Jun
8
June Café Scientifique with Simone Castellarin
Posted by: jdewitt | June 8, 2015 | Leave a Comment
Dear Café Scientifiquers, our next café will happen on Tuesday June 30th, 7:30pm at The Railway Club. Our speaker for the evening will be Dr. Simone Castellarin. The title of his talk is:
Chemical Makeup of Grapes: How Grape Variety and Climate Determine Wine Quality
Winemaking technologies and styles are critical to transforming high quality grapes into premium wines, but the quality of wine is really a process that begins in the vineyard.
Wine flavor and aroma are determined by a complex matrix of compounds accumulated in grapes during their development. This matrix includes organic acids, tannins, anthocyanins (the pigments of red grapes), and aromatics, as well as a large amount of sugars that are transformed into ethanol during fermentation. Even though the genetic background of grape varieties has a strong imprint on the chemical makeup of grapes, environmental factors (e.g., temperature, sunlight, water availability) interact with genes to determine the basis for the wide spectrum of wines we can find in the store shelves.
In this talk, we will explore the effects that the complex relationships between grape varieties and environmental factors have on the composition of the fruit and quality of wines. In addition, we will touch on how the study of grapevine genomes and their interaction with climate may boost the ability of viticulturists to understand the underlying biology that determines the complexity of wines, and the tools that they can employ to improve fruit composition and wine quality.
May
10
May Café Scientifique with Andrew DeBenedictis
Posted by: jdewitt | May 10, 2015 | Leave a Comment
Dear Café Scientifiquers, our next café will happen on Tuesday May 26th, 7:30pm at The Railway Club. Our speaker for the evening will be Dr. Andrew DeBenedictis. The title of his talk is:
Black holes, wormholes, warp-drives, and time-machines: What does science have to say about these?
There are many fantastic devices from physics in books and in movies such as Interstellar. These concepts capture the imagination but are generally in the realm of science fiction. However, it may be surprising to learn that there is some real (albeit rather far-fetched) science behind these phenomena. This talk will introduce these topics and present a non-mathematical introduction to the physical theories that govern them. We will discuss what is possible (and even likely), what is highly unlikely, and why it is so.
Apr
1
April Café Scientifique with Matthew Ramer and John Kramer
Posted by: jdewitt | April 1, 2015 | Leave a Comment
Dear Café Scientifiquers, our next café will happen on Tuesday April 28th, 7:30pm at The Railway Club. Our speakers for the evening will be Dr. Matthew Ramer and Dr. John Kramer. The title of their talk is:
Knowing Pains: How can we study pain to better treat it?
Pain is arguably the most useful of sensations. It is nature’s way of telling us to stop doing whatever it is we are doing in order to prevent damage, and to protect injured body parts during the healing process. In the absence of pain (in certain congenital conditions and in advanced diabetes, for example), the consequence can be loss of limbs and even of life.
There are circumstances, however, when pain serves no useful purpose: it persists when the injury has healed or occurs in the absence of any frank tissue damage, and is inappropriate in context (previously innocuous stimuli become painful) and magnitude (mildly painful stimuli become excruciating). This is called neuropathic pain and is incredibly difficult to treat because it is unresponsive to all of the drugs we use to treat normal, useful (“acute”) pain.
Ultimately, our research is aimed at finding new ways to minimise suffering from neuropathic pain. Prerequisites to this goal include understanding how normal and neuropathic pain are encoded and perceived by the nervous system, and accurately measuring and quantifying pain so that we can draw reasonable conclusions about whether or not a particular treatment is effective. We will discuss some historical and current ideas of how pain is transmitted from body to brain, and emphasize that the pain “channel” is not hard-wired, but like the process of learning, it is plastic, labile, and subject to “top-down” control. We will also tackle the contentious issue of pain measurement in the clinic and laboratory.
Mar
3
March Café Scientifique with Michael Hughes
Posted by: jdewitt | March 3, 2015 | 2 Comments
Dear Café Scientifiquers, our next café will happen on Tuesday March 31st, 7:30pm at The Railway Club. Our speaker for the evening will be Dr. Michael Hughes, a Research Associate in the Department of Medical Genetics at UBC. The title of his talk is:
Psychedelic Medicine: The History & Science of LSD in the Clinic
Ergot is a fungus that grows on rye and other grains that has been blamed (rightly or wrongly) for episodes of mass hysteria throughout history. Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) was first synthesized from ergot in 1938 by a Swiss chemist named Albert Hoffman, who, at the height of World War II, also discovered (somewhat mysteriously) its psychedelic properties. LSD soon came to the attention of the U.S. Army who quickly proceeds to buy up all the supply – primarily to keep it out of the hands of its enemies. Throughout the Cold War, elements in U.S. defense and security agencies engage in experiments by secretly slipping LSD to citizens with dangerous (and sometimes comical) consequences with the goal of perfecting brainwashing and mind control. Canadian scientists at McGill participated in some of these studies, thinking they could use LSD to cure psychoses. These unethical and largely unscientific experiments were akin to psychological torture. Meanwhile, the public discovered the recreational benefits of LSD and the hippie movement adopted the drug as a symbol and vehicle to enlightenment. Largely for this reason, in the early ‘70s LSD was classified as a Schedule-1 drug in the U.S. restricted legal access stopped most research and hopes of the clinical benefits of LSD was abandoned and all but forgotten. Recently, scientists, mostly working outside of the U.S. and Canada, have rediscovered LSD’s efficacy for the treatment of psychiatric disorders including post-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD) and existential fear in terminally ill patients. Are we ready for a new wave of ethical human research to (re)-discover the clinical benefits of LSD? Take a journey through the strange history of LSD research and learn about its potential applications in medicine. What a long, strange trip it’s been.
Jan
29
February Café Scientifique with Kyle Demes
Posted by: jdewitt | January 29, 2015 | Leave a Comment
Dear Café Scientifiquers, our next café will happen on Tuesday February 24th, 7:30pm at The Railway Club. Our speaker for the evening will be Dr. Kyle Demes, a Hakai Postdoctoral Fellow in the Coastal Marine Ecology and Conservation lab at SFU. The title of his talk is:
Inland Oil Sands and Coastal Ecology
Rising overseas oil demand has contributed to a series of proposed pipeline expansion and construction projects to move bitumen from areas of extraction in the interior of Canada to the coast, where it can be loaded onto tankers for shipment. These proposals represent a focal point of controversy in discussions around energy development, climate change and policy across North America and are one of the largest environmental concerns facing British Columbians. I will discuss the ways in which bitumen extraction, transport and shipment influence coastal marine ecosystems, identifying both potential and certain environmental impacts linked with the acceleration of oil sands operations to our coast. I will also review how well we understand each of these environmental impacts, emphasizing key uncertainties in our knowledge and how these gaps affect our ability to make informed decisions on these controversial proposals.
Jan
14
January Café Scientifique with Chris Muir
Posted by: jdewitt | January 14, 2015 | Leave a Comment
Dear Café Scientifiquers, our next café will happen on Tuesday January 27th, 7:30pm at The Railway Club. Our speaker for the evening will be Dr. Chris Muir, a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Biodiversity Research Centre at the University of British Columbia. The title of his talk is:
More than salad: the inner lives of leaves
To most of us, leaves are the green things in a salad or the emblem on our flag. To a biologist, leaves are the critical interface between a plant and its environment. I will talk about some of the remarkable ways that leaves adapt plants to their environment. First, I will cover some basic functions that leaves perform for a plant: How do plants eat? How do plants avoid being eaten? What goes on inside a leaf? Next, I will talk about some of the unorthodox ways that leaves help plants make a living: How do plants without roots get water? Why do leaves track the sun? How did the Swiss Cheese Plant get its holes? The close connection between a leaf’s form and its function to the plant attests to the relentless action of natural selection in adapting organisms to their environment.
Nov
9
November Café Scientifique with Aaron Boley
Posted by: jdewitt | November 9, 2014 | Leave a Comment
Dear Café Scientifiquers, our next café will happen on Tuesday November 25th, 7:30pm at The Railway Club. Our speaker for the evening will be Dr. Aaron Boley. The title of his talk is:
More Than Science Fiction: Planets beyond the Solar System
For centuries we have relied on only the Solar System for understanding our origins. To dream of distant worlds was a mixture of reasoning, conjecture, and science fiction. Now, thousands of planets have been discovered outside of the Solar System, and we continue to learn more about the Solar System itself. In this talk, we will explore the wide variety of planetary systems that have so far been observed in the Galaxy. These new worlds, both alien and familiar, challenge our theories, but also give us new information for unlocking planet formation’s secrets.
Oct
13
October Café Scientifique with Katie Marshall
Posted by: jdewitt | October 13, 2014 | Leave a Comment
Dear Café Scientifiquers, our next café will happen on Tuesday October 28th, 7:30pm at The Railway Club. Our speaker for the evening will be Dr. Katie Marshall. The title of her talk is:
Life in the Frozen Lane
There’s a long list of animals that can survive freezing solid that includes animals as diverse as mussels, woolly caterpillars, frogs, and turtles. How and why do they do it? What can we learn from the animals that do? Surviving freezing is a surprisingly complicated process that involves a wide array of biochemical tricks that we humans are just learning how to mimic. This talk will walk through the basics of how freezing happens, how it can be manipulated, and showcase some of Canada’s best freeze tolerant animals.
Sep
9
September Café Scientifique with Joel Kelly
Posted by: jdewitt | September 9, 2014 | Leave a Comment
Dear Café Scientifiquers, our next café will happen on Tuesday September 30th, 7:30pm at The Railway Club. Our speaker for the evening will be Dr. Joel Kelly. The title of his talk is:
The Chemistry of Beer
Why does Guinness pair perfectly with a hearty stew? Why are the soft waters of the Czech Republic better for brewing lagers, while the hard waters of Burton, England ideal for brewing India Pale Ales? What do hops and marijuana share in common? The answer to all of these questions is CHEMISTRY! I will present a story in four parts (malt, yeast, hops and water) on the chemistry of beer. We will sample a variety of beers across the spectrum to highlight the wonderful variety of molecules that beer can provide.
Please note: The Railway Club have kindly agreed to have a sampler of 4 4 oz beers available for $7.50 inc. tax which will complement this talk. You are advised to arrive early so you have enough time to get your beer before 7:30 pm.
Aug
10
August Café Scientifique with Carlos Ventura
Posted by: jdewitt | August 10, 2014 | Leave a Comment
Dear Café Scientifiquers, our next café will happen on Tuesday August 26th, 7:30pm at The Railway Club. Our speaker for the evening will be Dr. Carlos Ventura, the Director of the Earthquake Engineering Research Facility (EERF) at UBC. The title of his talk is:
A Megathrust Earthquake in the West Coast – The clock is ticking
The theme of the talk is about the effects of megathrust earthquakes in the last ten years in the built environment, and the lessons that we have learned from them. These are helping us understand better what would be the possible effects of the “big one” on the West Coast of BC. Some of the research that we are doing at UBC to better understand the effects of this type of earthquake will be discussed.
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