We are members of the genus Homo, distinguished from other primates as bipedal great apes. So far, we have found fossil evidence for several other members of our genus, i.e., several other humans. How does a fossil gain entry into this exclusive club? How many members are there? What do we currently know about these possible relatives — and why aren’t they alive, today, walking upright among us?
Our speaker is biological anthropologist Julie Hui, Adjunct Professor at the College of Marin. Julie was — and is — a Wonderfest Science Envoy who takes science outreach seriously.
HOW: This event is free and unticketed ... and valuable. But what value does it have for YOU? Accordingly, please use the space below to support Wonderfest in its nonprofit mission to share the scientific outlook.
Over 20,000(!) species of mushroom-forming fungi support the health and diversity of multiple ecosystems. Technically, what are mushrooms? How do they live, and what are some of the myriad ways they disperse, reproduce, and (even) communicate? Perhaps most important, how can we use mushrooms to help feed humanity and heal the biosphere?
Our speaker is Dr. Dennis Desjardin, Professor Emeritus of Biology at San Francisco State University, and Director Emeritus of SFSU’s Thiers Herbarium. As the author of California Mushrooms and Chief Mycologist for Tempera Organics, Inc., Dr. Desjardin is known as the “Mushroom Guru of the West Coast.” This event is co-presented by Wonderfest and the San Francisco Public Library.
Dr. Dennis Desjardin
WHAT: The Wonder of Mushrooms
WHO: Dr. Dennis Desjardin, Professor Emeritus of Biology, San Francisco State University [https://faculty.sfsu.edu/~ded/]
WHERE: SF Public Library, Main branch, Latino/Hispanic Rm, 100 Larkin Street, San Francisco, CA 94102 [https://sfpl.org]
Wonderfest Science Envoys are early-career researchers with special communication skills and aspirations. Following short talks on provocative modern science topics, these two Science Envoys will answer questions with insight and enthusiasm:
• UC Berkeley biologist Kristy Mualim on Genetic Biodiversity Loss in the Anthropocene — In the Anthropocene, the age of planet-wide human impact, activities like habitat destruction, pollution, and resource overuse cause rapid loss of genetic diversity. This loss makes it harder for plants and animals to adapt to changes in the environment, putting entire species at risk of extinction. Protecting genetic diversity is crucial for keeping ecosystems healthy, and for ensuring the survival of life on Earth.
• UC Berkeley demographer Chris Soria on Partisan Differences in the Spread of Disease — Political partisanship significantly influences how different groups respond to public health guidance, affecting their adherence to protective measures against infectious diseases. Understanding partisan-based disparities in acceptance of scientific evidence helps us to predict the population-wide spread of diseases, and to improve public health outcomes.
This interactive science presentation, free and unticketed, is produced by Wonderfest in partnership with Marin Science Seminar.
WHAT: Ask a Science Envoy: Anthropocene Alarm; Partisan Contagion
WHO: Kristy Mualim (UC Berkeley) & Chris Soria (UC Berkeley), Wonderfest Science Envoys
HOW: What value does this free science experience have for you and, indirectly, for society? Accordingly, please contribute to nonprofit Wonderfest via the "Donate" button below.
Science is for everyone, and benefits everyone. But American science is in deep trouble. In a podcast entitled Cuts to Science Funding and Why They Matter, physicist and author Sean Carroll thunders that recent presidential executive orders constitute “an absolutely devastating blow to the way science gets done in the United States.” On Friday afternoon, March 7th, Wonderfest joins thousands of the thoughtful to Stand Up for Science at San Francisco’s Civic Center Plaza. Please join us!
Stand Up for Science is a grassroots organization led by five early-career scientists — along with many volunteers (like us) — who work to protect the American science enterprise.
HOW: Please register via the Eventbrite link, below. Then, to join your fellow Wondernauts on March 7th, look for a big hand-held sign bearing Wonderfest's blue-and-black eyeball logo. Collaborators: Stand Up for Science [https://standupforscience2025.org]
Earth’s air teems with invisible life. Each of us inhales roughly 100 gallons of air per hour, and the possible peril is, alas, anything but palpable: from gaseous pollutants to weaponized pathogens. The study of life in the atmosphere, aerobiology, is a particularly challenging subject. For example, scientists needed two years to finally agree that the Covid pandemic was caused by an airborne virus. Wonderfest joins the Commonwealth Club online to present science writer Carl Zimmer in discussion of his latest book, Air-Borne: The Hidden History of the Life We Breathe. The conversation will likely be breathtaking.
Carl Zimmer is the author of fifteen books about science, and his “Origins” column (on life’s diversity) appears regularly in the New York Times. Of Zimmer’s preceding book, Life’s Edge (2021), Nobel Laureate Jennifer Doudna wrote, “Carl Zimmer shows what a great suspense novel science can be. … Prepare to be enthralled.”
Use the "Tickets" link (below) to access the Commonwealth Club's event webpage. During online ticket purchase, use discount code WonderfestPromo for a ticket price reduction of $10, making this entire Carl Zimmer online experience FREE.
Collaborators: The Commonwealth Club of California
