Morehead Planetarium and Science Center

By Jonathan Frederick

ECU's Dr. Stan Riggs (at left) at October's Carolina Science Cafe

In true 2012 spirit, we officially kicked off our DOOMSDAY SERIES. Last night, we hosted the first of three science cafes focusing on dire issues and what Science has to say about them. Dr. Stan Riggs, a geologist from ECU, gave a passionate talk about the ways barrier islands are supposed to work when money isn’t a concern. Long story short: they’re supposed to move and get wrecked by storms and then they’ll rebuild (on their own tends to be best) and move again. This makes putting houses on them and planning for big-time tourism kind of tricky. Add climate change science and sea level rise to the equation and you get a recipe for unsustainable planning and constant (read: expensive) damage control.

But Dr. Riggs wasn’t all doom and gloom. There are workable solutions out there. (I personally enjoyed his discussion of people being miserable on Highway 12 until they get onto the ferries where they start to relax and have fun. So why not stop worrying about highways and make hi-tech ferries the way to get around?) His take home message: To find the best solutions, we have to be open to what scientists are telling us and use that info to work the problem. We can’t hide from the data.

Tough to argue with that.

Next month, the DOOMSDAY SERIES continues with a look into how

You probably won't have to dress like this for November's Plague & Bioterrorism science cafe

scientists are tackling our concerns relating to bioterrorism. Dr. Bill Goldman, chair of the department of microbiology and immunology in the UNC School of Medicine, will be talking about his research into the Black Plague and how understanding this sneaky contagion can help us be better prepared for deadly outbreaks. He received funding from a National Institutes of Health grant to the Southeast Regional Center of Excellence for Emerging Infections and Biodefense, which is headquartered at UNC-Chapel Hill.

See you on Thursday, November 1, 6 p.m. at Back Bar (part of Top of the Hill Restaurant). Get there a little early to enjoy free appetizers courtesy of our gracious sponsor, Sigma Xi. As always: bring a friend, bring questions, and enjoy.

–Jonathan

Jonathan Frederick is the director of the North Carolina Science Festival, a statewide initiative of Morehead Planetarium and Science Center

By Jonathan Frederick

We’re pleased to announce that the August Science Café will focus on the science of running. Join us on Thursday, August 4^th, 6 p.m. at the Back Bar in downtown Chapel Hill.

The program is free and open to the public. Free appetizers courtesy of Sigma Xi, our gracious sponsor, will be available starting at 5:45 p.m.

More details:

Barefoot or Traditional? The Runner’s Dilemma

What’s better for you? A traditional running shoe with lots of support and cushioning? Or a more minimalist approach, through either very nonsupportive shoes or barefoot running? As physical therapists and UNC researchers studying different running styles, Don Goss and Dr. Mike Gross and share insights from the scientists’ point of view.

Want to take the scientists’ running style survey? Here’s the link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/JGQN2F2.

Featuring:

Don Goss, PT, lead investigator, doctoral student in biomechanics

Dr. Michael Gross, PT, FAPTA

Thursday, Aug. 4, 6 p.m.

Back Bar at Top of the Hill

Downtown Chapel Hill

Free Appetizers courtesy of Sigma Xi (while supplies last…)

Thanks! We hope to see you there,

Jonathan

Link to our page: http://moreheadplanetarium.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=page&filename=current_science_forums.html

Jonathan Frederick works with the North Carolina Science Festival and he just bought new running shoes.

By Jonathan Frederick

Bateman, biomedical engineer

A few Morehead folks had the chance to go down to watch the last shuttle launch and meet up with Dr. Ted Bateman, a biomedical engineer. He has a research project aboard STS-135 and is going to talk about it on Tuesday, July 12, at 6 p.m. at the Back Bar in downtown Chapel Hill.

If you’re at all interested in how space affects astronauts and how studying that might benefit us here on Earth, then this is the cafe for you.

Let’s get to know Ted:

Where did you grow up? I grew up in Fort Collins, Colorado.

What did you want to be when you were a kid? I suppose I was being “trained” to be a scientist.  I won the science fair in sixth grade with a study feeding mice different diets and running them through a maze to see how it affected learning.

How did you get interested in science? My mom was a high school science teacher, and she always brought the lab projects home. I first got interested in NASA when I spent a summer at Kennedy Space Center doing space life sciences experiments while I was an undergrad.

In one sentence, describe your job: I run a lab where we research the effects of ionizing radiation on the skeletal system, trying to better understand what space radiation does to astronauts and how radiation therapy affects cancer patients. [My team's] Space Shuttle work with microgravity is a “hobby” that I have been fortunate to work with for more than 15 years.

What’s a special talent/trick/skill/hobby you have that you’re colleagues don’t know about? I used to be really, really good at brewing beer. I need to pick that up again.

If someone wrote you a blank check to explore any aspect of your field’s research, what would you want to do and why? I would accelerate our clinical trials studying radiation therapy-induced osteoporosis. Women with gynecological tumors have a greater risk for hip fractures, and we can prevent this with existing treatments- we just need to prove the drugs work.

Or- thinking entirely NASA…

Build the habitats to fly mice on the replacement vehicles for the Space Shuttle. We have the opportunity to get mice up to Space Station for long-term experiments, but the animal habitats are not being built.

–

Great stuff, Ted. Thank you for taking the time to answer our questions while prepping for the big launch.

Please join us this Tuesday at the Back Bar! Special thanks to Sigma Xi for their continued support of the Carolina Science Cafe program.

Jonathan

Jonathan Frederick is the director of the North Carolina Science Festival. He wonders what the astronaut mice are thinking about right now.

By Jonathan Frederick

July's Science Cafe Speaker

Meet Myron Cohen, M.D., our special guest for July’s Carolina Science Cafe. He’s a busy man, so we’re grateful he took a few minutes out of his day to answer our questions.

Where did you grow up? Chicago

What did you want to be when you were a kid? A journalist

How did you get interested in science? After serving as editor of the high school paper, I started at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana wanting to study journalism.  My first year of college, a very good friend became ill and later died.  I spent a lot of time with him at the hospital, and I guess that’s how I first became interested in medicine and decided to study pre-med.  When I took organic chemistry, not only did I absolutely love it, but I was really, really good at it, and that helped me realize that I was on the right path.

In one sentence, describe your job: I’m a catalyst for synergy among biomedical faculty at UNC.

What’s a special talent/trick/skill/hobby you have that you’re colleagues don’t know about? Well, let’s see.  I can’t sing.  I can’t dance.  I can’t type.  I’m a pretty good skier.

If someone wrote you a blank check to explore any aspect of your field’s research, what would you want to do and why? Redouble our efforts to cure HIV disease.  We’re pretty far along as it is.

Thanks, Dr. Cohen. That’s good stuff. You can read more about Dr. Cohen’s efforts here.

Please join us on Thursday, July 7, at 6 p.m. (NOTE THE NEW TIME!) for this special science cafe:

The Beginning (and End?) of the AIDS Pandemic: A 30-Year Journey

Back Bar at Top of the Hill

Downtown Chapel Hill

Sponsored by Sigma XI

Jonathan Frederick is the director of the North Carolina Science Festival. He likes mango popsicles.

By Jonathan Frederick

Looks safe, but is it?

You’re invited to this free program: Swimming & Your Genes, starring Dr. David DeMarini, genetic toxicologist with the EPA. As summer approaches, we’re going to be discussing David’s research into swimming pools and drinking water.

In preparation, David was kind enough to share a little bit about himself.

Where did you grow up? Peoria, Illinois (yes, I played in Peoria). My father, Santa, ran a bar (I grew up in a tavern), and he was a first-generation Italian immigrant with only an 8th grade education.  My mom was a nurse (Irish from Iowa); it was a fun mix of cultures–we ate spaghetti with potatoes.  There are 4 boys, and 3 of us went into the health sciences (2 Ph.D. geneticists and 1 M.D. pulmonologist).

What did you want to be when you were a kid? A performer–anything would have been fine–singer, dancer, actor, musician (I’ve co-founded 2 theater companies, acted in a bunch of plays, and play piano–second-rate pop/B-way, and jazz).  My science career ended up satisfying my urge/need to perform–with lots of world-wide invitations to speak and lecture–combining my love of science and my desire to entertain.

How did you get interested in science? I always was curious about how the world worked, and science seemed to provide the most satisfying explanations to me; and I was pretty good at science in school. However, the “magic moment” came during my last semester of my senior year of college when I took genetics (from the finest teacher of my life), and I was hooked–I found my muse and my bliss–environmental mutagenesis, which has become a nearly 40-year love affair.  (I ended up doing my M.S. and Ph.D. under that remarkable genetics teacher–Herman Brockman at Illinois State University.)

In one sentence, describe your job: I examine the air, water, soil, food, urine from people, etc. for mutagenic activity and try to determine the types of mutations such substances induce and how those mutations might cause human disease such as cancer.

What’s a special talent/trick/skill/hobby you have that your colleagues don’t know about? I learned to make “cappelletti in brodo” as a kid from my Italian grandmother (la mia nona).  It is a pasta stuffed with chicken, beef, cheese, and lemon zest that is cooked in a beef/chicken broth–peculiar to the region east of Firenze (Florence) where my family is from.  I make a huge batch every winter that lasts for 6 months (thank heavens for freezers), but I have never shared this delicacy with either friends or colleagues–it’s only for “la famiglia.”

If someone wrote you a blank check to explore any aspect of your field’s research, what would you want to do and why? I would incorporate mutagenesis testing of the air and water in this country to go along with the chemical monitoring of air and water that currently occurs in order for us to know how mutagenic and thus, potentially carcinogenic, our air and water really are–based on actual toxicology measurements.

Great answers, David. We’ll see you on Thursday. Please bring some “cappelletti in brodo.”

We hope to see all of you at the Back Bar in downtown Chapel Hill by 7pm. Remember to get there early for some delicious appetizers sponsored by Sigma Xi.

Thanks, Jonathan

Jonathan Frederick is director of the North Carolina Science Festival. He's ready for someone to invent teleportation.

By Jonathan Frederick

Dr. David DeMarini, one of our cafe regulars (and fantastic question-asker of other scientists), is a genetic toxicologist with the EPA. On Thursday, June 2, he will be our featured presenter. Please join us for:

June's Carolina Science Cafe presenter

Chlorinated Chromosomes:  Swimming and Your Genes

You know your hair or skin can be affected by a dip in the pool–and you usually smell like chlorine after that refreshing swim.  But have you ever wondered what happens to your genes while you’re paddling around in the swimming pool?  Want to know what’s really in that water, and what chlorine may be doing to your chromosomes?  Maybe not, but if you’d like to find out, check out the Science Cafe at the the Back Bar at Top the Hill in downtown Chapel Hill at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, June 2, 2011.

Dr. David DeMarini, a genetic toxicologist at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in RTP, and an AdjunctProfessor in the Dept. of Environmental Science & Engineering at UNC, will discuss the latest studies he and his colleagues have done on the mutagenicity and carcinogenicity of swimming pool water and drinking water.  Dr. DeMarini has been studying the ability of chlorinated water to induce mutations for 30 years, and he will share this pool of knowledge with you while you drink something other than chlorinated water.  Take the plunge, and join us at the next Science Cafe in Chapel Hill!

Thanks, David, for the puns. Stay tuned for more info about David in our next blog.

Jonathan

Jonathan Frederick is Morehead's science program manager. He has recently pledged to run at least 15 miles per week and his muscles hurt thinking about it.

By Jonathan Frederick

to attend this month’s Carolina Science Cafe. But you can chat with one!

The Star of May's Carolina Science Cafe

On Thursday, May 12, at 7 p.m., Dr. Matt Ewend, head of neurosurgery at UNC, will be at the Back Bar in Downtown Chapel Hill, talking about his world. A world that includes awake surgeries, removing tumors, using the CyberKnife, and more. We’re really looking forward to this one!

As usual, our friends at Sigma Xi will be sponsoring some appetizers and special thanks to Dr. Charles Weiss for making this event possible.

To get to know Matt a little more, check out his answers to our questions:

Where did you grow up? Saginaw Michigan, son of an insurance agent and an advertising person.  No medical folks in the family

What did you want to be when you were a kid? My grandfather was a lawyer, and that’s what I wanted to do.  I thought I could be a trial attorney.   I also thought I would like to be a sports announcer.

How did you get interested in science? I got interested in science and medicine during high school, but no real epiphany moment. I was a math major in college and came at science through the math physics pathway.    I like the clean answers that math and physics often provided better than the fuzzy answers of some other sciences.

In one sentence, describe your job: Everyday I meet people facing difficult illnesses involving the brain; my job is to help them through these times compassionately.

What’s a special talent/trick/skill/hobby that you have that your colleagues don’t know about? I got my privates pilot’s license a year ago and I am working on my instrument rating.  As a kid, I was almost as fast as Holden Thorp with Rubik’s cube.

If someone wrote you a blank check to explore any aspect of your field’s research, what would you want to do and why? I started out in medicine with an interest in cancer and this has never changed.  Given our mythical blank check, I would build a team to look at brain tumors on an individual level (think personalized medicine) to find newer targeted treatments.

Thanks, Matt, for taking the time to answer our questions.

We hope to see everyone on Thursday, 5/12, 7 p.m. at the Back Bar!

Cheers,

Jonathan

Jonathan Frederick is the director of the North Carolina Science Festival. He is currently reading East of Eden.

By Jonathan Frederick

This month, scientists at CERN will be restarting the largest human machine ever built: the Large Hadron Collider. In honor of this scientific milestone, we invited Dr. Reyco Henning, UNC assistant professor and particle physicist, to our November current science forum.

I can’t speak for the entire audience, but he blew my mind. The scientists studying particle physics have to be some of the most intuitive and creative scientists on the planet. I can only imagine the answer a particle physicist’s child gets when he asks, “Mommy, how did we get here?”

These people spend their lives creating incredibly complex theories to be tested by mind-bogglingly intricate machines in the hopes of understanding the fundamental nature of the Universe. How did it get here? What is the origin of mass? What is the nature of dark matter and dark energy?

Some fun facts from Dr. Henning:

1. Matter is mostly empty space. If Kenan Stadium represented a whole atom, the nucleus would be the size of a golf ball.

2. In the currently accepted model, most physicists estimate that the universe is 73% dark energy, 23% dark matter, 3.6% intergalactic gas, and 0.4% stars.

3. The LHC has had over 3,000 scientists from all over the world work on it at some point.

Henning’s take home message: The LHC will be creating decades of data that will go a long way to confirming, reforming, or rejecting our current conceptions of matter and the Universe. Let’s hope that no more birds or bread get in the way.

Next month: Dr. Kevin Weeks will be talking about his team’s decoding of the an entire HIV genome. See you on December 3rd at 7pm.

Jonathan

ps — In doing a little research, I was unsure about the “largest machine claim” so I did a little google magic and came across this beauty of a blog. The Bagger 288 is no joke.

Jonathan Frederick is Morehead's science program manager.

By Jonathan Frederick

This Thursday night’s current science forum, “Powering Our Way to 2050,” is shaping up to be a good one. Dr. John Papanikolas, UNC chemist and featured presenter, frames it like this, “We’re not going to run out of energy. There’s like 20,000 years worth of coal. The question is: would you want to live on the planet then?” Based on findings provided by climate change scientists, the answer appears to be a resounding no.

So what do we do? Cover the equator in solar panels? Line every street in Chicago with wind mills? Finding realistic and creative solutions to our energy problems is one of the foremost scientific challengers of our time. Whether you’re in the “Drill, baby, drill!” camp or interested in other options, please join us for what is sure to be a stimulating discussion.

For inspiration, check out Megawatt Solar, a local company with a big idea.

– Jonathan

Dr. John Papanikolas will be leading the discussion at this Thursday’s (8/6/09) current science forum entitled “The Future of Energy: Powering Our Way to 2050.” The program begins at 7pm in the Morehead Banquet Hall. Light refreshments are served.

Jonathan Frederick is Morehead's science program manager. He likes bagels.

By Jonathan Frederick

Science cafes – or café scientifiques, if you’re French – have become another way to earn quality hipster points if you live near a science center. In short, they’re typically evening programs where grown-ups can get together, usually drink a bit of wine or beer, and discuss a current science topic with a renowned expert. Think TED talks without the thousand dollar registration fees or Britney Spears-style headsets. (By the way, if you haven’t checked out a TED talk, do so immediately. They’re the closest thing to pure, first world optimism that I’ve seen since the first space shuttle launch.
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Jonathan Frederick is Morehead's science program manager.