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 such essential brain functions as regulating synaptic signaling, forming new memories, and controlling the delivery of nutrients to active brain areas. Join us to learn about glial cells – the other brain. 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 our monthly Café! It runs September to May, 7 PM every third Tuesday of the month at the Bryant Lake Bowl: http://bryantlakebowl.wpengine.com/cabaret-theater/

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 our monthly Café! It runs September to May, 7PM every third Tuesday of the month at the Bryant Lake Bowl: http://bryantlakebowl.wpengine.com/cabaret-theater/

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 how ecosystems will respond to global change. For my talk, I will introduce the audience to the group of fungi I study, Glomeromycota, then briefly introduce a couple of the classic studies demonstrating the important links between fungal diversity, plant diversity, productivity, and soil carbon. Once I lay this groundwork, I will transition into how these fungi may shape ecosystem response to global change, talking very generally about the carbon cycle and a few of my past and current research projects. I am currently a post-doctoral research associate in the department Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior at the University of Minnesota. I recently relocated back to the Midwest after completing my Ph.D. at the University of Tennessee. Overall, my research focuses on understanding patterns that maintain global biodiversity and how contemporary global change is reshaping biodiversity. Although my research has taken me from tropical rainforests to mountain tops, and up to the arctic tundra permafrost, the tall grass prairie always holds a place in my heart, and I will focus most of my talk on work that has been conducted in a Tallgrass prairie near Eau Claire, WI. 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 our monthly Café! It runs September to May, 7PM every third Tuesday of the month at the Bryant Lake Bowl: http://www.bryantlakebowl.com/theater...

"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: https://www.minnpost.com/community-voices/2017/06/how-do-we-integrate-science-public-policy-decision-making "

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 with biologists. We have barely scratched the surface of biological inspiration, and in order to use this approach more powerfully, we need to dive deeper into biological diversity. Emilie Snell-Rood is an Associate Professor in Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior. Her research considers how organisms deal with environmental variation, from the evolution of learning to reactions to novel toxins. She has developed an interdisciplinary course on biomimetics that brings together students from diverse fields to tackle real-world problems using bioinspiration."

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, “bandit” country in north India since 2008 to investigate the secret lives of gharial. This crocodilian species is a specialized fish-eater, growing to 18+ feet in length, that is critically endangered but survives today by moving hundreds of miles each year with the monsoon, up and down large rivers. Jeff’s recent work is revealing that gharials show extraordinary care for their young, guarding hundreds of hatchlings from predators, and exhibit complex social behaviors, not known in other reptiles. His talk will feature video clips of gharial behaviors, and highlight the challenges and adventures of working and living with wildlife and people in modern-day India."

"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 conserve and grow endangered plant species. You can learn more about Lisa's work in Roots to Healing: A brief survey of the past, present and future of plant-based remedies in Minnesota, on display starting March 9 at Northrop Auditorium."

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 spirits who take retribution on anyone who doesn't respect the forest or wastes its resources. As a result, they have developed not only a highly detailed knowledge of the natural environment but also techniques for harvesting forest products sustainably. This has not been lost on environmental scientists, who are working with the Batak to conserve the forest while protecting them from commercial forest harvesters and encroaching farmers."

"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 turbulence during air travel, but the problem is much bigger and impacts fields as diverse as national defense, NASCAR, and oil. It's so complicated that even our most powerful super-computers choke on the calculations. During the last century, mathematicians have arrived on the scene and struggled to verify if our core model is correct. What makes turbulence so hard and why should we care about understanding it? Join Sam Stewart, a Ph.D. student in mathematics studying fluid dynamics at the University of Minnesota, as he shares the story of one of our most fundamental and fascinating natural phenomena."

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 campus in 2018."