Category Archives: public engagement

2019 science camps for kids in Ottawa (Canada) and bee hygiene

Today (May 7, 2019), I’m writing up a Canadian science hodge podge of a post.

From a sheep shearing festival in May to summer camps for kids: Ingenium’s Canadian science museums

Ingenium, for those who don’t know, is the corporate ‘parent’ for the Canada Science and Technology Museum, the Canada Aviation and Space Museum, and the Canada Agriculture and Food Museum. Confusingly, the ‘parent’ was once called the Canada Science and Technology Museums Corporation (CSTMC).

I recently featured the da Vinci exhibit (May 2 – September 2, 2019) being held at the Canada Science and Technology Museum in a May 1, 2019 posting (scroll down about 70% of the way). It seems now it’s time for the other two.

Canada Agriculture and Food Museum and its sheep (May) and kids’ summer camps

The Sheep Shearing Festival is being held in Ottawa on Victoria Day weekend but only on two days of the weekend, Saturday, May 18 and Sunday, May 19, 2019. Here’s more from festival webpage,

Sheep Shearing Festival
When: May 18, 2019 – May 19, 2019
Times: 9:30 am – 4:00 pm
Fee: Included with admission
Language: Bilingual
The Canada Agriculture and Food Museum presents the annual Sheep Shearing Festival. Visitors will be able to learn all about wool by participating in various activities and demonstrations. Visitors of all ages can attend sheep shearing, sheep herding and sheepdog agility demonstrations, as well as meeting an alpaca. They can also learn about carding and knitting, all important steps in the transformation of a raw fleece into wool. They can also see a craftsman doing traditional finger-weaving or spin the quiz wheel and test their knowledge about fibers from various sources. Visitors can enjoy cooking demonstrations that feature goat cheese as well as watch a classic movie. Keep an eye out for Little Bo Peep, who still needs help finding her sheep!
Note: The Festival is held on Saturday and Sunday but not the Monday of the long weekend. Regular May demonstrations will be in effect on Monday.
Activities:
Sheep Shearing Demonstration
The Art of Leather
Sheepdog Agility Demonstration- weather permitting
Sheep Herding Demonstration
Goat Cheese and Herb Biscuits
Family Movie Presentation
Shawville 4-H Club Demonstration
Felt Making
Wool Carding
Meet a Lamb and its Family
Meet Yanni the Alpaca
Children’s Craft
Animal or Plant?” Quiz
Finger Weaving
Afternoon Milking
Local Fiber artists and mini market
Food Services ($)
Wagon Rides ($) –weather permitting
Sheep Shearing Demonstration
(10 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 11 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 1 p.m., 1:30 p.m., 2 p.m., 2:30 p.m., 3 p.m., 3:30 p.m., 4 p.m.
With summer fast approaching, the moment has arrived for us to shear our sheep. Visitors can attend a sheep shearing demonstration, where they will see a professional sheep shearer at work as one of our dynamic guides explains the entire process
The Art of Leather(ongoing activity with a break between 12 p.m. and 1 p.m.)
There is more to leather than durable boots and stylish handbags – leather is a fascinating by-product! With expert artisan Lynn McNabb, visitors will be able to see how leather is prepared and how it can be ultimately crafted into beautiful and functional items.
Sheepdog Agility Demonstration (10:30 a.m., 12 p.m. and 2:30 p.m.) Weather permitting!
Visitors will be enthralled by this demonstration performed by members of the “Ottawa Valley Border Collie Club”, who will captivate your attention with their Border Collies, who race through a course filled with obstacles of all sorts.
Sheep Herding Demonstration (11 a.m., 1 p.m., 2 p.m. and 3 p.m.)
At this demonstration, visitors will see a shepherd and his specially trained dogs in action, as they work as a team to herd a flock of sheep.
Goat Cheese and Herb Biscuits (ongoing)
Did you know that goat’s milk is the most consumed milk in the world? Try a sample of our delicious goat cheese and herb biscuits.
Family Movie Presentation(English showing at 10:00 a.m. and French showing at 1:00 p.m.)
Join us for a classic movie presentation of the beloved film Babe. There will be popcorn for purchase and all proceeds go to the museum’s Youth Fund.
Shawville 4-H Club Demonstration (9:45 a.m., 11:45 a.m. and 1:45 p.m.)
Watch as the Shawville 4-H Club demonstrates how they train their 4-H farm animals and how they get them ready for showing and how they are evaluated. Meet and greet the animals and their trainers in between the demonstrations. This is a fun educational activity not to be missed!
Felt Making (ongoing activity)
With the help of a guide, visitors can make felt from a piece of sheep’s wool while discovering the history and science of the world’s oldest fabric.
Wool Carding (ongoing activity)
At this station, visitors can learn about carding, an important step in the transformation of wool. They can even try their hand at this activity with a pair of carders!
Meet a Lamb and its Family (ongoing activity)
Meet the sheep family and see who guards the sheep!
Meet Yanni the Alpaca (ongoing activity)
Visitors will meet an alpaca and learn all about this fascinating animal. They will learn about their life cycle, the reason we raise them on farms, as well as the particularities of their fleece.
Children’s Craft (ongoing activity)
Come join the fun with a themed sheep craft to take home.
“Animal or Plant?” Quiz (ongoing activity)
At this station, visitors will spin the wheel and test their knowledge about fibres from various sources. Will they know if the fibre comes from an animal or a plant?
Finger Weaving (ongoing activity)
Visitors will be able to see a craftsman doing some finger-weaving – a traditional craft that is used to make all sorts of products, including the famous arrow sash!
Afternoon Milking (4 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.)
The milking of the museum’s dairy cows takes place twice daily. Over the course of this demonstration, visitors will be impressed by the technologies used in modern dairying as they see the herdspeople milk the entire herd. A museum guide will be on site to explain the process and to answer questions.
Also…
Local Fiber artists and mini market (ongoing activity)
Willow Lane Alpacas
Apple Road Goat Milk Soaps
Janet Tulloch, artist
Rebecca Dufton, artist
SweetLegs Orleans with Sania
Food Services ($)
The Hot Potato Company will be on site to offer food services.
Wagon Rides ($) (10 a.m. – 2 p.m.) weather permitting!
Enjoy a tour through the fields of the Central Experimental Farm on the Tally-Ho wagon.

Summer camp at the farm

A series of week long summer camps at the Agriculture Museum’s famr are open to children whose parents thought to book ahead. The season starts on Monday, June 24, 2019 and ends Friday, August 23, 2019. Here’s more from the Summer Camps at the Farm webpage,

Bring the country to kids in the city with fascinating summer camps at the Canada Agriculture and Food Museum. Hands-on activities educate children while they care for the museum’s farm animals and gardens, cook foods, make crafts, and play games
Additional Information
Camps must be pre-booked.
A child is not allowed to be registered for more than one week of camp. However, a second week may be booked if this camp is Sprouting Chefs culinary camp. Ingenium reserves the right to cancel the registrations for any child booked into more than one agricultural camp at the Canada Agriculture and Food Museum.
Children must be the required age by August 31, 2019.
Counsellor-to-child ratio is a minimum of 1 to 8.
One snack will be provided daily and lunch on Friday.
Each child receives a camp T-shirt.
You may cancel your registration up to two (2) weeks before the start of your camp week. There is a $30 fee for cancellations. No refunds will be issued for cancellations after the two week cut-off.
…

You may want to register soon as some the camp sessions are already sold out.

Canada Aviation and Space Museum features music and science summer camps

They have a shorter season running from July 2 – August 23, 2019 and, yes, one session is already sold out. Here’s more from the Music & Aviation Day Camp webpage,

The Canada Aviation and Space Museum is pleased to collaborate with Sonart Music School to offer weekly Music and Aviation Summer Day Camps at the Museum, from July 2nd to August 23rd, 2019.
Each day includes music lessons, aerodynamics demonstrations, outdoor activities and the children also perform in a concert at the end of the week!
Campers take off on a full flight of activities artfully balanced between music and aviation. Children become familiar with aeronautical concepts, including the principles of flight, and are introduced to various musical instruments such as drums, guitar, piano, voice, and violin. Your child will be challenged to push his or her limits through fascinating activities and captivating projects.

Go here to register. You can find out more about Sonart Music School here. Good luck with getting into the events and registering for the camp sessions you’d like!

Bee hygiene at the University of British Columbia (UBC)

After the news about a draft report* from the United Nations claiming that up to one million species are at risk due to humans (see April 23, 2019 news item on phys.org for more about the draft report), I thought this UBC research news might sound a more hopeful note.

There are parts of this video, which I found strangely hypnotic,

A May 7, 2019 University of British Columbia news release (also received by email, describes this latest work in more detail,

While poor hygiene may be a deal breaker in human relationships, in bee colonies it can be a matter of life and death.
Which is why, for two weeks in May, a lab at UBC runs a high-tech matchmaking service for bees: swipe right for hygienic bees, swipe left if not.
“Certain worker bees exhibit something called ‘hygienic behaviour,’ where they recognize nest mates that are infected by a pest or pathogen and remove them from the colony,” said Leonard Foster, a biochemist and professor at the Michael Smith Laboratories at UBC. “This is one way that bees defend against the varroa mite, which is typically responsible for about 40 per cent of Canadian colonies that are lost every year.”
According to Foster, the varroa mite is currently one of the most important factors in bee health, but only about five per cent of bees exhibit the defensive hygienic behaviour.
This is where UBC’s Proteomics Core Facility (PCF), where researchers use mass spectrometers to study proteins, provides some high-tech assistance.
“We believe hygienic bees have a certain class of protein involved in detecting odours associated with pest and pathogen infections,” said Foster, who is also director of the PCF. “These odours trigger a grooming impulse, with the odour molecule binding to a protein and sending a signal.”
Beekeepers from across the Lower Mainland ship bees to the lab to be analyzed ahead of the spring swarm period, when bees mate and new honey bee colonies form
The researchers study the bees’ antennae, which contain the protein that can signal hygienic behaviour. Because all worker bees in a hive have a single mother, the scientists can gauge the state of the whole hive by looking at a few of these bees.
Once Foster’s team identifies the most hygienic colonies, beekeepers bring new queen bees and male ‘drones,’ raised from those colonies to hives isolated on Bowen Island, where they will mate and produce a new generation of bees.
“This isn’t genetic modification – we aren’t changing the structure of the bees,” said Foster. “We merely finding the most hygienic ones from the natural populations, and allowing beekeepers to match queen bees with the most appropriate candidates.”
Protein analysis is more accurate than behavioural observations and this type of research allows for more effective and faster selective breeding.
“Our research shows that you can predict the behaviour of specific colonies by understanding their protein structures better,” said Foster. “We don’t need to painstakingly monitor colonies wondering if they are going to be hygienic or not. We hope this will provide beekeepers a tool that will make their lives easier.”

And, because I love bee beards,

Foster has a long-standing interest in bees – his parents were beekeepers, and has been working with the insects since he was a teenager. Credit: Leonard Foster

*ETA May 7, 2019 at 1440 PDT: There’s even more recent information about disappearing species in a summary released by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES): “IPBES: Nature’s dangerous decline ‘unprecedented,’ species extinction rates ‘accelerating’; Current global response insufficient; ‘transformative changes’ needed to restore and protect nature; opposition from vested interests can be overcome for public good; most comprehensive assessment of its kind; 1 million species threatened with extinction.” A May 6, 2019 IPBES news release on EurrekAlert.

Call for Papers: NanoEthics (special issue): After the hype is before the hype (Deadline for proposals: May 5, 2019)

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I got the notice for this special issue of NanoEthics (After the hype is before the hype) in my email this morning (April 16, 2019). Not being familiar with the journal I did a little searching.

NanoEthics (a Springer journal):

Studies of New and Emerging Technologies
Editor-in-Chief: Christopher Coenen
ISSN: 1871-4757 (print version)
ISSN: 1871-4765 (electronic version)
Journal no. 11569
…
Provides a needed forum for informed discussion of ethical and social concerns related to nanotechnology

Counterbalances fragmented, opinionated public discussion

Discussion is informed by the physical, biological and social sciences and the law
Nanoscale technologies are surrounded by both hype and fear. Optimists suggest they are desperately needed to solve problems of terrorism, global warming, clean water, land degradation and public health. Pessimists fear the loss of privacy and autonomy, “grey goo” and weapons of mass destruction, and unforeseen environmental and health risks. Concern over fair distribution of the costs and benefits of nanotechnology is also rising
Introduced in 2007, [emphasis mine] NanoEthics: Ethics for Technologies that Converge at the Nanoscale provides a needed forum for informed discussion of ethical and social concerns related to nanotechnology, and a counterbalance to fragmented popular discussion.
While the central focus of the journal is on ethical issues, discussion extends to the physical, biological and social sciences and the law. NanoEthics provides a philosophically and scientifically rigorous examination of ethical and societal considerations and policy concerns raised by nanotechnology.

Abstracted/Indexed in
Science Citation Index Expanded (SciSearch), Journal Citation Reports/Science Edition, Social Science Citation Index, Journal Citation Reports/Social Sciences Edition, SCOPUS, INSPEC, Google Scholar, AGRICOLA, Current Contents / Social & Behavioral Sciences, EBSCO Academic Search, EBSCO Book Review Digest Plus (H.W. Wilson) , EBSCO Discovery Service, EBSCO Humanities Full Text (H.W. Wilson), EBSCO Humanities International, EBSCO Humanities Source, EBSCO Nanotechnology Collection: India , EBSCO OmniFile Full Text (H.W. Wilson), EBSCO STM Source, EBSCO TOC Premier, ERIH PLUS, Ethicsweb, Expanded Academic, Gale, Gale Academic OneFile, Humanities Abstracts, Humanities Index, Materials Business File-Steels Alerts, Mechanical and Transportation Engineering Abstracts, OCLC WorldCat Discovery Service, ProQuest ABI/INFORM, ProQuest Advanced Technologies & Aerospace Database, ProQuest Business Premium Collection, ProQuest Central, ProQuest Health & Medical Collection, ProQuest Health Research Premium Collection, ProQuest Materials Science & Engineering Database, ProQuest Philosophy Database, ProQuest Science Database, ProQuest SciTech Premium Collection, ProQuest Technology Collection, ProQuest-ExLibris Primo, ProQuest-ExLibris Summon, Solid State and Superconductivity Abstracts, The Philosopher’s Index

Here’s the text from the April 16, 2019 email announcement,

Dear colleagues!

We invite papers for a special issue in the journal “NanoEthics: Studies
of New and Emerging Technologies”.

AFTER THE HYPE IS BEFORE THE HYPE – FROM BIO TO NANO TO AI: WHAT CAN
WE LEARN FROM PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT IN NANOSCIENCES AND NANOTECHNOLOGIES?

Since the early 2000’s, Nanosciences and nanotechnologies (NST) have
been massively promoted in many parts of the world. Two things were
striking about these policies: first, the hype surrounding NST; second,
the prominence of public engagement–citizen dialogue, deliberation and
participation–in NST discourse and policy. Nanotechnology became a
laboratory for the programmatic and practical development of a range of
forms of public engagement such as “upstream” and “midstream
engagement”, or policy approaches that prominently integrate public
engagement such as “anticipatory governance”, “real-time technology
assessment”, or “responsible research and innovation”.

From bio to nano: A major reason for this noticeable rise of public
engagement in NST are the food scandals and technology controversies in
the late 1990’s, in particular the controversy over genetically modified
organisms (GMOs). These controversies came to be seen as the result of
elites’ reductionist and arrogant approach to the public. To avoid a
similar public backlash against NST authorities and decision-makers in
science and politics should open doors for public engagement and humble
dialogue. Obviously, the public crisis around GMOs had triggered a
learning process.

From nano to AI: Today, the hype surrounding NST has waned and so have
concerns that nanotechnology might fall prey to a public backlash.
Nothing comparable to the public backlash against GMOs ever happened to
Nano. In fact, NST hardly became controversial. Meanwhile, new
technology hypes pervade the public discourse. Synthetic biology,
genetic editing or Artificial Intelligence (AI) are recent examples. In
each case, we observe parallels to the discourses on public engagement
in NST. In the case of AI, for example, prominent researchers and think
tanks warn against a public backlash if policy makers and funders fail
to foster public support through public engagement.

From bio to nano to AI: We suggest that social learning processes
intertwined with technology hypes pervade these and other arenas of
technology governance. While the GM controversy had a visible (albeit
not yet fully understood) effect on the NST field, today, we ask which
lessons can be drawn – and have been drawn by science policy actors –
from the NST field? Where do we stand today after 20 years of public
engagement in nanotechnology and other emerging technologies, and what
is there to learn for the “new governance” of most recently hyped
technologies such as AI?

POSSIBLE TOPICS INCLUDE:

Societal effects and social learnings of Public Engagement (PE)

–       How can we conceptualize the social learning processes which
seem to manifest in technology governance over the past twenty years?
Have new patterns of interpretation been established regarding the
nature of a successful or failed technology governance? If so, how can
they be described and distinguished from the “old” patterns of
interpretation?

–       Does the fact that NST mostly remained uncontroversial mean that
the early emphasis on public engagement in the NST field made it more
“socially robust”, “democratic” and “reflexive”? Have the right
“lessons” been drawn (from the past for the future)?

–       Why and how does the trend toward public engagement manifest
itself in different national political cultures? How did certain public
engagement formats travel across national borders in the NST policy
field?

PE between hype and reflexivity

–       What happens after the hype? With enthusiastic/dystopian
discourse subsiding, do public engagement activities also vane? What
happened to the engagement hype and to ambitious policy metaphors such
as “upstream engagement”? Have they been forgotten? Will they reappear,
or be reinvented, with the next big techno hype?

–       For the social sciences nanotechnology has provided an
opportunity to step up research and policy intervention. How can the
role/agency of the social sciences in public engagement processes be
conceptualized? In which way has this role changed in the past 20 years?
Which role conflicts or normative dilemmas arise from it?

PE between strategic and transformative uses

–       Did public engagement (ever) make a difference in the governance
of NST or other emerging technologies? How have public engagement
initiatives been integrated (or ignored) in the governance of NST and
other emerging technologies?

–       Has public engagement had identifiable impacts on policies or
institutions related to NST or other fields of technoscientific
discourse and policy? Did public engagement have the effect of
problematizing, shifting or even reshaping epistemic and political
demarcation lines between the public, scientific expertise and policy
subsystems? What can we expect for the future?

Several formats are available. We specifically invite original research
papers. In addition, contributions can come in the form of shorter
discussion notes, communications and responses, letters, art-science
interactions, interviews or anecdotes, and book reviews.

SCHEDULE

Proposals: May 5th 2019

First Draft: August 31st 2019

Final draft: January 31st 2020

Please, send proposals to both Franz Seifert (fseifert@gmx.at) and
Camilo Fautz (c.fautz@mailbox.org)

Not being familiar with either of the organizers, I also searched for them online.

Franz Seifert has been an independent social scientist since 2000 according to his CV (on academia.edu). At a guess, he’s based in Austria. I found his CV quite interesting, both it and his list of publications is extensive, all of it related to the topic of the special issue.

Camilo Fautz is a member of the scientific staff at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (Germany) and a PhD student, if his profile page is up-to-date. He too has a number of papers on ‘relevant to the special issue’ topics listed on his profile page.

Good luck with your submissions.

2020 EuroScience Open Forum (ESOF) and City of Science in Trieste, Italy

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Every two years, the EuroScience Open Forum (ESOF) holds Europe’s largest interdisciplinary meeting and City of Science festivities. The last ESOF/City of Science shindig was held in Toulouse, France in 2018. Organizers are now gearing up for 2020 in Trieste, Italy.

The ESOF meeting will be held from July 5-9, 2020 but there is much, much more as you can see at the proESOF 2020 website,

Mobilizing Central Eastern Europe towards Trieste 2020
In 2020 Trieste will host the Euroscience Open Forum (ESOF), a biennial pan-European event created by the EuroScience association and dedicated to scientific research and innovation. ESOF is the largest interdisciplinary science meeting in Europe. It is dedicated to scientific research and innovation and offers a unique framework for interaction and discussion for scientists, innovators, policy makers, entrepreneurs and the general public.
proESOF 2018-2020 is a programme of activities to anticipate and accompany the development of ESOF2020 Trieste. It includes a series of regional and international events that will be organized principally in the north east of Italy, and the Central and Eastern European countries. proESOF is promoted and led by TESI – Trieste Encounters on Science and Innovation of the FIT – Trieste International Foundation for Progress and Freedom of Sciences.

Submit a proposal [I think this is for proESOF2020, ESOF2020, and City of Science proposals]

I’ve got a little more information from the ESOF and Trieste in 2020 webpage,

TRIESTE AND ESOF2020
Trieste has been nominated European City of Science 2020.
Trieste boasts a long tradition as a dynamic hub for research, science and innovation, focused on sustainable growth and development, with an impact that extends beyond Italy to the rest of Europe and the developing world. It is internationally renowned for the high concentration of scientific institutions. The city hosts overall more than 30 national and international centres and companies working in research and higher education, 5000 permanent foreign scientists and some 13000 students and researchers.
For the first time in its history, ESOF will be reaching beyond the national borders of its host country. As a Central European city, Trieste is committed to strengthening the links with Central and Eastern European scientists, entrepreneurs, policy makers and citizens, thus making a crucial step towards a truly open and inclusive Europe.
The ESOF2020 conference will be held in the extraordinary area of the Old Port (Porto Vecchio), which has been for decades the commercial port of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and is now an outstanding architectural and industrial heritage site that the Trieste Municipality is redeveloping and requalifying.
OUR MISSION
ESOF2020 Trieste generally aims to:
PROMOTE science, technology and innovation as key drivers of a sustainable and responsible development that is people-centered;
STIMULATE discussions concerning science, its applications and impact, including ethical issues;
ESTABLISH a platform where the dialogue between research institutions, academies and governments is fostered.
ESOF2020 Trieste also has more specific goals:
TO STRENGTHEN a scientific and technological network among the Central Eastern European countries, the existing Trieste Science System and the rest of Europe.
TO INTEGRATE AND CONNECT this network within the Mediterranean, North Africa and Central Asia;
TO CREATE a museum dedicated to Science and Technology and its dissemination.

The mission of Trieste as City of Science will continue after ESOF, through the creation of a science center, The North Adriatic Science and Technology Centre, and an independent, multidisciplinary, non-profit Summer Institute aimed at fostering dialogue among scientists, entrepreneurs, policy makers and citizens, involving stakeholders from Central-Eastern Europe and the Balkans.
Our Motto
The city’s natural spirit of openness and inclusiveness is expressed in the motto that Trieste has chosen for ESOF2020: “Freedom for science, science for freedom”.
FREEDOM FOR SCIENCE refers to the open-ended and unresolved questions that science is facing, with method and curiosity, without restrictions of credo or prejudices.
SCIENCE FOR FREEDOM, on the other hand, refers to the inclusiveness of science and its language, which goes beyond borders and conflicts and brings together people of any colour and gender.

Paola Rodari, responsible for coordinating the Science in the City Festival, is featured in an April 4, 2019 ESOF 2020 Trieste press release,

The Festival, with its rich program of popular scientific events for the general public, will be held in Trieste from 27 June to 11 July 2020. In this interview Paola illustrates the main themes of the Science in the City Festival, how to participate and the impact of the event.
What will be the main themes of the Science in the City Festival?
The Science in the City Festival is composed of three principles: the topic of the Conference of Scientists in ESOF, taken up thanks to the participation of some of the conference speakers; the legacies related to the excellence of the scientific system of Trieste and the region, for example theoretical physics; and finally, the great themes integral to the history of Trieste and part of Friuli Venezia Giulia, such as psychiatry, civil protection, karstism and caves, and literature. The crossover between science and art, science and poetry, science and society will also allow us to produce events with a strongly innovative character. It will therefore, be a rich and varied mix, and only partly a mirror image of the entire ESOF 2020 program.
What kind of events will be held during the Festival and by whom?
The Festival will last two weeks and therefore, will host events of all kinds: from theatre to scientific cafés, laboratories, exhibitions, guided tours, conferences, and discussion games. We invite those who have original ideas to propose them by answering the calls already open on the website www.proesof2020.eu. Anyone can propose an event: research institutes, universities, associations, and companies – but also individual citizens. The Festival is able to offer the infrastructures – that is the locations, the technical and communication services, and the volunteers that can support the implementation of the events – but it cannot finance every single project, which must therefore at least in part stand on its own two feet. However, we are sure that many sponsors are interested in promoting events in the context of ESOF and the Festival.
What impact can those who decide to submit an idea for one of the proposed calls expect?
The Festival can offer considerable international visibility for the quality and quantity of participants and speakers taking part in ESOF and the various events of the Science in the City Festival. Research institutions, research and innovation funding agencies and global foundations will be present in the City, as well as many tourists. The international presence will therefore, be a cornerstone of the event. Like all major festivals, this can also be the right place to experiment with new methods of communicating science and involving citizens.

Paola Rodari is a project manager for international projects on science communication and a consultant for the development of new museums and centres for the Sissa Medialab and the Universities of Trieste. For 10 years, she was responsible for the education sector of the Laboratory of Scientific Imagery of Trieste (Italy), of which she was one of the founders. Regarding other projects, Paola has contributed to the development of Infini.to – the Astronomy Museum and Planetarium of Turin (Italy) – and 10Lab, the science centre of the Technology Park of Sardinia. She is on the steering committee of the thematic group Human Interface and Explainers of Ecsite (the European Network of Museums and Scientific Centres) that deals with the professional growth of scientific promoters and facilitators. She is the author of numerous articles and books on science communication.

Good luck with your submissions!

Resurrection (or de-extinction) biology debate: Don’t bring back extinct creatures (woolly mammoth, anyone?) back to life

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The debate takes place in New York City on Thursday, January 31, 2019. Ticket prices and more follow in the information from the January 17, 2019 IQ2US (Intelligence Squared) debates announcement received via email,

Intelligence Squared U.S. Debates De-Extinction, in NYC and Online January 31 [2919]

While bringing extinct species back to life was once a sci-fi fantasy out of ‘Jurassic Park’, recent biological and technological breakthroughs indicate that reviving creatures like the woolly mammoth and the passenger pigeon could someday become a reality. De-extinction’s proponents argue that benefits include correcting mistakes of the past and helping to curb climate change. But others aren’t so sure de-extinction is ethical, or even feasible, they worry that the resources channeled to support de-extinction efforts could compete with current work to save the over 16,000 endangered species on Earth today. On Thursday, January 31, veteran debate series Intelligence Squared U.S. continues their explorations into science and technology with a live debate on the motion “Don’t Bring Extinct Creatures Back to Life.”
Environmentalist Stewart Brand, who founded the Whole Earth Catalog, and Harvard professor Dr. George Church, who is working to revive the woolly mammoth, will argue in favor of de-extinction. Debating against them and against de-extinction will be Dr. Ross MacPhee, curator at the American Museum of Natural History, and evolutionary biologist Dr. Lynn J. Rothschild, a senior scientist at NASA’s Ames Research Center.

The debate will be held at NYC’s Kaye Playhouse and stream live online, then air soon after as part of the syndicated public radio show and podcast “Intelligence Squared U.S.” On January 31 [2019], online viewers can tune in at IQ2US’s website: https://www.intelligencesquaredus.org

WHAT: Intelligence Squared U.S. Debates “Don’t Bring Extinct Creatures Back to Life”

WHEN: Thursday, January 31 / 7:00-8:30 PM EDT

WHERE: The Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College, 115 E. 68th Street, New York, NY

TICKETS: $40 ($12 for students w/ ID). To purchase, visit http://www.intelligencesquaredus.org/

Arguing For the Motion

* Dr. Ross MacPhee: Curator, Department of Mammalogy, Division of Vertebrate Zoology, American Museum of Natural History Dr. Ross MacPhee is the former chairman of the Department of Mammalogy at the American Museum of Natural History, where he has been curator since 1988. Known for his paleomammalogical research on island extinctions, he has focused his most recent work on extinctions occurring during the past 50,000 years, or “Near Time.” He is the author of the new book “End of the Megafauna: The Fate of the World’s Hugest, Fiercest, and Strangest Animals” (Norton, 2019). Dr. MacPhee has also collaborated with geneticists and molecular biologists to develop the new tool of “ancient DNA” for studying the ultimate collapse of Pleistocene mammals.

* Dr. Lynn J. Rothschild: Evolutionary Biologist & Astrobiologist Dr. Lynn Rothschild is an evolutionary biologist and astrobiologist who focuses on the origin and evolution of life on Earth, while at the same time pioneering the use of synthetic biology to enable space exploration. She is a senior scientist at NASA’s Ames Research Center as well as an adjunct professor of molecular biology, cell biology, and biochemistry at Brown University. Since 2011, Rothschild has been the faculty adviser of the award-winning Stanford-Brown iGEM team, which has pioneered the use of synthetic biology to accomplish NASA’s missions, including the human settlement of Mars.

Arguing Against the Motion

* Stewart Brand: Co-Founder, Revive & Restore & Founder, Whole Earth Catalog Stewart Brand is a futurist, environmentalist, and proponent of de-extinction who promotes the use of science to preserve the planet. He is the co-founder of Revive & Restore, which facilitates extinct species revival, and the Long Now Foundation, of which he is co-chair and president. He was the founder and editor of the award-winning Whole Earth Catalog and is the author of several books, including “Whole Earth Discipline: An Ecopragmatist Manifesto.” In 2013, Brand organized the TEDxDeExtinction conference in partnership with the National Geographic Society.

* Dr. George Church: Professor of Genetics, Harvard and MIT & Founder, Personal Genome Project Dr. George Church is a geneticist and molecular engineer who is working to revive the extinct woolly mammoth. He is the Robert Winthrop professor of genetics at Harvard Medical School and professor of health sciences and technology at Harvard and MIT. Dr. Church developed methods used for the first genome sequence and founded the Personal Genome Project. He has earned dozens of awards and honors, including Time’s “100 Most Influential People,” and is the author of 490 papers, 130 patent publications, and the book “Regenesis: How Synthetic Biology Will Reinvent Nature and Ourselves.”

ABOUT INTELLIGENCE SQUARED U.S. DEBATES (IQ2US) A non-partisan, non-profit organization, Intelligence Squared U.S. was founded in 2006 to address a fundamental problem in America: the extreme polarization of our nation and our politics. Their mission is to restore critical thinking, facts, reason, and civility to American public discourse. The award-winning debate series reaches over 30 million American households through multi-platform distribution, including radio, television, live streaming, podcasts, interactive digital content, and on-demand apps on Roku and Apple TV. With over 150 debates and counting, Intelligence Squared U.S. has encouraged the public to “think twice” on a wide range of provocative topics. Author and ABC News correspondent John Donvan has moderated IQ2US since 2008.

The only speaker who’s been previously mentioned on this blog is George Church. In particular, 2018 seems to have been his year although it’s possible 2019 may beat that record for appearances on this blog.

Why not monetize your DNA for 2019? (Jan. 14, 2019); scroll down to the ‘Bockchain and crypto me’ subhead for more about George Church and his startup company.
First CRISPR gene-edited babies? Ethics and the science story (November 28, 2018) scroll down about 20% of the way to see an excerpted piece with Church’s comments.
I found it at the movies: a commentary on/review of “Films from the Future” (November 22, 2018) Dr. Andrew Maynard’s 2018 book ‘Films from the Future’ features a chapter on Jurassic Park and a discussion featuring Church and de-extinction; scroll down to the Jurassic Park subhead for the excerpts or read the book.
Xenotransplantation—organs for transplantation in human patients—it’s a business and a science (September 11, 2018) Church is featured in the section with the subhead ‘Medicine, healing, and big money’
Etc.: use ‘George Church’ as the search term in the blog search engine for more

Coming January 30, 2019: Watch this spot for a link to the live stream: Here you go on January 31, 2019 at 4 pm PT or 7 pm ET:
<iframe width=”560″ height=”315″ src=“https://www.youtube.com/embed/N-1iqmKlTs8” frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture” allowfullscreen></iframe>

Café Scientifique Vancouver (Canada) talk on September 25th 2018: Giving patients, the public, and health-care providers a voice in pediatric biobanking and Science Borealis’ favourite Canadian science blog competition

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There are two items today, an event in Vancouver (Canada) and an online competition.

Pediatric biobanking

From a September 14, 2018 Café Scientifique Vancouver announcement received via email,

Our next café will happen on TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25TH at 7:30PM in the
back room at YAGGER'S DOWNTOWN (433 W Pender). Our speaker for the
evening will be DR. SUZANNE VERCAUTEREN the Director of BC Children’s
Hospital BioBank. Her topic will be:

GIVING PATIENTS, THE PUBLIC, AND HEALTH-CARE PROVIDERS A VOICE IN
PEDIATRIC BIOBANKING

Dr. Vercauteren is a hematopathologist and associate head of the
department of pathology and laboratory medicine at BC Children’s
Hospital. She obtained her MD and PhD at the University of Utrecht, The
Netherlands and did her residency in hematological pathology at the
University of British Columbia. Since 2013 Suzanne has been the
director of the BC Children’s Hospital BioBank, the first
institutional pediatric biobank in Canada to allow for a standardized
approach of patients and sample collections and ensuring high quality
samples and data and reduce consent burden for patients. “My research
includes ethical issues as well as public engagement and education in
biobanking. I believe that a systematic approach for the collection of
patient specimens and data is allowing groundbreaking research that can
quickly be translated into improved diagnosis and clinical care in many
areas of research.” She has published several papers regarding
pediatric biobanking and consenting [consent] and is a member of the Canadian
Tissue Repository Network Management Committee. She received several
grants to study public perception on (pediatric) biobanking topics.

You can find Dr. Vercauteren’s webpage on the BC Children’s Hospital website here.

One thing I’m curious about is this quote from her event description: “I believe that a systematic approach for the collection of patient specimens and data is allowing groundbreaking research that can quickly be translated into improved diagnosis and clinical care in many areas of research.” Since she started her biobanking initiative in 2011, have there been any breakthroughs? It seems to me that seven years later there might be some promising news and it’s surprisingly unmentioned in the event description.

Science Borealis’ Online Science Communication Competition

I stumbled across this recently, from the Science Borealis 2018 People’s Choice Award webpage,

VOTE! 2018 People’s Choice Awards: Canada’s Favourite Science Online!

Science Borealis and our co-sponsor the Science Writers and Communicators of Canada (SWCC) are excited to present the nominees for the 2018 People’s Choice Awards: Canada’s Favourite Science Online!

This year you are invited to vote for your 3 favourites in 2 categories — Favourite Science Blog and Favourite Science Site. The winners of each category will get snazzy site badges, endless bragging rights, and will be featured in full write-ups on both our blog and SWCC’s site.

Once you’ve voted, join us on social media to cheer for your favourite blogs and sites using the hashtag #CdnSciFav.

Take a look at the contenders before you GO HERE TO VOTE!

Here are the 2018 contenders for the Favourite Science Blog category:

Palaeocast – Dave Marshall, Joe Keating, Laura Soul, Liz Martin-Silverstone, Caitlin Colleary, Tom Merrick-Fletcher

Twitter: @Palaeocast

The Palaeocast blog is where we let palaeontologists around the world tell their own stories in their own voice. Palaeocast is a free web series exploring the fossil record and the evolution of life on earth.

Scientist Sees Squirrel – Stephen B. Heard

Twitter: @StephenBHeard

I’m an evolutionary ecologist and entomologist at the University of New Brunswick. Most of my current research has to do with plant-insect interactions and with the evolution of new biodiversity. But when I’m not doing research, I think about a lot of quasirandom things. I blog about some of them here.

Birds In Mud – Lisa Buckley

Twitter: @LisaVipes

I am a vertebrate paleontologist who specializes in the study of the tracks and traces of Mesozoic animals, specifically Cretaceous-age (145 million years ago to 66 million years ago) dinosaurs and birds!

Agile Scientific – Matt Hall, Evan Bianco, Diego Castañeda, Robert Leckenby, Kara Turner, Tracey Lothian

Twitter: @agilegeo

A bioscience and technology blog with a string focus on geophysics and geosciences, Agile also organizes hackathons, teaches coding for geoscientists and engineers, and promotes open discussion about pressing topics in science and industry.

Canadian Mountain Network – Various authors

Twitter: @CanMountainNet

CMN was established to collaboratively address the diverse challenges facing mountain regions by harnessing existing capacities and seeking new research relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous researchers and communities. Our aim is for CMN to become a national and global leader in inclusive, co-designed, interdisciplinary mountain-research that recognizes the interconnectedness in mountain systems between the environment, economy, and society, and encourages an integrated approach for long-term sustainability that serves the needs of mountain communities. CMN and its administrative centre is hosted at the University of Alberta.

Obesity Panacea – Peter Janiszewski and Travis Saunders

Twitter: @TravisSaunders and @Dr_Janis

Obesity Panacea educates people about the science (or lack thereof) behind popular weight loss products, and has grown to include discussions of the latest news and research regarding obesity, nutrition and physical activity.

The Boreal Beetle – Dezene Huber

Twitter: @docdez

Insect Ecology Lab at the University of Northern British Columbia blogging about ecology, entomology, and life.

Spiderbytes – Catherine Scott

Twitter: @Cataranea

This is a blog about spiders (and probably occasionally some other stuff, too)! The idea is that each post will feature accumulations of cool bits of information (‘bytes’) about spiders: spiderbytes. By the way, spiders (usually) do NOT bite, and one of my dreams (for this blog, and in life) is to shift perceptions about spiders from fearsome, aggressive, disgusting etc., to amazing, beautiful, sophisticated, charming, fascinating, elegant, resourceful, mysterious, and many more adjectives that could be used to describe these awesome arthropods!

Jasmine Janes – Jasmine Janes

Twitter: @JazJanes

I am an Assistant Professor in Plant Ecology/Genetics at Vancouver Island University. I teach units including Plant Ecology, Conservation Biology, Terrestrial Ecosystems and Computing for Biologists. I currently work and collaborate on projects ranging from genomics of eucalypts and mountain pine beetle, to speciation mechanisms in Stellaria, to dietary metagenomics in Vancouver Island Marmot.

Here are the 2018 contenders for the Favourite Science Site category:

Earth Rangers Kids outreach

Hey Science – Science Sam Popular science

Inside the Perimeter Theoretical physics

Quebec Science French language magazine

Research2Reality Joint university research

Science Alive General science

Science for the People Podcast and radio show

The Marine Detective Marine bio/art

The Weather Network – Out of This World Weather, climate and space science

Tomatosphere – Let’s Talk Science Education

At a guess, every single blogger is a member of SWCC and, oddly, all of them are scientists. It will be a great day, as far as I’m concerned, when regular people, assuming there are some out there, writing about science are in contention for these awards..

Wilson Center Science and Technology Innovation Program Internships

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The program is open to international students and there are both paid and unpaid internships but it would seem most are unpaid. Still, they do offer some exciting work as can be seen on the the Wilson Center’s Science and Technology Innovation Program (STIP) intern application page,

The Science and Technology Innovation Program welcomes applicants for academic calendar internships. STIP focuses on understanding bottom-up, public innovation; top-down, policy innovation; and, on supporting responsible and equitable practices at the point where new technology and existing political, social, and cultural processes converge. We recommend exploring our blog and website first to determine if your research interests align with current STIP programming.

We offer two types of internships: research (open to law and graduate students only) and a social media and blogging internship (open to undergraduates, recent graduates, and graduate students). Non-degree seeking students are ineligible. All internships must be served in Washington, D.C. and cannot be done remotely.

Research Internships

For graduate students, law students, or those accepted to a graduate-level program, we offer a research internship. This is normally project-based (see below for special solicitations), with current projects falling into roughly categories:

Artificial Intelligence

Citizen Health Innovators

Citizen Science

Cybersecurity

Public Communication of Science

Serious Games Initiative

Some flexibility may be available, as STIP also overlaps with other Wilson Center Programs. We encourage anyone with cross-disciplinary interests to apply, specifying the names of two programs they wish to work with.

Assignments may include:

Conducting independent research on science and technology innovation issues relevant to STIP initiatives

Co-authoring a journal article or Wilson Center policy brief

Developing grant proposals

Developing prototypes

Writing articles and blog posts for the STIP website, in conjunction with specific projects as described above.

Undergraduate/Social Media Internship

Open to undergraduates, recent graduates and graduate students, our social media and blogging internship is open year-round. We do not limit by specific majors, but instead look for students who are interested in engaging with issues around STEM from a multitude of perspectives, including the applications to science, policy, and the public.

Assignments may include:

Drafting posts for our new blog, CTRL Forward

Assisting with events and conferences

Researching issues around biotechnology, nanotechnology, genomics, citizen science, and serious/educational video games

Assisting the preparation of publications and/or outreach materials

Performing administrative assignments in support of STIP activities

Special Project Intern: Citizen Health Innovators Project

We are seeking a research intern with a specialty in topics including precision medicine, biomedical research and innovation, and/or science policy, ethics and regulation on biomedical research to work with our Citizen Science and Health Project. Applicants with backgrounds in technology development or science and technology studies (STS) will also be considered. Experience conducting cross and trans-disciplinary research is an asset.

The project associated with this internship will relate to analyzing key challenges and promises arising in the domain of citizen and patient-driven biomedical research and innovation, including interesting trends in precision medicine. The intern may:

Help curate the Citizen Health Innovators Map and community, data-mining and reaching out to innovators and experts.

Co-author analyses on challenges and promises in citizen and patient-driven biomedical research and innovation

Conduct research and/or capacity building to support the mission of the Citizen Health Innovators Project, for example by advancing work in mapping citizen and patient-driven innovation and matching these trends with tech skills and regulatory expertise

There will be opportunities to write and gain expertise – this is part of the internship goals.

Support operations may include:

Conducting independent research on science and technology innovation issues relevant to STIP initiatives, as requested by supervisor.

Co-authoring a journal article or Wilson Center policy brief on topics pertaining to innovations in genomics and health.

Developing grant proposals.

Writing articles and blog posts for the STIP website, in conjunction with specific projects as described above.

Desired skills include:

Familiarity with precision medicine, biomedical research and innovation, and/or science policy, ethics and regulation on biomedical research

Familiarity with national regulation and guidelines on precision medicine in USA

Ability to write for multiple audiences (academic publications, white papers, social media, etc.)

Ability to work independently with minimal day-to-day guidance.

This internship is unpaid.

Special Project Intern: Earth Challenge 2020

Citizen science involves members of the public in scientific research to meet real world goals. In celebration of the 50^th anniversary of Earth Day, Earth Day Network (EDN), The U.S. Department of State, and The Wilson Center are launching Earth Challenge 2020 as the world’s biggest ever coordinated citizen science campaign. EC2020 will collaborate with existing citizen science projects as well as build capacity for new ones as part of a larger effort to grow citizen science worldwide. We will become a nexus for collecting billions of observations in areas including air quality, water quality, biodiversity, and human health to strengthen the links between science, the environment, and public citizens.

We are seeking a research intern with a specialty in topics including citizen science, crowdsourcing, making, hacking, sensor development, and other relevant topics.

This intern will scope and implement a semester-long project related to Earth Challenge 2020 deliverables. In addition to this the intern may:

Conduct ad hoc research on a range of topics in science and technology innovation to learn while supporting department priorities.

Write or edit articles and blog posts on topics of interest or local events.

Support meetings, conferences, and other events, gaining valuable event management experience.

Provide general logistical support.

This is a paid position available for 15-20 hours a week. Applicants from all backgrounds will be considered, though experience conducting cross and trans-disciplinary research is an asset. Ability to work independently is critical.

Interested applicants should submit a resume, cover letter describing their interest in Earth Challenge 2020 and outlining relevant skills, and two writing samples. One writing sample should be formal (e.g., a class paper); the other, informal (e.g., a blog post or similar).

Application Process and Materials

Unless otherwise stated, internships are unpaid.

International students are eligible, but they must hold a valid F-1 or J-1 visa and appropriate work authorization. All international students must obtain written permission from their Designated School Official or Responsible Visa Officer at their university stating that they are in valid immigration status and eligible to do an internship at the Center.

The Wilson Center is an equal opportunity employer and follows equal opportunity employment guidelines in the selection of its interns.

Applying:

For all internships there is a singular process to applying: to apply please email Elizabeth.Newbury@wilsoncenter.org with the following information. Please specify in the subject line the intended time period for your internship with [SEMESTER] [YEAR] Internship e.g. “SPRING 2018 Internship”. If there is a specific topic area or project, please note that in the subject line of the email, e.g. ‘FALL 2018 Internship for Digital Futures Project.’

Due to the sheer volume of applications we receive, only those candidates selected for interviews will be contacted. To ensure your consideration, please submit only a completed application.

A completed application will have the following materials.

Cover letter explaining your interest in STIP

CV/Resume

1-2 page writing sample ideally demonstrating your work in science and technology research.

Good luck! And, one more thing, application deadlines,

Application Deadlines

Fall Internship: August 1
Spring Internship: November 15
Summer Internship: March 15

Liverworts (eyelash-sized plants) and climate change

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IMAGE: The tiny liverwort plants that are the subject of the Microplants project Courtesy: The Field Museum

I think the eyelash-sized plants are the ones that look like crab claws (?) and if I understand this child’s drawing correctly, it confirms that ‘crab claws’ are liverwort plants being studied at The Field Museum (Chicago, Illinois, US).

Caption
A drawing by a four-year-old citizen scientist showing the paper’s lead author describing a new species of liverwort. Courtesy: The Field Museum

If you know better, please correct me in the ‘comments’. In the meantime, a March 9, 2018 news item on ScienceDaily describes the latest in liverwort plant research,

A botanist, a retired businesswoman, and a high school student walk into a bar. Or, maybe not a bar, what with the high school student. A museum. They and their team have a common problem–too many plant photos to analyze–and they find a solution: creating an online tool that lets regular, non-scientist people help do that analysis.

Liverworts, the plants in question–so called because their rounded primitive leaves are kind of liver-shaped–tend to fly under the radar. “When I tell people I study liverworts, my opening line is that it’s not catching,” says Matt von Konrat, the Field Museum’s collections manager of plants and lead author of a paper detailing the project in an issue of Applications in Plant Sciences dedicated to the digitization of botanical natural history collections. You’ve likely seen liverworts before, but you probably didn’t realize it. These ancient plants evolved millions of years before the dinosaurs, and they’re everywhere from deserts to the Arctic. But liverworts are tiny–about the size of an eyelash–and inconspicuous, growing like their cousins, mosses, on rocks and trees. Since they’re so small, they respond to climate change and global warming more quickly than bigger plants and animals, making them valuable to scientists. “They’re like a canary in a coal mine,” says von Konrat.

But using liverworts to better understand climate change requires a better understanding of liverworts. The intricacies of one liverwort species or another are often only visible through a microscope, and analyzing the details of hundreds of thousands of images of microscopic leaves isn’t exactly a plum job. “It’s tedious for one individual to go through these photos for hours on end,” says von Konrat. “But if you get a hundred people to do it for five minutes each, it’s a lot easier.”

A March 9, 2018 (?) The Field Museum news release (also on EurekAlert), which originated the news item, provides more detail about the participants and about the drawing,

The people von Konrat organized to share the load are citizen scientists–volunteers from a wide variety of backgrounds who contribute to scientific research. “Citizen science is an opportunity for an individual, group, or community to participate in and contribute to an active research program,” explains von Konrat. “It’s public contribution to science.”

The team adapted the online platform Zooniverse, used in astronomy citizen science projects, to enable citizen science volunteers to analyze photos of liverworts, measuring their primitive leaflike structures. This work helps scientists better determine the differences between different species, which might respond differently to climate change or have other scientifically important distinctions.

“The Microplants project is two-pronged: to help find differences between these species, and see if measurements can actually be done by lay people,” says co-author Kalman Strauss, a high school student and citizen scientist who has been volunteering with von Konrat at the Field Museum since 2014.

The project relied heavily upon citizen scientists like Strauss; another of the paper’s authors Joann Martinec, a retired businesswoman and another Field volunteer.

“I’ve always been interested in nature–in my family growing up, as soon as you could walk and talk, you’d be outside identifying species,” says Martinec. “But I didn’t know much about mosses and liverworts until meeting Matt at a Members’ Night at the museum. I wanted to do something new.” Martinec went on to play a major role in training new citizen scientists on the Microplants project.

Over the course of the project, over 11,000 users assisted in analyzing liverwort photos, participating remotely online and via an in-person digital kiosk in one of the Field Museum’s exhibitions. The platform, which corresponds to Next Generation Science Standards, was also used in classrooms ranging from kindergartens to college biology classes. The resulting analyses of the liverworts, says von Konrat, are accurate enough for use in research that can inform environmental policy. Beyond the contributions to science, von Konrat says, the project is notable for its efforts in public engagement with science.

“This project goes beyond the data,” says von Konrat. “It’s about breaking down barriers and showing that everyone can contribute to science. One key audience is students and younger generations–exposing them to museum collections and science, help them get excited about science.”

Strauss, von Konrat’s sixteen-year-old co-author, is a good example of that. “Although early land plants might not be as romantic as, say, dinosaurs, they’re just as interesting and just as complex–the fact that they’re so often overlooked, especially liverworts, is part of what makes them so cool,” says Strauss. “They’re overlooked all the time. You’ve probably walked on bryophytes a thousand times without noticing them. But looking at them closely opens up a whole new world of beauty and complexity.”

Von Konrat cites a drawing sent to him by a four-year-old girl who participated in the Microplants project–she drew heart-shaped liverwort leaves, along with von Konrat declaring via speech bubble, “Her [sic] is a new species.” “That’s my source of inspiration,” says the non-drawing version of von Konrat. “That’s why we do it–it’s for the next generation.”

Here’s a link to and a citation for the paper,

Using citizen science to bridge taxonomic discovery with education and outreach by Matt von Konrat, Thomas Campbell, Ben Carter, Matthew Greif, Mike Bryson, Juan Larraín, Laura Trouille, Steve Cohen, Eve Gaus, Ayesha Qazi, Eric Ribbens, Tatyana Livshultz, Taylor J. Walker, Tomomi Suwa, Taylor Peterson, Yarency Rodriguez, Caitlin Vaughn, Christina Yang, Selma Aburahmeh, Brian Carstensen, Peter de Lange, Charlie Delavoi, Kalman Strauss, Justyna Drag, Blanka Aguero, Chris Snyder, Joann Martinec, Arfon Smith. Applications in Plant Sciences, 2018; e01023 DOI: 10.1002/aps3.1023 First published 9 March 2018

This paper is open access.

BeastBox: a musical game invites you to be a wildlife DJ

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Indris located on Madagascar. Credit: Cornell University

What a face! And, it introduces you to the latest from Cornell University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences’ (CALS), from a February 26, 2018 news item on phys.org,

Musicians have long drawn inspiration from nature, but a new online game is taking that connection one step further. “Beastbox” takes sound clips from real wild animals, transforms them into loops, and allows users to mix and match them into an endless variety of beats, breaks and drops. Along the way, players learn about the animals and the ecosystems they belong to.

The free game is the result of a collaboration among the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the Cornell Hip Hop Collection and Ben Mirin, a sound artist and beatboxer whose career as a “wildlife DJ” inspired the project.

A February 20, 2018 Cornell University CALS news release by Hugh Powell, which originated the news item, provides more detail about the game and the music,

“‘BeastBox’ is a surprise mashup brought to you by scientists, musicians, designers, animators and coders,” says Mya Thompson, leader of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Bird Academy project. “It’s dedicated to the idea that we could all use a few minutes to appreciate our musical planet. When I first met Ben Mirin, I knew we could take his wildlife DJ concept to a new level – and ‘BeastBox’ is what came out.”

By bringing animals from the same ecosystem together on the virtual stage, players can unlock “Beastmode” and control the moves of animal characters as they dance to Mirin’s music. Each bonus track is created exclusively from sounds recorded in six ecosystems including the Madagascar rainforest, the Great Barrier Reef and the Sonoran desert. Fun for all ages, “BeastBox” celebrates the musicality and biodiversity of our planet and encourages fans of music to become fans of wildlife.

“BeastBox” highlights two of Cornell’s world-renowned collections: The Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Macaulay Library and the Cornell Hip Hop Collection. The Macaulay Library is the world’s premier scientific archive of natural history audio, video and photographs. Many of the sounds players encounter in the game are archived in the library. Players who complete at least one ecosystem puzzle win the opportunity to download 20 wild animal sounds from the Macaulay Library collection.

Founded in 2007, Cornell’s Hip Hop Collection is the largest research archive on hip-hop culture in the world and is part of Cornell University Library’s Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections. “BeastBox” players are encouraged to browse the archive to better understand the cultural roots of beatboxing and hip-hop.

Here’s an April 11, 2015 TEDxNYU (New York University) talk by Ben Mirin (published on YouTube June 5, 2017),

You can find BeastBox here. Enjoy the game!

Women in STEM and Serious Games event in Washington, DC on April 13, 2018 and an ecological artwork brings intellectual property law to life on April 25, 2018 in New York City

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I have news about two April 2018 events in the US.

Washington, DC

It’s been a while since I’ve featured a Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars event. I’d forgotten about this one but, since it was postponed due to weather issues, I’ve gotten another chance (from a March 28, 2018 Woodrow Wilson Center announcement received via email),

Opening Doors in Glass Walls for Women in STEM

For over thirty years, women have remained noticeably underrepresented in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields. Women make up more than half of college-educated workers but only 25% of college-educated STEM workers – in some fields, such as computer science, women make up only 18.1% of earned bachelor’s degrees. Missing half of the talent pool impacts our potential competitiveness and innovation in a technology-driven economy. But the real problems may begin once women enter a STEM career.

Once in a STEM career, women continue to face obstacles that prevent them from advancing in their career at the same rate as their male colleagues. From hiring practices to workplace culture, multiple factors create barriers that prevent women from achieving fulfilling and successful careers. The capacity of women in STEM to excel in their chosen careers impacts the pipeline for emerging women leaders in these fields, and if these barriers persist, the number of women in the pipeline will not be able to grow.

In order to open up pathways to leadership for more women in STEM, we must ask the question: What are those barriers? And more importantly, what can we do about them?

In honor of Women’s History Month, please join the Wilson Center’s Science and Technology Innovation Program, Women in Public Service Project and Serious Game Initiative for a conversation with women leaders in STEM on the barriers and opportunities for women in STEM, and the actions that can be taken to achieve true gender parity in these fields.

Moderator

Elizabeth Newbury, Director of the Serious Games Initiative

Panelists

Eleanor Haller-Jorden, Global Fellow, President & CEO, The Paradigm Forum, GmbH

Mayra N. Montrose, Program Executive for Earth Science Flight Missions in the Science Mission Directorate (SMD) of NASA

Carol O’Donnell, Director of the Smithsonian Science Education Center

This event was rescheduled from its original date of March 21, 2018

Logistics and registration information,

Friday, April 13, 2018
10:00 AM – 11:00 AM

Zoom Webinar https://zoom.us/s/533424295

Save To Calendar

This event will take place by Zoom, an online webinar system. Please RSVP and save the webinar URL.

Event Co-sponsored by:

Join the conversation on
Twitter at @WilsonSTIP , @GWLI_WC

Not having previously encountered the Wilson Center’s Serious Games Initiative, I looked up Elizabeth Newbery’s (session moderator) webpage on their site,

Elizabeth Newbury is the Director and Program Associate for the Serious Games Initiative for the Wilson Center, leading Wilson’s use of games in engaging the public around policy research. She has a PhD and Masters degree from the Department of Communication at Cornell University, where her research interests revolved around understanding multiple dimensions of gaming audiences and the surrounding culture of those who play video games. Her dissertation was a multi-method, cross-discplinary interrogation of the public consumption of games and the use of gaming in day-to-day practices, specifically in the context of esports. She has presented her research before both academic audiences and public audiences, ranging from the International Communication Association and the Association of Internet Researchers to the Serious Play Conference.

As lead of the Serious Games Initiative, she leverages games as a tool for the public communication of science and policy research. Current projects include the Fiscal Ship, a game about the federal budget developed and maintained in collaboration with the Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy with the Brookings Institute. Collaborating across the Wilson Institution, her current works in progress include games pertaining to cybsercurity to the history of nuclear proliferation to polar initiatives. Under her leadership, SGI is pursuing how public policy and science can come together in an interactive platform to increase public dialogue and engagement around timely and critical issues of today.

Onto the second event,

New York City

Every once in a while I get an unexpected email and this one was a delightful surprise as it combines an art installation, intellectual property law, and a legal performance piece (from a March 30, 2018 galeplstonpc.com announcement),

I Speak for the Trees:

A Mock Trial

Wednesday, April 25, 2018 | 6:00 PM

Location: Jacob Burns Moot Court Room, Cardozo School of Law

55 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10003

2018 A Blade of Grass Fellow Aviva Rahmani is creating Blued Trees Symphony, an ecological artwork made with the intention of using copyright law (VARA) to defend land in New York, Virginia, and West Virginia that is subject to eminent domain because of proposed natural gas pipelines.

The Cardozo School of Law Environmental Law Society; Art Law Society; and Intellectual Property Student Association welcome us to the Jacob Burns Moot Court Room for a mock trial that will explore whether the status of the artwork under VARA trumps eminent domain takings by corporations. Experienced VARA litigator Gale Elston (Cardozo alumna) will represent the artist.

This program is free and open to the public, but space is limited! Please RSVP to rsvp@abladeofgrass.org. If you’re unable to join us in person, stay tuned to our Facebook page for a live stream of the event!

Ecological artist Aviva Rahmani is the inaugural ABOG Fellow for Contemplative Practice, in partnership with the Hemera Foundation. This targeted fellowship supports artists who work with the intersection of social practice and contemplative practice. Rahmani’s The Blued Trees and The Blued Trees Symphony projects have been installed and copyrighted in the path of natural gas pipelines across miles of North America. The work has gained international attention and support, including Fellowships from the New York Foundation for the Arts and A Blade of Grass. Rahmani holds a PhD from Plymouth University, UK in environmental sciences, technology and studio art and has produced over twenty one-hour raw Gulf to Gulf sessions on climate change viewed from eighty-five countries. “Trigger Points/ Tipping Points,” a precursor to Gulf to Gulf,premiered at the 2007 Venice Biennale.

Gale P. Elston is an art attorney who has represented artists, art institutes, and non-profits for over twenty-five years as an advocate for artists’ rights. Three of her cases are featured in the Art Law Handbook, including a VARA based case establishing new law for the rights of artists. She has litigated many VARA cases in the Federal Southern District Court of New York. Her cases have obtained monetary awards for artists whose work has been damaged, modified or harmed. She has served on the board of numerous art related non-profits, including WhiteBox, (Re)Create Artist In Residency Program, and Faith Ringgold’s Any Child Can Fly Foundation, and as a Trustee for the Marin Headlands Artist in Residency Program. She has served to promote numerous artists’ rights pro bono, and represented notable artists including Carolee Schneeman, Phillip Pavia, Faith Ringgold, Ida Applebroog, and Hans Van de Bovenkamp, among others.

We’re grateful that this program is made possible in part by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature; the support of the American Chai Trust; and, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.

I’m particularly interested in this approach to pipeline protests as my home province (British Columbia, Canada) i s currently in a fight with two other provinces (Alberta and Saskatchewan), as well as, our federal government where the usual tactics (protests, jail the time and interprovincial trade wars [see: March 29, 2018 Financial Post article by Geoffrey Morgan], etc.) are being used. Maybe it’s time to apply a little more imagination to the protests in British Columbia.

*’property’ added to title of blog posting on April 5, 2018 3:30 pm PDT.

CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) Vancouver science fair and BC (British Columbia) science policy conference

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I have two science opportunities one for students (grades six and seven) who would like to submit a science project for the CBC Vancouver Science Fair and another for people who can’t get enough science policy and British Columbia politics. Coincidentally, it’s the inaugural year for both events.

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) Vancouver science fair

From the CBC Vancouver science fair webpage, (this page includes an embedded application form)

Calling all grades six and seven students! CBC Vancouver is holding its first-ever Science Fair on Sunday, May 27th, 2018, and we are looking for your creative submissions.

If you love science fairs and are passionate about environment and technology, we would love to hear from YOU.

In order to apply, submit a short 100-word hypothesis about your concept for the science fair project, along with key application information below. You have until April 15th, 2018 at 11:59 p.m. PST to submit. All entries will be judged on creativity and originality, incorporation of the themes of environment and/or technology, realistic possibility of execution, and if entries meet all other criteria.

CBC Vancouver staff will select the top 30 submissions to participate in the science fair on Sunday, May 27th, 2018, held at CBC Vancouver, 700 Hamilton Street, Vancouver, B.C. These 30 entries will be judged by a panel including CBC Vancouver senior meteorologist and seismologist Johanna Wagstaffe and Science World’s Manager of Partnership Development & Science Promotion Magda Byma.

The grand prize
• A special CBC Vancouver Science Fair trophy
• $750 gift card from Best Buy for all your future STEM projects
• A spot in one of Simon Fraser University’s Science Al!ve Summer Camps
• And Johanna Wagstaffe will feature the winning project on her CBC TV segment Science Smart

I have found the rules (a seven-age PDF) and am including Eligibility here as that’s usually my first question,

2. ELIGIBILITY

Contest is open to all Canadian residents who a re full time students in grades 6 and 7 who areenrolled at an educational institute in Canada.
For any contestant who has not reached the age of majority in their province (a “minor”) parentor guardian consent is necessary to enter the Contest and participate in the prize.

Parent/guardian will be responsible for minor’s participation in the prize. Where appropriate,
the terms “contestant” and “winner” mean parent or guardian of the minor.

If a minor contestant has not received consent to enter the Con test or a minor winner do es noth ave parental/guardian consent to participate in the prize, or, where applicable, does not havea parent/guardian to accompany them in the prize, the prize shall be forfeited and a newpotential winner may be selected by CBC in its sole discretion.

Employees of CBC, Prize Provider and their respective affiliates, as well as such persons
immediate family (father/mother, brother/sister, son/daughter) or persons living under the
same roof are not eligible to enter this Contest.

CBC Law Department July 2017

Good luck!

British Columbia Science and Policy Conference

Some of the text seems a little overblown but I’ll get to that in a minute. British Columbia’s first (I believe it’s the very first ever) science policy conference is coming up on May 11, 2018 from 12 pm to 5 pm somewhere on the University of British Columbia (UBC) campus (presumablythe Vancouver campus). You can find more on the 2018 BC Science and Policy Conference webpage.

Impressively, they have 10 speakers lined up (from the Speakers page,

Terry Lake

Terry Lake is the Vice President of Corporate Social Responsibility for Hydropothecary Corporation, a licensed producer of medical cannabis in Gatineau Quebec. Before returning to the private sector, Terry served as a member of the BC Legislature for Kamloops with appointments as Environment Minister and Health Minister. He was Mayor of Kamloops and an instructor of Animal Health Technology at Thompson Rivers University. Prior to his career as a veterinarian, Terry was a broadcast journalist in Alberta working for Broadcast News, a division of Canadian Press. Lake was awarded Canada’s Public Health Hero Award by the Canadian Public Health Association for his ground breaking harm reduction initiatives launched in the face of BC’s opioid epidemic. He maintains a keen interest in public health and is an advocate of exploring the use of cannabis as a substitute for opioids and other substances.

Wendy Palen

Dr. Wendy Palen is an Associate Professor in Biological Sciences at Simon Fraser where her research focuses on the ecology of aquatic communities in the Pacific Northwest. Her passion for aquatic conservation has led her to serve as Board Chair of Evidence for Democracy, an organization that advocates for science and smart decision making in Canada. She is also committed to training the next generation of scientists to resolve ecological and conservation problems through her work as a co-founder of Earth to Ocean Research Group and as an Associate Director of the Liber Ero Postdoctoral Fellows program in applied conservation.

Sam Sullivan

Sam Sullivan is a twice-elected Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia for the riding of Vancouver False Creek and served as Mayor of Vancouver from 2005-2008. He is a member of the Order of Canada and is the only non-medical doctor in the country to be made an Honorary Member of the 22,000-member College of Family Physicians of Canada. His work champions evidence-based policy development with respect to urban densification and drug prohibition alternatives that address social challenges.

Kei Koizumi

Kei is a Visiting Scholar in science policy at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) where he explores ways to bring science, the public, and policy together. Previously, he served as Assistant Director for Federal Research and Development and Senior Advisor to the Director for the National Science and Technology Council at the White House Office of Science and Technology during the Obama-Biden administration. Kei is a leading authority on federal support for research and development, and coordinating federal policy in collaboration with White House staff, Federal agencies, Congress, and the science and technology community.

Dan Reist

Dan Reist leads a team within the Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research at the University of Victoria that focuses on communicating current evidence in a way that supports the evolution of effective policy and practice. With a background in continental philosophy and hermeneutics, Dan is quick to acknowledge that evidence is far more than statistics about patterns of use and harm and includes attention to the ways we as human beings experience and talk about drugs and drug use in our cultures and communities.

Amani Saini

Amani Saini is the President and Founder of Adverse Drug Reaction Canada, an organization committed to preventing the 4th leading cause of death for Canadians: adverse drug reactions. Her efforts are motivated by her sister’s near death experience from an adverse drug reaction to a common over the counter ibuprofen drug. They do so by bringing together patients, families, policy-makers, scientists, researchers, health care providers and academics to advocate, develop policy solutions and advance research. She holds a Master of Public Administration from Dalhousie University and a BA in Political Science from UBC. She is also the 2016 recipient of the Canadian Science Policy Award of Excellence.

Maxwell A. Cameron

Maxwell A. Cameron (Ph.D., California, Berkeley, 1989) directs the Centre for the Study of Democratic Institutions at UBC and founded the Summer Institute for Future Legislators. His research focuses on comparative democratization in Latin America, constitutions, and the role of wisdom and judgment in politics. His publications include Democracy and Authoritarianism in Peru, The Political Economy of North American Free Trade, and To Walk Without Fear: The Global Movement to Ban Landmines. Cameron created the Andean Democracy Research Network to monitor and report on the state of democracy in the Andean region, with funding from the Glyn Berry Program of the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Canada, the Ford Foundation, and IDRC. His forthcoming book, Political Institutions and Practical Wisdom will be published by Oxford University Press later this year.

Laurel L. Schafer

Dr. Schafer fulfills her role as the Canada Research Chair in Catalyst Development by researching chemical catalysts that allow for safe, waste-free, and environmentally friendly methods of producing chemicals. Her work impacts the chemical, pharmaceutical, agrochemical, and petrochemical industries – everything from the preparation of compostable plastics to potential treatments for chronic pain. She has published over 80 research papers and received several prestigious awards for both her research and teaching, including the UBC Sustainability Fellowship (2011), the Killam Award for Excellence in Mentoring (2013), and the Clara Benson Award (2015). She is also a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Sally Otto

Dr. Otto is a Professor in Zoology at the University of British Columbia, Director of the Centre for Biodiversity Research, and a recipient of numerous awards including the coveted MacArthur Fellowship. Her research aims to understand how evolutionary processes have generated the wondrous diversity of biological features observed in the natural world. She addresses this fundamental topic using a combination of mathematical theory, statistical inference, and evolutionary experiments. In addition, she encourages scientists to engage in public policy through her work launching and directing the Liber Ero Fellowship Program and as initiator and advisor of the Mitacs Canadian Science Policy Fellowships.

Maria Giammarco

Maria is a Mitacs Science Policy Fellow and Behavioural Scientist with the Behavioural Insights Group in the BC Public Service. As a public service scientist, Maria uses experimental research methodologies and knowledge of how humans behave in the real world to guide public policy challenges and to improve citizen services. Maria holds a PhD in Psychology and Neuroscience, and has formerly worked as a science policy researcher at the Council of Canadian Academies, as a consultant with Dialectic Solutions, and as a course instructor at the University of Guelph.

Tickets are $79 for general admission or $20 if you’re a trainee.

Here’s the programme,

Our program at a glance*

12:00 – 12:20

Introductory Remarks
Sam Sullivan

12:20 – 1:20

Theme 1 – Lightning Talks
How does science research currently affect policy development in BC?
Amani Saini, Conny Lin

1:20 – 1:40

Coffee Break

1:40 – 2:30

Theme 2 – Panel Discussion
What is the relationship between the scientific community and public policy makers?
Laurel Schafer, Lynn Raymond, Sally Otto

2:30 – 2:40

2:40 – 3:00

Mitacs Canadian Science Policy Fellowship Program

Coffee Break

3:00 – 3:45

Keynote Address
Terry Lake & Wendy Palen

3:45 – 4:45

Theme 3 – Audience Discussion
What is BC’s science policy strategy and how can it be improved?
Dan Reist

4:45 – 5:00

Closing Remarks

*Program is tentative and times may be subject to change

I was not able to find any information about the organizers but at least some information can be inferred from the About webpage,

The expectation that government decision-making be built on a foundation of credible evidence has become a growing demand of the Canadian public. [emphasis mine] Access to information, availability of appropriate resources, and strong relationships with researchers are just a few of the many factors required to ensure government can obtain the best available data. While both researchers and government can agree that an evidence-based approach to policy-making is critical, the relationships between these sectors are not so clearly established and defined. Thus, to better support government efforts towards evidence-based decision making, it is worthwhile to keep strengthening the channels that bridge these gaps.

Canada’s current federal government reaffirmed its commitment to evidence-based decision making through the creation of a Ministry of Science and the re-appointment of a Chief Science Advisor, to name a few examples. Moreover, the commissioning of the Fundamental Science Review (also known as The Naylor Report) has brought much needed attention towards the critical role fundamental research plays in the growth of Canadian society. With increasing support towards science for policy at the federal level comes an opportunity for governments to capitalize on this momentum at the provincial level. Many domains fall under the jurisdiction of provincial governments, including health, education, natural resources, and social services. Moreover, provinces are the primary funders of Universities, and are therefore linked to Canada’s scientific efforts.

Following in the footsteps of the “Bridging the Gap between Life Sciences and Politics” conference series at the University of British Columbia, the 2018 British Columbia Science & Policy Conference aims to open up a discussion about the current status on the use of science for policy in British Columbia. Our goal will be to not only bring forward ideas on how we can better facilitate the communication and mobilization of scientific knowledge in policy development, but to drive motivation for change among both researchers and government to better support the sustained integration of science into everyday government decision making.

Was there some sort of general populist movement in BC or any other part of Canada demanding that government-decision-making be based on evidence? Certainly, experts have made those kinds of demands but as far as I’m can tell the demise of the penny aroused more passion from ‘average’ people. Which Canadian public made the demand? At a guess, someone got carried away by their own rhetoric.

After glancing at the speakers’ bios., it’s no surprise to see that a series of ‘life science and politics’ meetings birthed this conference.

Substance abuse and drug use seem to be of particular interest with political science and the environment rounding out the range of sciences represented by the speakers.

Should you be interested in attending, they are still looking speakers for their Lightning Talks and, if you have financial concerns but would like to attend, the organizers encourage you to contact them: info@thespin.ca

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CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) Vancouver science fair and BC (British Columbia) science policy conference

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) Vancouver science fair

Calling all grades six and seven students! CBC Vancouver is holding its first-ever Science Fair on Sunday, May 27th, 2018, and we are looking for your creative submissions.

British Columbia Science and Policy Conference

Our program at a glance*