Science Straight Up Judy Muller and George Lewis

Our fifth season of "Science Straight Up" kicks off with Dr. Michael Wasielewski of Northwestern University talking about the basics of quantum theory and how it will change our lives. We can't beam people aboard the starship just yet, but teleportation of information using quantum techniques is happening right now. Many of us have heard about quantum computers and some of the amazing things that they will do, literally a “quantum leap” in performance. However, this is not the whole sto...

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are relatively new, powerful, and disruptive technologies that are rapidly entering practice in our daily lives and shaping our future in areas ranging from employment, health, politics, and what it means to be human. This talk, by Dr. Teresa Head-Gordon of the University of California, Berkeley considers the current status of AI and ML and the ethical considerations that can guide us to finding the best in this emerging technology while ...

We've long thought that aging was just a part of life but now science is beginning to view aging as a disease that can be treated. This, as research on aging is exploding and some scientists speculate people could live 150 years or more. Our aging expert, Dr. Kristin Slade, Associate Professor of Chemistry at Hobart and William Smith Colleges in upstate New York says, "We already know what is going on with aging at the people level, but I was determined to get inside the cell and discov...

Dr. Omar Farha of Northwestern University and NuMat Technologies talks about Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOF's) that he prefers to call "programmable sponges." Hailed as a potential defining material of the 21st century, these nano-sized structures can be used to neutralize toxic materials, pull water out of the moisture in the air and eventually, capture carbon emissions that threaten the planet. The Pentagon is investing in this technology to create military clothing that can be used on...

American agriculture contributes about 10 percent of this country's greenhouse gas emissions, but done right, it can absorb rather than produce carbon and help overcome the problem of man-made climate change. This exciting possibility is the subject of a Telluride Science panel moderated by Adam Chambers of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Panelists include Tony and Barclay Daranyi, who practice regenerative agriculture at their farm 33 miles northwest of Telluride; Chris Hazen...

Quantum Dots are marvelous little crystalline structures that work as electrical semiconductors and emit light. But that's not all they do. Dr. Jennifer Hollingsworth of the Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, talked about the many potential applications of these tiny wonders. Veteran broadcast journalists Judy Muller and George Lewis moderated the talk with Dr. Hollingsworth.