what’s your spirit organelle? ours is the mitochondrion!

Bwog Science is back, after a months-long hiatus spent doing research in a cold, air-conditioned lab (or was that just me?). Today, we have a call for new science writers, as well as the year’s first Science Fair, Bwog’s list of exciting on-campus science events happening this week!

Do you read Bwog and study science at Barnumbia? If yes, first of all, you’re awesome! Second of all, you should consider joining Bwog Science! Established just last semester, Bwog Science caters towards our readers who are interested in all things STEM. We’ve published a regular advice column for STEM students, covered lectures by some of the world’s most prominent scientists, created a CU Women in STEM column, and covered STEM at Columbia in a variety of other ways.

Whether you’re a brand-new freshmen or a well-settled upperclassmen, we’d love for you to consider writing for Bwog Science. We value the perspectives and experiences that STEM students will bring to Bwog, in terms of helping us cover science events and writing about issues that relate to STEM students. As a science writer, you’ll have the opportunity to get first-hand access to various events around Columbia, as well as practice and improve on your ability to write about science. No journalism experience is necessary. If you’re interested, simply email science@bwog.com, or even better yet, show up to our open meeting to chat with us (first one is tonight at 9pm in Lerner 510).

Without further ado, here is our first Science Fair of the year! Science Fair is Bwog’s weekly curated list of interesting STEM-related talks, symposiums, and events happening on campus. For science and non-science majors alike, our list will bring you events that will satisfy your scientific curiosity for everything from astronomy to zoology, and everything in between.

Laser Research and the Evolution of Science in Our Time: A Personal Perspective
Thursday, September 13, 2-4pm – Schapiro CEPSR, Davis Auditorium
“This talk reviews the development of new lasers and their applications as seen through a strong interest in the physics and chemistry of optics and atomic and molecular dynamics. It shows how the research in basic science can lead to fundamentally new applications in the practical world.”

“Using Visual Salience in Game Theory,” a Cognition and Decision Seminar Series talk by Colin Camerer, Caltech
Thursday, September 13, 4:15pm – Jerome L Greene Science Center
“We measure and study visual salience in two-player games, in which players both prefer to match choices of locations or one prefers match and the other mismatch (hide-and-seek). Visual salience is predicted a priori from a computational algorithm based on principles from theoretical neuroscience and previously calibrated by human free gaze data.” Register at the link.

“Advances in genome editing technologies,” a Department of Biological Sciences seminar by Feng Zhang, Broad Institute
Monday, September 10, 12pm – 601 Fairchild
“In the five years since the initial demonstration of mammalian genome editing using the Cas9 enzyme, the molecular scissors of the microbial adaptive immune CRISPR system, a number of advancements in genome editing technology have been made with astounding speed.”

powerhouse of the cell via britannica.com