Cafe Scientifique
You are cordially invited to come and chat with a scientist about an
interesting and/or controversial science topic. Patterned after
the
International
Cafe Scientifique, the Science Department has initiated an outreach
program to promote public interest in science.
Our goal is simply to have regularly scheduled sessions for informal
discussions of scientific topics.
The LCC Science Department will present the next
Café Scientifique event on Tuesday, November 17, 2009
at 7:00pm
at Schuler Books and Music in the
Eastwood Towne Center.
The topic of conversation will be:
Do you live in an alternate universe?
What's all the fuss about dark matter, string theory, parallel
universes, and all that? We will discuss and explore some of the
oddities of modern physics!
Future Cafe Scientifique Topics
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
"Blood Transfusions: A Modern
Perspective
for Patients and Their Families"
• What are blood components and
how are they derived and used in various clinical situations?
• What are my chances of contracting an infectious
disease from a blood transfusion?
• Is it safe to donate blood?
• What are artificial bloods and how might they be
used?
• What is autologous blood?
• What is donor-directed blood and is it really
safer than that derived from donor centers?
• Is there a shortage of blood & its components in
the U.S.?How many patients at Sparrow Hospital receive blood in a year?
Tuesday, January 19, 2009
"Corn, Verbs, and Spit"
Scientists weave together a variety of data that make it possible to discover relationships between what we see in the present and what happened in the past. We will look at a few particularly intriguing examples that reveal much about life in America before Columbus and in Polynesia before the arrival of Westerners. Along the way we will chat about how these techniques can be used in many other settings, from the origins of the universe to the history of life on earth.
Previous topics have included:
- "The Dancing Plague" It began sometime in the middle of July 1518, in the medieval city of Strasbourg. A woman stepped into the street and started to dance. Within days more than 40 had been overcome with the same compulsion and by the end of August as many as 400 people had at some point joined in this crazed dance. We do not know how many people succumbed to exhaustion but the chronicles agree that many died. What could have impelled people to dance themselves to death? In trying to solve the enigma of the dancing plague, we will explore the strangest capabilities of the human mind and the extremes to which fear and irrationality can lead us.
- "Sloths, toucans, and strangler figs........who cares? What can tiny Costa Rica, a Central American country the size of West Virginia, teach us about how to do things right (at least when it comes to preserving biodiversity)? What is biodiversity and how is it measured? Why are rainforests so fragile? Why is the conservation of tropical biodiversity so important? Vivid slides of wildlife and plants, taken on eight trips to Costa Rica, will enhance the discussion.
- Dark Ages in Cyberspace: Unscientific Movements on the
Internet.
The Internet has served as a vast source of scientific information and as a medium for scientific discussion. Despite this, there exists a myriad of on-line communities and organizations that promote unscientific arguments and agendas. We will investigate a variety of these movements, scientifically analyze their main points, determine their political motives, and tackle some of their commonly used arguments. - It's
Only a Theory
When scientists speak of scientific theories, laws, hypotheses and guesses, what do they mean? Scientists' use of these terms has changed dramatically in the centuries since modern science began. Understanding what these terms once meant and what they mean in modern scientific practice is essential to evaluating and making decisions as informed citizens. -
Darwin: The Third Century Begins
Charles R. Darwin was born on February 12, 1809. We'll look back at his life and his legacy of scientific work, and what that may mean for the coming century. While Darwin's influence is most pronounced in the transformation of natural history into the modern science of biology, he made seminal contributions to many scientific fields, including geology, botany, psychology, ethology, and agriculture. Join us for an evening of discussion of the work of an exceptional lifetime. -
Nuclear Power: A Precarious or a Plausible Source of Energy?
Nuclear power is once again a topic of conversation as we consider alternatives to fossil energy sources. We will discuss the basics of nuclear power generation and related issues, including waste storage and processing, health effects of nuclear radiation, security issues and lessons learned from history. -
Cloning: From Frogs to Humans?
A little more than a decade ago, Dolly the cloned sheep made world wide head lines. However, she was not the first cloned organism. We will discuss the long and controversial history of cloning and what our current technology can do. Can we clone a dinosaur, as in Jurassic Park? Can we clone a dead cat? Can we clone a human? Should human cloning be allowed? -
Bad to the Bone: Horrors! Can Our Genes Help Make Us Evil.
One of the most difficult problems in society today is understanding why some people intentionally inflict emotional and physical pain on others. Such intentional pain occurs not only on a local level--within families, with "friends," or in work situations, but also on a national and international scale--witness Hitler's Holocaust, Stalin's notorious purges, and Chairman Mao's knowing slaughter of tens of millions. Neuroscience and genetics are providing the potential for a revolution in our understanding of why "bad" people do what they do.- Perch and Pike, Punters and Puffers and Political Polls. Sampling is a way to answer questions that start out "How many...." or "What's the average...." when we can't count or measure every individual. We'll talk about some advantages and disadvantages of sampling, focusing on how to count the fish in a lake, how to ask embarrassing questions when those responding don't trust you to keep a secret, and what "within the margin of error" means in political polling.
- Species Reintroduction: Beneficial or Damaging?
For years, humans have been introducing and reintroducing plants and animals into the environment. A live porcupine and peregrine falcon will be used to discuss the reintroduction projects that these two species have been involved in. Also, there will be discussion on the control and management of purple loosestrife and wolves in Michigan.- Spores-Friends or Foes? Bioterrorism & Bionanotechnology
For some bacteria, it's not simply divide and multiply, divide and multiply. Instead, they sometimes produce extraordinarily tough nano-sized particles called spores. We will talk about why some spores are a threat while others are quite benign and may, in time, become a key tool in the field of bionanotechnology.- This Discussion May Break the Law: The collision of intellectual property and intellectual freedom.
Recent legal disputes revolving around the patenting of scientific advances have led to a situation where even the discussion of certain scientific observations may be considered patent infringement and subject to persecution. What is the pivotal discovery that has prompted this controversy? If we talk about it some attorneys say we are breaking the law! We will reveal the secret and discuss how we should balance the need for intellectual property and the need for free discourse.- Building the Ship in a Bottle on the Ship in a Bottle.
How are elements heavier than iron created? Why is there a difference between the predicted and observed abundance of elements? What is the precise nature of ultra-dense, several-tons-in-a-teaspoon neutron stars, which astronomers know to be among the brightest sources of X-rays in the universe? The National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory (NSCL) at Michigan Sate University is one of the world's top facilities for producing new versions of atomic nuclei. By everyday standards, this is a construction process on a tiny scale, a necessary if challenging step in understanding how small objects on the atomic scale behave. It is a quest that draws hundreds of researchers each year from around the world to request a nucleus be built with a certain mixture of ingredients. What fuels interest in this science?- Why Does My Neighbor Hate Evolution? Understanding Antievolution, and Supporting Science Education.
The polls have consistently shown that between 40 and 45% of citizens in the USA reject evolutionary science outright, putting us behind every other industrialized nation and just ahead of Turkey concerning general acceptance of evolution. Why is this the case, and just why is it that the antievolution advocates have had decades of success in weakening education on this topic?
Sales of organic foods are projected to reach $32 billion by 2009. Are organic foods really more healthy? Are the techniques of the 20th century's "Green Revolution" really that bad? Can we feed the world without synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides?'- Is There Life on Mars (or elsewhere)?
For millennia, humankind has looked up at the stars and wondered: Are we alone in the universe? Today, we send scientific probes to explore the planets, moons, and asteroids in our solar system. Where should we look for life? What should we look for? How will we recognize alien life if we see it? Why is water essential for life? How does knowledge about microorganisms that live in extreme environments on Earth (like Antarctica or deep-sea hot springs) influence ideas about where life could
exist in the solar system? Recommended book:
Lonely Planets: the Natural Philosophy of Alien Life
by David Grinspoon.- Stabilization Wedges Climate Change Game.
What should we do about greenhouse gas emissions? Continue "business as usual" and double emissions by 2055 resulting in significant rise in global warming or keep emissions flat until mid-century and then work to reduce them avoiding the worst case scenario of climate change?- An Inconvenient Truth: The Rest of the Story.
What are exponential growth, the first and second laws of ecology, and lag time? Why are they critical when considering global warming? How close are we to triggering a tipping point and producing, '...sudden, catastrophic changes across the planet'? What are Schellnhuber's twelve tipping points and how close are we to that?- Forensic Science: CSI Reality - Is there a "CSI Effect"?
The gap between public perception and reality within popular TV crime dramas is vast! Is there an emerging paradigm shift in Forensic Identification Services because of converging legal and scientific forces?- The Oddities of Sound, Music, & Hearing.
What your brain hears that you don't; How do we process music?
Please join us at one or all of these events. If you have any questions, please contact Alex Azima by phone 517-483-1110 or by e-mail alex@lcc.edu.
