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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

Growing New Body Parts

Tue, May 3, 2005

Tissue engineering involves the application of the principles and methods of engineering and the life sciences towards the development of biological substitutes to restore, maintain, or improve functions of tissues or organs. It is expected that engineered tissues can help address the growing problem of tissue and organ failure by implanting tissue substitutes grown in the laboratory that can provide immediate function and integrate with surrounding host issues. The field relies on an interdisciplinary approach to solve complex tissue and organ problems in the laboratory. Teams of engineers, biologists and clinicians are essential to the successful engineering of these systems. Requirements for tissue engineering generally include a cell source (often stem cells), biomaterial scaffolds (the structures upon which the cells will stick, grow and produce new tissue) and a bioreactor (laboratory environment designed to mimic some of the conditions present during normal tissue development). With the advanced systems we now have, tissues similar to those in our body can be generated in the laboratory. As a result of active research in the area, new opportunities become available, including the repair and replacement of damaged or diseased tissues in the body, the use of these tissues for the study of disease formation and progression (such as cancer), and therapeutic treatments (such as to identify new drugs). We have prepared a set of four presentations to illustrate some of the exciting opportunities that tissue engineering offers to clinical medicine.

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Museum of Science, Boston
Monsters, Dwarfs, and Everything in Between

Wed, Apr 20, 2005

Sally Baliunas discusses how physics enables us to study rare and distant stars, from monsters 100 times heavier than the sun, to white dwarfs no larger than Earth but more than 100,000 times more dense. Baliunas explains that inside the nucleus of an atom, the laws of quantum mechanics successfully describe the domain of the incredibly small; yet the same laws influence the very large, including such objects as stars.

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Museum of Science, Boston
Early Universe and the Origin of Galaxies I

Wed, Sep 21, 2005

Join us for the first in an eight-part lecture series that examines the "arrow of time" of cosmic evolution.

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Museum of Science, Boston
Birth and Death of Stars and Planets I

Wed, Sep 28, 2005

Astronomer Michael Shara and planetologist Dimitar Sasselov explore the many varied changes that have produced our star and our planet as we examine the "arrow of time" of cosmic evolution.

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Museum of Science, Boston
Origin and Evolution of Life on Earth I

Wed, Oct 5, 2005

Lynn Rothschild, NASA astrobiologist, talks about cosmic evolution. Cosmic evolution is the modern scientific story of who we are and whence we came; the story of us.

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Museum of Science, Boston
Onset of Civilization and Prospects for the Future I

Wed, Oct 12, 2005

Fred Speir and Jill Tarter examine the continuously unfolding story of cosmic evolution, the modern scientific story of who we are and whence we came.

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Museum of Science, Boston
Next Generation Communication Technologies

Wed, Jan 14, 2004

This discussion looks at the current and potential uses of communications technologies and what the implications may be for today and tomorrow. From the invention of the telegraph in 1837 to modern day digital cell phones and GPS navigation systems, communication technologies have come a long way in a short time. Communication devices now serve a broad range of uses, from controlling satellites more than a billion miles from Earth to communicating with tiny networks of devices inside the human body.

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Museum of Science, Boston
Double Helix: Genomes to Biological Networks

Wed, Mar 5, 2003

This is the fourth in a four-part series of lectures celebrating the 50th anniversary of Watson and Crick's discovery of DNA in 1953. These lectures explore the impact this breakthrough is having on scientific discovery today. Part IV: The human genome project has provided researchers with a growing list of genes; but the key to understanding life, both in health and sickness, is the script that outlines how these cellular players interact with each other. Ideker discusses how researchers are using new approaches to biology to map out cell circuitry and illuminate the cause of disease.

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Museum of Science, Boston
Stem Cell Research and Policy

Fri, Nov 19, 2004

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.

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Museum of Science, Boston
Psychology of Surveys: Measuring Public Opinion

Fri, Nov 5, 2004

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.

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Museum of Science, Boston