Working in Cuba and The Trials of J. Robert Oppenheimer

I only found one thing happening tonight - Working in Cuba at the Wenner-Gren Foundation. Show up at 6 for the dinner reception or later for the discussion. Modern anthropologists will discuss their studies in Cuba.

Also, for anyone interested in the Father of the Atomic Bomb (and who wants to stay warm), The Trials of J. Robert Oppenheimer will be on PBS tonight. Click here to read the review and here to see the trailer.

A Nobel Laureate at the Guggenheim!

I just picked this one up on my radar - on Sunday night, Nobel Laureate Günter Blobel will be at the Guggenheim to talk about how cells have evolved over the past 4 billion years. He will also be talking about his research that looks at how the cell directs proteins to their correct locations.
Sunday, Jan. 25 at 7:30pm
Guggenheim Museum
1071 Fifth Avenue

This Weekend

I've been a little under the weather this week and haven't been able to do much besides sleep. Fortunately, I only missed writing about one science event - Powering Up Cities for Plug-In Hybrids, which was on Wednesday. Sorry, hybrid enthusiasts.

This weekend's outlook for events is slightly less bleak - depending on who you ask.

Liquid Assets: A History of New York City's Water System
For anyone wondering where our water comes from, this is the lecture to attend. Running water was a huge boost to public health in the city; it's the big reason why we don't see diseases like yellow fever and cholera anymore. Some of the earliest aqueducts have been retired. For example, there used to be a reservoir where the library at Bryant Park stands today. Author Diane Galusha will be presenting the history of the aqueducts and reservoirs that have been built and destroyed over the past 170 years and the consequences of these projects.
Friday, Jan. 23 at 7pm
AMNH
81st Street and Central Park West

Make A Worm Compost Bin
Even though my sister's fiance has tried to convince my family that vermiculture is the greatest, I haven't hopped onto the bandwagon. Having a worm bin just seems like a lot of work and well, smelly. I'm also wary about how much space these annelids may take up in my teeny apartment. But, the Lower East Side Ecology Center is determined to show New Yorkers that even we can benefit from composting. On Saturday, they will be hosting a workshop and you can take home your very own worm habitat for $40.
Saturday, Jan. 24 at 1pm
Jefferson Market Public Library
425 Avenue of the Americas

Make A Terrarium
If the annelids are a little too icky, head over to Wave Hill in the Bronx to make your very own terrarium. Terrariums are those little worlds in a jar that most of us made when we visited the local botanical garden in elementary school. You can make a fancier version for $65 this weekend, or just watch this video and create one for much less.
Saturday, Jan. 24 at 1pm
Wave Hill House
West 249th Street and Independence Avenue
Bronx, NY

Darwin and Dancing This Weekend

Take a look at what's happening this weekend -

Darwin's Challenge at First Light Festival
What would happen if Darwin wound up on a modern reality show like Survivor? Tonight, the First Light Festival will host a reading of Darwin's Challenge, a play based on that premise.
Friday, Jan. 16 at 7pm
The Ensemble Studio Theatre
549 West 52nd Street

One Step Beyond
Even if it isn't the most explosive party this side of the Milky Way as its website promotes, One Step Beyond draws a lot of twenty-somethings with its great music, inexpensive drinks, and unique atmosphere. Where else can you learn about the Big Bang while you're dancing?
Friday, Jan. 16 at 9pm
AMNH, Rose Center
81st Street and Central Park West

Imagination on Behalf of Our Planet
Art and science come together in this exhibit that features artwork that relates to current environmental issues.
Now until Jan. 25
NY Hall of Science
47-01 111th Street
Queens

Milky Way to Andromeda: Suck It.

For a while, the Milky Way has played the part of the underdog in the universe because scientists thought it was much smaller than other galaxies. Well it looks like our little galaxy has been eating its spinach - or at least inspiring us to measure mass more accurately. Recently, scientists have discovered that the Milky Way has 50% more mass than previously believed. Even Stephen Colbert noticed:

The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Little Victories - America's Galaxy Is Big

Colbert at Christmas
Colbert Christmas DVD

Green Screen
Bill O'Reilly Interview

Mars Attacks! Well, more like Enceladus Attacks!

Since I live with a space robot engineer, I often get to hear about extraterrestrial life and Mars and all of that good stuff. We are currently looking for signs of life on Mars, and we are looking for signs that life can exist on other solar system objects. Wired Magazine lists the top 5 places where we may actually find living organisms. Who knows, maybe ET was phoning home to Europa?

Stem Cells, Our Economy, Palomar, Attention Spans

Whew, my brain is fuzzy today, but I did manage to take a look at what is happening later this week. It's a great mix of biology, economy, social science, and astronomy, so most people in the science world will be happy with at least one of these options. Here's a look at what's going on Wednesday and Thursday:

Update on Neural Stem Cells
They have been hailed as the T-1000s of human cells (except that they aren't killer robots... we hope) because they have the ability to become any cell. We've all heard something about the stem cell debates, but what are they really and what have we discovered about them recently that will help cure diseases like cancer and heart damage?
Wednesday, Jan. 14 at 7pm
92nd Street Y
1395 Lexington Avenue

Will The Economy Overshadow The Environment?
Before the economy was as stagnant as the Gowanus Canal, we had dreams of fixing the climate. Will those dreams stagnate as well? A panel of professionals will be at the Brooklyn Center for the Urban Environment to discuss how we can integrate climate change into policy and action.
Thursday, Jan. 15 at 6pm
Brooklyn Center for the Urban Environment
168 7th Street between 2nd and 3rd Ave.

Truth Uncorked: Maggie Jackson
These days with so many things going on around us, it seems impossible to not have ADD. Author Maggie Jackson will be at this month's installment of Truth Uncorked to talk about how we are losing our ability to focus in the modern world, and to give advice on what we can do to prevent that loss. Wine is included in the cost of admission.
Thursday, Jan. 15 at 6:30pm
The Dactyl Foundation
64 Grand Street

Screening: The Journey to Palomar
The Natural History Museum will screen this documentary about the astronomer George Ellery Hale who conceived Mount Wilson Observatory, Yerkes Observatory, and most famously, Palomar Observatory. He also helped transform Caltech from a vocational school to a booty-kicking research institution. After the screening, Astronomer Ben Oppenheimer will be on hand to talk about recent discoveries as well as the future of astronomy.
Thursday, Jan. 15 at 6:30pm
AMNH, Hayden Planetarium
81st Street and Central Park West

Sonic Vision: How We See Music

When I first heard that the American Museum of Natural History had a visual music show, I immediately thought back to the dazed & confused kids from high school who would declare that the Pink Floyd laser show had changed their lives. So when my friend told me that she had loved Sonic Vision, I was a little skeptical. But then Joanne, the editor of Under The Microscope, told me that she had managed to score free tickets for me to see the show. How could I pass up free?

So I trekked to the Upper West Side of Manhattan to check it out. Walking into the Space Theater, I overheard an older man asking his wife, "Is this supposed to be educational?"

"It's supposed to experiential," she replied.

Experiential it was.

Sonic Vision is way more than a laser light show – it's an all-embodying musical experience. Combining a soundtrack hand-picked by Moby with trippy 3-D animations, it's easy to get lost in the moment and feel like you're on a rollercoaster that is spinning through space. For anyone who hasn't been to the American Museum of Natural History in New York, the planetarium is a wonder in itself – a seven-story white orb that seems to float in the building. But the theater felt like a rocketship during Sonic Vision.

Radiohead's "Everything in Its Right Place" started the show with digital effects making it look and feel like we were blasting into space. The next 30 minutes sent us tumbling through wormholes in space, into alien temples, and past a blue talking head surrounded by tribal masks with songs by Coldplay, U2, The Flaming Lips, Prodigy, and more.

Even though Sonic Vision has passed its 5th anniversary, it fails to feel outdated – with a couple exceptions. At one point, the show hailed the rave period with robots dancing and shaking sparkling glow sticks. Also, the visualizations sometimes looked similar to those that I could watch on my computer. However, my computer screen can't do what SonicVision did – make me lose myself in the experience. The planetarium even had some kind of rumbling mechanism on the seats that made it actually feel like large space objects were barely missing us as we flew by them. The effect felt so real that I would warn anyone who easily gets motion sickness to be prepared for slight nausea.

Music affects us in all in different ways. Most of the visualizations didn't represent how I see music, but they still managed to transfix me. At some moments it was a rollercoaster ride; at other times it was a thought-provoking triumph. My favorite point in the show was during David Bowie's "Heroes," when archival footage and photographs of families and events floated by us - a reference to how music makes us remember the past.

As I left, I overheard an eleven-year-old girl say, "I had to remind myself we were on the ground!" After the show, it was hard to come back to Earth.

For more information, click here.
To view the trailer, click here.

Looking Ahead to Monday and Tuesday

I suppose the holidays are officially over when suddenly there are a ton of events to choose from. On Monday, you'll have four options:



See What You've Been Missing - The Science of Vision
Caltech professor Cristof Koch will be at NYAS Monday night to talk about the third sense in this year's lecture series - the sense of sight. Unlike the jumping spider in the picture, we have only two eyes, and these eyes have proven to be one of the most useful tools we have to survive in our surroundings. As Koch speaks about the science behind vision, "fingersmith" and pick-pocket Apollo Robbins will be demonstrating how vision can fail us with his sleight of hand tricks.
Monday, Jan. 12 at 6:30pm
NYAS
250 Greenwich Street, 40th floor

Is God A Mathematician?
Astrophysicist Mario Livio will be at AMNH to talk about how great math is and to highlight famous mathematicians and scientists throughout history who have used its awesomeness for the greater good.
Monday, Jan. 12 at 7:30pm
AMNH, Hayden Planetarium
81st Street and Central Park West

Screening: The Trials of J. Robert Oppenheimer
The father of the atomic bomb is the subject of this PBS documentary that will be playing at the Paley Center for Media.
Monday, Jan. 12 at 6:30pm
Paley Center
25 West 52nd Street

Cafe Science: Packaging Proteins
Diseases such as cystic fibrosis are caused by cells' inability to recognize faulty proteins. Research into the mechanisms behind quality control can shed light on possible cures. Columbia professor Liz Miller will be speaking at this month's Cafe Science about protein folding and quality control.
Monday, Jan. 12 at 6pm
Picnic Market Cafe
2665 Broadway between 101st and 102nd

Secret Science Club: Living Skyscrapers
Secret Science Club is throwing us all for a loop this month and hosting their event on a Tuesday instead of the having it on the usual Wednesday spot. This month, ecologist Dickson Despommier will talk about a visionary plan for future skyscrapers - vertical farming.
Tuesday, Jan. 13 at 8pm
Union Hall
702 Union Street at 5th Ave
Park Slope

This Weekend

Looking ahead to this weekend -

Donald Prothero Speaks Again!
Instead of paying $15 to see Dr. Prothero speak at the Natural History Museum, spend that money on Saturday brunch before heading over to see the same man give a lecture to the NY Skeptics Club.
Saturday, Jan. 10 at 1pm
University Settlement
184 Eldridge at Rivington

Falling Bodies
Imagine if Galileo met Primo Levi. What would the soundtrack sound like? Well, someone wrote a music composition that addresses that vital question. And other people are going to be performing that music this Sunday at the Rubin.
Sunday, Jan. 11 at 6pm
Rubin Museum of Art
150 West 17th at 7th ave.

Weird Winter

Since I grew up in Texas, I have always been intrigued and totally confused by winter weather. Texans think they have a winter – hey, the temperature does drop to 50 degrees F – but when ice and snow comes, we have no idea what to do. We shut down schools. We shut down freeways. We basically go into apocalyptic panic mode.

Moving to New York has not changed my fascination with winter; in fact, I am even more intrigued by it. Everytime I come across a patch of black ice, I stop to inspect it. When it snows, I wonder to myself, “How can every single flake be unique?” When I hear people coughing up what seems to be a mutant alien child from their lungs on the subway, I think, “Why do more people seem to get sick in the winter?” In homage to my ignorance, I am writing a multi-part series dedicated to the weirdness of winter.

Mystery #1: Is Every Snowflake Unique?
There are so many snowflakes in the world, so it's hard to imagine that none of them are identical twins. I found a really satisfying and scientific explanation at Caltech professor Dr. Libbrecht's website. Dr. Libbrecht explains that the probability of two snowflakes being identical at the molecular level is almost zero. The average snow crystal has around 10^18 (or one billion squared) water molecules in it, so it has a multitude of possible arrangements. Thinking about it in smaller terms, the number of configurations of six cheerleaders in a pyramid amounts to 6 x 5 x 4 x 3 x 2 x 1 = 720 different combinations - as long as the skinny cheerleaders can hold it together at the bottom. That's only six individuals. And with 10^18 individual molecules, the number of possible formations becomes mind-boggling.

Mystery #2: Does a Fireplace Make a Home Colder?
It sounds crazy, but having a fire in a fireplace can actually have a cooling effect in a house. Fire consumes the air around it, creating a pressure gradient. There's less air in the fireplace's room and more air in the surrounding rooms. To compensate for this difference, air from other rooms of the house and (unfortunately) leaks in the walls flows toward the fire and makes those rooms colder. In a way, cold air from outside is being pulled into the house to feed the fire. And instead of compensating for the cold drafts, most of the heat from the fireplace escapes through the chimney. So if you're looking for efficiency, the best thing to do is to seal air leaks and turn up the thermostat.

Mystery #3: Can Icicles Kill?
I remember talking to a girl in 3rd grade who told me that if she ever killed anyone, she would use an icicle as the murder weapon. That way, the evidence would simply melt away. I don't know where she heard that idea, but my response was in two parts: one, I slowly backed away from the girl who divulged this information to me, and two, I developed a fear of icicles. They may look innocent simply hanging from the eaves, but they really do look like they could seriously hurt someone. They are incredibly sharp and since they hang at least 15 feet or more in the air, they have a good amount of potential energy. Combining the formulas for potential and kinetic energy, if an 10 pound icicle drops 5 meters (around 15ft), it will hit the ground at a speed of over 20 mph. The force would be around 23 Newtons, enough to penetrate the skin. I wouldn't like any sharp object to fall on me at that speed with that force, especially if it were a particularly massive object.
It turns out that around 100 people in Russia die each year from icicles falling on them. I couldn't find the number of victims in the US, but here's a great article about it. Supposedly there's a Mythbusters episode about it, too.

My next entry will cover winter and the human body - why we seem to get sick more often in the winter, if we really lose all of that heat from our heads, and other weird winter stuff.

First Light Festival

For those of you who like your arts with a side of science, you can check out the First Light Festival. It's sponsored by the Alfred P. Sloan Project which has funded a ton of arts/science-related things in New York City and beyond. Elaine's Brain, a play about a woman who turns to science for therapy, will be showing on Thursday. The First Light Festival will be running now until the end of January. For more information, click here.

Drosophila, Trilobites, and Dinosaurs, Oh My!

This Thursday, the animal kingdom will be taking over Manhattan:

New York Area Drosophila Discussion Group
Fruit flies. To all the naysayers that say the fruit fly is a mere nuisance, I say harumph. The fruit fly is the reason that we know about chromosomes and other mainstays of modern genetics. All of genetics is not based on a simple Punnitt square. This Thursday, fruit fly scientists from all over the city will be at the New York Academy of Science to present their newest discoveries about this little bugger.
Thursday, Jan. 8 at 6pm
NYAS
250 Greenwich Street, 40th floor

What the Fossils Say and Why it Matters
As much as I love fruit flies, I will be heading to this event because Donald Prothero will be speaking there. Prothero taught my paleontology class in college, and his lectures were colorful - almost as colorful as the fossil-themed t-shirts he wore to each lecture. He will be talking about how fossils provide some of the best evidence for evolution and about recent discoveries of fossils that represent invertebrate transitions and the link between apes and humans. Maybe he'll wear his trilobite tee, too.
Tuesday, Jan. 8 at 6:30pm
AMNH, Linder Theater
81st Street and Central Park West

Stop Goofing Off and Get Back to Work!

Well, I've finally unpacked my bags, recovered from New Year's, and now it's time to get back to work. After a short break, science events will begin again this week. Here's a look at what's happening on Tuesday, the 6th:

The How and Why of Climate Change and What It Means for the Future
For those who haven't heard about the greenhouse effect or global warming, there will be a chance to learn about it once and for all. Edmond Mathez, AMNH curator and author of a new book on climate change, will show how we know climate change is real and talk about the repercussions that may occur if we ignore the warning signs. He will also be talking about what we can do to prevent global warming.
Tuesday, Jan. 6 at 6:30pm
AMNH, Linder Theater
81st Street and Central Park West

Malcolm Gladwell: The Science of Success
The author of The Tipping Point and Outliers will be at the 92nd Street Y to talk about people who have stood out in modern history such as Bill Gates and the Beatles. What is the basis for their success, and what do they do differently from everybody else? Gladwell will offer his opinions and observations on the topic. Tickets are sold out, but may be available one hour before the lecture.
Tuesday, Jan. 6 at 8pm
92nd Street Y
1395 Lexington Avenue

Polar Light This Weekend

Since I have been required to work the past week (boo hiss to actual work!), I haven't been able to provide updates this week. My apologies. But in the spirit of this crazy snow storm that we're having right now, I thought I would quickly point you to an exhibition with a frosty theme. Check out the Polar Light series by photographer Zaria Forman at the North Look gallery. It's sure to make you appreciate the stainless beauty of the cold instead of focusing on the weird gray slush that we're used to around here.

Sick Celebrities and Photographs

Unfortunately, my job has gotten really busy the last couple of days which makes blog-writing move to the wayside. Here's a look at two events tonight:

When The Famous Get Sick and The Sick Get Famous
Ever notice how diseases don't get much publicity until some celebrity gets it? A lot of people tonight will weigh in on the phenomenom.

Art/Sci Collision: Nest and Egg
Rosamond Purcell just published a terrific photography book that captures (surprise!) birds' nests and their eggs. She will be talking about the book tonight at AMNH.

Stay dry tonight!

My favorite blog right now

belongs to Carl Zimmer, who spoke last week to the NY Skeptics Society. He even has an entire section dedicated to science-inspired tattoos. Since my subject of choice is evolution, Old Four Lobes is my favorite so far.

Monday Madness!

It's so frigid outside that it may be tough to motivate New Yorkers to leave their cozy apartments tonight. For those of you who are less wimpy in the harsh winter elements, here are four great options:

The Immortality Pill
Professor Brent Stockwell will be the speaker for Columbia's last Cafe Science of the season in a session intriguingly titled "The Immortality Pill." Stockwell studies cell death pathways and will be talking about how learning about cell death can help cure cancer and Huntington's Disease.

Role of Clouds in Earth's Climate
Remember when you first found out that clouds weren't soft and fluffy but were actually cold and wet? I was highly disappointed. Even if they aren't what we imagined, they are still amazing in the ways that they contribute to climate and weather. CUNY professors will be on hand to explain.

The Moveable Feast
Speaking about a topic dear to my heart, UVA professor Kath Weston will be addressing sex/gender issues and other contributors to income disparity. This event will have a free dinner reception beforehand, so I highly recommend it to people who want to learn and save a few bucks too.

Why Return to the Moon?
Since I was talking about this very topic to my roommate a few weeks ago, I will be attending this event at AMNH. I always thought that we basically figured out the Moon's importance, its geology and its history thirty-five years ago (Let's just forget about the people who think the whole moon-landing was a hoax). MIT professor Maria Zuber will be trying to convince me and other attendees that going back to the Moon is vital to our space program.

Under The Microscope

There's nothing really going on tonight, but I thought I would casually mention my shout out on UnderTheMicroscope.com. Apparently, I'm officially a writer. Under The Microscope is a great resource and forum for women in science and it's funded by IBM and the NSF so it's legit, yo.

Tonight

Tonight there are no less than three awesome science events happening on this tiny island. If only I could clone myself! But then I would inevitably end up on a rooftop somewhere and my mother or husband of 25 years would have to decide between me and the clone. She or he would probably pick the wrong one and that would be the end for me. So I suppose I'll just have to settle with going to one lecture tonight...

Here's a look at tonight's talks:

Giants Of Science: The Social Networks of Insects
I've been fascinated by ants and bees since I was a young girl on my ranch in Texas. I used to take sticks and excavate ant hills, looking at the extensive network of tunnels that the little guys built. Then I learned that the societies of ants and bees are ruled by women. How cool is that? Tonight Pulitzer Prize winners Edward O. Wilson and Bert Hoelldoebler will be discussing the crazy world of insects. They will talk about how these societies communicate and cooperate in order to thrive, and they will touch on how this relates to primate societies.

Communicating Science
When I taught 7th grade science, what I told my students wasn't necessarily what they heard or remembered. One time I taught them the mnemonic "Infants Poop More And Teethe" for the stages of mitosis. Instead of remembering the actual phases, they just talked about babies and their bowels a lot more often. So it's important to know how to communicate knowledge in an efficient and effective way. Tonight at NYAS, Dr. Matthew Nisbet will be giving pointers on how to accurately teach science to the public.

Carl Zimmer: The Darwin Beat
Author Carl Zimmer will be talking to the New York Skeptics Society tonight in a lecture titled The Darwin Beat: Reporting from the Frontiers of Evolution. As I've mentioned before, evolution is a topic that continues to draw heated opinions from all kinds of people. Zimmer is an author who has written for Discover, Scientific American, The New York Times, and others, so I am confident that he'll have an interesting take on the controversy.