This week in science: 7/21 - 7/27

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July 21, 4:29 AM

by Christopher Langton, S.F. Science Examiner

 

 

The toxic environment, black hole wars, asteroid impacts, raptors, and blue-eyed turtles!  All ahead in the week to come.

Headlines first followed by the details.

Monday, July 21st, 7:00 - 9:00 PM
The Toxicology of Everyday Products
Dr. Paul Blanc, UCSF
Down to a Science
Atlas Cafe

Wednesday, July 23, 7:00 PM
Black Hole Wars
Leonard Susskind, Professor of Theoretical Physics, Stanford University
Commonwealth Club
In association with the NASA Ames Research Center
Eagle Room, Bldg 943, NASA Research Park, Moffett Field, Sunnyvale
map  driving directions

Wednesday, July 23, 6:00 - 8:00 PM
Will an Asteroid Hit the Earth?
Rusty Schweickart, Apollo 9 Astronaut, of the Association of Space Explorers (ASE)
Luna Philosophie
Yahoo! Brickhouse, 500 3rd St, in San Francisco

Thursday, July 24, 7:30 PM
Hawks, Falcons, and Other Raptors of the Bay Area
Craig Nikitas
Randall Museum
199 Museum Way, San Francisco, (415) 554-9600x12 (Castro/Noe Valley)

Thursday, July 24, 7:00 pm
A Moroccan Adventure: Searching for a blue-eyed turtle in the Sahara Desert
USGS Herpetologist Jeffrey Lovich and visiting Cadi Ayyad University (Marrakech) Professor Mohammed Znari
USGS, Conference Room A, Bldg 3
Menlo Park, California
Links: USGS Calendar   map

Details:

Monday, July 21st, 7:00 - 9:00 PM
The Toxicology of Everyday Products
Dr. Paul Blanc, UCSF
Down to a Science
Atlas Cafe

There are hidden health dangers in many of the seemingly innocent products we encounter every day - a tube of glue in a kitchen drawer, a bottle of bleach in the laundry room, a rayon scarf on a closet shelf, a brass knob on the front door, a wood plank on an outdoor deck. This is not a matter of one exceptional or corrupt industry, but rather of how run-of-the-mill manufacturing processes and consumer marketing expose workers and the general public alike to toxic hazards. More troubling still, even when such hazards are recognized, calls for their control are routinely ignored.

Dr. Blanc, Professor of Medicine and Chief of the Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine at the University of California San Francisco, is a physician with extensive experience in public health and medical toxicology. He is the author of How Everyday Products Make People Sick

Wednesday, July 23, 7:00 PM
Black Hole Wars
Leonard Susskind, Professor of Theoretical Physics, Stanford University
Commonwealth Club
In association with the NASA Ames Research Center
Eagle Room, Bldg 943, NASA Research Park, Moffett Field, Sunnyvale
map  driving directions

Leonard Susskind; Author, The Black Hole War: My Battle with Stephen Hawking to Make the World Safe for Quantum Mechanics

Recognizing a contradiction in Stephen Hawking's claim that things disappear in black holes, Susskind and Gerard t'Hooft offered a counterargument aimed at disproving this controversial theory. Susskind discusses the story behind the black hole conflict and how it has led to a better idea of how our universe works.

Time: 6:30 p.m. check-in, 7 p.m. program
Cost: $10 members, $15 non-members

Wednesday, July 23, 6:00 - 8:00 PM
Will an Asteroid Hit the Earth?
Rusty Schweickart, Apollo 9 Astronaut, of the Association of Space Explorers (ASE)
Luna Philosophie
Yahoo! Brickhouse, 500 3rd St, San Francisco

It has happened in the past, more often than most people think. Rusty is the chair of the ASE’s Standing Committee on NEOs which is currently working on both international policy for the decision process of how to handle a potential impact as well as the technology for how to prevent an impact. After a presentation by Rusty there will be open discussion about the policy decision process and technical challenges of preventing potential impacts from NEOs.

Some Topics for discussion:
-    Who is financially responsible for preventing an impact?
-    Who is responsible for making a decision to prevent an impact?
-    What information should be public?

[Space is limited, so please RSVP ]
 

Thursday, July 24, 7:30 PM
Hawks, Falcons, and Other Raptors of the Bay Area
Craig Nikitas
Randall Museum
199 Museum Way, San Francisco, (415) 554-9600x12 (Castro/Noe Valley)

Craig Nikitas presents a multi-part slide show revealing nineteen species of raptors that can be seen in the Bay Area.



Thursday, July 24, 7:00 pm
A Moroccan Adventure: Searching for a blue-eyed turtle in the Sahara Desert
USGS Herpetologist Jeffrey Lovich and visiting Cadi Ayyad University (Marrakech) Professor Mohammed Znari
USGS, Conference Room A, Bldg 3
Menlo Park, California
Links: USGS Calendar   map

See several ecoregions of central Morocco in a picturesque 1,000 mile journey.
Take a virtual tour from the Atlantic coast through High Atlas Mountains to the Sahara Desert.
Learn about the only blue-eyed turtle in the world, found in a river flowing through the Sahara Desert
Video: A video archive of this lecture will be available on this website on the Current Season page one to three day's after this event.

 

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