On Wednesday August 30 at 6pm, Vineyard Haven Public Library will host a panel discussion, "CRISPR and Genetic Editing: Uncharted Waters." Leading scientists and bioethicists from Harvard, MIT, Stanford and the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole will discuss the astounding new techniques that make editing DNA, for scientists, nearly as easy as editing an email. Along with vast potential for curing disease, feeding the world and eliminating pollution come vexing issues of fairness, safety and morality. This presentation is part of the library's "Pushing the Limits" series, funded in part by a grant from National Science Foundation and Califa Library Group. The event will be held at the Katherine Cornell Theatre at 51 Spring Street starting at 6pm, and is free and open to the public.
Included on this panel will be Dr. Sheila Jasanoff from Harvard's Kennedy School, one of the world's leading bioethicists. Simply put, her job is to think and talk about the ethics of the work being done with gene editing. Prof. Kevin Esvelt from the MIT Media Lab and is director of the Sculpting Evolution group, which invents new ways to study and influence the evolution of ecosystems. His current project is developing mice that are immune to Lyme and releasing them on Nantucket. Professor Paul Aluru, of the Biological Labs at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, is in the field of “environmental epigenetics,” which involves studying how environmental factors interact with DNA, “turning genes on” or “off”. The WHOI is one of the premiere institutions in the world for this kind of research. Professor Jeantine Lunshof, Assistant Professor at the Department of Genetics, University Medical Center Groningen, The Netherlands, and currently a visiting professor at Harvard, is a philosopher and bioethicist, based in the synthetic biology laboratory of Dr. George Church. As an “embedded” ethicist, Dr. Lunshof works with scientists at all stages of their research to help identify potential areas of concern. Professor Emeritus Paul Levine from Stanford will open with introductory remarks about the short history of genetic engineering from the '70s. John Sundman will moderate the panel. His background includes writing and speaking at various institutions about CRISPR.
Showing posts with label Pushing the Limits. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pushing the Limits. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 22, 2017
Friday, July 28, 2017
Evening Lecture Series: August Events
These programs at the Vineyard Haven Public Library are free and open to the public. Please join us!
7pm Tuesday, August 8th
Norm Lazarow, MD, PhD, JD: Navigating the Medical System
Dr. Lazarow tells his personal story of the difficulties of helping a loved one with a life-threatening disease through the medical system. Dr. Lazarow’s story can give hope, ideas and resources to other patients and caregivers facing similar situations.
7pm Thursday August 10th
Peter Brannen: The Ends of the World
Peter Brannen is an award-winning science journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Times, The Atlantic, Wired, the Washington Post, Slate, the Boston Globe, Aeon, and the Vineyard Gazette. He was a 2015 journalist-in-residence at the Duke University National Evolutionary Synthesis Center and a 2011 Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Ocean Science Journalism Fellow. He will discuss his new book, The Ends of the World: Volcanic Apocalypses, Lethal Oceans, and our Quest to Understand Earth's Past Mass Extinctions.
7pm Tuesday, August 15th
Alexander Hamilton: A Study in Resiliency
Wayne Nichols will present his study of Alexander Hamilton. Unlike other founders who can seem more like myths than men, Hamilton strikes us as a human: flawed, fearless and reckless, an uneducated orphan who sailed to America with big plans and bigger dreams.
7pm Thursday, August 17th
Donald Berwick, MD: Health Care as it Should Be
Donald M. Berwick, MD, MPP, FRCP, President Emeritus and Senior Fellow, Institute for Healthcare Improvement, is also former Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. A pediatrician by background, Dr. Berwick has served on the faculty of the Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Public Health, and on the staffs of Boston's Children's Hospital Medical Center. Tonight he will be talking about Health Care as it Should Be. Bring your questions!
This event will be held at the Katharine Cornell Theater, 51 Spring Street.
7pm Tuesday, August 22nd
Thomas Dresser: Hidden History of Martha’s Vineyard
Tom will speak about the Island as Noepe, the Underground Railroad on the Vineyard, critical shipwrecks in Vineyard waters including rum running, prominent buildings and finally a look into Vineyard graveyards.
7pm Thursday, August 24th
Dr. Henry Kriegstein: Digging for Dinosaurs in the Badlands
Dr. Kriegstein pursues his passion for paleontology, organizing private digs in the Dakotas, Wyoming and Montana and collecting dinosaur fossils. Every summer, Henry returns to the badlands and continues his search for fossils. He considers it a philosophical perspective on the mystery of life and the beauty of the colors of the mineral-laced fossils.
Programs and facilities for lifelong learning at the Library are supported by the Stephen C. Luce Foundation, a generous bequest from the estate of Ruth Redding, and by ongoing support from the Friends of the Library.
Additional programs this Summer are being offered as part of the Library's "Pushing the Limits" series, exploring ways that scientific ideas intersect with everyday life. This nationwide program is funded through the National Science Foundation and was created through a collaboration of Dartmouth College, The Califa Library Group, the Association of Rural and Small Libraries, Dawson Media Group, and the Institute for Learning Innovation. For more information visit:
http://vhpl.blogspot.com/2017/07/pushing-limits-reading-viewing-and.html
7pm Tuesday, August 8th
Norm Lazarow, MD, PhD, JD: Navigating the Medical System
Dr. Lazarow tells his personal story of the difficulties of helping a loved one with a life-threatening disease through the medical system. Dr. Lazarow’s story can give hope, ideas and resources to other patients and caregivers facing similar situations.
7pm Thursday August 10th
Peter Brannen: The Ends of the World
Peter Brannen is an award-winning science journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Times, The Atlantic, Wired, the Washington Post, Slate, the Boston Globe, Aeon, and the Vineyard Gazette. He was a 2015 journalist-in-residence at the Duke University National Evolutionary Synthesis Center and a 2011 Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Ocean Science Journalism Fellow. He will discuss his new book, The Ends of the World: Volcanic Apocalypses, Lethal Oceans, and our Quest to Understand Earth's Past Mass Extinctions.
7pm Tuesday, August 15th
Alexander Hamilton: A Study in Resiliency
Wayne Nichols will present his study of Alexander Hamilton. Unlike other founders who can seem more like myths than men, Hamilton strikes us as a human: flawed, fearless and reckless, an uneducated orphan who sailed to America with big plans and bigger dreams.
7pm Thursday, August 17th
Donald Berwick, MD: Health Care as it Should Be
Donald M. Berwick, MD, MPP, FRCP, President Emeritus and Senior Fellow, Institute for Healthcare Improvement, is also former Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. A pediatrician by background, Dr. Berwick has served on the faculty of the Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Public Health, and on the staffs of Boston's Children's Hospital Medical Center. Tonight he will be talking about Health Care as it Should Be. Bring your questions!
This event will be held at the Katharine Cornell Theater, 51 Spring Street.
7pm Tuesday, August 22nd
Thomas Dresser: Hidden History of Martha’s Vineyard
Tom will speak about the Island as Noepe, the Underground Railroad on the Vineyard, critical shipwrecks in Vineyard waters including rum running, prominent buildings and finally a look into Vineyard graveyards.
7pm Thursday, August 24th
Dr. Henry Kriegstein: Digging for Dinosaurs in the Badlands
Dr. Kriegstein pursues his passion for paleontology, organizing private digs in the Dakotas, Wyoming and Montana and collecting dinosaur fossils. Every summer, Henry returns to the badlands and continues his search for fossils. He considers it a philosophical perspective on the mystery of life and the beauty of the colors of the mineral-laced fossils.
Programs and facilities for lifelong learning at the Library are supported by the Stephen C. Luce Foundation, a generous bequest from the estate of Ruth Redding, and by ongoing support from the Friends of the Library.
Additional programs this Summer are being offered as part of the Library's "Pushing the Limits" series, exploring ways that scientific ideas intersect with everyday life. This nationwide program is funded through the National Science Foundation and was created through a collaboration of Dartmouth College, The Califa Library Group, the Association of Rural and Small Libraries, Dawson Media Group, and the Institute for Learning Innovation. For more information visit:
http://vhpl.blogspot.com/2017/07/pushing-limits-reading-viewing-and.html
Tuesday, July 18, 2017
Daniel Goleman: Altered Traits
This program is being offered as part of the library's "Pushing the Limits" series, exploring ways that scientific ideas intersect with everyday life. Other programs in the series include a reading, viewing and discussion group held on Monday afternoons, and a variety of lectures by prominent scientists. Please visit the library website for a full schedule of events.
Daniel Goleman, Ph.D., an internationally recognized psychologist known for his bestselling books on emotional intelligence, has a long-standing interest in meditation dating back to his two years in India as a graduate student at Harvard. A psychologist who for many years reported on the brain and behavioral sciences for The New York Times, Dr. Goleman has received many journalistic awards for his writing, including two nominations for the Pulitzer Prize for his articles in the Times, and a Career Achievement award for journalism from the American Psychological Association. Dr. Goleman's newest book, Altered Traits, unveils cutting-edge research that shows us the truth about what meditation can really do for us, as well as exactly how to get the most out of it.
"Pushing the Limits" is a nationwide program funded through the National Science Foundation and created through a collaboration of Dartmouth College, The Califa Library Group, the Association of Rural and Small Libraries, Dawson Media Group, and the Institute for Learning Innovation.
Thursday, July 6, 2017
"Pushing the Limits" Reading, Viewing and Discussion Series
Vineyard Haven Public Library has received a grant for our community to participate in a nationwide reading, viewing and discussion series for adults called Pushing the Limits. Since the beginning of time, humans have imagined and achieved ways to push the boundaries of the physical world. We want to be stronger, smarter, more aware; and we create stories to bring those dreams to life. But many of those stories are no longer just stories; and with great new advances in science and technology, we are finding ways in which all of us are able to push the limits every day. The Pushing the Limits program will explore these ideas in discussions that will include recommended popular books and feature film quality videos featuring authors, scientists and everyday people who thrive on exploring the natural world.
Our first discussion group will be held at 3pm on Monday, July 17, focusing on the theme "Nature" and TC Boyle's novel When the Killing's Done. Please join us as to discuss the book and view two short videos, including one from the author made especially for this program. Refreshments will be served.
Copies of books for the series will be available at Vineyard Haven Library or may be ordered through CLAMS. Additional discussion events will be held on the following topics and books:
Monday, August 7, 2017 3 pm
CONNECTION: Erik Larson, Thunderstruck
Monday, August 28, 2017 3 pm
SURVIVAL: Clive Cussler, Arctic Drift
Monday, Sept 11, 2017 3 pm
KNOWLEDGE: Jean Auel, The Land of Painted Caves
Other programs in this series made possible by the grant include author Jonathan White's talk on June 29th on his book Tides: The Science and Spirit of the Ocean, and Daniel Goleman's talk on Monday, July 24th on his forthcoming book Altered Traits: Science Reveals How Meditation Transforms Mind, Body, and Brain. Future programs featuring prominent scientists will be scheduled over the summer and early fall.
This nationwide program is funded through the National Science Foundation and was created through a collaboration of Dartmouth College, The Califa Library Group, the Association of Rural and Small Libraries, Dawson Media Group, and the Institute for Learning Innovation.
Our first discussion group will be held at 3pm on Monday, July 17, focusing on the theme "Nature" and TC Boyle's novel When the Killing's Done. Please join us as to discuss the book and view two short videos, including one from the author made especially for this program. Refreshments will be served.
Copies of books for the series will be available at Vineyard Haven Library or may be ordered through CLAMS. Additional discussion events will be held on the following topics and books:
Monday, August 7, 2017 3 pm
CONNECTION: Erik Larson, Thunderstruck
Monday, August 28, 2017 3 pm
SURVIVAL: Clive Cussler, Arctic Drift
Monday, Sept 11, 2017 3 pm
KNOWLEDGE: Jean Auel, The Land of Painted Caves
Other programs in this series made possible by the grant include author Jonathan White's talk on June 29th on his book Tides: The Science and Spirit of the Ocean, and Daniel Goleman's talk on Monday, July 24th on his forthcoming book Altered Traits: Science Reveals How Meditation Transforms Mind, Body, and Brain. Future programs featuring prominent scientists will be scheduled over the summer and early fall.
This nationwide program is funded through the National Science Foundation and was created through a collaboration of Dartmouth College, The Califa Library Group, the Association of Rural and Small Libraries, Dawson Media Group, and the Institute for Learning Innovation.
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