Plankton - Drifting Through Life When I was in school, I remember learning about plankton as near-microscopic organisms with strange but beautiful shells that lived near the surface of the ocean and were eaten by whales and other sea creatures. It was only later that I learned that they were all that and far more. […]

Remembrance and Reconciliation You are invited to come and share your families experience of WWII, together we will remember those who sacrificed their lives.

Although scientific progress enabled humanity to create a covid19 vaccine quickly, millions nevertheless died and many more suffered and continue to suffer from the virus. What should we learn from the experience? Which societies managed the pandemic better or worse and why? Can we improve the political, economic and social approaches to public health globally […]

Nuclear Energy "Nuclear energy, in terms of an overall safety record, is better than other energy." -Bill Gates "If our nation wants to reduce global warming, air pollution and energy instability, we should invest only in the best energy options. Nuclear energy isn't one of them." -Mark Z. Jacobson Nuclear Energy. Good? Bad? The answer […]

 The Chemistry and Geology of Gold Gold has been valued for all time due to its properties of malleability and high luster. In this talk we will consider the history and geologic origin of gold and its chemical properties. Gold is one of the few elements that can be found as a metal in nature, […]

Bees! And other endangered animals The hum of bees is the voice of the garden – Elizabeth Lawrence As the world changes with the impact humans leave on it, more and more animals find themselves on the endangered list. Today we will talk about conservation, the different methods we use to achieve it, and endangered […]

Telomere to Telomere: Completion of the Human Genome Max Chatnoir (RL Mary Anne Clark, Texas Wesleyan University) In 2001, two research groups published reports on the sequence of the human genome, whose euchromatic sequence was then subsequently largely completed, chromosome by chromosome. A reference sequence was released in 2013 and updated in 2019. In April […]

Internet Law " is an area today that has very few regulations and even fewer rules" - Gary Kovacs "As the most participatory form of mass speech yet developed, the Internet deserves the highest protection from government intrusion." - Judge Dalzell Today's discussion will center around the concept of Internet Law and how it could, […]

Think back on your first days in a virtual world: A confounding jumble of pop-up options blocking the scenery; embarrassing moments stuck bouncing off walls — that’s what we may recall. The Educare region provides a gentle first-time orientation for newcomers (and hesitant returnees) to explore VW education possibilities. For this ‘tour’ please land at […]

Archaeology of Northern Ethiopia & Eritrea   Abyssinia, which is intended as a living museum & educational resource on the Science Circle’s OpenSim grid, is my reconstruction of ancient archaeological sites in Tigray (northern Ethiopia) & Eritrea that date from at least 1000 BCE through roughly 800 CE. I excavated at several of these sites […]