free science for teens & community in Marin
Welcome to the new Marin Science Seminar website! We’re happy to have finally migrated over to a mobile-friendly format, and this site will also allow us to have the blogging all in one place. Stay tuned for the Fall 2018 lineup and information about internship for the this coming academic year.
Growing up in Washington State, I was always really interested in biological life, and particularly animals and plants. When I first learned about Paleolithic cave art in my undergraduate anthropology class, which is some of the oldest and most beautiful art, dated to more than 30,000 years ago, I became fascinated with the seemingly timeless question, “What makes us human?”, “What makes me, me?, “What makes humans unique from other animals?” And “What makes non-human animals different from each other?” Because these questions are focused on trying to place humans within the context of evolution and life on this planet, and because humans are mammals, I have been studying mammals ever since. But it doesn’t seem out of the realm of possibility that I will expand to other groups of living organisms within my career (such as birds, or even plants), because the same basic principles of evolution guide all life as we know it, mammalian and otherwise.
2. What are the best parts of your job?
There are many parts of my job that I love a lot. I love being able to travel all over the world to look at museum collections and share my research at conferences. I love collaborating with scientists, and being able to share my work with students and interested parties of all ages. And I definitely love the feeling of holding a multi-million year old fossil in my hand. But I think the best part of my job is being able to spend my days researching, and studying, and trying to answer questions that no one has ever answered before. There is no greater feeling than the feeling of discovery, that I have uncovered something, or shown evidence for something that no one else in the history of the world has ever shown. I love being able to use my brain every day to ask questions that interest me, not for money or for fame (because there’s not a lot of that in science), but because I am truly interested. For me, the best part of my job is getting to spend every day thinking with a free mind and a brain that belongs exclusively to me, and getting to contribute new information to the world, and to science, as I go.
3. What are the worst parts of your job?
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| Mammal Skull |
There are many different aspects of hardship in science. I think that one of the worst things about my job right now is seeing how science, education, knowledge, and facts are under attack on a daily basis, not only from the general public but also from our government. This is extremely disheartening, but it makes what I do even more important, and it makes sharing that science with the public particularly crucial. One of the other worst things about my job is seeing how people of color, and women, and people from diverse backgrounds, have to face bias and discrimination in science, and in academia in general. Many studies have shown that having diversity in science only contributes to the overall quality of the science that gets done, and makes the science and the learning process better. We need more role models in science that come from diverse backgrounds and are invested in recruiting and training new generations of scientists that further contribute to that diversity. And we need to support our scientists from diverse backgrounds as they progress through their careers, because it’s always harder to do something when you are one of the first to do it. Again, that’s another reason that I feel that public outreach, and giving public lectures, and showing up as a role model, are so important.
4. What does it mean to be a scientist?
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| Mammal Teeth |
This is a great question, and one that I am still not sure I know the answer to. I used to think that being a scientist meant doing research, and publishing, and that was it. But now I know that being a scientist goes so far beyond that. As I mentioned before, there are many hardships and obstacles in science, and some of those adversely affect some groups more than others. So I think that a big part of being a scientist is being committed to improving the discipline, through maintaining strong scientific ethics and integrity in science, and through recruiting new generations of people from diverse backgrounds into science. I also think that being able to communicate science to people outside of the discipline, whether they are other researchers, or just interested members of the public, it is a very important part of what it means to be a scientist. To this end, I have hosted and produced a radio talk on graduate student research, science communication, and the importance of diversity in science, that has been broadcasting for the last four years on KALX 90.7 FM in Berkeley and is available as a podcast. I am currently training new students to take over the radio program (The Graduates on KALX 90.7 FM), and I look forward to seeing how the new broadcasters develop as scientists and science communicators as they take over the show.
5. What current research are you working on?
My current research focuses on understanding the evolution of the skull and teeth in mammals, and particularly in primates. As I will talk about in my lecture, teeth are extremely important for all mammals, not only because they are essential for diet and what we eat, but also because they play important roles in behavior, health, and they are well-preserved in the fossil record. The skull is also very important because it contains the majority of our sensory organs (eyes, nose, ears, mouth), and one of the most important parts of any vertebrate, the brain. To conduct this research, I travel to museums across the United States and in Africa to look at museum collections of extant (recently living) and fossil mammals. I measure the skulls and teeth of these animals and use statistical analysis to better characterize how animals look different from each other, with the goal of understanding how variation evolved in mammals over the last 60 million years.
Want to learn more about Tesla Monson and mammals? Join us on Wednesday, February 28, 2018 at Terra Linda High School from 7:30 PM – 8:30 PM in Room 207!
http://marinscienceseminar.com/speakers/tmonson.html
Learn more at http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/index.php, http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/about/profile.php?lastname=Monson&firstname=Tesla, http://grad.berkeley.edu/news/headlines/tesla-monson/
Jennifer Runyan is a Science Communication Fellow and works for the Ocean Exploration Trust. She received BS in Marine Biology and an Environmental Studies degree. She explores the organisms and nutrients in the ocean and has went to many places such as the Gulf of California.I applied for a Science Communication Fellowship to be able to learn new ways to communicate science and thought exploring the deep sea and hypothermal vents would be a great way to go.
2. What are the best parts of your job?
Working with people from diverse backgrounds and responsibilities on the ship, from video engineers, Remotely Operated Vehicle pilots, to the scientists.
3. What are the worst parts of your job?
The late night watch shifts can be a bit challenging for me to stay up for!
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| Mysterious Purple Orb |
4. What organisms and nutrients do you find deep down in the ocean?
We have found many organisms from various types of tube worms, fish, octopi, deep sea jellies, and other invertebrates. We have found some very exciting organisms such as the mysterious purple orb, a dead whale fall, and the adorable googly eyed stubby squid. As for nutrients, it depends on the location and what kind of geological or biological activity is present.
5. What was your favorite deep sea adventure?
I enjoyed getting a chance to see the biological diversity of life around differing hypothermal vents within the Gulf of California.
Wednesday, January 17, 2018 at Terra Linda High School from 7:30 PM – 8:30 PM in Room 207
http://www.marinscienceseminar.com/speakers/jrunyan.html
Follow Jennifer Runyan’s deep sea adventures on https://nautiluslive.org/.
Dr. Chong He works at the Buck Institute in Novato. She received a PhD in Chemistry at Peking University. She studies the lifespan of worms and yeasts and solutions in how to improve their lifespan. One of her most recent discoveries was that ibuprofen can help yeasts and worms live a longer life.
My parents are medical doctors. My mom specializes in internal medicine and my dad is a surgeon. Growing up in a medical doctor environment, I became very interested in how the human body works. And that’s why I decided to study medicine and aging.
4. How does ibuprofen help create a longer life?
The worm is another animal model commonly used by scientists to study aging. We can measure the health of worms by measuring how fast they can move. The movement decreases during aging. But when we fed worms ibuprofen, we found that ibuprofen can make old worms move faster. This made us think that ibuprofen might extend healthspan.
By Rachael Metzger, Marin Science Seminar Intern
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| Mosquitoes carry malaria (Source: scientistsagainstmalaria.net) |
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| Cyborg (Source: assets4.bigthink.com) |
How did you first become interested in Telecommunications Engineering and Biomedical Science?
Was there a specific time or person that sparked your interests?
“About my job, I like the constant interchange of ideas. I teach to students but I also learn from them. There is always something new, a new discovery, and a new tool. It is very dynamic, tiring sometimes, but never boring. It gets better when you think that your research may be helping thousands and thousands in the future. However, what I like the most about my job and my field in particular is that we are faced with the biggest mystery of our era, like nuclear energy and space discovery were before us. The brain is the new unknown and I would love to be one of those responsible in unraveling its secrets.”
“Please DO! We need young people, and young ideas. Now, my advice would be, go to college, but go to college in Europe or Australia then get your PhD back in the USA. Do internships, try working in industry, come back to academia if you like. Move around, travel the world, engage with people from different cultures. Be open to new ideas, but critic nonetheless. Learn from each small thing and the most important part, never forget to enjoy the trip.”
I don’t really have any complaints about my job. I enjoy teaching about entomology, developing curriculum and interactive displays for public events, and I really enjoy being a resource of information for the public. The most difficult part of my job has to do with people who are convinced that some unseen insect is biting/infesting them, but there is no concrete evidence to support this. There are many causes of skin irritation similar to an insect bite that include but are not limited to: environmental sensitivities, allergies, reactions to various chemicals or medications, mental conditions, etc.. These cases can be very difficult because the person is absolutely convinced they have an insect infestation, and they often have already been turned away by doctors, family members etc., and are extremely frustrated. I can identify insects, but in these cases there is little I can do to help, and resources available for people with these problems are scarce.
Richelle Tanner, a PhD Candidate in UC Berkeley’s Department of Integrative Biology, is bringing her extensive knowledge of how climate change affects neural plasticity and growth within the Eelgrass Sea Hare to Marin Science Seminar on SEPTEMBER 27th, 2017. Details here.
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| Eelgrass Sea Hare (Source: NOAA.gov) |
Richelle Tanner is happy to answer any specific questions about how to become a scientist at: rtanner@berkeley.edu. Join us Wednesday, September 27th, 2017 at Marin Science Seminar.
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| The future of animals in the ocean is unknown. But, mathematical models can help scientists predict information about the circumstances of animals lives in the ocean. The future of our oceans and the future of the animals living is unpredictable. This is where scientists use math to figure out what is going to happen. Changes in temperature affect animals living in the water. The temperature of the water determines which animals will do well in the water and thrive, and which will struggle, die, and become extinct. There is a range of temperatures an organism can survive in. Each organism has a thermal death point. Certain temperature ranges help an animal reproduce and have more of one organism. There is a range in which species can function which is at or near optimum. When the species are not at or near their optimum point, it is a sign of physiological stress which can cause problems in the organism.
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Scientists, including graduate students, researchers, and post-docs in the life sciences and mathematics, often use mathematical models. A mathematical model is a complex model that represents relationships in mathematical form that is used to study the behavior of a certain organism to make reasonable conclusions. Mathematical models can solve problems relating to biology and many other fields.
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| Scientists, such as Alma Yesenia Ceja who is speaking at the next seminar, studies and will talk about what data she finds through mathematical models about the future lives of crabs. |
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| Claire Simeone DVM at work |
Claire Simeone, DVM is a Conservation Medicine Veterinarian at The Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, California, as well as National Marine Fisheries Service in Washington, DC. In addition to taking care of sick marine mammals that come for treatment at the rehabilitation center, she also travels nationally to respond to Unusual Mortality Events, develops international training programs, and works on the Marine Mammal Health Map, which provides a centralized reporting system for marine mammal health data.
To learn more about her profession, we interviewed her.
1. How did you first get involved in marine biology and the field of veterinary?
2. How was your experience training with SeaWorld San Diego?
Much of what I was taught about marine mammal medicine came from my mentors at SeaWorld San Diego and the Navy Marine Mammal Program.SeaWorld has been in the media spotlight recently, and there are a variety of opinions about marine mammals in captive care. In my experience, the animals receive the highest quality medical care, and each person that works with them is incredibly invested in caring for these animals in the best way possible. Medicine is continually advancing, and one of the best parts of my job is that I get to be a part of the pioneering science that improves the health of marine mammals everywhere.
3. What is your favorite “project” you have worked on within the Marine Mammal Center?
One of the most exciting projects has been to be a part of Ke Kai Ola, our hospital for endangered Hawaiian monk seals. We work with partners like the National Marine Fisheries Service and the Coast Guard to rescue young animals that would otherwise not survive on their own, and rehabilitate them in our hospital. We use the knowledge we’ve gathered over 40 years of caring for other seals like elephant seals and harbor seals, and apply it to working with this rare species. Since our hospital opened in 2014, we have rehabilitated more than 1% of the entire population. The best news is that during their last estimate, it looks like the population is starting to increase! This is an amazing way for me to be a part of a project that is literally saving a species.
4. What are the best parts of your job? What are the worst?
There are so many amazing parts of this job! First, every day is different. I never know if I’ll be performing surgery in the hospital, or presenting at a scientific conference, or examining a healthy seal in the wilds of Alaska.
Second, I’m lucky to be able to work with such interesting animals. In addition to being entertaining characters, they’re always teaching us something new about themselves, or the ocean. Third, I love being able to share our science and discoveries with the world. So many of the things my fellow scientists are working on are fascinating, and I am thankful that I’m in a position to share this with so many people.The most difficult part of my job is dealing with the realities of working with sick animals and a sick ocean. We can’t save every animal, and sometimes working with so many sick animals can be sad and overwhelming. That’s why I work to balance negativity with positive conservation stories.
5. Why are you so passionate about ocean conservation?
As we become a global society, our Earth is becoming a smaller place. It used to feel as though our oceans were limitless, with unending stocks of fish. We are now acutely aware that we humans have a significant impact on the ocean. Many of the patients we see at The Marine Mammal Center are impacted by human actions – entangled in ocean trash or struck by a ship.But just as we have the capacity to have a negative impact, we also have the capacity to save our oceans. Marine mammals hold secrets about human health, and the health of the ocean. I feel a responsibility to share these secrets so that every person has the information they need to conserve this planet we share.
6. What advice would you give to someone who aspires to work in a similar field?
It’s a big job to save the ocean! We need lots of people working hard on many different projects. My biggest advice would be to stay open-minded about possibilities. I knew I loved biology, but it was a Spanish teacher who suggested I do an exchange during high school, and now I use Spanish when I work on international marine mammal projects. You never know how your skills will come in handy in the future. Get out there and volunteer at places that are doing interesting work. The Marine Mammal Center has a Youth Crew program for students ages 15-18, and allows you to get hands on experience rehabilitating marine mammals.
Learn more at: http://www.marinemammalcenter.org/Get-Involved/volunteer/youth-crew/
Lean more about Claire Simeone at Marin Science Seminar here: http://www.marinscienceseminar.com/speakers/csimeone.html