy use in the future. Series: "UCTV Prime" [Show ID: 33837]

The 2018 David Keeling Memorial Lecture hosts Dr. Elisabeth Holland, Professor of Climate Change and Director of the Pacific Centre for Environment and Sustainable Development at the University of the South Pacific. Dr. Holland is an internationally recognized scientist and 2007 Nobel Laureate for her work on climate change issues. Among other topics, Dr. Holland speaks on the importance of listening to the Voices of the Pacific when considering climate change and its impacts - a direct reflection of her work weaving together science, policy and traditional knowledge towards a sustainable, resilient future for Pacific communities. Series: "Jeffrey B. Graham Perspectives on Ocean Science Lecture Series" [Show ID: 33489]

Kim Cooper, Assistant Professor in the Cell and Developmental Biology Section of the UC San Diego Division of Biological Sciences, discusses the advantages and the potential risks of CRISPR/Cas9-based active genetic systems and ways to maximize benefits to society. How do we decide when not to do the things that we can? In the last couple of years, a new “active genetic” technology has been shown to promote efficient inheritance of desired gene modifications in insects. We have now shown that we can do this in rodents. This allows the assembly of complex genotypes that were once unthinkable due to cost, time, and more. Such applications could improve drug testing and mouse models of complex human genetic diseases. These same approaches could also be used to control invasive wild rodent populations and vectors of disease. Despite these benefits, many have raised concerns about unintended consequences of the release of transgenic organisms. Series: "Exploring Ethics" [Show ID: 33672]

Proteins are nature’s machines, performing tasks from transforming sunlight into useable energy to binding oxygen for transport through the body. These functions depend on structural arrangement of atoms within the protein, which was, until recently, only possible to measure statistically, in easily crystallized samples via conventional X-ray diffraction. In the past decade, X-ray Free Electron Lasers (XFELs), a new type of X-ray source, have begun to come online. Using ultra-bright, ultrafast X-ray pulses of the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, this technology allows us to measure not only static pictures of protein structure but to record “molecular movies” of proteins in action. Series: "Field Trip at the Lab: Science on Saturday" [Show ID: 33432]

Accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) is a sensitive mass spectrometric method for detecting and quantifying rare long-lived isotopes with high precision. This technique is widely employed in the earth and environmental sciences and is now being applied in the biomedical fields. AMS is primarily used to in the areas of pharmacology and toxicology to investigate the absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion of radiolabeled drugs, chemicals, and nutrients, as well as in the detection of chemically modified DNA and proteins in animal models and humans. The exquisite sensitivity (10-18 mol) of AMS allows for the use of low chemical and radioisotope doses and relatively small sample sizes, which enables studies to be performed safely in humans, using exposures that are environmentally or therapeutically relevant. Series: "Field Trip at the Lab: Science on Saturday" [Show ID: 33431]

Drawing on personal experiences of living with the Maasai tribe in east Africa and the Inuit of Greenland – whose cultures and resilience derive from living in constantly changing environments - Jacqueline McGlade explores how mind-sets, economies and ecosystems can become (re)active and more resilient to an increasingly uncertain world. McGlade has pioneered research in the dynamics of ecosystems, citizen science and social and environmental informatics. Series: "Climate Change Playlist" [Show ID: 33663]

Dr. Gurpreet Dhaliwal is a Professor of Medicine at UCSF and is generally considered one of the most skillful diagnosticians in the United States. He teaches medical students and residents in the ER, inpatient wards and outpatient clinic at the San Francisco VA Medical Center. He studies how doctors think, how they diagnose, how they make treatment decisions and how they develop expertise. He has published over ninety articles in leading medical journals including the New England Journal of Medicine and JAMA. Dr. Dhaliwal writes for The Wall Street Journal’s “The Experts” series, and, in 2012, he was profiled in The New York Times. Series: "A Life in Medicine: People Shaping Healthcare Today" [Show ID: 32876]

How often do you wonder about supercomputers and computers that "think" like humans? Supercomputers have been used to model complex scientific phenomena for decades. Now, scientists are entering a new era in computing, and computers are learning in a way that is similar to the human brain. With enough information, computers can learn to solve problems in novel and interesting ways. Specialized computers can even solve these problems using significantly less energy than "classical" computers. This talk describes using supercomputers to solve challenging problems and the evolving technologies of learning systems. Series: "Field Trip at the Lab: Science on Saturday" [Show ID: 33430]