Science (Video)

As distinct from the buildings of termites (interesting though these are), bird nests offer a more apropos point of comparison for human buildings – they are conducted by single vertebrate (or a few) and can be adapted to varied circumstances, with even a small effect of social learning. However, the basic Bauplan remains species-specific, unlike the creativity of the human architect. Since nonhuman primates lack interesting building skills, and so we suggest that bird nest construction may come to play a similar comparative role for architectural design. The static Bauplan of birds can be compared to the near-stasis of human tool use until the end of the Paleolithic, challenging us to assess the changes in human practice that unlocked an increasingly rapid process of cultural evolution. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 40159]

Curious about the secret to staying young? Rob Signer shares insights into how our bodies age, focusing on the role of stem cells and a critical protein called HSF1 that helps them cope with stress. Signer explores the delicate balance of keeping these cells healthy without increasing cancer risk and highlighted some promising progress in enhancing the cells' ability to manage waste. Series: "Stem Cell Channel" [Health and Medicine] [Science] [Show ID: 39980]

Our respiratory system provides oxygen to and removes carbon dioxide from the body. To function properly, the lungs need to fill up with fresh air upon inhalation. Unfortunately, for a variety of medical reasons, the amount of air that reaches the lungs can be insufficient, causing respiratory distress. Healthcare providers often administer liquid drugs in the trachea to ensure prompt relief. In this program, Emilie Dressaire, professor of mechanical engineering at UC Santa Barbara, discusses how the liquid drugs make their way down to the lungs. To answer open questions on drug delivery, her team has built an experimental system that is currently in Space. She presents the journey from UCSB to the International Space Station and shares the first results. Series: "GRIT Talks" [Science] [Show ID: 40087]

Every building – from the Parthenon to the Great Mosque of Damascus to a typical Georgian house – was influenced by the energy available to its architects. This talk offers a historical perspective on a topic of great relevance today, the linkage of architecture and energy. It provides a useful complement to the non-urban perspective on ecology offered by the talk on “The indigenous architecture of Australia.” Architecture has been shaped in every era by our access to energy, from fire to farming to fossil fuels. The talk will discuss a range of buildings of the past fifteen thousand years from Uruk, via Ancient Rome and Victorian Liverpool, to China's booming megacities. If we are to avoid catastrophic climate change one important ingredients is to design beautiful but also intelligent buildings, and to retrofit - not demolish - those that remain. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 40166]

How secure are computers and how does artificial intelligence impact security? In this program, Christopher Kruegel, professor of computer science at UC Santa Barbara, explores two key questions related to security and artificial intelligence. First, how AI can help to improve security. For decades, security solutions have leveraged traditional machine learning models. Not surprisingly, recent advances in AI have opened up exciting new opportunities. Second, the security of AI systems themselves. Like any other software application, they can be exploited. Given their often-critical role, it is imperative to secure AI against attacks such as training data poisoning and adversarial inputs. Series: "GRIT Talks" [Science] [Show ID: 40086]

Human "place-making" began over a million years ago when early humans made the hearth the center of social life. By 450,000 years ago, they were using caves in southwest Asia and sometimes buried their dead beneath the floor, linking memory-making with place-making. Hunter-gatherers started settling seasonally around 24,000 years ago, with permanent stone settlements by 13,000 BCE. Large, co-resident communities became common in the Holocene. The Neolithic (9600-6000 BCE) saw major social, economic, and cultural innovations, including architecture, monuments, and symbolic systems. Neolithic societies, with their complex economic relations, proto-urban patterns, and ritualistic architecture, were the first "imagined communities," deeply tied to memory and social symbolism. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 40163]

Proteins are large biomolecules that play critical roles in a host of cellular processes, from cell signaling to regulating the immune system. However, these life-giving proteins can form toxic aggregate species that have been linked to several neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s Disease and Parkinson’s Disease. In this program, UC Santa Barbara professor Joan-Emma Shea discusses the tau protein as a model system to study neurodegeneration. Shea says this protein plays a functional role in stabilizing microtubules in brain cells, but it can also self-assemble to form amyloid fibrils (large “clumps” of Tau proteins). There are several neurodegenerative diseases linked to tau assembly, including Alzheimer’s Disease, Pick’s Disease, and chronic traumatic encephalopathy, and they are collectively known as tauopathies. Shea discusses new insights into tauopathies and targets for therapeutics. Series: "GRIT Talks" [Science] [Show ID: 40083]

Explore the captivating realm of brain research at UC San Diego with Frank Furnari, Ph.D., and Alexander Khalessi, M.D., M.B.A. Furnari and Khalessi delve into groundbreaking efforts to find new treatments for neurological conditions such as brain tumors, stroke, and brain injuries, bringing hope to patients and their families. Emphasizing ethics, innovation, and patient care, Furnari and Khalessi shed light on the challenges and successes in their quest to unravel the mysteries of the mind. Series: "Stem Cell Channel" [Health and Medicine] [Science] [Show ID: 39723]

Lucy is one of the most famous fossils of all time. The discovery of this species had a major impact on the science of human origins and evolution. Why? What was that impact? The symposium speakers—each a prominent scientist in their field—will address this question and specifically discuss the discovery’s impact through time, starting with the first few years after the discovery, the lasting impact, and the state of the art in that research area today. We're celebrating the 50th anniversary of the discovery of the fossil skeleton “Lucy” with the aim of reigniting a global interest in how we “became human” and promoting the importance of connecting our human past to the global future on the planet. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 39830]

The discovery of a 3.2-million-year-old hominin skeleton named Lucy revolutionized human evolutionary studies. Her Linnean classification as Australopithecus afarensis sparked debates on taxonomy, highlighting the complexity of interpreting fossil evidence and shaping our understanding of hominin evolution. Lucy's systematics provide insights into the challenges of classifying early hominins, emphasizing how interpretations evolve with new evidence and knowledge. Comparing fossils with living ape taxa and extinct species helps infer evolutionary relationships, while considering temporal variation adds depth to our understanding. Lucy's case illustrates the ongoing debate on species classification in paleoanthropology and the critical role of evidence in shaping taxonomic hypotheses. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 39837]