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- Why We Die: The New Science of Aging and the Quest for ImmortalityLink visible for attendees
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https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88384219320?pwd=dlR1WHpBM1JJT2ZXdmE5dSthRWp1UT09PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: Today, we are living through a revolution in biology. Giant strides are being made in understanding why we age—and why some species live longer than others. Could we eventually cheat disease and death and live for a very long time, possibly many times our current lifespan?
Venki Ramakrishnan, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry and former president of the Royal Society, takes us on a riveting journey to the frontiers of biology, asking whether we must be mortal. Covering the recent breakthroughs in scientific research, he examines the cutting edge of efforts to extend lifespan by altering our genetic makeup. But might death serve a necessary biological purpose? What are the social and ethical costs of attempting to live forever?
Why We Die is a narrative of uncommon insight and beauty from one of our leading public intellectuals.
MEET THE SPEAKER: Venki Ramakrishnan shared the 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for uncovering the structure of the ribosome. A member of the National Academy of Sciences, Venki runs his research group at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, England. From 2015 to 2020, he served as president of the Royal Society, one of the world's oldest scientific organizations. He is the author of the frank scientific memoir, Gene Machine.
MEET THE HOST: Antonio
Regalado is a reporter at MIT Technology Review, where he covers genetic engineering, in vitro fertility, and longevity research. In 2018, he wrote the article which uncovered the CRISPR babies in China and is the winner of the Hastings Center Award for his coverage of artificial gametes. Before joining MIT Technology Review, he lived in São Paulo, Brazil, where he wrote about science, technology and politics in Latin America for Science, National Geographic, and other publications. Regalado holds a BS in physics from Yale University and a MA in journalism from New York University.FURTHER ZOOM LOGIN INFO:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88384219320?pwd=dlR1WHpBM1JJT2ZXdmE5dSthRWp1UT09
DIAL-IN PHONE NUMBER: 305-224-1968
MEETING ID: 883 8421 9320
PASSCODE: 765292 - Solving the Secrets of Gravity, with Claudia de RhamLink visible for attendees
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https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88384219320?pwd=dlR1WHpBM1JJT2ZXdmE5dSthRWp1UT09PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: A theoretical physics professor seeks gravity’s true nature and finds wisdom in embracing its force in her life. Claudia de Rham has been playing with gravity her entire life: as a diver, as a pilot, as an astronaut candidate, and as a physicist, discovering new sides to gravity by exploring the limits of Einstein’s general theory of relativity. From Newton and Einstein to Stephen Hawking and Roger Penrose, we have yet to uncover gravity’s secrets. However, their knowledge allowed this week's speaker/researcher to reimagine the theory of massive gravity to finally rid the “ghosts” of gravity – dark energy.
MEET THE SPEAKER: Dr. Claudia de Rham, Professor of theoretical physics at Imperial College London, is also a Simons Emmy Noether Visiting Fellow at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics and an adjunct professor of physics at Case Western Reserve University. She was the 2020 Simons Investigator in Physics, the 2020 Blavatnik Laureate in Physical Sciences and Engineering, and Winner of the 2018 Adams Prize for Contributions to Mathematics. Her research has been featured in the Guardian, Los Angeles Times, Quanta, and BBC’s “The Naked Scientists,” among other outlets.
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https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88384219320?pwd=dlR1WHpBM1JJT2ZXdmE5dSthRWp1UT09
DIAL-IN PHONE NUMBER: 305-224-1968
MEETING ID: 883 8421 9320
PASSCODE: 765292 - The Electrical Origins of Life, with Nick Lane, Evolutionary BiochemistLink visible for attendees
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https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88384219320?pwd=dlR1WHpBM1JJT2ZXdmE5dSthRWp1UT09PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: In this talk, Professor Nick Lane uses life as a guide to its own origins. Modern cells use electrical charges on membranes to drive their metabolism, which in turn makes the building blocks of genes and proteins.
Lane shows that equivalent processes were possible in ancient hydrothermal vents at the bottom of the ocean. Electrical charges on mineral barriers can drive the reaction of gases such as hydrogen and carbon dioxide to power a spontaneous proto-metabolism and, ultimately, the emergence of genetic information.
The genetic code conceals enigmatic patterns that suggest there were once direct interactions between amino acids, the building blocks of proteins, and the first genes. The talk ends with some thoughts on how these processes might culminate in cells developing agency and a rudimentary stream of consciousness.
MEET THE SPEAKER: Nick Lane is Professor of Evolutionary Biochemistry, Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London.
(NCCR Molecular Systems Engineering)
FURTHER ZOOM LOGIN INFO:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88384219320?pwd=dlR1WHpBM1JJT2ZXdmE5dSthRWp1UT09
DIAL-IN PHONE NUMBER: 305-224-1968
MEETING ID: 883 8421 9320
PASSCODE: 765292