Thursday May 18, 2023
(yes, a special Thursday edition!)
7pm doors, 8pm show
Rickshaw Stop (155 Fell @ Van Ness)
$10 online (+fees) / $12 door
Tickets here!
Have you ever thought to yourself: I wish I could think and drink on a Thursday night instead of a Wednesday night? WELL THEN do we have news for you! Join us for a special Thursday edition of Nerd Nite SF this month!
Urine is not sterile: Taking advantage of a golden opportunity by Krystal Thomas-White, PhD
The human microbiome includes all the bacteria that live in and on you. These bugs live in our gut, on our skin, and yes, in your bladder. Even though doctors will tell you, “of course urine is sterile”, the latest research shows us that (just like every other body site) it’s alive with microorganisms. Krystal will tell you the story of this discovery, and what that means for your health.
Krystal has been studying the bladder and vaginal microbiomes in the context of women’s health for over 10 years. She is now the senior scientist at the women’s health start-up Evvy as well as a a dedicated science communicator and scientific advisor for Live UTI Free, a patient advocacy group. You can also find her @KrystalMicrobio.
Chandra’s Abortion: A history of female friendship, plants, and the law in 19th-century colonial India by Tara Kola
Abortion pills have been in the news recently, but long before abortion was a moral dilemma fought over by men in the Supreme Court, and even before then since the invention of the uterus, women have been experimenting with medicine from plants to make choices about their bodies. Hear about the long botanical and legal history of abortion through the short story of Chandra Chashani, a woman who had an abortion in 1849 in colonial India.
We Can’t Mine Metals Without Digging… Or Can We? by Dr. Seaver Wang
In the eyes of many environmentalists, mining is the original environmental sin of industrial-age humanity, far predating more modern concerns like climate change, depletion of the ozone layer, or plastic pollution. At the same time, it is no exaggeration to say that the metals that we mine from the earth have driven tremendous technological progress, vastly improved human well-being, and form the basis for our modern, advanced society today. But what if we could keep all of the societal benefits associated with producing important metals while dramatically reducing the environmental and social risks associated with traditional mining? Newer technologies, including some that are already in widespread use today, have opened the possibility of sourcing metals like lithium, copper, or rare earth elements from non-traditional sources like underground brine or waste materials, without even having to dig a pit or mine shaft. In this talk, Dr. Seaver Wang will explore a number of exciting innovations in metal extraction and recycling that could help support our raw material needs while reducing the environmental costs of the many technologies essential to modern society today.