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Free online lectures: Explore a world of ideas

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Museum of Science, Boston

One of the world's largest science centers, the Museum of Science, Boston attracts 1.6 million visitors a year through vibrant programs and over 550 interactive exhibits. Its mission is to stimulate interest in and further understanding of science and technology and their importance for individuals and society. Other features include the Thomson Theater of Electricity; Current Science & Technology Center; Charles Hayden Planetarium; Gilliland Observatory; and Mugar Omni Theater. The Museum's exhibit plan, Science Is an Activity, has been awarded several National Science Foundation grants and profoundly influenced exhibit development at other major science centers.

http://www.mos.org

  • Dr. Eric Lander, director of genome research at the Whitehead/MIT Institute, talks about the tools of modern genome research that he and his research group have developed, including genomic maps of the human, mouse and rat genomes in connection with the Human Genome Project and techniques for genetic analyses of complex, multigenic traits. He has applied these techniques to the understanding of cancer, diabetes, hypertension, renal failure and dwarfism.
    Partner:
    Museum of Science, Boston
  • Timothy Maher follows the lifespan of a new chemical entity from initial discovery, through synthesis, preclinical and clinical testing, to approval, launch and post-marketing surveillance. Maher charts the ups and downs along the way from before a drug is approved, through marketing, and use and beyond; and he answers questions like: What is a "black-box" warning? Who's looking out for your well-being? Should "Fen-Phen" have ever happened? What about Vioxx? This project is supported by a Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA) from the National Center for Research Resources, National Institutes of Health. It does not necessarily represent the official views of NCRR or NIH.
    Partner:
    Museum of Science, Boston
  • Join the IgNobel Prizes founder and host Marc Abrahams for a look at some of the most mind-popping IgNobel Prize winners. The IgNobel Prizes, awarded annually at a ceremony at Harvard University, honor things that first make people laugh, and then make them think. The awards are designed to celebrate the unusual, honor the imaginative, and spur people's interest in science, medicine and technology.
    Partner:
    Museum of Science, Boston
  • Roy Gould, a researcher at the Harvard Center for Astrophysics tackles the question of how physics will help reveal the true nature of the cosmos.
    Partner:
    Museum of Science, Boston
  • Judy Norsigian, an expert in women's health issues and founder of the landmark book, *Our Bodies, Ourselves*, examines the media's increasing impact on women's medical decisions and public perception of illnesses such as breast cancer, depression, and addiction. Recorded for the 2005 National Women's Health Week. (Photo: "[Messalina by Eugène Cyrille Brunet](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Messalina_by_Eug%C3%A8ne_Cyrille_Brunet.JPG#/media/File:Messalina_by_Eug%C3%A8ne_Cyrille_Brunet.JPG "")" by Caroline Léna Becker - Self-photographed. Licensed under CC)
    Partner:
    Museum of Science, Boston
  • Peter Galison introduces us to the world that Einstein grew up in, and subsequently changed forever, with the release of his earth shattering theory of special relativity.
    Partner:
    Museum of Science, Boston
  • Marcia Bartusiak discusses new observatories that allow astronomers to place their hands upon the fabric of space-time and feel the very rhythms of the universe. These vibrations in space-time, called gravity waves, are the last prediction of Einstein's general theory of relativity yet to be observed directly; and the first new astronomy of the 21st century.
    Partner:
    Museum of Science, Boston
  • George Daley and his team of stem cell rearchers from Harvard Medical School discuss the scientific and medical potential of stem cells, as well as the controversy and the impact of the recent election on stem cell policy. Following the presentation, the team engages in a public discussion about the ideas, questions and concerns that lecture attendees have about stem cell research. This project is supported by a Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA) from the National Center for Research Resources, National Institutes of Health. It does not necessarily represent the official views of NCRR or NIH.
    Partner:
    Museum of Science, Boston
  • Barry C. Burden of Harvard University lectures on the science and technology behind measuring public opinion. How can we know what 200 million Americans think, feel, and know? Can telephone interviews with a few hundred people really describe public opinion? How much can answers be manipulated by rewording the questions? This lecture is ASL interpreted.
    Partner:
    Museum of Science, Boston
  • Brothers David and Gregory Chudnovsky discuss their contribution to the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Unicorn Tapestries project. To create an exact visual reproduction of one of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Unicorn Tapestries, digital cameras photographed every inch. When the hundreds of digital photographic files didn't fit smoothly together, the Chudnovsky brothers, co-directors of the Institute for Mathematics and Advanced Supercomputing, were brought in to solve the mystery. Art and science have continually flirted over the centuries. Both investigate. Both involve theories and transforming information into something else. This lecture is a part of a Museum of Science series "When Science Meets Art", which examines the mysterious symbiosis of science with art through the ingenuity of those shattering the boundaries between the two fields.
    Partner:
    Museum of Science, Boston