Science (Audio)

The authors of a provocative new paper maintain that many of the behaviors common to autism—including low eye contact, repetitive movements, and the verbatim repetition of words and phrases—are misinterpreted as a lack of interest in social engagement. On the contrary, they say, many people with autism express a deep longing for social connection. Series: "UCTV Prime" [Show ID: 35251]

Southern California Edison has a goal to reduce carbon-emissions 40% below 1990 levels by 2030, with an electric grid supplied by 80% carbon-free sources. Gary Barsley discusses SCE's pathway to clean power and electrification, reduced greenhouse gas emissions, and cleaning the power grid by decarbonizing the electric sector, electrifying the transportation sector, and electrifying buildings. SCE Emerging Products projects include assessing a number of new technologies to help achieve these important goals. Series: "Institute for Energy Efficiency" [Show ID: 35160]

With the capacity to form any tissue in the human body, induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPSCs, are critical to the work of the UC San Diego Stem Cell program in studying disease and potential cures - but how are they made? This short primer outlines the basic steps to how these special cells are derived. Series: "Stem Cell Channel" [Show ID: 34455]

Scott Kelly spent a year in the International Space Station while his identical twin Mark Kelly was on earth. UC San Diego and many institutions studied the mental, cardiovascular, immune, genetic, muscular, microbial, bone, and eye changes in both twins to see the effects of long-term space travel. Changes were troubling, so NASA plans several more long-term space flights that will focus on genetic changes, bone loss, loss of vision, brain swelling, and Nutrition. Michael G. Ziegler, MD, is Professor of Medicine Emeritus at UCSD. He has studied astronaut health since 1978. He chaired NASA’s yearly cardiovascular reviews, helped devise current astronaut protocols, and studied physiologic and genomic changes during the Year in Space study.   Series: "Osher UC San Diego Distinguished Lecture Series" [Health and Medicine] [Science] [Show ID: 35085]

Climate change and atmospheric rivers are bringing flood water to people’s homes, devastating communities. Entire towns are moving to escape rising waters, which is called managed retreat. Flood experts at UC Davis, including Nicholas Pinter, are visiting dozens of communities who have moved off the floodplain and to higher ground to avoid flooding. Series: "UCTV Prime" [Show ID: 35171]

Extremely sensitive to shifts in temperature, the ochre sea star is considered a “keystone species” for monitoring the effect of changing air and ocean temperatures on California’s marine life. Eric Sanford of the UC Davis Bodega Bay Marine Lab puts these beautiful creatures to the test, using their appetite for mussels as the yardstick. Series: "UCTV Prime cuts" [Science] [Show ID: 24211]

Nature has provided the inspiration for many of today’s most important medicines, yet the need for new drugs to treat diseases such as cancer and antibiotic resistant bacterial infection remains high. Paul Jensen describes how he and other researchers are tapping into the world’s oceans – home to a majority of its biodiversity – as a relatively new resource for natural product drug discovery. Series: "Jeffrey B. Graham Perspectives on Ocean Science Lecture Series" [Science] [Show ID: 34636]

At the 24th meeting of the Parties to the UN Climate Change Convention, governments completed the so-called Paris Rulebook, the set of guidelines for implementing the Paris Climate Change Agreement, and attention is shifting to implementation of measures that cut greenhouse gas emissions. Mark Radka, Chief of the Energy and Climate Branch at UN Environment, describes how the UN works with countries, companies, and people to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases. Series: "Bren School of Environmental Science & Management" [Public Affairs] [Science] [Show ID: 34900]

Our planet is experiencing worldwide growth in energy consumption and CO2 emission and is experiencing temperature rise and climate change at an accelerating rate. This video introduces the Institute for Energy Efficiency at UC Santa Barbara and describes a path to reducing our energy consumption and CO2 emission. In his talk, John Bowers, Director of the Institute of Energy Efficiency and Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Materials, discusses the evolution of photonics and what the future holds for more efficient, higher capacity data centers, which are important for machine learning and data processing. Series: "Institute for Energy Efficiency" [Show ID: 35159]

This CARTA symposium focuses on the contributions of scientists and scholars of anthropogeny who live and work in Africa. this presentation is with Abdoulaye Camara, Institut fondamental d'Afrique noire (IFAN), Université de Dakar (Sénégal) on "The View from West Africa." Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Science] [Show ID: 34982]