Science (Video)

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]

Health data affects artificial intelligence in important ways. Camille Nebeker, Ed.D., M.S., UC San Diego, explains why ethically sourced data is foundational to building trustworthy, AI-ready health data repositories. Nebeker examines how ethical sourcing applies across the full data lifecycle, including consent, governance, transparency, data quality, privacy, stewardship, and community engagement. She also shows how ideas from supply chain management and value sensitive design help teams identify ethical tensions and improve decision-making. This work helps explain why ethics cannot be added at the end of AI development and points toward more accountable data practices that support public trust and stronger downstream performance. Series: "Exploring Ethics" [Science] [Show ID: 41368]

Pre-cancer and cancer can begin when stressed blood-forming stem cells lose their normal controls. Catriona Jamieson, M.D., Ph.D., UC San Diego, explains how inflammation-linked editing enzymes, repetitive elements in the genome, and stem cell stress shape the progression from myeloproliferative neoplasms to acute myeloid leukemia. Jamieson examines how spaceflight accelerates stem cell aging, how some astronauts mobilize a resilient regenerative stem cell population, and how tumor organoids in space help reveal drug responses by activating the enzyme ADAR1. This work helps explain how cancer starts, why it can return, and how space-based research may speed the development of therapies that stop malignant stem cells before disease advances. Series: "Stem Cell Channel" [Health and Medicine] [Science] [Show ID: 41473]

Space healthcare depends on connected health data that can follow people wherever care happens. Peter DeVault, Epic, explains how electronic health record tools built for hospitals, labs, and patients can also support healthcare in space. DeVault describes patient-facing tools like MyChart, interoperability across health systems, structured genomics and pharmacogenomics in the patient record, and Cosmos, Epic’s patient data aggregation platform with about 300 million longitudinal records. He also examines AI capabilities that can generate possible future health scenarios and expand to telemetry and molecular data collected before, during, and after a mission. This work helps explain how records, data sharing, and predictive tools could support astronaut health and resilience and why those capabilities may be necessary for the future of space medicine. Series: "Stem Cell Channel" [Health and Medicine] [Science] [Show ID: 41481]