The Chicago Council on Science and Technology (C2ST) hosts a variety of events in the city to enhance the public perception of science and technology. On the evening of Wednesday, October 21, C2ST hosted a lecture by Stuart Firestein entitled “Failure: Why Science is So Successful.” The lecture took place in the gymnasium of Chicago Tech Academy High School on the Near West Side of the city.
This is part one of C2ST Artist in Residence, Aaron Freeman’s talk with the Field Museum’s Dr. Paula Skye Tallman. Dr. Tallman is a biological anthropologist. I chat with her to follow up on her 1 September presentation at a Speakeasy in Wicker Park, Geek Bar sponsored by members of The Chicago Council on Science and Technology. Dr. Tallman talks about “How Being Poor Can Make You Sick.”
Those who practice science know that research is full of wrong turns, cul-de-sacs, mistaken identities, false findings, errors of fact and judgement, and only the occasional success. Come hear Stuart Firestein, scientist and acclaimed author of the highly praised Ignorance, as he talks about his new book, Failure: Why Science is So Successful.
A Diamond Age of Microelectronics at Geek Bar Chicago’s SCIENCE! Tuesday
In modern electronics, speed, durability, and the ability to withstand heat are important properties. Diamonds, when used as a semiconductor, possess not only these characteristics, but have material properties such ultra-hardness, complete transparency to visible light, ultra-high thermal conductivity, ultrafast power and frequency handling and switching.
C2ST Artist in Residence Aaron Freeman pretends to interview Stanford University Neurobiology professor Robert Sapolsky on the difference between the brains of Chicago Cubs fans and those of lesser beings. According to Sapolsky part of the difference may have to do with higher sustained levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine.
We really do have heartstrings. They’re called the chordae tendinae. Our hearts have four chambers. Two at the top and two the bottom. The two top chambers, the atria, collect blood. The right atrium gets oxygen-poor blood from the from the veins which is then sucked through three-leaf valve into the right ventricle then pumped into the lungs. The left atrium receives oxygen-rich blood from the lungs that blood gets sucked through a two-leaf valve into the left ventricle which pumps it, all rich and oxygenated, into the aorta and throughout the body. Helping to prevent the blood from regurgitating from either ventricle back into either atria are the chordae tendinae, our heart strings. As suspension lines help a parachute stay properly shaped to mechanically resist the downward pull of gravity the chordae tendinae help heart valves resist the upward pressure of the ventricles. When we are stimulated, our hearts beat faster and harder tugging ever more on our heartstrings.
