A weekly conversation about the culture, conduct & community of science

Conversations (2007)

Heart of Hearts: A Conversation with Pediatric Cardiologist Harold Bernstein December 14

When it comes to stem cells and heart disease, the public has a right to be excited...

Speaking of Science: Can We Talk? You Tell Me December 7

Science news can sometimes make you applaud -- or scream...

A Bug in Our Blood: A Conversation with UCSF Health Economist Leslie Wilson November 30

Leslie Wilson knows what it costs to keep our blood supply safe from Chagas' disease...

Health in the Time of Poison: A Conversation with Reproductive Health Expert Tracey Woodruff, PhD November 16

Chemicals in the environment are threatening our health, our ability to reproduce and our offspring. What can we do?

Family Trees: A Conversation with Physician-Scientist Esteban Burchard November 9

Latinos and asthma: Knowing who you really are can help you to stay healthy...

Ideas Make Good Presents November 2

From a presidential debate on science to new research on PTSD, thinking scientifically is a gift...

A Postdoc’s Story: Greece’s Christina Karatzaferi Remembers UCSF October 26

From Greece to San Francisco and back again, former postdoc Christina Karatzaferi carries UCSF with her always...

Alternative or Not? A Conversation with Stephen Bent, MD October 19

Alternative therapy expert Stephen Bent has the safety lowdown on everything from ginko to kava...

Licking Lupus: A Conversation with Physician-Researcher Lindsey Criswell October 12

Lindsey Criswell is hot on the trail of lupus...

Mice or Men? How Important Is Conserved DNA? A Conversation with Geneticist Nadav Ahituv October 5

Just how important is the conserved DNA that humans share with mice and rats? New research might surprise you...

Old Space: Protecting Young Bones from Weightlessness. A Conversation with Thomas Lang September 28

Protecting against loss of bone mass on long space flights gives new meaning to space age...

Working Small, Thinking Big: A Conversation with Bioengineer Tejal Desai September 21

Nanotech meets biotech in the UCSF laboratory of Tejal Desai...

Circling In on Alzheimer’s and Obesity September 13

As America struggles under the growing weight of Alzheimer's and obesity, two UCSF scientists at the affiliated Gladstone Institutes demonstrate why basic science might be our best hope...

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Crowning Glory: A Conversation with Dental Sciences Researcher Stefan Habelitz September 7

Uncovering the secrets of tooth enamel could brighten the future for biomaterials...

Visualizing Life: A Conversation with Tom Ferrin, PhD August 10

Envisioning life at the molecular level is a complex business...

Skin Cancer Scientist Sees Ray of Hope: A Conversation with James Cleaver August 3

From the A-bomb to XP, James Cleaver has become an expert on DNA repair and the "fundamental derangement" we know as cancer...

Surgeon Stars in Scientist Role July 27

UCSF surgeon scientist Hobart Harris has sepsis in his sights and movies on his mind...

Slice of Science: Gladstone Institute Gives Students a Career Taste July 20

A video perspective on how the UCSF-affiliated Gladstone Institute hopes to turn youthful curiosity into a career...

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A Science Feel-Good at the Gladstone July 13

Making science real means taking it to the kids, a cultural imperative at the UCSF-affiliated Gladstone Institutes...

The Biology of Fat (or Why Literally Running Away from Stress Is a Good Idea) July 6

When it comes to getting fat, it's the brain that matters most...

Changing the Face of Costello Syndrome June 29

Medical genetics is revealing ever greater secrets about rare disorders that strike newborns...

Can Addiction Be Stopped? Banys Responds to Fields June 22

Is alcoholism more than one disease? And does "recovery" actually work? Yes to both, says UCSF psychiatrist Peter Banys in his response to UCSF neuroscientist Howard Fields...

Voigt Makes Synthetic Biology Come Alive June 15

Genetic robots require a program and an agenda. Synthetic biologist Christopher Voigt supplies both...

Buff Up Your Website, Write an Essay, Win Cash June 8

Winning communication can make science websites a good bet. Find out how you can cash in...

UCSF and the Future of Science: A Conversation with Keith Yamamoto June 1

Scientist, research dean, teacher and visionary, Keith Yamamoto has seen it all in his 35 years at UCSF. What does he think about today's UCSF science?

Why Old Brains Never Die: A Conversation with UCSF Neuroscientist Michael Merzenich May 25

Keeping an old brain young takes a jolt of novelty and a hunger for change...

Breastfeeding, Brain Development and Chemical Poisons: Neuroscientist Michael Merzenich May 18

Are chemical poisons concentrated in breast milk behind the rise in autism?

Is There an Electron in the House? A Conversation with Electron Kebebew May 4

A man who operates on bodies and genes makes his mark...

Has Science Been Framed? April 27

Should scientists de-emphasize the technical when trying to defend or explain science? The jury is still out on how and whether science should be "framed"...

Alcoholism: Vice or Disease? A Conversation with Howard Fields, Part 3 of 3 April 19

In this last conversation about addiction with neuroscientist Howard Fields, he argues that if drugs can dissolve your will power, it follows that other drugs can restore it...

Alcoholism: Vice or Disease? A Conversation with Howard Fields, Part 2 of 3 April 13

Does the brain treat alcohol like a food? If so, UCSF neuroscientist Howard Fields wonders why alcoholics don't get full...

Alcoholism: Vice or Disease? A Conversation with Howard Fields, Part 1 of 3 April 2

Are addicts flawed or blameless? UCSF neuroscientist Howard Fields points the finger at the brain...

How Do You Sleep? A Conversation with Tom Neylan, MD March 23

Sleep disorder expert Tom Neylan explains what you lose if you don't snooze...

Express Yourself: A Conversation with Chris Barker, Director of the Genomics Core Laboratory March 16

Managing an array of tools is at the core of modern science...

A Speck of Spec: A Conversation with Al Burlingame March 9

Why knowing a little can sometimes tell you a lot...

Hard Drugs: A Conversation with Pharmaceutical Chemist Tom James March 1

Finding new drugs is sometimes like counting grains of sand...

Stupid Science: Can Moviemakers Ever Get It Right? February 23

Moviemaking must be an art, because it usually gets the science all wrong...

Ace of Hearts: A Conversation with Developmental Biologist and Cardiologist Deepak Srivastava February 16

Has congenital heart disease found its match in a Texan named Deepak?

Do You See What I See? A Conversation with MD-PhD Jonathan Horton February 9

Ophthalmologist and neuroscientist Jonathan Horton opens his eyes -- and his mind -- to some startling observations about what vision is and why we might be blind to the truth...

Are You a Science Impostor? Self-Help PhD Valerie Young February 1