Science for the Public

Science for the Public is a grassroots nonprofit organization committed to the promotion of adult science literacy. The organization hosts public presentations by scientists at Boston Public Library, a community science TV series, and online science resources. Citizen participation is actively encouraged in the development of our programs and resources. Today, many of the most pressing issues of modern life require the expertise of scientists. Citizens must therefore have a reasonable understanding of science in order to function as responsible members of society. Further, as the pace of scientific discovery accelerates, modern citizens must be able to grasp new concepts and information that are reshaping our perspectives. Although the issue of science literacy is now being addressed at the K-12 level, there is no science curriculum for the adult population. And it is the adult population that votes, pays taxes and raises children.

http://www.scienceforthepublic.org/

Virtual

Frozen in Time: Preserving for Later Revival

11:30am Tue, Jan 09, 2024

Innovations in bioengineering are revolutionizing medicine. Preservation of tissues, organs, sperm/eggs can be preserved in several different ways for future use. Methods include specialized forms of supercooling, vitrification (especially for eggs), and drying (anhydropreservation). Many of the models for these developments come from nature: organisms that transition to frozen or dehydrated states for extremely long periods –and then revive. Mehmet Toner is an international pioneer in this field. He describes the significance of the preservation-revival research, the different methods, and the remarkable creatures in nature that serve as models for these methods.

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2000 Years of Oceans and Climate

Tue, Nov 14, 2023

The major ocean currents strongly influence regional climate stability. Today’s rapidly warming oceans will ultimately alter major currents such as the AMOC, with huge consequences for global climate. In order to predict when and where these climate shifts will occur, oceanographers gather data over a long period of time and compare that data with historical variations in ocean temperature and currents. Hali Kilbourne’s focus on 2000 years of the relationship between oceans and climate provides important data for accurate climate models.
In this discussion Dr. Kilbourne describes how scientists collect and analyze the data, and what oceanographers can predict regarding sea level changes, stability of major currents and the coming impact on global climate.

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Climate Change

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Virtual

The Urban Future: On Earth…and Elsewhere

12:00pm Tue, Dec 05, 2023

Today, more than 50 percent of the world’s population lives in cities. By 2050, some 75 percent will be urbanites. Future urban design will emphasize not only innovative architecture and engineering, but the environmental, health, and social aspects of city dwelling also. And the plans anticipate potential settlements beyond Earth -- Mars in particular. Justin Hollander is an internationally recognized expert on urban planning, with many academic and media contributions. He discusses the evolving concern for healthy urban design and the numerous challenges involved in this transition. Dr. Hollander also discusses his recent book on the prospect of Mars colonization: The First City on Mars: An Urban Planner’s Guide to Settling the Red Planet

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Harvesting Electricity Out of Thin Air

Tue, Oct 24, 2023

The air contains an enormous amount of electricity. Clouds are full of it. But how to actually capture it for a continuous energy resource? Dr. Jun Yao and his colleagues at UMass-Amherst have created a small-scale cloud they call the “generic Air-gen effect” that produces a reliable stream of electricity that can be harvested for general use. In this interview, Dr. Yao describes how the Air-gen innovation was developed, how the electricity is harvested from the air via a special material made of protein nanowires, and when the device can be scaled up for general use.

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Our Shaking Earth: Understanding and Predicting Earthquakes

Tue, Nov 28, 2023

Our planet is subjected to more than 50 earthquakes a day. Fortunately, most do not cause significant damage. But some earthquakes are extremely destructive (as recent events in Turkey and Afghanistan demonstrate) The complexity of these tectonic plates shifts make prediction very challenging but fascinating work. Dr. Meade explains the importance of better prediction of earthquakes and the huge challenge of developing better prediction tools.

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Analyzing Clouds and Climate Change

Tue, Sep 26, 2023

Clouds are an essential component of the climate. In normal circumstances, they stabilize Earth’s temperature, both by preserving the planet’s heat like a blanket and blocking excess solar radiation. But with prolonged accumulation of atmospheric CO2, the planet overheats, leading to dramatic effects, including massive wildfires –which release particles called “biomass aerosols.” Those particles seed clouds that affect the climate. In this program, Dr. Cziczo explains how these clouds form and why the excess of biomass particles concern climate scientists.

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Climate Change

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An Update on Those Forever Chemicals

Tue, Oct 17, 2023

PFAS, a group of chemicals added to many everyday products, became a concern years ago in the medical community, but governmental agencies were slow to impose regulations. It is now clear that these “forever” chemicals are everywhere and in everyone. For years, epidemiologists have worked to establish the effects of these toxins on human development and general health. Even now, though, controls on PFAS production and use are inadequate. Philippe Grandjean has been a leader in the international scientific research on PFAS. He provides, in this discussion, the information the public needs for dealing with PFAS-related health issues, and also explains why so much data was not available to researchers until recently.

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Stem Cell Research and Communicating Science

Tue, Oct 03, 2023

Dr. Garlick is known especially for developing stem cells for tissue engineering, specifically for advanced treatments for oral health, cancer, scleroderma and complications of diabetes. He established the Center for Integrated Tissue Engineering at Tufts to accelerate the discovery and clinical application of new drugs using 3D tissues. Dr. Garlick has been equally committed to communicating science to the public. This discussion covers his pioneering stem cell research and how that led to his leadership in science communication.

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Addressing the Threat to Earth System Boundaries

Tue, Sep 12, 2023

Earth Commission, the prestigious international group of scientists, recently published a study that is receiving a great deal of attention. The study in Nature Journal indicates that we have now breached most of the Earth system boundaries that include climate, biodiversity, fresh water, soil and air. Millions of people have already been displaced, worldwide health is threatened, extinctions are accelerating, ecosystems are being destroyed. The authors emphasize two things: (1) that urgent action is required to save the planet; and (2) action must include justice for the masses who are suffering the results of global destruction.

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Going to Mars? Better Take Some Gravity

Tue, Sep 19, 2023

There is plenty of hype about travel to Mars, even living on Mars. However, zero-gravity takes a real toll on the human body.
Dr. Lackner is a prominent expert on the physical impact of zero-gravity as experienced by astronauts. He also investigates the effects of artificial gravity as developed in the famous Ashton Graybiel Lab. He discusses what happens to the humans living on space stations, long periods of travel in zero-gravity, and the scientific efforts to develop artificial gravity.

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