World Science Festival

With ever more refined techniques for measuring complex brain activity, scientists are challenging the understanding of thought, memory and emotion-what we have traditionally called "the self." How do electrical and chemical currents translate to self-awareness? And why does the brain produce consciousness at all? Join a discussion among eminent neuroscientists, philosophers and psychologists who are redefining what it means to be human.

From lab-grown organs to tissue engineering, regenerative medicine holds the potential to deliver eternal life. How close are we to this new future of human health? Developmental biologists, biomedical engineers, regenerative scientists, and physicians for a riveting exploration of the current and future state of regenerative medicine.

Are there limits to the human lifespan? Is it possible to stop the process of aging? On average, humans now live far longer than at any point in our history thanks to science and technology. On the horizon, advances in new drugs and medical techniques promise a revolution in how we live, age and die. But these advances may come at a steep cost. In this program, experts explore future challenges while debating the ramifications of an immortal society.

Humans work together on enormous scales to build complex tools as large as cities and create social networks that span the globe. What is the key to our success? This program examines the development of the human brain - and the brains of other animals - asking how neurons orchestrate communal behavior and guide group interactions, demonstrating how our social nature is key to our humanity.

Computers are getting smarter and more creative, offering spectacular possibilities to improve the human condition. There's a call to redefine Artificial Intelligence as Augmented Intelligence, to emphasize the potential of humans working with AI as opposed to being replaced by AI. In this program, AI experts, data scientists, engineers, and ethicists explore how we can work alongside machines, when we should trust machines to make cognitive decisions, and how all of society can benefit from the productive and financial gains promised by advances in AI.

Scientists are attempting to map the wiring of the nearly 100 billion neurons in the human brain. Are we close to uncovering the mysteries of the mind or are we only at the beginning of a new frontier?

As a discipline, science aspires to be an evidence-based, non-partisan tool for revealing truth. But science is carried out by scientists, human beings like the rest of us, subject to pressures, preconceptions, and biases. What are the external, non-scientific forces that impact scientific research? Does the current research structure — from government and foundation grant making to peer review and the stiff competition for limited funding — drive focus away from the scientific objective of unbiased exploration? What lessons can we draw from the recent crisis of reproducibility afflicting some research areas? Join an open discussion focused on the myriad factors scientists face in a highly competitive environment as they seek to uphold and advance the ideals of scientific exploration.

What if your brain at 77 were as plastic as it was at 7? What if you could learn Mandarin with the ease of a toddler or play Rachmaninoff without breaking a sweat? A growing understanding of neuroplasticity suggests these fantasies could one day become reality. Neuroplasticity may also be the key to solving diseases like Alzheimer's, depression, and autism. In this program, leading neuroscientists discuss their most recent findings and both the tantalizing possibilities and pitfalls for our future cognitive selves.

If we want to discover alien life out there in the universe, we first need to figure out where to look-and what we're even looking for. Will it be biological like us? Could it be artificial, or take some other form we haven't yet considered? And how do we find something so fundamentally different from ourselves? In this program, scientists devise plans for searching for beings beyond Earth while they grapple with the very definition of life.

We have fallen woefully behind in the race to keep up with harmful bacteria as they continually evolve to outsmart our antibiotics; in fact, there are already superbugs we cannot defeat. Predictions are by 2050 there will be more deaths from infections than from cancer if we don't solve this crisis. Join immunologists, biologists, and infectious disease specialists to explore some exciting new tools that may be our salvation in the battle against superbugs.

For every cell in your body, there's another tiny single-celled creature that also calls your body home. Far from being germs we should eradicate, these ancient friends allow us to digest food, breathe air, and fight off disease. They were here long before us and will undoubtedly remain long after we're gone. They are our microbiome, and after eons of cohabitation, we are finally getting to know one another better. Of course, we aren't always the best of neighbors. Autoimmune diseases, allergies, depression, and Alzheimer's may be diseases of an unhappy microbiome

Nearly every group has its extreme outliers. Where does fundamentalism come from? How does the most powerful organ in the known universe, the human brain, make emotionally driven decisions that ignore reason and fact? In this program, scientists look for answers to why our species may have evolved to accommodate the set of behaviors we associate with zealotry.

Whether we like it or not, whether we realize it or not, A.I. is now embedded in our everyday existence. From healthcare to law enforcement, from driverless cars to autopilots in flight, from e-commerce to employment applications–all rely on A.I. to make crucial decisions that have far-reaching implications to our bodies, our wallets, our safety, and our lives. So how good is A.I. at doing its job? Only as good as the data it’s given, and that data is often tainted by human bias and/or error. Can these biases and errors be eliminated? Are we damaging the fabric of society by handing so much power to A.I., or saving it? Join our salon of scientists and ethicists as they grapple with these and a host of issues that will define our future.

Are we alone in this vast universe? Some think that’s highly unlikely. With new technologies joining the search, NASA estimates we’ll find definitive evidence of aliens within 20 to 30 years. Which raises the vital question: And then what? Will the news inspire jubilation, despair, or fear? Will aliens be seen as gods or interlopers? Evidence of alien life will provoke fundamental questions about our place in the universe–not just about who they are, but also who we are. Join astronomers, astrobiologists, anthropologists, philosophers, and linguists as we ponder these issues.