Tues, December 10, 8PM @ the Bell House, FREE! Secret Science Club presents Astrophysicist Ray Jayawardhana + Neutrino Hunters

Prepare to explore part(icle)s unknown!

Neutrinos are everywhere—trillions pass through your body every second—and these phantom bits of matter travel straight through the Earth without leaving a whisper of evidence. Emanating from the sun (and other nuclear reactions) and moving at near-light speed, neutrinos may hold the key to why antimatter is so rare, how stars explode as supernovas, and what the Universe was like just seconds after the Big Bang.  

Neutrinos are notoriously hard to pin down. But scientists are busy laying traps. Drawing on his new book, Neutrino Hunters: The Thrilling Chase for a Ghostly Particle to Unlock the Secrets of the Universe, astrophysicist Ray Jayawardhana discusses the quest to detect and observe neutrinos, from deep underground laboratories all the way to Antarctica’s “IceCube,” the largest neutrino detector in the world.

Professor of astronomy and Canada Research Chair in Observational Astrophysics at the University of Toronto, Ray Jayawardhana is the co-author of over 100 scientific papers and has written for the Economist, New York Times, and Scientific American. His previous book, Strange New Worlds, was the basis for the television documentary, The Planet Hunters.

Before & After

--Groove to subatomic tunes from our stereophonic supercollider
--Sample our quantum cocktail of the night, the Quinter Quish . . . it will add a particle of warmth to your seasonal celebrations . . .

--Hot off the presses! Snag a signed copy of Dr. Jayawardhana’s just-released new book, Neutrino Hunters

--Don’t miss the out-of-this-world Q&A

This cosmological edition of the Secret Science Club meets Tuesday, December 10, 8 pm @ the Bell House, 149 7th St. (between 2nd and 3rd avenues) in Gowanus, Brooklyn. Subway: F or G to 4th Ave.

Doors open at 7:30 pm. Please bring ID: 21+. No cover. Just bring your smart self! 

Wednesday, November 20, 8PM @ the Bell House, FREE! Secret Science Club presents Asteroid: Doomsday or Payday?

Grab your space boots, hold on to your wigs and keys, and have us pour you a cosmic cocktail . . .

Secret Science Club is blasting into the stratosphere with a special live screening of Asteroid: Doomsday or Payday? from NOVA. 

Last February a meteor exploded over Chelyabinsk, Russia, setting off a shock wave 30 times more powerful than an atomic bomb. And that was just a hiccup. More than 10,000 asteroids and comets are known to pass just a cosmic whisper from Earth. How are astrophysicists working to track, detect—and even deflect—space rocks that could threaten the planet? And why are some scientists and entrepreneurs looking at the same orbiting objects and seeing (literally) golden opportunities? 
Prepare to defend the Earth . . .

PLUS! Before & After

—Imbibe our rocket-fueled cocktail of the night

—Enter our spacey trivia contest and score out-of-this-world prizes

—Groove to tunes from beyond the Kuiper Belt

This interplanetary edition of the Secret Science Club meets Wednesday, November 20 at 8 pm @ the Bell House, 149 7th St. (between 2nd and 3rd avenues) in Gowanus, Brooklyn. Subway: F or G to 4th Ave. 

Doors open at 7:30 pm.  Please bring ID: 21+. No cover. 

Wednesday, October 23, 8PM @ the Bell House, FREE! Secret Science Club & the Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation present the 2013 Lasker Public Lecture with Biologist Jeffrey Friedman

It’s time you started loving your love handles. Your body fat isn't just sitting there jiggling. It’s actually producing essential hormones. No one suspected such a thing until biologist Jeffrey Friedman co-discovered the hormone leptin, and the surprising fact that it regulates food intake and body weight.

So, if you thought it was sheer willpower keeping you from eating those cupcakes, think again. In fact, Friedman’s research shows that without the leptin produced in our fat cells—which tells our brains, “You’re full for now!”—all of us would be chowing down non-stop.

Jeffrey Friedman’s seminal discovery completely transformed how “fat” is viewed—and set off a tidal wave of new research on body weight and what governs it. Dr. Friedman discusses:

--The average American eats over 800,000 calories each year. Yet, most of us maintain our body weight within a fairly narrow range. How?

--How does leptin relate to weight loss, dieting, and the obesity epidemic? Are there biological processes that make losing weight difficult?  

--Is obesity a disease, a symptom, or something else entirely? What are current and future treatments?

Professor of molecular genetics at Rockefeller University and an investigator for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Jeffrey Friedman received the Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award (often hailed as the American Nobel prize) in 2010. The author of over 150 scientific papers, he is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and its Institute of Medicine; the recipient of the Shaw Prize in Life Science and Medicine, the Keio Medical Science Prize, and numerous other awards; as well as a regularly featured scientist on such programs as PBS’s NOVA ScienceNOW.

This edition of the Secret Science Club is sponsored by the Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation. The Foundation works to foster the prevention and treatment of disease and disabilities by honoring excellence in basic and clinical science, educating the public, and advocating for support of medical research. 

Before & After

--Try our well-proportioned cocktail of the night, the Love Handler

--Groove to high-energy, low-sucrose tunes

--Weigh in during the ginormous Q&A

The Secret Science Club meets Wednesday, October 23, 8 pm @ the Bell House, 149 7th St. (between 2nd and 3rd avenues) in Gowanus, Brooklyn. Subway: F or G to 4th Ave.

Doors open at 7:30 pm. Please bring ID: 21+

No cover. Just bring your smart self.

Tuesday, September 17, 8PM @ the Bell House, FREE! Secret Science Club presents Neuroscientist Moran Cerf

Moran Cerf is a computer hacker turned neuroscientist. Security companies once paid him to break into banks. Now he hacks the human brain. Using electrodes implanted deep inside the craniums of patients undergoing neurosurgery, Dr. Cerf and his colleagues are studying “thought” as it’s never been studied before . . .

He asks: How do we control our perceptions, thoughts and emotions? What does the brain look like when it’s most intrigued? What is the future of brain-machine interfaces? Could brain-powered prosthetics not only replace lost limbs, but even enhance the human body?

Dr. Cerf runs the C-Lab (Curiosity, Creativity, Cognition, Complexity, Consciousness, Consumer Behavior, Computation) and is assistant professor of neuroscience and marketing at Northwestern University, visiting professor in neurosurgery at UCLA, and Alfred P. Sloan professor of screenwriting at the American Film Institute. He is also a Moth storytelling GrandSlam champion.

Before & After

--Try our wet-wired cocktail of the night, the Brain Alcohol Interface

--Submit to our dopamine-spiked neuro-grooves

--Stick around for the mind-blowing Q&A

This brain-powered edition of the Secret Science Club meets Tuesday, September 17, 8 pm @ the Bell House, 149 7th St. (between 2nd and 3rd avenues) in Gowanus, Brooklyn. Subway: F or G to 4th Ave.

Doors open at 7:30 pm. Please bring ID: 21+

No cover. Just bring your smart self! 

Tuesday, August 20, 8PM @ the Bell House, FREE! Secret Science Club presents Neuroscientist Anne Churchland on Decision Making

Swinging synapses! Decode and dismantle your brain with neuroscientist Anne Churchland

What to do ... what to do? Your brain is working overtime, sifting through sensory input. Both consciously and unconsciously, you're constantly computing the advisability of various actions (and inactions). Should you stay or should you go? Has the mayonnaise gone bad? Is that T-shirt really worth fifty bucks? Is it a good idea to spend the weekend binge-watching three seasons of Breaking Bad?

At Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, neuroscientist Anne Churchland works at the cutting edge of research on decision making. She asks:
--How does your brain compile all the bits of sensory data it receives to make good (and even not so good) decisions?
--What can new technologies and experiments tell us about how we think—even when our “thinking” is subconscious?
--How does the brain handle multisensory input? Is one sense favored over others?
--Why are simple decisions sometimes so complex? What might the neuroscience of decision making tell us about anxiety, addiction, and other ways our brains trip us up?

Before & After

--Try our cunning cocktail of the night, the Best Decision Ever

--Groove to dopamine-spiked tunes

--Stick around for the thought-provoking Q&A

 

This multiple-choice edition of the Secret Science Club meets Tuesday, August 20, 8 pm @ the Bell House, 149 7th St. (between 2nd and 3rd avenues) in Gowanus, Brooklyn. Subway: F or G to 4th Ave.

Doors open at 7:30 pm. Please bring ID: 21+

No cover. Just bring your smart self!

Illustration of Neurons in the Brain by Benedict Campbell, Wellcome Images 

Tuesday, July 16, 8PM @ the Bell House, FREE! Secret Science Club presents Plant Geneticist and Foodie Scientist Zach Lippman

Secret Science Club features biologist, tomato aficionado & scientist/farmer Zach Lippman on flower power and the DNA of feeding the world

In the wild, more flowers mean more seeds, more fruit, and more food. It’s no wonder we think flowers are so pretty and awesome. Zach Lippman thinks flowers—and the genetics that control the timing of flowering—may hold the key to bigger and better bumper crops.

A tomato-loving biologist who cultivates 80 tomato varieties in greenhouses at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Dr. Lippman studies the genes and hormones that regulate flower production with the goal of growing more (and tastier) food for a hungry world. Combining old-school plant-breeding with the latest genetic discoveries and a little sleuthing, Dr. Lippman recently pinpointed a naturally mutated gene in a varietal that—when crossed with a normal tomato plant—produces sweeter tomatoes and 60 percent higher yield. That’s a whole lotta bruschetta…. 

Before & After

--Groove to fruity and delicious tunes

--Dip your beak into our lycopene-spiked cocktail of the night, the Garden of Earthly Delights

--Stick around for the sweet and fleshy Q&A

This petal-pushing edition of the Secret Science Club meets Tuesday, July 16 at 8 pm @ the Bell House, 149 7th St. (between 2nd and 3rd avenues) in Gowanus, Brooklyn. Subway: F or G to 4th Ave.

Doors open at 7:30 pm. Please bring ID: 21+. No cover. 

Photo courtesy of the New York Times

Sunday, June 30, 8PM @ the Bell House, FREE! SPECIAL EVENT: "Flight of the Drosophila:A Wild, Winged Night of Cinema & Brain Science" featuring Neuroscientist Josh Dubnau

Drosophila melanogaster is the tiny fruit fly that we humans share half our DNA with and that serves as a model organism for studying everything from courtship to our senses of smell, hearing, and vision. 

Join the Secret Science Club and Imagine Science Films for a night of freaky, fly-inspired short films and a special lecture by neuroscientist and geneticist Josh Dubnau on how he uses Drosophila to study the human brain and the mysteries of memory.

Dr. Dubnau is an associate professor at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, where he studies short- and long-term memory, and neurodegenerative diseases. His lab’s most recent research on transposons, also known as “jumping genes,” may offer a key to unlocking the secrets of memory loss and the aging brain.

Before & After

--Sway to neuro-grooves

--Sip our bugged-out cocktail of the night, the Fly Highball

--Win brainy door prizes

--Stick around for the larval Q&A

--Buzz & flit with the cast of scientist/filmmaker Alexis Gambis's new film, The Fly Room

Where & When: Sunday, June 30, 8PM @ the Bell House, 149 7th St. (between 2nd and 3rd avenues) in Gowanus, Brooklyn.
Subway: F or G to 4th Ave; R to 9th St.

Doors open at 7:30 pm. Please bring ID: 21+

No cover. Just bring your smart self!

Tuesday, June 18, 8PM @ the Bell House, FREE! Secret Science Club presents “Robot (R)Evolution” with Biologist and Cognitive Scientist John Long

Humans have backbones, as do tens of thousands of other creatures. But why? To discover how vertebrates evolved, biologist John Long uses futuristic technology to peer deep into the past. He creates bio-robots that simulate the behavior of animals, both living and extinct. His bio-robots search for resources, compete for mates, deal with threats—and adapt.

Author of the recently published book, Darwin's Devices: What Evolving Robots Can Teach Us About the History of Life and the Future of Technology, Dr. Long asks:

--How do bio-robots evolve? Is robot sex just zeroes and ones?

--What does it mean to be intelligent? Are big brains really necessary?

--How can evolvabots re-create conditions known only from 500-million-year-old fossils?
--What can shark robots teach us about human evolution? How do robo-prey escape robo-predators?

John Long is chair of the biology department, professor of biology and cognitive science, and director of the Interdisciplinary Robotics Research Lab at Vassar College. He and his robots—Madeleine and the Tadros—have appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, and other publications, and they have taught evolution on the Discovery and History Channels.

Before & After

--Groove to Mr. Roboto’s interactive playlist

--Try our machine-coded cocktail of the night, the Cyber Robot Futurtini

--Snag a signed copy of Dr. Long’s new book, Darwin’s Devices

--Stick around for the scintillating Q&A

The next cybernetic edition of the Secret Science Club meets Tuesday, June 18, 8 pm @ the Bell House, 149 7th St. (between 2nd and 3rd avenues) in Gowanus, Brooklyn. Subway: F or G to 4th Ave.

Doors open at 7:30 pm. Please bring ID: 21+

No cover. Just bring your smart self!

Tuesday, May 21, 8 pm @ the Bell House, FREE! Secret Science Club presents "It's All in Your Mind!" w/ Cognitive Neuroscientist Heather Berlin

How much control do you have over your brain? In recent years, scientists have discovered a tremendous amount of human behavior is actually motivated by unconscious processes. At the Secret Science Club, neuroscientist Heather Berlin delves into your deepest, darkest thoughts.  
She asks:

--Who’s really in control? Is there a neural basis for free will?

-- How do conscious impulses and thoughts become unconscious (as in repression) and vice-versa (Freudian slips)?

 -- What can brain imaging and neuropsychological experiments tell us about our emotions, obsessions, and compulsions?

 --What is consciousness and how did it evolve? What purpose does it serve?

           

A cognitive neuroscientist in the departments of psychiatry and neuroscience at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Dr. Berlin researches impulsivity, compulsivity, and emotions with the goal of developing more targeted treatments for a variety of disorders. She has appeared as a featured scientist on the Discovery Channel’s Superhuman Showdown and Neil deGrasse Tyson’s StarTalk Radio.

Before & After

--Groove to unrepressed tunes

--Stick around for the compulsive Q&A

--Try our Cartesian cocktail of the night, the “I Think, Therefore I Drink”

This brain-boggling edition of the Secret Science Club meets Tuesday, May 21, 2013, at 8 pm @ the Bell House, 149 7th St. (between 2nd and 3rd avenues) in Gowanus, Brooklyn. Subway: F or G to 4th Ave; R to 9th St. 

Doors open at 7:30 pm. Please bring ID: 21+

No cover. Just bring your smart self!

Tuesday, April 16, 8 PM @ the Bell House, FREE! Secret Science Club presents "Sacred Crododiles, Man-eaters, and Mummies" with Evolutionary Biologist Evon Hekkala

Secret Science Club goes wild with crocodile expert Evon Hekkala

Evolutionary biologist Evon Hekkala of Fordham University has searched for man-eating crocodiles in Madagascar, mined museum collections for DNA locked in ancient animal mummies, and discovered “extinct” creatures surviving right under our noses. Her goal? Finding rare, hidden, and endangered species and saving them from oblivion. At the April edition of the Secret Science Club, Dr. Hekkala discusses:

--genetic sleuthing and the evolutionary origins of rare species

--the sacred crocodile, named for the ancient Egyptian practice of venerating, bejeweling, and mummifying crocs

--DNA and wildlife conservation

--the Nile crocodile, one of the most lethal predators on the planet

Before & After

--Groove to untamable tunes

--Sink your teeth into the Q&A

--Sample the Crocodile Tears, our cold-blooded cocktail of the night. It’ll grab you…

This edition of the Secret Science Club meets Tuesday, April 16, 8 pm @ the Bell House, 149 7th St. (between 2nd and 3rd avenues) in Gowanus, Brooklyn. Subway: F or G to 4th Ave; R to 9th St.

Doors open at 7:30 pm. Please bring ID: 21+

No cover. Just bring your smart self!

Tuesday, March 12, 8PM @ the Bell House, FREE! Secret Science Club presents a Brain-Boggling Night with Neuroscientist André Fenton

What’s going on in that brain of yours? There may be as many neurons in one human brain as there are stars in the Milky Way Galaxy. Connecting these neurons are hundreds of trillions of pathways along which electrochemical messages constantly fly. The brain’s uncanny ability to save, coordinate, and retrieve these messages is what creates our memories and very identities.

Neuroscientist and biomedical engineer André Fenton is at the forefront of research on memory and forgetting. He and his colleagues discovered the first mind-bending molecule responsible for preserving long-term memories—and then went on to show how suppressing that molecule could wipe out existing memories. Dr. Fenton asks:

--If we can pinpoint how memories are stored, can we selectively erase bad memories? Should we?

--How are memories retrieved? Why don’t all our memories flood our minds, causing traffic jams of thought?

--How does neuronal activity—taking place on the nanoscale—translate into mental processes and thoughts? What tools are used to investigate?

--Are there medical implications to current discoveries? Where will the future of brain research take us?

Professor at NYU’s Center for Neural Science and president of the BioSignal Group, André Fenton also studies electrochemical brain activity and its relationship to brain diseases and disorders. He is the developer of a mobile, wireless brain monitoring system for use in emergency room and ambulatory settings to help diagnose and prevent seizures.

Before & After

--Saturate yourself in cerebral grooves 

--Enjoy the brainy libation of the night—the Fenton Fizz—a potent potion that will realign your neural architecture . . . 

--Stick around for the thought-provoking Q&A!

The next dopamine-spiked edition of the Secret Science Club meets Tuesday, March 12, 8 pm @ the Bell House, 149 7th St. (between 2nd and 3rd avenues) in Gowanus, Brooklyn. Subway: F or G to 4th Ave; R to 9th St. 

Doors open at 7:30 pm. Please bring ID: 21+ 

No cover. Just bring your smart self.

Tuesday, February 12, 8PM @ the Bell House, Secret Science Club presents "Welcome to the Microbiome—It’s a Whole New You" with Microbiologist Martin Blaser, FREE!

Say hello to your little friends—all 100 trillion of them. Each of us harbors about 1,000 microbial species in our noses, mouths, and guts; on our skin. Together, they weigh an astonishing 2 to 5 pounds. If you’re worried about the aliens within, don’t be. A torrent of new medical and genetic research shows that your microbiome is essential to your survival. These itty-bitty bugs help you metabolize food and build your immune system. They make vitamins and protect you from getting sick.

The director of NYU’s Human Microbiome Program, Dr. Martin Blaser is at the forefront of this new research on the jungle of microorganisms inside us. While medical science has traditionally focused on “bad” microbes—the germs that cause illness and how to eradicate them—Dr. Blaser and other pioneering researchers have flipped that idea inside-out, investigating good germs and their role in health and disease. He asks:
--How did the human microbiome evolve? Are we humans actually ecosystems, superorganisms, or symbionts?

-- How does the widespread use of antibiotics affect our microbiota and our health?

--Why are birth and early life such important times for our microbiomes? Is the biodiversity of the human microbiome under threat? 

--How are obesity, asthma, diabetes, and even mood swings linked to changes in our microbiota?

--Are new microbial medicines in our future?

Dr. Blaser is the George and Muriel Singer Professor of Medicine and Professor of Microbiology at NYU. A past president of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, he is founder of the Foundation for Bacteriology and the Virtual Museum of Bacteria and was elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences in 2011. He currently chairs the Advisory Board for Clinical Research at the National Institutes of Health.

Before & After

--Try our bugged-out cocktail of the night, the Super Organism
--Wiggle to grooves that wriggle

--Stick around for the scintillating Q&A

This multicellular edition of the Secret Science Club meets Tuesday, February 12, 8 pm @ the Bell House, 149 7th St. (between 2nd and 3rd avenues) in Gowanus, Brooklyn. Subway: F or G to 4th Ave; R to 9th St.

Doors open at 7:30 pm. Please bring ID: 21+

No cover. Just bring your smart self! 

Tuesday, January 22, 8PM @ the Bell House, Secret Science Club presents “Dark Mysteries of the Universe” w/ Astrophysicist Jeremiah Ostriker, FREE!

Rocket into deep space with astrophysicist and author Jeremiah Ostriker as he explores dark matter and dark energy!

Making up 95 percent of the known Cosmos, the Dark Duo are maddeningly invisible—yet they shape the very structure of the Universe and drive its expansion. Is dark energy the fabric of space itself? Is dark matter comprised of yet-to-be-discovered subatomic particles? How do scientists detect the undetectable? Drawing on his new book, Heart of Darkness: Unraveling the Mysteries of the Invisible Universe, Dr. Ostriker discusses the latest theories, observations, and data—as well as mind-boggling questions that remain.

Jeremiah Ostriker is professor of astronomy at Columbia University and emeritus professor of astrophysics at Princeton University. A pioneering researcher in the field of cosmology and author of more than 500 scientific papers, he has been awarded the National Medal of Science, the Gold Medal from the Royal Astronomical Society, and the James Craig Watson Medal from the National Academy of Sciences for his “bold astrophysical insights.” Don’t miss a nanosecond of his awesome talk . . .

Before & After

--Groove to intergalactic tunes

--Try our deep, dark cocktail of the night, the Cosmological Constant

--Snag a signed copy of Dr. Ostriker’s just-released new book, Heart of Darkness.

--Win tickets to Isaac’s Eye, a new play about Isaac Newton @ EST

--Stick around for the out-of-this-world Q&A

The next paradigm-shifting edition of the Secret Science Club meets Tuesday, January 22 at 8 pm @ the Bell House, 149 7th St. (between 2nd and 3rd avenues) in Gowanus, Brooklyn. Subway: F or G to 4th Ave; R to 9th St.

Doors open at 7:30 pm. Please bring ID: 21+

No cover. Just bring your smart self!

Photo credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/M.Markevitch et al. Optical: NASA/STScI; Magellan/U.Arizona/D.Clowe et al. Lensing Map: NASA/STScI; ESO WFI; Magellan/U.Arizona/D.Clowe et al.