HHMI 2014 Holiday Lecture Series

 

# 9523

 

Five years ago I highlighted an online (and free) holiday lecture series  offered by HHMI (Howard Hughes Medical Institute) that focused on Infectious Diseases. Those four (roughly 1 hour lectures) were geared for and delivered to an audience of high school science students.

 

In HHMI’s Holiday Lecture Series: 2012, I highlighted this series again, this time featuring four lectures on our changing planet, while in 2013, the focus was on medicine in the Genomic Era.

 

These lecture series are a yearly event, and for nearly two decades  they have focused on a variety of topics, including: Cancer, Genomics, Biodiversity, Immunology, Neuroscience, and Infectious Diseases. This year, the focus is on Biodiversity in the Age of Humans, with a half dozen 30-minute lectures available.

 

A link, with a brief description, follows:

 

The 2014 Holiday Lectures on Science

Biodiversity in the Age of Humans

Now available for on-demand streaming!

Lecture 1: Learning from Past Extinctions, by Anthony D. Barnosky PhD

Lecture 2: Humans, Biodiversity, and Habitat Loss, by Elizabeth A. Hadly PhD

Lecture 3: Rescuing Species, by Elizabeth A. Hadly PhD

Lecture 4: Extreme Life of the Sea, by Stephen R. Palumbi PhD

Lecture 5: Ocean Species Respond to Climate Change, by Stephen R. Palumbi PhD

Lecture 6: Dodging Extinction, by Anthony D. Barnosky PhD

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Are we witnessing a sixth mass extinction? What factors threaten ecosystems on land and in the sea? What are researchers doing to try to conserve biodiversity and ecosystems such as tigers in Asia and coral reefs around the world? What tools do we have to avoid a global catastrophe? In six half-hour lectures, three leading scientists describe the state of biodiversity on our planet and how to face the great challenges that lie ahead.

Our lecturers are:

Anthony D. Barnosky, University of California, Berkeley (link to lab page)
Elizabeth A. Hadly, Stanford University (link to lab page)
Stephen R. Palumbi, Hopkins Marine Station, Stanford University (link to lab page)

 

For those who would like to sample the earlier lectures, their are 86 of them available as free podcasts through iTunes.

The rest of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute  website is well worth exploring as well, for it contains numerous short science films, virtual laboratories, and interactive mini-lessons, all designed to feed your `inner science geek’.

This is a veritable treasure trove for science geeks everywhere, and I’m looking forward to sampling many of these lectures over the holiday

HHMI’s Holiday Lecture Series: 2013

 

 

# 8110

 

In 2010 I highlighted an online (and free) holiday lecture series  offered by HHMI (Howard Hughes Medical Institute) that focused on Infectious Diseases. These four (roughly 1 hour lectures) were geared for and delivered to an audience of high school science students.

 

Last year, in HHMI’s Holiday Lecture Series: 2012, I highlighted this series again, this time featuring four lectures on our changing planet.

 

These lecture series are a yearly event, and for nearly two decades  they have focused on a variety of topics, including: Cancer, Genomics, Biodiversity, Immunology, Neuroscience, and Infectious Diseases. This year, the focus is on Medicine in the Genomic Era, again with 4 hour-long lectures available. 

 

A link, with a brief description, follows:

 

 

The 2013 Holiday Lectures are now available
via on-demand streaming! Click the thumbnail above
or follow this link to view!

Sixty years after James Watson and Francis Crick revealed the structure of the DNA double helix and only a decade after scientists published the first complete read-through of all three billion DNA bases in the human genome, the ability to routinely sequence and analyze individual genomes is revolutionizing the practice of medicine—from how diseases are first diagnosed to how they are treated and managed.

In the 2013 Holiday Lectures on Science, Charles L. Sawyers of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and Christopher A. Walsh of Boston Children’s Hospital will reveal the breathtaking pace of discoveries into the genetic causes of various types of cancers and diseases of the nervous system, and discuss the impact of those discoveries on our understanding of normal human development and disease.

 

 

For those who would like to sample the earlier lectures, their are 80 of them available as free podcasts through iTunes.

The rest of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute  website is well worth exploring as well, for it contains numerous short science films, virtual laboratories, and interactive mini-lessons, all designed to feed your `inner science geek’.

 

This is a veritable treasure trove for science geeks everywhere, and I’m looking forward to sampling many of these lectures over the holidays.

HHMI’s Holiday Lecture Series: 2012

Credit HHMI

# 6810

 

A couple of years ago I highlighted an online (and free)  holiday lecture series  offered by HHMI (Howard Hughes Medical Institute) that focused on Infectious Diseases. These four (roughly 1 hour lectures) were geared for and delivered to an audience of high school science students.

 

Which means that . . . while informative . . .  you didn’t have to be a full fledged microbiologist or virologist in order to follow along.

 

These lecture series are a yearly event, and over the past 18 years they have focused on a variety of topics, including: Cancer, Genomics, Biodiversity, Immunology, Neuroscience, and Infectious Diseases.

 

This year, the focus is on our changing planet, with four lectures available.

 

2012 Holiday Lectures

Changing Planet: Past, Present, Future

The 2012 Holiday Lectures are viewable via Flash streaming (720p HD or 360p SD) or in an iOS MP4 download (360p SD) compatible with iPhone, iPod, and iPad.

Lecture 1: The Deep History of a Living Planet, by Andrew Knoll, Ph.D.

 Lecture 2: Building Scientific Knowledge: The Story of Plate Tectonics, by Naomi Oreskes, Ph.D.

 Lecture 3: Earth's Climate: Back to the Future, by Daniel Schrag, Ph.D.

 Lecture 4: Climate Change: How Do We Know We're Not Wrong?, by Naomi Oreskes, Ph.D.
 

You’ll find a variety of lecture series in the archives, along with a number of `informal talks’.

 

These videos are a wonderful resource, with dozens of hours available on subjects ranging from genetics to anthropology, and everything in between.

 

The rest of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute  website is well worth exploring as well, for it contains numerous short science films, virtual laboratories, and interactive mini-lessons, all designed to feed your `inner science geek’.

 

Many of these videos, lectures, and podcasts are also accessible via iTunes.

 

Highly recommended, whether you are a young student just starting out, or an old science geek like myself.

A Holiday Offering For Infectious Disease Geeks

 

 

 

# 5156

 

Forty years ago (1969), Surgeon General of the United States William H. Stewart, famously (and prematurely) declared,  "The war against diseases has been won."

 

Since then we’ve seen an influenza pandemic and the emergence of new viral threats like HIV and AIDS,  SARS, Nipah, Hanta and Hendra (among others).

 

We’ve watched the global spread of MRSA, the recent arrival of of NDM-1 and other Carbapenemases that threaten the viability of our antibiotic arsenal.

 

And we’ve seen an explosion in dengue and chikungunya cases, the global persistence of malaria and tuberculosis, along with outbreaks of Ebola, CCHF, and other exotic diseases.

 

And even old scourges, once thought on the way out, are showing new signs of life . . . like Pertussis, measles, and polio.

 

On average –  researchers have discovered one new zoonotic threat a year over the past three decades.

 

 

All of which makes the world of emerging (and re-emerging) infectious diseases – despite Stewart’s optimism – a growth industry.

 

To help prepare the next generation to meet this challenge, the HHMI (Howard Hughes Medical Institute) conducts a Holiday Lecture series on Science each year, geared for and delivered to high school science students in the studio audience.

 

Which means that . . .  while informative . . .  you don’t have to be a full fledged microbiologist or virologist in order to follow along. 

 

 

Over the years these lectures have focused on a variety of topics, including: Cancer, Genomics, Biodiversity, Immunology, Neuroscience, and Infectious Diseases.

 

This year, the focus is on Infectious Diseases, and there are four 1-hour lectures available for you to stream to your desktop and watch.

 

 

Lecture 1: Dengue Fever: Breaking Epidemic Cycles by Eva Harris

Lecture 2: The Virus Hunter's Toolkit by Joe DeRisi

Lecture 3: Fighting Viruses in the Lab and Beyond by Eva Harris

Lecture 4: Solving SARS and Other Viral Mysteries by Joe DeRisi

 

From the HHMI Lecture Series webpage:

 

In this year's lectures, "Viral Outbreak : The Science of Emerging Disease," watch two leading virus researchers explain how they use both simple and sophisticated technologies to detect and fight infectious agents.

 

Infectious diseases are a serious threat to world health. They are particularly devastating in tropical countries where infectious agents thrive and where healthcare resources are stretched thin. The warming trend in the global climate, coupled with increased international travel, has resulted in infectious outbreaks that spread more rapidly and that now affect regions with more temperate climates, including the United States. Many diseases that had been contained, such as dengue fever, have re-emerged as global health threats. How can scientific research help us detect and fight potential epidemics? Join two leading virus researchers, Joe DeRisi and Eva Harris, as they discuss their strategies for combating today’s epidemics, while preparing for those of tomorrow.

 

 

You’ll also find previous year’s videos, and transcripts, available for download as well.

 

This is a veritable treasure trove for science geeks everywhere, and I’m looking forward to sampling many of these lectures over the holidays.