THE LEARNING CURVE Winter/Spring 2010
Art History, Archaeology, Astronomy, History, Literature, Philosophy, Music

Science Fridays

Expand your understanding of scientific concepts, introduce recent discoveries and provide a new perspective on the mysteries of life in the past, present and future. The series features individual lectures by some of Tucson’s most innovative scientists and scholars.

February 12: DNA--The Strand That Connects Us All
Learn how the methods and discoveries of human population genetics are applied for personal genealogical reconstruction and anthropological testing.  Starting with a short general review of human genetics and the biology behind this form of DNA testing, we’ll then look at how DNA testing is performed and how samples are processed in our laboratory.  We will also examine personal genealogical results from Family Tree DNA and personal anthropological results from the Genographic Project and then learn about the newest project in our laboratory, the DNA Shoah Project.”

Lecturer: Matt Kaplan is a scientist and researcher at UA BIO5.  He is the project leader of the Human Origins Genotyping Laboratory, which currently provides all of the testing services for the public participants of National Geographic’s and IBM’s Genographic Project, as well as the genealogical DNA testing for Family Tree DNA, the leader in genetics-based genealogical reconstruction industry.  For over 10 years, Matt has worked on research projects using the Y chromosome and mitochondrial DNA to investigate the genetics and history of Jewish populations.  He is currently working on the DNA Shoah Project, using DNA testing to reunite families separated by the Holocaust.

March 26: Starting Point: New Discoveries in the Archeology of the First Americans
The peopling of the Americas was the last great adventure by fully modern human hunters and gatherers. But when the Americas were first occupied has been a controversy for decades. The oldest agree-upon archaeological horizon is called Clovis and dates to about 13,000 years ago. Clovis people are typically known as big-game hunters owing to Clovis artifacts found in association with the remains of the mammoth elephant. Recent research in northern Sonora has expanded our understanding about the extent and activities of the “first Americans.” This presentation will include a historical perspective on Clovis archaeology, discussion of early artifact styles, current understanding of Clovis, and a summary of our research in Sonora.

Lecturer: Vance Holliday, Ph.D studied archeology at the University of Texas, and soon developed an interest in the dirt he was digging through more so than the artifacts that were turning up.  His career has been largely devoted to reconstructing and interpreting the landscapes and environments in which Paleoindians lived, and how these conditions evolved. He currently directs the Argonaut Archaeological Research Fund, which is devoted to research on the geoarchaeology of the Paleoindian people of the Southwestern U.S. and northwestern Mexico.

April 2: The Emerging Neuroscience of Attention, Emotion, and Meditation
In recent years, there has been a dramatic increase both in the number of Westerners engaged in meditation practices, and in neuroscientific studies of meditation. This presentation will explore this new area of contemplative neuroscience, drawing from both the presenter’s and other scientists’ investigations. The nature of particular meditation practices that train both focused attention and what has been termed “open monitoring” will be described, and the results of neuroscientific studies of attention in both short-term and long-term meditators will be examined. Studies focused on emotional response in long-term meditators will also be presented, along with discussion of the implications of this research for understanding the cultivation of empathy & compassion.

Lecturer: Alfred Kaszniak, Ph.D  is currently Head of the Department of Psychology, Director of the Arizona Alzheimer’s Disease Center Education and Information Core, an affiliate faculty member of the Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, and a professor in the departments of psychology, neurology, and psychiatry at The University of Arizona.  He was also previously Director of the UACenter for Consciousness Studies. His publications focus on neuropsychological aspects of memory, emotion, aging, and age-related disorders of the central nervous system, particularly Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases.  His recent research has also examined emotion regulation and the cultivation of compassion in long-term Buddhist meditators.

April 16: Valley Fever: Arizona’s Disease
Valley fever can be caught in a single breath caused by a fungus that lives in our desert soil. Two-thirds of all US Valley Fever infections occur in Arizona and most of these come from the three counties of Maricopa, Pinal, and Pima.  This lecture will describe how it affects people and pets, what we can do about it, and where research would help us to handle this problem better with new diagnostics, drugs, and even preventative vaccines.

Lecturer: John N. Galgiani, M.D., Director, Valley Fever Center for Excellence at the University of Arizona BIO5, was Chief of Infectious Diseases at the Tucson VA until 2009 and is currently a Professor of Medicine at the UA College of Medicine. His career has been focused on Arizona’s special problems with Valley Fever.  For 19 years, as part of the NIH-sponsored Mycoses Study Group, Dr. Galgiani has been the project director of a coccidioidomycosis clinical trials group.  Through collaboration, this group has evaluated new therapies for Valley Fever more rapidly and with greater clarity than might otherwise have been possible by investigators working in isolation. His group discovered and patented a recombinant antigen which is the basis for a vaccine candidate that he hopes to move to clinical trials.  Most recently, he has become the project leader for developing a new drug, nikkomycin Z, for treating Valley Fever. 

When: Fridays, 9:30-11:30am
Where: The Windmill Inn, 4250 N. Campbell  Ave
Cost: $26 per session

Behind the scenes tour of BIO5
BIO5, a collaborative research institute at the University of Arizona, brings together scientists from agriculture, medicine, pharmacy, basic science, and engineering. It’s a unique mix of disciplines that creates an environment rich in opportunities to work together to solve some of humanity’s biggest challenges: preventing and treating disease, and feeding everyone. You’ll go behind the scenes, into the state-of-the-art laboratories of the Thomas W. Keating Bioresearch Building. Among other topics, BIO5 researchers are pursuing a cure for Valley Fever, a better cancer drug, ways to diagnose ovarian cancer earlier, and ways to grow rice that require less water and fewer pesticides. They welcome the opportunity to tell you first-hand about their research.  Please join us for a tour.

When: Friday, Apr 23, 9:30-11:30am
Where: 1657 E. Helen St.  BIO5 is housed in the Thomas W. Keating Bioresearch Building, located at the NE corner of Helen and Cherry. The nearest parking is in Highland Garage, one block west.  Parking for two hours is $5 and for three hours is $6.
Cost: Free for Science Friday participants (registration is required)

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