Science (Audio)

Archaeology can help communities understand environmental change, protect cultural heritage, and prepare for an uncertain climate future. Isabel C. Rivera-Collazo, Ph.D., of UC San Diego studies relationships among people, oceans, coastal ecosystems, and climate in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean. She explains how Hurricane Maria shifted her research from identifying theoretical vulnerabilities to supporting communities facing immediate risks. Her work combines archaeology with ecology, biology, geology, local histories, and community knowledge. Research on plants, fishing traditions, coral reefs, and coastal sites has supported sand dune restoration, heritage protection, and the creation of a marine protected area. Rivera-Collazo emphasizes that residents are experts on their own landscapes and should guide research priorities. Recovering knowledge from the past can strengthen identity, support ecosystem restoration, and help communities shape more resilient futures. Series: "Mi Universidad " [Science] [Education] [Show ID: 41490]

Authentic autism representation begins with listening to autistic people and including them in stories about their lives. Seth Bakke, producer, writer and director of The Rescue, explains how his autistic cousin Aaron and a poem by autistic typer Peter Tran inspired the film. Bakke describes working with Aaron on screen, consulting the Tran family and adapting the set to support his needs. Autistic typers Otto Lana and Peter Tran, joined by Steven Tran, a postdoctoral researcher at UC San Diego, discuss where the film reflects their experiences, where it simplifies communication through typing and why creative freedom must remain grounded in lived experience. They address presuming competence, the difference between hearing and listening, and the need for autistic actors and advisers. Their participation challenges stereotypes and helps audiences see they should be full participants in their own stories. Series: "Autism Tree Project Annual Neuroscience Conference" [Health and Medicine] [Science] [Arts and Music] [Show ID: 41175]

Scientific progress depends on curiosity, investment and the freedom to take risks. Nobel Laureate and UC San Diego alumnus Fred Ramsdell traces his path from community college to biotechnology and a discovery that reshaped understanding of immune regulation. He explains how decades of publicly funded research made that breakthrough possible and why failed experiments are essential steps toward discovery. Ramsdell discusses threats to federal research funding, the private sector’s limited tolerance for risk and the need for scientists to communicate clearly. Rebuilding trust, he argues, starts with listening, finding shared values and explaining how basic research leads to new treatments, economic value and national security. Sustained support for science matters because no one can predict where the next major breakthrough will begin.

Series: "Deep Look Public Speaker Series" [Science] [Show ID: 41113]

With the success of Artemis II, NASA is preparing for humanity’s return to the Moon through the ambitious Artemis Project. In this lecture, Professor Neil Farber explores the future Artemis missions, the spacecraft and technologies designed to support them, and the challenges NASA faces in sending astronauts back to the lunar surface. Building on the legacy of the Apollo program, Artemis represents a new era of exploration focused not only on reaching the Moon, but on establishing a sustainable long-term presence and preparing for future missions to Mars. Professor Farber examines why returning to the Moon today presents more difficulties than during the Apollo era, including modern engineering demands, funding realities, mission complexity, astronaut safety, and the logistical challenges of deep space travel. The lecture also highlights how NASA’s goals have evolved since Apollo and why the Moon remains central to the future of human space exploration. Series: "Osher UC San Diego Distinguished Lecture Series" [Science] [Show ID: 41597]

Human brain organoids help researchers study neurodevelopmental disorders that are difficult to examine directly in developing brain tissue. Giorgia Quadrato, USC, uses cortical organoids derived from human pluripotent stem cells to examine SYNGAP1, an autism risk gene associated in the transcript with intellectual disability, epilepsy, and global developmental delay. Quadrato describes how SYNGAP1 appears in progenitor cells as well as neurons, and how SYNGAP1 haploinsufficiency is linked to disrupted radial glia organization, altered cell division, and faster maturation of cortical projection neurons. She also discusses newer work focused on enteric neurons, gastrointestinal symptoms, and gut motility. By connecting brain development, autism genetics, and the enteric nervous system, this research points to models that may help test therapies and better understand symptoms that affect families. Series: "Autism Tree Project Annual Neuroscience Conference" [Health and Medicine] [Science] [Show ID: 41174]

As chatbots trained on Large Language Models become more sophisticated, their responses can sometimes seem uncanny, as if they come from a source that is mysterious, inexplicable, or even divine. Webb Keane, Professor of Anthropology at the University of Michigan, examines what happens when people treat artificial intelligence as a kind of “metahuman.” He explains how this reflects a broader human tendency to project authority onto technologies we do not fully understand. Keane explores how that sense of authority emerges through social interaction, and how the unequal ways humans and metahumans address one another can make AI’s power feel intuitively real. Series: "Ethics, Religion and Public Life: Walter H. Capps Center Series" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 41542]

Hard optimization problems often look impossible through worst-case analysis, but real-world problems can contain structure that helps algorithms work faster. Ellen Vitercik, Ph.D., of Stanford University explains how machine learning can improve algorithm design for NP-hard optimization problems while preserving the formal guarantees that make solvers useful. She discusses beyond worst-case analysis, problem-specific heuristics, and the gap between tools that perform well in practice and methods that prove optimality. Vitercik also describes research on LLM reasoning using data structure tasks, where answers can be checked programmatically and failures reveal when models rely on pattern matching rather than true generalization. Her work helps clarify how AI may support stronger algorithms, more useful benchmarks, and more reliable reasoning systems. Series: "Data Science Channel" [Science] [Show ID: 41179]

Heart regeneration faces two connected challenges: replacing lost muscle and keeping transplanted cells safe and accepted by the body. Charles Murry, M.D., Ph.D., of USC explains why the adult heart heals major cardiomyocyte loss with scar tissue rather than new muscle, leading to progressive heart failure. Murry describes how stem cell derived cardiomyocytes can be manufactured at scale, transplanted into injured hearts, and tested for function in animal models. He also examines major barriers, including graft related arrhythmias, calcium handling stress, immune rejection, and the need for practical immunosuppression or immune edited cells. By connecting cell manufacturing, electrophysiology, immunology, and clinical trial planning, this research shows why heart regeneration is difficult and why careful translation matters for patients with severe heart injury. Series: "Stem Cell Channel" [Health and Medicine] [Science] [Show ID: 40853]

Hematopoietic stem cells make blood across the lifespan, but they do not all behave the same way. Stephanie Xie, Ph.D., Scientist at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University of Toronto, examines how these rare cells self-renew, differentiate, and respond to inflammatory stress, asking whether differences in the stem cell pool help explain why aging affects people so differently. Xie identifies two hematopoietic stem cell subsets, including one that retains inflammatory memory after stress recovery, and connects this state to aging, clonal hematopoiesis, sickle cell disease, post-COVID recovery, and mortality risk markers in blood. Her research also raises questions about whether targeting the inflammatory environment, including through GLP-1 receptor agonists or metformin, could help mitigate clonal hematopoiesis. Understanding these patterns could clarify how inflammation shapes blood production, cancer risk, and immune health over time. Series: "Stem Cell Channel" [Health and Medicine] [Science] [Show ID: 41406]

Rare disease research is creating new paths for diagnosis, treatment, and broader medical discovery. Gene therapy can repair or replace faulty genes, and work on cystinosis has led to a stem cell platform now being applied to Danon disease, Sanfilippo syndrome C, Friedreich’s ataxia, and Alzheimer’s research. Funding programs support gene therapy, clinical trials, and new platform approaches for rare diseases. CAR-T cell research is also advancing treatment possibilities for pediatric brain tumors, including early results in children with DIPG and diffuse midline glioma. A patient advocate shares her daughter’s diagnostic odyssey and treatment for TUBB4A leukodystrophy. Together, these stories show why rare disease research matters beyond rarity. Series: "Stem Cell Channel" [Health and Medicine] [Science] [Show ID: 41402]