Contemporary Science Issues and Innovations

Contemporary Science Issues and Innovations (CSII) features experts on specific science-related issues of importance to the public, with the objective of providing the best information available.

CSII also features scientists whose innovations in medicine
and engineering are significantly improving our lives.

For more info, go to website of: Science for the Public

Recent Videos
Wednesday, 5/16/12Contemporary Science: The Core of the Moon 5/09/12 Ben Weiss, Professor of Planetary Science, MIT explains why the Moon and its core are so important for an accurate account of the evolution of the solar system. He also shows Moon rocks and describes how scientists analyze them.
Tuesday, 4/24/12The Politics of Food's Environmental Footprint Science for the Public 4/17/12. Susanne Freidberg, Ph.D. Prof of Geography, Dartmouth College. The globalization of our food market --production, processing, transporting and storage-- has an enormous impact on the environment. Calculating that impact is complicated and very political.
Tuesday, 3/13/12SftPublic 3/06/12 Renaissance Roots of Modern Science Toby Lester, author of "The Fourth Part of the World" and "Da Vinci's Ghost" discusses the gradual emergence of a scientific worldview during the Italian Renaissance. Both of these books present the story an object that reflects a new idea emerging from an old one: the Waldseemuller Map (the first world map to include the bewildering America), and Da Vinci's iconic Vitruvian Man drawing (combining ancient and modern concepts). Toby Lester gives a wonderful sense of the Renaissance world in this conversation.
Wednesday, 2/29/122/21/12: Harnessing the Bioelectric Potential of Cells for Regeneration Michael Levin, Ph.D., Vannevar Bush Professor in the Department of Biology, Tufts University, and Director of the Tufts Center for Regenerative and Developmental Biology. Minute voltage variations in cells orchestrate crucial functions such as anatomical development in the embryo, defense mechanisms against cancer, the repair and in some organisms regeneration of damaged organs and limbs.
Tuesday, 2/7/12SftPublic Cracking the Neural Code for Speech Science for the Public visits Professor Frank Guenther at his Neural Prosthesis Lab at Boston University. Dr. Guenther and his colleagues at the NPL explain their famous brain model for speech production --the leading model in the field. And members of the lab demonstrate the Brain Computer Interface device that is making it possible for speech-impaired individuals, such as stroke victims, to communicate. They discussed their work on new technologies that help even completely paralyzed people to speak. The scientists explain what they do and also how they got into this dynamic field.
Thursday, 12/29/11Innovative Clean Water Technologies: Desalination The urgent need for drinkable water around the world is driving engineering innovations to solve the problem. One of the most promising solutions is desalination, and one of the leaders in the field is the lab of John Lienhard V, Collins Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dr. Lienhard explains the water crisis and the potential of several types of desalination.
Monday, 12/19/11D-Lab at MIT: Engineering for and by Developing Natiions The award-winning D-Lab at MIT: The founder-director, Amy Smith, and members of her staff describe the very modern approach to solving engineering problems in the poorest areas of the world. Hear how the Lab trains both MIT engineering students and ordinary people around the globe to create inexpensive but effective devices for health care (including prosthetics), grain processing and water purification, among other things.
Saturday, 12/10/11Contemporary Science: The D-Lab at MIT The award-winning D-Lab at MIT: Design, Develop, Disseminate. At this unique engineering lab MIT students collaborate with communities in developing nations to create machines and devices for many needs, including for health care, prosthetics, water purification, grain processing. The D-Lab proves that people everywhere can learn to create devices that improve their lives.
Monday, 10/31/11A Solar Thermoelectric Device for Alternative Energy Professor Gang Chen, MIT explains several types of solar energy, with emphasis on a widely acclaimed solar thermoelectric device that his lab has developed. Dr. Chen gives a demonstration of how the device works, and explains that such technology is very popular and inexpensive in Europe and China.
Saturday, 9/24/11Contemporary Science: The Human Genome Interview with: John Quackenbush, PhD, Professor of Computational Biology & Biostatistics, Department of Biostatistics, Harvard School of Public Health; Professor of Cancer Biology, Dana-Farber Cancer Inst (DFCI); and Director, DFCI Center of Cancer Computational Biology. Dr. Quackenbush discusses the impact of the Human Genome Project on both modern medicine and modern culture. He explains how the great advances in treatment of many serious diseases depend on the technical developments for managing huge amounts of genetic data and modeling genetic mechanisms.

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