Science (Video)

Leading voices in philosophy and neuroscience wrap up a conference on the ethics of research using brain organoids with questions from the audience. Panelists: Christof Koch, Chief Scientist and President of the Allen Institute for Brain Science; Patricia Churchland, Emerita Professor, UC San Diego;

Evan Thompson, Professor of Philosophy, University of British Columbia; and Alysson Muotri, Director of the UC San Diego Stem Cell program.

Series: "Stem Cell Channel" [Health and Medicine] [Science] [Show ID: 35249]

Celebrated leaders in their respective fields discuss the initiatives and breakthroughs that they spearheaded in areas that people thought were impossible or ahead of their time. Featuring Martin Cooper of Dyna, LLC, Arlene Harris of Wrethink, changemaker John Ross, Carrie Hessler Radelet of Project Concern International, and Larry Smarr of University of California, San Diego. Series: "Global Empowerment Summit" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Business] [Show ID: 35332]

Transforming our energy infrastructure to support greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction goals will require the deployment of technologies such as electric vehicles and energy storage. Improper integration of these technologies into the electric grid and a lack of careful planning of their scale, however, can significantly reduce their real-world effectiveness in supporting GHG emissions reduction goals. Research by Brian Tarroja and his colleagues at UC Irvine presented here focus on identifying grid integration needs and life cycle planning considerations for electric vehicles and energy storage deployment to better ensure that their potential GHG benefits are fully realized in future electricity systems. Series: "Institute for Energy Efficiency" [Science] [Show ID: 35164]

Researchers at UC San Diego are working on cutting edge technology to combat the constant threat of wildfires in California. The WIFIRE Lab is a collaboration between the Qualcomm Institute and the San Diego Supercomputer Center. The technology uses big data from cameras, weather stations, topography and other sources to quickly predict where wildfires will spread. And, it's not just theoretical. Fire departments like LAFD are actively using WIFIRE to get ahead of blazes before they get out of control. Series: "Computing Around UC" [Science] [Show ID: 35075]

Recently, some scientists have asked whether neural organoids will ever be conscious, and have wondered about the ethical implications of this possibility. Meanwhile, some philosophers have argued that neural organoids are miniature versions of “brains in vats.” Evan Thompson feels that both scientist and philosophers should shift their thinking. He argues that the minimal instantiation of sentience is organismic - not just neuronal, and that conscious processes of moral interest require embodiment and the capacity to suffer.

Series: "Stem Cell Channel" [Health and Medicine] [Humanities] [Show ID: 35248]

What defines consciousness? Can it develop in a petri dish? Patricia Churchland reviews the current state of brain organoid research and shares her views on how conciseness and physical structures within the brain intersect. She also cautions the media on the tendency to "over hype" new research advances. Series: "Stem Cell Channel" [Health and Medicine] [Humanities] [Show ID: 35247]

Ram Seshadri argues that energy efficiency can be as important to our future as renewable energy. LED lights are extremely efficient. In this talk he explores how white light emission from an LED lamp works and how researchers think about materials to understand their uses. Series: "GRIT Talks" [Science] [Show ID: 35268]

Metals are vital to life functions. We have iron zinc and copper in us – but in the ocean is different. We know that organism evolve against the chemical constraints of their environments and Allison Butler looks at what kind of metalloenzymes are present in marine organisms.

Series: "Women in Science" [Science] [Show ID: 35266]

Decarbonizing our electricity and transportation sectors will require large deployments of wind, solar, and storage. Ranjit Deshmukh develops models for planning and operations of low carbon electricity grids and analyzes tradeoffs between economic, environmental, and social objectives for regions in the U.S., India, and Africa. These models optimize wind, solar, and other generation, demand, and storage resources for region-specific conditions including spatial and temporal variability of renewable resources. Series: "Institute for Energy Efficiency" [Show ID: 35165]

As brain organoids become more widely used in research, concerns about the development of consciousness arise. Christof Koch discusses how we determine and define consciousness and how we look for the underlying physical signatures of consciousness. Series: "Stem Cell Channel" [Show ID: 35246]