Presented by Dr. Eric Newman, Neuroscientist at the University of Minnesota, given at the Bryant Lake Bowl on January 16th, 2018. The brain is composed of two types of cells, neurons, and glial cells. Neurons generate electrical signals and communicate with each other by releasing chemicals at synapses. Glial cells don’t do these things and, for the past century, were thought to be unimportant support cells. Recent experiments, however, have shown that glial cells actively participate in...

Presented by Dr. Michelle Carstensen of the Minnesota DNR, at the Bryant Lake Bowl on December 21st, 2017. Dr. Michelle Carstensen discusses the attempt through scientific research to understand the dramatic decline in the Minnesota moose population. The Bell Museum's Café Scientifique is a happy hour exchange of ideas about science, environment and popular culture that features experts from a variety of fields on diverse and often provocative topics. In the Twin Cities area? Join us for...

Visit https://youtu.be/_qR9ROo5kiw for a video of this episode! Presented by Jeremiah A. Henning, post-doctoral research associate in the department Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior at the University of Minnesota, at the Bryant Lake Bowl on November 11th, 2017. Although they are an invisible group of soil-dwelling organisms, mycorrhizal fungi are critical to the maintenance of plant diversity, plant productivity, and the storage of carbon in soils. Mycorrhizal fungi likely hold the key to...

"Political Science" given by Representative Phyllis Kahn on September 9th, 2017 at the Bryant Lake Bowl, hosted by the Bell Museum. "September will kick off the 2017-2018 season with former MN DFL Representative Phyllis Kahn speaking on the topic of science and politics, specifically the question of how to integrate science into public policy decision-making. Learn more about Phyllis Kahn here:...

Visit: https://youtu.be/oXMWp9GK6zA for a video of this episode! "Bringing Biology to Biomimetics" given by Emilie Snell-Rood, an Associate Professor in Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior at the University of Minnesota. "The field of biomimetics seeks to solve problems from energy production to cancer by looking to how organisms have solved similar problems over evolutionary time. But the majority of engineers, material scientists and others using these approaches do not directly collaborate...

Visit: https://youtu.be/lxyiMKWqfYI for a video of this episode! "Crocodilian Superdads-Gharial on the Chambal River in North India" given by Dr. Jeff Lang Conservation Biologist, UMN Department of Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Biology at the Bryant Lake Bowl on March 18th, 2017. "In India, people and wildlife live together, side-by-side, and have for thousands of years. Conservation biologist Dr. Jeff Lang (UMN Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Biology) has traveled to rugged,...

"Hunting Knowledge & Gathering Herbs-Rastafari Bush Doctors in South Africa" given by Lisa Aston Philander, Curator of the College of Biological Sciences Conservatory & Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Plant Biology at the Bryant Lake Bowl on March 21st, 2017. "Lisa's research focuses on traditional knowledge of medicinal plants in the Cape Floristic Region, South Africa where she examined the trade of phytomedicines and developed community-based programming to...

Visit: https://youtu.be/wC4zp0jdo9Q for a video of this episode! "Forest Keepers: Science, Spirituality & Conservation among the Batak Tribe" given by J. Scott Dodds, filmmaker & ethnographer at the Bryant Lake Bowl on February 21th, 2017. "Scott Dodds is an award-winning ethnographic filmmaker. For the past 20 years, he has worked with anthropologists and environmentalists in following the Batak, a gather-hunter group in the Philippines. Batak live in fear of vengeful forest...

"The Beautiful Problem of Turbulence" presented by Sam Stewart, Ph.D. Candidate in Mathematics at the University of Minnesota, at the Bryant Lake Bowl on January 17th, 2017. "What do golf balls, whales, and airplanes have in common? They all struggle with one of the oldest and most difficult problems in physics and mathematics: turbulence. Turbulence is a bizarre and beautiful phenomenon that occurs when substances like water and air flow really fast. Most people are familiar with...

Visit: https://youtu.be/bng-Ki2Jpxc for a video of this episode! "Moving Minnesota: Re-inventing the Bell Museum Dioramas" presented by our own Don Luce, Curator of Exhibits here at the Bell Museum + Planetarium, at the Bryant Lake Bowl on December 20th, 2016. "Don Luce, curator of exhibits, will take you through the history and artistry behind the Bell Museum's world famous wildlife dioramas, as well as how they will be reinterpreted in the new museum and planetarium on the St. Paul...

Visit: https://youtu.be/bng-Ki2Jpxc for a video of this episode! "What Should a Clever Moose Eat? Natural History, Ecology, and the North Woods" presented by Dr. John Pastor at the Bryant Lake Bowl on November 11th, 2016.

Visit: https://youtu.be/-fdg5OoSA0o for a video of this episode! "The Fungi Around Us: Diversity, Ecology and Industrial Applications" presented by Dr. Kathryn Bushley & Kat Sweeney at the Bryant Lake Bowl on October 18th, 2016.

"The Dazzling Dr. Spillhaus" presented by Sharon Moen at the Bryant Lake Bowl on September 20th, 2016. Here's a description of the talk: "Dr. Athelstan Spilhaus was dean of the Institute of Technology (now College of Science & Engineering) at the University of Minnesota, founder of the National Sea Grant program, inventor of the skyway system and bathythermograph (drawings of which grace the Scholars Walk at the U), and author of the "Our New Age" comic strip that ran weekly for 20...

"Toxicology in the 21st Century" presented by Dr. Dalma Martinovic-Weigelt, who studies aquatic toxicology at St. Thomas University (Ph.D. Fisheries Science, University of Minnesota). In the Twin Cities area? Join us for our monthly Cafe! It runs September to May, every third Tuesday of the month at the Bryant Lake Bowl: http://bryantlakebowl.com/theater/caf%C3%A9-scientifique

Visit: https://youtu.be/cx1OclE9EMM for a video of this episode! "Bats, Whitenose Fungus, Chikungunya and Parasite Vectors of Disease." Presented by Dr. Luis Escobar. Dr. Escobar's research interests include macroecology and ecological niche modeling. Using climate and remote sensing data, he aims to investigate areas of potential invasion of micro (disease) and macro species. His goal is to validate tools and theory from invasion biology into disease ecology to enhanced the field of...

Visit: https://youtu.be/x-PLi4gBmqY for a video of this episode! "The Physics of Confections Cotton Candy, Soft Cookies, and Brittle Crackers." Presented by Dr. Ted Labuza from the Department of Food Science and Nutrition at the University of Minnesota. Dr. Ted Labuza Labuza is known internationally as one of the top experts on kinetics of reactions related to loss in food quality, nutrient degradation and pathogen growth and death kinetics. He is also well known for his teaching and is the...

Café Scientifique with Juli Ponder, D.V.M., "Invasive Vertebrates vs. Island Endemics: Who Will Be Voted off the Island?" Recorded at the Bryant Lake Bowl on 12-15-15. "Dr. Ponder is the executive director of the University of Minnesota’s renowned Raptor Center, and is an expert in the wildlife component of ecosystem health (specifically raptors). She has participated in the wildlife restoration projects involving Galapagos hawks in the Galapagos Islands, which will be the topic of her Café...

Visit: https://youtu.be/yXzGxRgCv-8 for a video of this episode! "Tiny Worlds Revealed: Microscopy using light and other energy to make hidden biologies visible. Presented by Dr. Gail Celio from University Imaging Centers at University of Minnesota." In the Twin Cities area? Join us for our monthly Cafe! It runs September to May, every third Tuesday of the month at the Bryant Lake Bowl: http://bryantlakebowl.com/theater/caf%C3%A9-scientifique

Visit: https://youtu.be/ftljSAAlIKQ for a video of this episode! Café Scientifique with Dr. Michael Reidy, "Mountains and Minds - Verticality and the Rise of Modern Science." Recorded at the Bryant Lake Bowl on 01-19-16. "Dr. Reidy examines the history of British science and the mountaineering in the age of empire with a discussion of seven different sciences on seven different mountain ranges around the world, focusing on his citizen science project in the Swiss Alps." In the Twin...

Visit: https://youtu.be/0kqVwNEzE10 for a video of this episode! Café Scientifique with Patrick Nunnally, "Myths and Meanings of the Big River." Recorded at the Bryant Lake Bowl on 11-17-15. "Patrick Nunnally of the University of Minnesota’s River Life program will talk about his work integrating Mississippi River sustainability with historical frameworks, contemporary mythologies, and culturally sensitive resource planning."

Visit: https://youtu.be/4kEuEh-7CGo for a video of this episode! Café Scientifique with Dr. Adam Boyko, "2015.10.20 Evolution Unleashed-The Making of the Dog." Recorded at the Bryant Lake Bowl on 10-20-15. "Before they domesticated cats, cows, chickens, corn, wheat, rice or anything else, humans domesticated dogs. Or perhaps it’s more accurate to say that dogs domesticated themselves by deciding to hang around humans to gain food and protection. Even in ancient times, some dogs were...

Visit: https://youtu.be/sUftrZubXYU for a YouTube video of this episode! Café Scientifique with Lois Hendrickson and Emily Beck, "Bodies and Spirits: Health and the History of Fermentation and Distillation." Recorded at the Bryant Lake Bowl on 09-15-15. "For centuries, science and industry, along with alewives and brewers, have developed techniques using and modifying life forms like yeast, molds, and bacteria, to create a host of new therapies and produce better foods and beverages. From...

Café Scientifique with Dr. Jonathan Slaght, "Feathered Ghosts: The Fish-Eating Owls of Northeast Asia." Recorded at the Bryant Lake Bowl on 05-19-15. "'Feathered Ghosts: The Fish-Eating Owls of Northeast Asia,' with Dr. Jonathan Slaght, who works for the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Russia Program. Dr. Slaght describes his research into the secret lives of endangered Blakiston’s fish owls – massive, shy creatures that prey mostly on salmon – and explains how the divergent economies of...

Café Scientifique with Dr. Chick Woodward, "Earth 2.0: Habitable Exoplanets?" Recorded at the Bryant Lake Bowl on 04-21-15. "'Earth 2.0: Habitable Exoplanets?' with Minnesota Institute for Astrophysics professor Chick (Charles) Woodward. Dr. Woodward prefers to think of the title for this upcoming Café as 'Earth 2.0+.' Why? According to Dr. Woodward, that will be the start of his narrative arc: 'There are lots of ‘mirror Earths,’ but like the midway at the State Fair, the view depends on the...