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Science affects us all. Explore a wide variety of topics from technology in our everyday lives to complex global issues. Visit uctv.tv/science
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Aircraft, spacecraft and rockets connect people and goods across vast distances, enable global satellite communication, facilitate fundamental scientific discoveries and empower exploration of the solar system and beyond. The operating environments of these advanced systems require materials that can tolerate extremes of temperature, loading and surrounding chemical environment. Designing materials to survive in these environments has traditionally been a slow, expensive process that requires understanding and control down to the atomic level. In this program, Tresa Pollock, the Alcoa Distinguished Professor of Materials at UC, Santa Barbara, discusses new tools and approaches that accelerate this process and aid in materials discovery will be presented. Series: "GRIT Talks" [Science] [Show ID: 40129]
Martin Kampmann, Ph.D., explores how CRISPR screening and induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology can uncover new insights into neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's. His lab uses CRISPR to identify genes that influence protein aggregation and cellular vulnerability, focusing on neurons, astrocytes, and microglia derived from human stem cells. Kampmann highlights the roles of mitochondria, autophagy, and other cellular pathways in disease progression, emphasizing the importance of understanding both protective and damaging processes. He also discusses the potential contributions of glial cells—especially microglia and astrocytes—to neurodegeneration, sparking ideas for therapeutic targets. Series: "Stem Cell Channel" [Health and Medicine] [Science] [Show ID: 39461]
Birch Aquarium presents the September 2024 Jeffrey B. Graham Perspectives on Ocean Science Lecture with a conversation about ocean noise pollution and its impact on whales. Join Scripps Institution of Oceanography Acoustical Oceanographer Vanessa ZoBell for a deep dive into the importance of studying whale acoustics and how this research is being used to understand threats that whales are facing in the modern ocean. Learn how data-driven, creative solutions are being developed to protect these important animals. Series: "Jeffrey B. Graham Perspectives on Ocean Science Lecture Series" [Science] [Show ID: 40327]
In the Bodega Marine Laboratory, UC Davis’ esteemed faculty and passionate undergraduate students are uncovering the secrets of the marine world.
Through our summer research programs, students get the unique opportunity to conduct independent research and make new discoveries alongside a community of environmental and marine scientists.
Follow students through a day of marine research and witness how evolution and ecology intertwine beneath the waves. Learn about the significant student research projects taking place under the guidance of professors at Bodega Marine Lab and the role of marine science in understanding our world's changing marine ecosystems. Series: "UC Davis News" [Science] [Show ID: 40180]
Everyone experiences mental chaos - when the mind is distracted, racing and anxious. But too much mental chaos can have negative impacts on our health and can limit our creativity. Jaime Pineda, professor emeritus of cognitive science at UC San Diego, has spent decades studying how the mind works. His new book “Controlling Mental Chaos: Harnessing the Power of the Creative Mind” focuses on the importance of psychological wellbeing. He says controlling mental chaos leads to positive outcomes including increased creativity, awareness of connection to others and reduction in distorted perceptions. He talks about ways to quiet the mind through mediation and mindfulness training. Series: "Library Channel" [Science] [Show ID: 40066]
Carrie Bearden, Ph.D., delves into how sleep patterns and brain activity influence memory and cognitive abilities in individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism. Her research reveals that while these individuals tend to sleep longer, their brain activity shows unique differences, such as reduced slow-wave power, which may limit the cognitive benefits typically associated with sleep. Bearden also spotlights groundbreaking studies using advanced tools like stem cells and brain organoids to investigate how specific genes might drive these differences, offering hope for deeper insights and potential interventions. Series: "Autism Tree Project Annual Neuroscience Conference" [Health and Medicine] [Science] [Show ID: 40211]
At a global level, Homo sapiens have reshaped the planet Earth to such an extent that we now talk of a new geological age, the Anthropocene. But each of us shapes our own worlds, physically, symbolically, and in the worlds of imagination. This symposium focuses especially on one form of construction, the construction of buildings, while stressing that such construction is ever shaped by diverse factors from landscape to culture and the construction of history embodied in it - and more. After a brief look at birds building their nests as an example of variation on a species-specific Bauplan, we sample a broad sweep of cultural evolution and niche construction from the earliest stone tools of Neanderthals and Homo sapiens through the Neolithic and the rise of cities to the formal and informal architecture of the present day. Finally, we explore the ways artificial intelligence may further change how humans construct their mental and physical worlds. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 40170]
The symbolic tools we use to design and construct our environments have been transformed by the so-called Cybernetic revolution and the innovations in materials technology that have accompanied them. The integration of computers, the Internet of Things, embedded robotics, and artificial intelligence (AI) supports the development of intelligent/smart buildings where specific levels of automation can be tailored to every type of building use and occupancy. This talk will emphasize smart architecture as being based on insights into how buildings may affect human well-being whether or not novel technology is employed. This involves a critical assessment of when and where AI and related technologies should be incorporated into the built environment. A complementary concern is with how AI will affect the way humans see their place in their social and "natural" worlds when we can no longer see humans as the only possessors of "intelligence." Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 40168]
This talk explores the needs of the poor and homeless around the world, charting the interplay between formal and informal settlements. The key example for this talk will be the favelas of Saõ Paulo in the context of a broader concern with Latin American urbanism and the role of individual initiative, social forces and politics as agencies of urban transformation. Built environments are to be seen not only as technological artifacts but also as providing a spatial politics for transforming where and how vulnerable communities immigrate to cities. Key questions arise concerning the relation of informal housing to the formal infrastructural systems of cities, including access to utilities. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 40167]
Madeline Oudin, Ph.D., is a scientist and mother on a groundbreaking mission to help her daughter, Margot, who has two de novo mutations in the SCN8A gene, which causes epilepsy. Margot's condition causes frequent seizures and developmental challenges. Determined to make a difference, Madeleine and her team are pioneering a cutting-edge genetic therapy that could one day transform treatment for Margot and others like her.
In this heartfelt talk, Madeleine shares how her scientific expertise and personal journey intersect, revealing the highs and lows of developing life-changing treatments. From innovative approaches using Antisense Oligonucleotides (ASOs) to the unexpected success of a ketogenic diet, this story is about resilience, hope, and the power of community. Series: "Autism Tree Project Annual Neuroscience Conference" [Health and Medicine] [Science] [Show ID: 40210]
Gloria Yiu, M.D., Ph.D., delves into the transformative potential of genetic editing technologies in addressing rare immune disorders, with a focus on CD3δ severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID)—a condition characterized by impaired T-cell development and severely compromised immune function. Leveraging her expertise as a physician-scientist, Yiu explores how CRISPR and other precision gene-editing tools can correct genetic mutations at the cellular level, potentially restoring T-cell production and immune resilience in patients with CD3δ SCID. Her presentation underscores the challenges and breakthroughs in treating such life-threatening conditions, emphasizing the role of interdisciplinary research, clinical innovation, and ethical considerations in advancing the frontiers of personalized medicine. Series: "Stem Cell Channel" [Health and Medicine] [Science] [Show ID: 40245]
The site of Göbekli Tepe is well known as a settlement of the transitional phase in SW-Asia, in which the greater mobility of the Palaeolithic increasingly gave way to the more permanent settlement of the Neolithic. This talk uses the example of Göbekli Tepe to explore the linkage of buildings with ecology, climate, economy, cultural, political, symbolic systems, and creation of networks between dwellings. The central question is to what extent it is possible to understand how people in the Neolithic constructed their world. Based on this, the talk will challenge the regnant hypothesis that Göbekli Tepe served as a central ritual site and meeting place that acted as a driving force for the spread of Neolithization. This provides an important addition to developing a perspective on the precursor forms of habitation for buildings whose architectural remains we can examine today. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 40164]
The infections disease landscape is constantly changing - challenging our standard treatments. Can new - as well as ancient - therapies be the answer? Hear from experts on the cutting edge of phage therapy, HIV/AIDS research and cancer care about what is on the horizon to improve human health. Series: "Stem Cell Channel" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 39982]
John Dick, Ph.D., F.R.S., explores the role of CD83, a molecule found in blood stem cells, in how these cells respond to inflammation. His team demonstrates that CD83 becomes highly active during inflammation and contributes to the loss of healthy stem cells. Using advanced gene-editing tools, they show that removing CD83 protects stem cells from inflammation-related damage. This discovery highlights CD83 as a potential marker for identifying inflamed stem cells and as a possible target for treatments to improve recovery after stem cell transplants. He also discusses early findings on potential differences in blood stem cell behavior between men and women and raises questions about how inflammation from severe illnesses, like COVID-19, could impact the blood system as we age. Series: "Stem Cell Channel" [Health and Medicine] [Science] [Show ID: 39949]
This presentation will briefly trace 70,000 years of cultural evolution from the ancient crossing from Sunda to Sahul, via the swift continental colonization during the Ice Age, through the severe impacts on survival during the Last Glacial Maximum, and the socio-territorial reconfigurations during Holocene sea-level rise. The Australian Aboriginal world had become characterized by low environmental impact habitation, complex social organization systems anchored within constructed sacred origin histories, the persistence of relatively simple dwelling types situated within complex settlement sociospatial structures, and a high quality of life for most, with institutional dispute resolution mechanisms to contain conflicts. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 40162]
The transition from Neolithic villages to early cities marked the greatest social transformation faced by our species before the Industrial Revolution. Our ancestors had to learn how to live in new settlements that had more people, higher densities, and more activities than had been known previously. The new adaptations to urban life involved changes in society and social processes, not just individual learning. Some changes came about through social interactions in a process called energized crowding; these include innovations in housing and the use of space, and the establishment of neighborhoods in cities. Other changes were driven by powerful new institutions, including formal governments and social classes. Do ancient cities—and they ways they responded to shocks—might hold useful insights for the development of urban adaptations to climate change today? Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 40165]
Oil and gas are the most traded commodities on the planet; they are also the chief causes of the most grievous harm our species has yet faced, the burgeoning climate crisis. Bill McKibben is the Schumann Distinguished Scholar at Middlebury College and a founder of Third Act, which organizes people over the age of 60 to work on climate and racial justice. He examines how the export of hydrocarbons, in particular, has become an enormous threat to efforts to rein in greenhouse gasses. It explores the role that America – the world’s biggest exporter of gas – plays in this ongoing catastrophe. And it looks at the role that non-tradeable commodities – sunshine and wind – play in easing this crisis. Series: "UC Berkeley Graduate Lectures" [Science] [Show ID: 40220]
Humans construct their physical worlds in part by designing and constructing new tools, habitations, and in due course diverse buildings and, in some cases, towns and cities and construct their symbolic worlds by putting words together to tell stories, articulate plans, tell lies, seek truth, and much more. This talk offers hypotheses that address a key question for anthropogeny: How did biological evolution yield humans with the “construction-ready brains” and bodies that made us capable of the cultural evolution that created the diversity of our mental and physical constructs that we know today? Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 40161]
Elizabeth Blackburn, Ph.D., examines the relationship between telomeres, cellular aging, and metabolic health, highlighting how telomere regulation differs between insulin-sensitive and insulin-resistant individuals. She discusses the effects of environmental factors—like glucose levels, stress hormones, and drugs—on telomere maintenance, which can disrupt cellular coordination and contribute to age-related diseases. Blackburn also shares insights from studies on hibernating lemurs, indicating that while their telomere health remains stable during metabolic slowdowns, it declines upon reactivation. Ultimately, she suggests that telomere maintenance could serve as a valuable biomarker for early signs of metabolic dysfunction, informing strategies for long-term health and resilience. Series: "Stem Cell Channel" [Health and Medicine] [Science] [Show ID: 39944]
This talk provides a deep time perspective for assessing the behavioural implications of the creation of the earliest known structure and the technologies used in its making. Evidence for the earliest structure appears relatively late, about 500,000 years ago in Zambia, and before the evolution of Homo sapiens. The next oldest structures were made by Neanderthals in Europe, 176,000 years ago. The site in Zambia preserves rare evidence for the shaping and fitting together of two tree trunks to make a stable framework. The process of combining parts to make a whole reflects a conceptually new approach to technology, one which remains central to everything we make as humans, including structures. Did the invention of combinatorial technology require the use of language to discuss and evaluate diverse ways to form new constructs and constructions? This question arises from the extended planning and expertise needed in the making of combinatorial tools. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 40160]
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