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StrongAging

Strong Aging – Jan 25

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What can we do, today, to improve muscle strength and, accordingly, to increase healthy longevity, i.e., healthspan? It starts by understanding the science of strength and of muscle function, and then appreciating how muscle changes with aging. Ultimately, we find that healthspan increases with simple and effective evidence-based strategies for improving muscle health and function.

Our speaker, Dr. Greg Tranah, PhD, is Professor of Epidemiology & Biostatistics at UC San Francisco. He is also Senior Scientist at California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute.


Dr. Greg Tranah

WHAT: The Science of Healthy Muscle, Strength, and Aging
WHO: Dr. Greg Tranah, Professor of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, UCSF [https://sfcc.ucsf.edu/gregory-j-tranah-phd]
WHERE: Berkeley Public Library, West Branch, 1125 University Avenue, Berkeley CA 94720
WHEN: Saturday, January 25 — 4pm (1.5 hour)
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.
Collaborators:
Berkeley Public Library [www.berkeleypubliclibrary.org]
Enrico&Rachel

Life’s Code + Gut Feeling – May 28

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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 plant biologist Enrico Calvanese on The Interpreters of Life’s Code — Proteins are molecular machines that enable all cellular life. How proteins are produced infuses our understanding of microbiology. New research proposes a novel understanding of how proteins come to exist, promising to open an entirely new dimension of cellular life.

• Stanford biophysicist Rachel Porter on The Bacterial Space Age — Like human communities, bacterial communities are shaped by the available food, water, and space. Researchers largely understand the importance of food and water for bacteria in the human digestive system. However, only now are we discovering the importance of spatial organization for bacteria within our gut microbiome.

This interactive science presentation, free and unticketed, is produced by Wonderfest in partnership with Marin Science Seminar.

 

WHAT: Ask a Science Envoy: Life's Code + Gut Feeling
WHO: Enrico Calvanese & Rachel Porter, Wonderfest Science Envoys [https://wonderfest.org/science-envoy/]
WHERE: HopMonk Tavern, 224 Vintage Way, Novato, CA 94945 [https://www.hopmonk.com/novato]
WHEN: 2024-05-28 — 7pm, Tuesday, May 28 (1 hour)
HOW:

What value does this FREE science experience have for you and, indirectly, for society? Accordingly, please consider making a donation to nonprofit Wonderfest via the Eventbrite box, below.


Collaborators:
Marin Science Seminar [https://marinscienceseminar.com]

AnesthesiaVsHibernation

Human Hibernation? – Jan 9

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Sci-Fi movies often depict hibernation as the secret to long-duration human spaceflight. (Note: Even with ideal starship acceleration and deceleration — AND with the benefit of relativistic effects — the nearest exoplanet is 3.6 years away!) Of course, the boundary between science fiction and science fantasy is hazy. Advances in anesthesia may facilitate hibernation. Physiologically, however, general anesthesia is detrimental in the short term, and worse in the long term. Will long-spaceflight medical advances ever be able to deal with this sobering hibernation fact: roughly half of naturally-hibernating animals never revive!

Our speaker is Dr. Art Wallace, Professor and Vice-Chair of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Care at UC San Francisco. He is also Chief of Anesthesia at San Francisco's Veterans Affairs Medical Center.


Dr. Art Wallace, MD, PhD

WHAT: Anesthesia and Hibernation: Enduring Deep-Space Travel
WHO: Dr. Art Wallace, MD, PhD, Professor and Vice-Chair of Anesthesiology, UCSF [https://anesthesia.ucsf.edu/people/arthur-wallace]
WHERE: HopMonk Tavern, 224 Vintage Way, Novato CA 94945 [https://www.hopmonk.com/novato]
WHEN: 2024-01-09 — 7pm, Tuesday, Jan 9 (1.5 hr)
HOW:

This event is FREE and unticketed ... and valuable. But what value does it have for YOU? Accordingly, please consider a donation to nonprofit Wonderfest via the Eventbrite window, below.


NextScientist-1

Next Scientist #1 – Nov 2

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Next Scientist is a new Wonderfest series of online presentations. Every Next Scientist Zoom consists of two 30-minute presentations (including 10 minutes of Q&A), each featuring a young researcher describing next-level science:

UC Berkeley seismologist Sarina Patel on Earthquake Science Using Crowdsourced Data from Smartphones — MyShake is a free citizen-science smartphone app that delivers earthquake early warnings(!) to users in California, Oregon, and Washington. It also uses a phone’s vibration sensor to record earthquake motion for scientific analysis. How can the gadget in your pocket contribute to earthquake early warning, shake-hazard mapping, and structural-health monitoring?

Exelixis medical chemist Trevor Chang on Advances in Cancer Treatment: Synthetic Lethality — Chemotherapy is a standard component of both the treatment and study of cancer. Conventional chemotherapeutic agents are toxic to cells, underscoring the continued focus on precision medicines. Research in synthetic lethality aims to develop medicines that target specific genetic mutations expressed only in cancer cells while sparing healthy cells.

 

WHAT: Next Scientist: Smartphone Seismology & Synthetic Lethality
WHO: Sarina Patel & Trevor Chang, Wonderfest Next Scientists
WHERE: ONLINE, via Zoom [https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83316164405]
WHEN: 2023-11-02 — 7:30pm, Thursday, Nov 2 (1 hour)
HOW:

This free, online, science presentation is produced by Wonderfest in partnership with the Castro Valley Educational Foundation and Castro Valley Science.

What value does this experience — and these insights — have for YOU? Accordingly, please support nonprofit Wonderfest, the Bay Area Beacon of Science, by donating via the Eventbrite space, below.


PillsForAging

Pills For Aging – Oct 24

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How did society enable the distribution of drugs and supplements — principally in the form of pills — to billions of people? How, in particular, did “anti-aging treatments” come about? Can vitamins be efficacious against aging? Finally, what is the promise of recent supplements — developed based on our understanding of cellular biology — that influence aging in cells and model organisms, mainly mice?

Our speaker, Dr. Steve Cummings, is Professor Emeritus of Medicine, Epidemiology, and Biostatistics at UCSF. Dr. Cummings directs the San Francisco Coordinating Center, having designed and led many of the most important medical studies of human aging.

 


Dr. Steve Cummings

WHAT: Pills For Aging
WHO: Dr. Steve Cummings, Emeritus Professor of Medicine, Epidemiology, & Biostatistics, UCSF [https://sfcc.ucsf.edu/steven-r-cummings-md]
WHERE: HopMonk Tavern, 224 Vintage Way, Novato CA 94945 [https://www.hopmonk.com/novato]
WHEN: 2023-10-24 — 7pm, Tuesday, Oct 24 (1.5 hour)
HOW:

This event is FREE and unticketed ... and valuable. But what value does it have for YOU? Accordingly, please consider a donation to nonprofit Wonderfest via the Eventbrite window, below.


HealthyAging-wide+tall

Healthy Aging – Aug 29

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Modern insights into wise exercise, sleep, and diet are enhancing healthspan, the years of healthy life that one actually enjoys. This presentation focuses on human clinical data with actionable recommendations for lifestyle choices that can maximize the healthy years of life.

Our speaker, Dr. Greg Tranah, is Professor of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at UC San Francisco. He is also Director of Genetic Research at California Pacific Medical Center.

 


Dr. Greg Tranah, PhD

WHAT: The Science of Healthy Aging
WHO: Dr. Greg Tranah, PhD, Professor of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, UCSF [https://sfcc.ucsf.edu/gregory-j-tranah-phd]
WHERE: HopMonk Tavern, 224 Vintage Way, Novato CA 94945 [https://www.hopmonk.com/novato]
WHEN: 2023-08-29 — 7pm, Tuesday, August 29 (1.5 hr)
HOW:

Since Wonderfest is COVID-cautious, consider wearing a mask (provided upon request). The warm feeling of Wondernaut(!) camaraderie radiates through masks and across wide seat-spacing.

This event is FREE and unticketed ... and valuable. But what value does it have for YOU? Accordingly, please consider a donation to nonprofit Wonderfest via the Eventbrite window, below.


Creating&CoveringScience

Creating/Covering Science – Sep 5

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The married team of Katie Hafner and Robert Wachter understand both crucial sides of science: creativity and communication. Wonderfest joins the Commonwealth Club for a doubly-fascinating interview that explores the talents of both team members. Katie Hafner will discuss her groundbreaking books and her popular Lost Women of Science podcast; Dr. Robert Wachter will discuss his work in guiding the digital transformation of healthcare and in coping with the COVID crisis. [Note that this program takes place both in person and online; discounted tickets for either form of experience must be reserved via the Commonwealth Club website presented below.]

Journalist Katie Hafner is Host and Co-Executive Producer of Lost Women of Science, and author of Mother Daughter Me and The Boys. Physician Robert Wachter, Professor and Chair of Medicine at UC San Francisco, is author of Understanding Patient Safety and The Digital Doctor. They will be in conversation with the Commonwealth Club’s George Hammond.

 

WHAT: Creating and Covering Science
WHO: Katie Hafner, Journalist & Author / Robert Wachter, UCSF Chair of Medicine
WHERE: The Commonwealth Club, 110 The Embarcadero, SF, CA 94105 & ONLINE
WHEN: 2023-09-05 — 5pm PDT, Tuesday, Sep 5 (1 hour)
HOW:

Visit the Commonwealth Club event website (below) for info about the two types of tickets: in-person and online. During the final steps of ticket acquisition, use discount code WonderfestPromo for $10 off. (That price reduction renders the online ticket entirely FREE.)


TICKETS:
https://www.commonwealthclub.org/events/2023-09-05/robert-wachter-and-katie-hafner-creating-science-covering-science
MarieCurie-2

Madame Curie – Dec 21-23

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"Nothing in life is to be feared; it is only to be understood." - M. Curie

Wonderfest is delighted to present Madame Curie, a new musical-theater tribute to Earth's most accomplished female scientist. As Maria Sklodowska was becoming Marie Curie, she emigrated 1000 miles from Poland to France, overcame xenophobia and sexism, and pioneered our understanding of radioactivity. In the process, she earned Nobel prizes (plural!) in physics and chemistry, and treated — directly and indirectly — over a million WWI soldiers with her mobile X-ray units.

"I have frequently been questioned, especially by women, regarding how I could reconcile family life with a scientific career. Well, it has not been easy." - M. Curie

Madame Curie brings to life the story and spirit of a revolutionary. It features a compelling narrative, beautiful music, and eleven experienced actors who sheltered in their respective homes during recording! Fully orchestrated in the Rodgers and Hammerstein tradition, Madame Curie will revive your love of science, and it will especially inspire young women to heed their call to the passionate exploration of Nature.

"All my life through, the new sights of Nature made me rejoice like a child." - M. Curie

WHAT: Madame Curie, the New Musical
WHERE: ONLINE: Wonderfest Science YouTube channel, URL below [https://youtu.be/6sRc-s9Fenc]
WHEN: 2020-12-21 — ONGOING thru Dec 23 (2 hr)
HOW:

Madame Curie's YouTube Premiere took place on the evening of December 21st. This musical experience will continue to be available at the Wonderfest Science YouTube channel through the morning of December 24th. Simply visit the webaddress above for an inspiring start to your next revolution of the Sun ... with a revolutionary!


Collaborators:
Music and Libretto by David Kurkowski [https://www.curiethemusical.com]
Produced by Cate Cammarata [https://createtheater.com]