Guest: George Helou , Executive director of the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center at CalTech, and deputy director of the Spitzer Infrared Telescope Science team. We discussed his scientific research: Space infrared astronomy and galaxies. Hosts: James Kennedy and Sebastien Guillot . Duration: 24 minutes....
Guest: Richard Cyburt , assistant professor at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Astrophysics (JINA) of Michigan State University. We discussed his research on nuclear astrophysics, and how it bridges nuclear physics and astrophysics. Hosts: James Kennedy , Sebastien Guillot and Ryan Lynch . Duration: 20 minutes....
Guest: Laura Lopez , from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. We discussed her research on supernova remnants and massive stars, as well as her involvement in public outreach. Hosts: James Kennedy and Sebastien Guillot . Duration: 21 minutes....
This special Black History Month lecture by Frederic Bertley (Vice-President, Franklin Institute, Philadelphia) focuses on contemporary black and brown scientists who are contributing significantly to science. The talk challenges the idea that scientists in general, regardless of race, are not well recognized and celebrated. This talk is sponsored by the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, and the Garvey Institute Inc. in Montreal.
By Bill Coish (Physics, McGill) . How can we realistically use large scale quantum mechanical effects to our advantage? Check out these interviews in Nature and on CBC Radio 1 where Dr. Coish talks about quantum information science.
By Roberta Palmour (Genetics, McGill) . How do specific personality traits themselves predispose to particular types of mental illness? Listen to Roberta Palmour’s interview on CBC about personality disorders and her work with monkeys’ personality traits.
By Jennifer A. Bartz (Psychology, McGill) . Oxytocin is widely known as the “love hormone” released during birth and breastfeeding to bond a mother and child, but it’s released other times, too. Like during an orgasm. Or a romantic date. Oxytocin supposedly overflows us with positive feelings about one another. Or does it? Read more about Dr. Bartz work with oxytocin in this Time Magazine report. Tune into the CBC interview with Dr. Bartz on Freaky Sunday, Feb. 5, that explains how oxytocin is c...
By Emily Bamforth (Ph.D. candidate, Redpath Museum and Biology, McGill) . Is a Pterodactyl really a dinosaur? Could ‘Jurassic Park’ actually happen? Come and find what you may not have known about society’s favorite prehistorical creatures. Check out this interview on CBC Radio 1
By Elena Bennett ( Natural Resource Sciences and McGill School of Environment, McGill) Agricultural landscapes can provide many different ecosystem services, including food, high quality freshwater, opportunities for recreation, and flood control. Yet we often focus narrowly on the production of food, which can unintentionally undermine provision of other key services. The idea of managing for ecosystem services compels us to consider more than one service and obliges us to consider the interact...
Special presentation by Steve Rayner (James Martin Professor of Science and Civilization at the Saïd Business School and Director of the Institute for Science, Innovation and Society, Oxford University). He describes himself as an “undisciplined” scholar lending a social science perspective to major matters of science and technology. He was also listed by Wired Magazine on the 2008 smart list as one of the 15 people the next President should listen to. Join us as we listen to him in the Redpath ...
Of the nearly 600 species and subspecies of primates living today, approximately half are in danger of going extinct. In fact, one subspecies in West Africa, Miss Waldron’s red colobus, is likely extinct. Furthermore, the number of recognized threats to primate survival has increased dramatically over the last decade. A decade ago, disease was not considered a factor that could threaten primate populations with extinction, while today there are a number of cases of dramatic primate population de...
Every tissue in the body requires blood flow to bring nutrients to the tissue. For this reason, there is significant therapeutic advantage to controlling when and where new blood vessels develop. If we could induce new blood vessels, we could improve wound healing. In situation likes cancer, inhibiting blood vessels from growing into a tumour could starve the tumour and inhibit its growth. This lecture will explain the process of vascular development, the physical forces created by blood flow in...
2012 will be the 100th anniversary of Max von Laue’s paper first demonstrating the diffraction or interference of x-rays. X-ray diffraction was the first way scientists had of directly seeing the atoms of the world around us.
This talk takes an overview of the history and the challenges of prediction, from the oracle at Delphi, right up to the latest methods being developed in areas such as systems biology and economics — and argues that our search for the “perfect model” often reveals as much about our sense of aesthetics as it does about the future.
Mini-Science 2011, episode 2 : With its underlying chemistry and physiology, the brain is the organ of behaviour. It is fascinating to explore some highlights from neurochemistry and see how these shape our theoretical and practical understanding of behavioural science.
Mini-Science 2011, episode 1 : In the public mind, “chemicals” equate to “toxins”. The truth is that chemicals are just the building blocks of all matter; they are not good or bad, safe or dangerous. There are safe ways and dangerous ways to use chemicals. The decision is ours.
Mini-Science 2011, episode 3 : Malaria and its consequences have shaped human history. Science’s attempts to control and understand this disease have also evolved. Tracing how successive generations have grappled with, conquered, and ultimately lost the malaria challenge makes for a fascinating scientific adventure.
Mini-Science 2011, episode 4 : Three of the great challenges for the 21st century are energy supply, climate change and global food security; these come together in biofuels. Biofuels can play an important role as a source of renewable and sustainable energy over the long term.
Mini-Science 2011, episode 5 : Cells are the basis of life. However, their function is entirely regulated by the interactions and actions of macromolecules inside the cell as well as in their environment. Modern biophysical chemistry explores the complex choreography of the dance of molecules in cells.
Mini-Science 2011, episode 6 : Three Mile Island and Chernobyl clouded the future for nuclear power. However now, with concerns about our dependence on foreign sources of energy and the evidence of climate change, the nuclear option is gaining some new respectability.
Mini-Science 2011, episode 7 : Combining science, humour, music and magic, you’ve never seen a stage show quite like it! Mini-Science 2011 closes with a blend of entertainment and meaningful science.
Advances in electronics, optics and nanotechnology have led to a tremendous progress in optical imaging over the past years. Gonzalo Cosa presents the specific case of fluorescence imaging, where the possibility of visualizing single fluorescent molecules with exquisite resolution gave rise to the field of Single Molecule Spectroscopy.
Find out how ants have modified their genes in order to reinforce their social behaviors. Learn the latest in research on romantic relationships: how childhood attachment affects one’s success at speed dating and beyond. And go inside the popular Peacebuilding Simulation as political science students struggle to resolve a civil war in a fictional land.
In February 2011, McGill students participated in a field study course in Antarctica, co-ordinated by the non-profit Students on Ice. They crossed the Southern Ocean from Ushuaia to the Antarctic Peninsula and visited many landing sites, conducting oceanographic sampling and exploring the Antarctic environment. Led by Earth and Planetary Sciences prof Eric Galbraith, the 10 McGill students from several faculties joined students from four other universities aboard this spectacular and eye-opening...
The applications of radiation are as wide as the myths surrounding it. In this lecture, Arman Sarfehnia will discuss what radiation is, and look at a brief history of radiation, how it was discovered and what role it has played in our lives. The applications of radiation in diagnostic radiology and radiation oncology will be discussed, and a brief cost-benefit analysis for medical applications will be presented.
What is aging? Recent animal studies have shown that clioquinol — an 80-year-old drug once used to treat diarrhea and other gastrointestinal disorders — can reverse the progression of Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and Huntington’s diseases. According to Dr. Siegfried Hekimi, clioquinol acts irectly on a protein called CLK-1, often informally called “clock-1,” and might slow down the aging process. Learn about this anti-aging medication and the gut realities about the process of getting old....
The 6th annual Trottier Symposium focuses on the difference between science and “pseudo” science. While real science accumulates facts and formulates testable theories to gain a unified understanding of the physical world, pseudoscience relies on anecdotes, ideology and cherry-picked data to support preconceived notions. Pseudoscience masquerading as real science can lead to troublesome consequences, particularly when it comes to matters of health. Unfortunately, aided and abetted by the Interne...
The 6th annual Trottier Symposium focuses on the difference between science and “pseudo” science. While real science accumulates facts and formulates testable theories to gain a unified understanding of the physical world, pseudoscience relies on anecdotes, ideology and cherry-picked data to support preconceived notions. Pseudoscience masquerading as real science can lead to troublesome consequences, particularly when it comes to matters of health. Unfortunately, aided and abetted by the Interne...
The 6th annual Trottier Symposium focuses on the difference between science and “pseudo” science. While real science accumulates facts and formulates testable theories to gain a unified understanding of the physical world, pseudoscience relies on anecdotes, ideology and cherry-picked data to support preconceived notions. Pseudoscience masquerading as real science can lead to troublesome consequences, particularly when it comes to matters of health. Unfortunately, aided and abetted by the Interne...
Dinosaurs have undergone a remarkable renaissance in recent decades. Far from being sluggish reptilian monsters doomed to extinction, new discoveries and new methods of scientific investigation have revealed dinosaurs as complex, highly active animals capable of sophisticated behaviors and as one of the most diverse and successful groups of land creatures in the history of life on Earth.
