Midsummer Nights' Science 2012 (Lecture is from 6 to 7)

Ok fellow science lecture geeks....it is that time of year when most of the science lectures take a hiatus, boo! However, the Broad Institute holds a series of lectures on Wednesday Evenings called "Midsummer Nights' Science". This is an annual lecture series that explores key advances in genomic research. This lecture series is held each summer, and is free and open to the general public. Midsummer Nights' Science at the Broad Institute takes place at 7 Cambridge Center, in Kendall Square in Cambridge.

Please note: These lectures start promply at 6...so try to get there early. It is also very popular and seats fill up very quickly. I work right down the street and will be there as close to 5:30 as I can...give or take a couple minutes.

*****The Broad is requesting that you register before coming. Registration instructions for the 2012 series can be found here. (https://www.regonline.com/msns2012)

I am going to hold an after event. We will head to Champions in Kendall Square for dinner/drinks. There is a reception at the Broad after the lecture, with light snacks and beverages. However, I enjoy socializing with other Nerd Fun members and I find that during the reception people tend to dissipate. After the lecture, I will wait outside...under the roof for a few minutes, but then the group will head out by 7:10.

The 2012 series will run on Wednesday evenings on July 11th, 18th, 25th and August 1st .

This Week:

Wednesday, August 1st, 6-7pm
Harnessing genomics to decipher fundamental differences
Stacey Gabriel, Ph.D.Since the days of the Human Genome Project, the Broad’s Genomics Platform has harnessed DNA sequencing and genotyping technologies to illuminate similarities and differences in the strings of As, Ts, Gs & Cs found in different cells, organisms, and species. Stacey Gabriel will discuss the implications of using these techniques to compare DNA from cancerous cells to normal cells, from one person to another, and from humans to other animals.

Midsummer Nights’ Science will recount the scientific transformation that began more than a century ago with the seminal studies by the Austrian monk Gregor Mendel — the “father of genetics” — who observed the ways in which physical traits were passed from one pea plant to another. In honor of the scientific field it helped to launch, the pea plant provides the inspiration for the seminar series, which takes its name from one of William Shakespeare’s well-known plays.