De-extinction, or resurrecting an extinct species, is an intriguing notion. But the science is challenging and the ethics are complicated. On the one hand, it’s exciting to think about bringing back the woolly mammoth or the carrier pigeon or the saber-toothed cat and we can see the way in which…
Have you ever seen an adorable baby or sweet-as-pie puppy and been flooded by the overwhelming urge to squeeze or pinch them—not because you mean any harm, but just because your feelings are so intense? Then you have experienced what scientists call cute aggression. Indeed, this business of expressing positive…
What has allowed microbes to thrive in such extreme environments as ice sheets in Antarctica and thermal vents in the deep ocean or on the surfaces we touch, in the air we breathe, and even inside us? Join Nkrumah Grant, a microbial and evolutionary biologist, to better understand the living…
Can the soft flap of a butterfly’s wing in Brazil set off a catastrophic tornado in Texas? The notion that very small things can have outsize impacts—the so-called butterfly effect—is the basis for explaining why chaotic systems like the weather (not to be confused with climate) cannot be predicted more…
Science diplomacy: these two words do not commonly pair up in conversations at cocktail parties. Through the stories of how scientific collaboration with countries such as Russia, Iran, and Cuba, and on global challenges like climate change, have in the past advanced diplomacy, we can see why they can go…
Movies and television shows often transport us to new and surprising landscapes that exist within a carefully constructed framework of rules that ensure that things make sense and hang together. The creative process of world building is informed by what is, while being inspired by what can be. This same…
For more than 20 years, virologist Matt Frieman has dedicated his career to the study of coronaviruses. So for a good part of his professional life, an introduction at a cocktail party required that he first explain what epidemiology was followed by a justification for exclusively studying novel coronaviruses. Of…
You are invited to join us in celebrating this year’s Sundance Film Festival Sloan Award recipient, After Yang, with a special talk-back featuring director Kogonada and futurist B Cavello from the Aspen Institute and moderated by Sundance Film Festival Senior Programmer, John Nein. Starring Colin Farrell and Jodie-Turner Smith, the…
The COVID-19 pandemic has been tough on us all, but perhaps some of the most striking and consequential impacts have been to our children. Deeply dependent on social interaction to nourish their developing brains, babies and young children require the stimulation provided by in-person engagement to flourish and thrive. Patricia…
When the United States announced its intention to withdraw from Afghanistan, scientists and engineers with even the most tenuous connection to the United States recognized the looming jeopardy they and their families faced. The Taliban’s lightning fast takeover of the country left many of them scrambling to secure evacuation options.…
