Category: Science

In the Spirit of Sally Ride: Margaret Leinen

8232Margaret Leinen, the warm and inspiring director of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, is the first “star” in The Constellation, a new interview series presented by Sally Ride Science@ UC San Diego featuring women enjoying successful and satisfying lives in science.

Leinen describes how her early interest in rocks led to a career in protecting the seas. Among the highlights – leading the UC delegation to the international climate talks in Paris. She and her colleagues spread the word that climate change is leaving the oceans “hot, sour and breathless.”

For more on Paris and new projects at Scripps, watch The Constellation: Margaret Leinen.

Browse more great programs on The STEAM Channel:

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Are we "good" creatures?

8232Is the capacity for ethics—the proclivity to judge human actions as either right or wrong—determined by the biological nature of human beings? And, are the systems or codes of ethical norms accepted by human beings biologically determined?

In this fascinating and thought-provoking presentation, Templeton prize recipient and eminent evolutionary biologist and philosopher Francisco J. Ayala proposes that the moral evaluation of actions emerges from human rationality and thus it is a necessary implication of our biological make-up. But the norms according to which we decide which actions are good and which actions are evil are largely culturally determined, although conditioned by biological predispositions, such as parental care.

Watch CARTA: Francisco Ayala: Evolution of Ethical Behavior and Moral Values: Biology? Culture?.

If you enjoyed this program, browse more evolution programs in the extensive CARTA archives.

Women in Biotech

8232Tina Nova is the kind of person that makes you want to get up and shout, “Hey World, look out!”

As she recalls her journey from a small town in California’s Central Valley to launching multi-million dollar companies in San Diego, she inspires some 300 high school girls gathered at the Salk Institute for a pep talk on pursuing careers in biotech.

And it’s not just her!

Janelle Ayres of Salk and three other smart and successful women follow with stories of their own paths to satisfying lives based on their love for science.

Check out Women in Biotech, presented by the STEAM Leadership Series on The STEAM Channel.

True GRIT: Research Worth Sharing from UC Santa Barbara

8232Meet some of the best minds from UC Santa Barbara as they share their ground-breaking research and innovations in technology in a new series of GRIT Talks (GRIT: Groundbreaking Research/Innovative Technology).


Look through walls with WiFi vision.

Learn about new treatments for macular degeneration.

See why even your shampoo is fascinating.

Find out about ocean change biology in California and Antarctica.

Discover what bio-sensors do and how they can be controlled inside a patient.

Use the creative process to control voluminous amounts of data.

Understand the search for a unified theory of physics.

Join this exploration into engineering, biology, chemistry, physics and technology and prepare to be fascinated. Watch GRIT Talks today.

Are you ready for the next Big Earthquake?

8232If you live in California, you’re no stranger to earthquakes, and you may worry when the next “Big One” will strike. Are you prepared? When is it likely to occur? How close will it hit? New programs from the University of California will help you find the answers.

With a population of over 18 million people, an earthquake along the San Andreas fault outside of Los Angeles could be devastating. To imagine America without Los Angeles, watch Lucy Jones’ talk as she discusses how a severe earthquake there could affect the rest of the country. While many recent advances in building codes and construction techniques have reduced some of the danger, other features of this densely populated city such as transportation, power facilities, and communication systems have led to increased vulnerability in California and beyond. If they go down, what does that mean for the rest of the country? Watch to learn more.

California isn’t the only state at risk, however. Most people think that in the United States, the area around the San Andreas Fault poses the highest risk for a large earthquake. But the risk for a “great earthquake” and tsunami is highest in the Pacific Northwest. Join seismologist Diego Melgar in The Really Big One to learn about the risks, the geologic forces behind the potential for a truly massive U.S. earthquake, and efforts underway to build warning systems for the western U.S.

For more videos on preparing for the next Big One, visit Earthquakes and Seismology on UCTV.