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Afternoon Talk

Poseidonia, greeks, non-greeks & religious cults: let’s talk archaeology!

Traditional historical and archaeological researchers have long thought that Ancient Greek colonies were ethnically and culturally exclusively Greek. In fact, they figured that Greek culture dominated over that of bordering nations and was immune to outside influences like neighboring non-Greek populations. But was that actually the case? The cult of goddess Hera in the Greek colony of Poseidonia, Southern Italy, offers a different perspective. Surprisingly, even religion, which is typically conservative as it defines its worshippers, showed signs of outside influence. This month Gianluca will share how he interprets offerings to the goddess Hera and excavation reports to piece together the potential dynamics of ancient Greek colonization, and to understand the role played by non-Greek populations in the life and development of “Greek” colonies.

The Earth’s Radiation Belts and their Space Weather Effects

Near-Earth space is full of high-energy particles that are trapped in the Earth’s magnetic field. These particles form the radiation belts and create an extremely hazardous environment that satellites must pass through. Understanding how radiation belt particles move, how they become energised and how these particles can be lost from the radiation belts is essential to protect satellites orbiting the Earth. In this talk, Harriet George will present an overview of the Earth’s radiation belts and its dangers.

Genetic Architecture – How do genes make us?

How do the differences in genes result in who we are today? Genes are stretches of DNA that contain the information to make proteins, and variants in these genes are what make us similar or different from one another. But how can tiny changes in discrete molecules of DNA result in the vast, continuous variation we see in humanity, like in huge range of heights between the shortest and tallest of us? In the early 1900s, this was the focus of a fierce debate in biology- between those who thought inheritance was continuous and those that thought it was discrete.

The surprising resolution of this debate still frames how we think about genetic variation and its effect on traits like height today- and how, with modern genetic sequencing tools, we can pinpoint exactly which variation affects these kinds of ‘complex’ traits. Understanding the map between genetic variants and traits, known as ‘genetic architecture’, can help us understand disease and develop better treatments for people with those diseases.

Why and how to write a grammar of an unwritten language

The world’s approximately 7000 languages exhibit a dazzling range of diversity in sound, vocabulary, and grammatical structure. However, we stand to lose a great deal of this diversity as well over half of all languages are threatened with extinction by the end of this century. Many linguists are now rushing to document endangered languages while it is still possible. But how can one figure out the rules of a language without a trained teacher or a textbook? This presentation will give you the basics of linguistic fieldwork, after which you will have the opportunity to ask for more details in the Q&A session.

Andrei Dumitrescu is doing his PhD at the Doctoral Programme in Language Studies of UH; his topic is the grammar of the Meglen Vlach (also called Megleno-Romanian) language of Northern Greece and North Macedonia.

How to Build a Digital Brain

The brain is the most complex organ in the human body, and despite decades of research we still have a lot to learn about it. Its main task is to process the information it receives and to convert it into reactions to our environment. With all its complexity it is very difficult to study, so scientists are building simpler versions, or models, of the brain using computers in an effort to understand it. Join Tomás as he helps us understand these models that one day may help us build a brain.

How can tobacco and other plants be engineered for health?

Many have heard about the dangers of tobacco, but how many are aware that tobacco can be converted from a killer to a healer? Plants can be modified so they can produce specific pharmaceutical compounds. Plant-based pharmaceuticals can be used as diagnostics, therapeutics, and even as a plant-based COVID-19 vaccine! Listen and interact with Noemi Gutierrez, a plant biotechnology scientist, as she shares the current outlook for plant-based medicine.

Political polarization: is it good, bad or just ugly?

We have all seen and perhaps experienced the ugliness of political polarization. From incivility and anger to hate speech, cancel culture and outright political violence. But what is the point of all of this ugliness? Can political polarization, despite its dark sides, ultimately be a force for good, or does it always lead in a bad direction? In this talk, we explore the ugliness of political polarization and its potential as a force for both good and bad.