The Department of Defense (DoD) shares a symbiotic relationship with the U.S. research ecosystem -- one that has generated tremendous breakthroughs for national security and economic prosperity. However, many people assume defense research is all tanks, ships and planes. In this episode, David Stout, a 2017-18 AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellow at the National Science Foundation, catches up with speakers at the 2018 DoD Science, Technology, and Innovation Exchange (STIX) to learn more about the surprising breadth and depth of the work supported by the Defense enterprise.
This podcast does not necessarily reflect the views of AAAS, its Council, Board of Directors, officers, or members. AAAS is not responsible for the accuracy of this material. AAAS has made this material available as a public service, but this does not constitute endorsement by the association.
Advances in drug development and neurotechnology over the last century have noticeably increased our ability to target cognitive-behavioral networks and help those with physical disabilities. These and future advances could potentially provide a pathway by which to use drugs and/or devices to consistently enhance human cognition and behavior, rather than just treat or manage the symptoms of medical conditions. Currently, several prescription medications are being taken by the general public solely for their cognitive enhancing effects, and do-it-yourselfers are making neurostimulation devices at home in attempts to modulate the functioning of their own brains. In this Sci on the Fly episode we
discuss cognitive enhancement from a neuroethics perspective with Dr. Veljko Dubljevic, from NC State University. Dr. Dubljevic provides some valuable insight regarding the pros and cons of cognitive enhancement and the role of neuroethicists in informing the public debate on this issue.
Participants
Host: Carlos Faraco, Ph.D., Neuroscience
2016-18 Executive Branch Fellow, National Institute of Justice
Guest: Veljko Dubljevic, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Philosophy, NC State University
Director and Executive Producer: Carlos Faraco, Ph.D., Neuroscience
Bradley Cooke, a neuroscientist and current AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellow at the National Science Foundation, speaks with Benjamin Munson, professor of speech and hearing science at the University of Minnesota, College of Liberal Arts. They discuss language acquisition and speech patterns in children, and how that may differ based on gender identity, group identity and social cognition. They also discuss variations across children with respect to how their speech adheres to norms for their biological sex. For example, is the extent to which a boy’s speech sounds boy-like related to measures of their gender identity?
This podcast does not necessarily reflect the views of AAAS, its Council, Board of Directors, officers, or members. AAAS is not responsible for the accuracy of this material. AAAS has made this material available as a public service, but this does not constitute endorsement by the association.
Read more at http://aaasstpf.libsyn.com/harnessing-the-data-revolution-for-food-energy-and-water-systems#VLP7eG3ALyHWdxpl.99
Ryan Locicero, environmental engineer and AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellow at the National Science Foundation, speaks with Ranveer Chandra at the Microsoft Research Lab. As a principal researcher, Chandra leads an Incubation on IoT Applications. His research has shipped as part of multiple Microsoft products, including VirtualWiFi in Windows 7 onwards, low power Wi-Fi in Windows 8, Energy Profiler in Visual Studio, Software Defined Batteries in Windows 10, and the Wireless Controller Protocol in XBOX One. He has published more than 80 papers, and has been granted more than 85 patents by the USPTO. His research has been cited by the media including The Economist, MIT Technology Review, BBC, Scientific American, New York Times, and the WSJ. He also leads the battery research project and the white space networking projects. Here he discusses Microsoft’s FarmBeats project, which is building several unique solutions to enable data-driven farming, including low-cost sensors, drones, machine vision, and machine learning algorithms.
This podcast does not necessarily reflect the views of AAAS, its Council, Board of Directors, officers, or members. AAAS is not responsible for the accuracy of this material. AAAS has made this material available as a public service, but this does not constitute endorsement by the association.
Dr. Zack Valdez, a AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellow in the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee with a background in engineering and geoscience, interviews Ortwinn Renn. Professor Renn is scientific director at the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) in Potsdam (Germany), and serves as the spokesperson for the Kopernikus Project for the Energy Transition Navigation System, also known as ENavi. He discusses how Germany is attempting to reduce dependence on traditional fossil fuels by developing a sustainable and renewable energy infrastructure to account for 80% of Germany’s energy needs. Within this framework, Professor Renn explores social and economic factors relating to energy security, consumer preferences, and the use of digital technologies to more effectively manage energy consumption.
In this episode Richard Lewis, news officer at the University of Iowa, speaks with Dr. Ted Abel, Professor at the University of Iowa and Director of the Iowa Neuroscience Institute. As a trained biochemist and molecular biologist, the work in Dr. Abel’s lab focuses on using mouse models to understand the molecular mechanisms of memory storage and the molecular basis of neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders. Here, you’ll hear Ted discuss how memories are formed through complex pathways involving the interactions of neurochemicals, genes, and neurons themselves, as well as how these pathways interact during periods of wakefulness and sleep to affect memory consolidation. He also discusses how his family’s experience with autism and work through the Iowa Neuroscience Institute, which he founded, is helping him and other researchers to understand various aspects of autism, including that which endows some autistic individuals with exceptional abilities.
This podcast does not necessarily reflect the views of AAAS, its Council, Board of Directors, officers, or members. AAAS is not responsible for the accuracy of this material. AAAS has made this material available as a public service, but this does not constitute endorsement by the association.
In this episode Carlos Faraco, a neuroscientist and current AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellow (STPF) at the National Institute of Justice, speaks with Frances Colón, CEO of Jasperi Consulting, former Deputy Science Advisor at the Department of State under Hillary Clinton and John Kerry, and 2006-08 STPF fellow at the State Department. Broadly, they’ll discuss how Dr. Colón’s training as a developmental neurobiologist prepared her for a career in science policy, along with the issues which motivated her to make that leap. Specifically, she will discuss her work on climate change in the Americas while at the Department of State, how that work has helped inform her perspective on climate change and other issues she is working to address in South Florida, as well as how scientists and individuals from all walks of life can become more civically engaged. The discussion also delves into how local politics may differ from the national perspective, and how local leaders and scientists can step in to make impactful and necessary change at the local level.
Participants
Host: Carlos Faraco, Ph.D., Neuroscience
2016-2018 Executive Branch Fellow at the National Institutes of Justice
Frances Colón, Ph.D., Neuroscience
CEO, Jasperi Consulting
Former Deputy Science and Technology Adviser to the Secretary of State (2012-2017)
Twitter: @fcoloninfl
Executive Producer
Carlos Faraco, Ph.D., Neuroscience
2016-2018 Executive Branch Fellow at the National Institutes of Justice
This podcast does not necessarily reflect the views of AAAS, its Council, Board of Directors, officers, or members. AAAS is not responsible for the accuracy of this material. AAAS has made this material available as a public service, but this does not constitute endorsement by the association.
In this episode Dr. Allyson Kennedy, a developmental biologist and current AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellow at the National Science Foundation, speaks with Monica Feliu-Mojer. Dr. Feliu-Mojer is a neurobiologist and director of communications and science outreach at Ciencia Puerto Rico, and associate director for diversity and communication training at iBiology. They discuss how scientists can transition from careers behind the bench to science communication and how that can allow them to impact local communities through outreach and education. Feliu-Mojer hopes to make people realize that science is truly a part of their everyday lives, and that diverse communities can effectively contribute to an enhanced understanding of various issues by bringing their unique perspectives.
This podcast does not necessarily reflect the views of AAAS, its Council, Board of Directors, officers, or members. AAAS is not responsible for the accuracy of this material. AAAS has made this material available as a public service, but this does not constitute endorsement by the association.
In this episode Dr. Carlos Faraco speaks with Dr. Don Cleveland of
the University of California San Diego regarding his work on drug-based gene silencing therapies. Cleveland and the members of his lab use these therapies, also known as designer DNA drugs, to silence genes involved in the development of various neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Huntington’s
and Lou Gehrig’s disease. In addition to these familiar diseases, they also discuss how designer DNA drugs may help those suffering from chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a neurodegenerative disease affecting individuals with a history of repeated head injury,
including athletes, military personnel, and domestic abuse victims. While the concept of chronic traumatic encephalopathy was first introduced in the early 1900s due to its prevalence in boxers, the cause of the disease has recently come under significant public scrutiny in the US due to several high-profile stories involving football players.
Participants
Host: Carlos Faraco, Ph.D., Neuroscience
2016-2018 Executive Branch Fellow at the National Institutes of Justice
Don Cleveland, Ph.D., Biomedical Sciences
Chair, Departmental of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, UCSD
Professor of Medicine, Neurosciences, and Cellular and Molecular Medicine, UCSD
Member, Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research
Executive Producer: Carlos Faraco, Ph.D., Neuroscience
2016-2018 Executive Branch Fellow at the National Institutes of Justice
This blog does not necessarily reflect the views of AAAS, its Council, Board of Directors, officers, or members. AAAS is not responsible for the accuracy of this material. AAAS has made this material available as a public service, but this does not constitute endorsement by the association.
In a world that plagued by incidents of violent extremism and terror, we are often presented with messages or news stories that focus on the leaders of extremist organizations or the perpetrators of such attacks. This type of messaging can be a distraction from more fully addressing the root cause of violent extremism through the use of human sciences such as psychology, sociology and anthropology.
In the second installment of our series on violent extremism, Valka-Mir Human Security Managing Partner Dr. Aleksandra Nesic explains why she believes social science concepts and approaches are needed when attempting to understand and address the root causes of extremist and violent extremist ideologies. Dr. Nesic will use her experience growing up in the former Yugoslavia during the wars in Bosnia and Kosovo as a lens through which to examine these concepts.
Participants
Host: Carlos Faraco, Ph.D., Neuroscience, 2016-2018 Executive Branch Fellow at the National Institutes of Justice
Aleksandra Nesic, Ph.D., Conflict Analysis and Resolution; Managing Partner of Valka-Mir Human Security R&D; Senior Social Scientist, US Army J.F.K. Special Warfare Education Group, Ft Bragg, NC; Visiting Research Professor, Joint Special Operations University
Executive Producer
Carlos Faraco, Ph.D., Neuroscience, 2016-2018 Executive Branch Fellow at the National Institutes of Justice
Image: Patrick Christian
This blog does not necessarily reflect the views of AAAS, its Council, Board of Directors, officers, or members. AAAS is not responsible for the accuracy of this material. AAAS has made this material available as a public service, but this does not constitute endorsement by the association.
In a world that is currently plagued by incidents of violent extremism and terror, we are often presented with messages or news stories that focus on the leaders of violent extremist organizations or the perpetrators of such attacks. That type of messaging has affected the way that government and the public view violent extremism. It may be a distraction from more fully addressing the root cause of violent extremism through the use of human sciences, such as psychology, sociology and anthropology.
In this episode, Dr. Patrick Christian will explain how he and his partners at ValkMir Human Security are changing the way the US military thinks and goes about intervening in communities targeted by violent extremist groups. By training the military on evidence-based findings from social science research, they aim to build communities resistant to violent extremism and violent extremist ideologies.
This blog does not necessarily reflect the views of AAAS, its Council, Board of Directors, officers, or members. AAAS is not responsible for the accuracy of this material. AAAS has made this material available as a public service, but this does not constitute endorsement by the association.