Stanford University knows it needs to take bold action on environmental issues—it’s creating a new school focused on sustainability and climate change, it has plans to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050… So, why is it so hesitant to cut ties with the fossil fuel industry? In this episode of the Stanford SciCast, your hosts Ruby Gates and Vrinda Suresh unpack Stanford’s sustainability commitments, and its resistance to fossil fuel divestment, through conversations with student organizers and experts on climate science, climate denial, and the fossil fuel industry.
*Note: Ben Franta and Paul Edwards’ interviews were conducted on May 24 and May 27, respectively. When they reference court rulings that came out “today” or “the last couple of days,” they are referring to rulings that happened the week of May 23.
Additional Info:
Check out Fossil Free’s open letter to Stanford’s president: https://www.stanforddaily.com/2021/03/30/letter-to-the-university-president-the-school-of-sustainability-and-climate-should-refuse-funding-from-fossil-fuel-companies/
Sign their petition here: http://bit.ly/refuseffmoney
Dr. Ben Franta’s work on fossil fuel companies:
Early oil industry disinformation on global warming - Environmental Politics
Early oil industry knowledge of CO2 and global warming - Nature Climate Change
Shell and Exxon's secret 1980s climate change warnings - The Guardian
The Daily Brew Podcast Episode with Stephan Graham and Kam Moler: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6VnPO17tkJ7GNI3vQK8T5q
Noam Bergman’s Paper
Bergman, Noam. 2018. "Impacts of the Fossil Fuel Divestment Movement: Effects on Finance, Policy and Public Discourse" Sustainability 10, no. 7: 2529. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10072529
Music and Sounds:
Flutterbee by Podington Bear licensed under CC BY-NC 3.0
Elephants on Parade by Podington Bear licensed under CC BY-NC 3.0
Releasing the Sculpture by Podington Bear licensed under CC BY-NC 3.0
New Skin by Podington Bear licensed under CC BY-NC 3.0
Caterpillar Brigade by Podington Bear licensed under CC BY-NC 3.0
Love Song #1 by Podington Bear licensed under CC BY-NC 3.0
Record Scratch by luffy, licensed under CC BY 3.0
Drumroll by ddohler, licensed under CC BY 3.0
Image: Photo by Dean Chahim/Fossil Free Stanford, licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
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Stanford University knows it needs to take bold action on environmental issues—it’s creating a new school focused on sustainability and climate change, it has plans to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050… So, why is it so hesitant to cut ties with the fossil fuel industry? In this episode of the Stanford SciCast, your hosts Ruby Gates and Vrinda Suresh unpack Stanford’s sustainability commitments, and its resistance to fossil fuel divestment, through conversations with student organizers and experts on climate science, climate denial, and the fossil fuel industry.
*Note: Ben Franta and Paul Edwards’ interviews were conducted on May 24 and May 27, respectively. When they reference court rulings that came out “today” or “the last couple of days,” they are referring to rulings that happened the week of May 23.
Additional Info:
Check out Fossil Free’s open letter to Stanford’s president: https://www.stanforddaily.com/2021/03/30/letter-to-the-university-president-the-school-of-sustainability-and-climate-should-refuse-funding-from-fossil-fuel-companies/
Sign their petition here: http://bit.ly/refuseffmoney
Dr. Ben Franta’s work on fossil fuel companies:
Early oil industry disinformation on global warming - Environmental Politics
Early oil industry knowledge of CO2 and global warming - Nature Climate Change
Shell and Exxon's secret 1980s climate change warnings - The Guardian
The Daily Brew Podcast Episode with Stephan Graham and Kam Moler: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6VnPO17tkJ7GNI3vQK8T5q
Noam Bergman’s Paper
Bergman, Noam. 2018. "Impacts of the Fossil Fuel Divestment Movement: Effects on Finance, Policy and Public Discourse" Sustainability 10, no. 7: 2529. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10072529
Music and Sounds:
Flutterbee by Podington Bear licensed under CC BY-NC 3.0
Elephants on Parade by Podington Bear licensed under CC BY-NC 3.0
Releasing the Sculpture by Podington Bear licensed under CC BY-NC 3.0
New Skin by Podington Bear licensed under CC BY-NC 3.0
Caterpillar Brigade by Podington Bear licensed under CC BY-NC 3.0
Love Song #1 by Podington Bear licensed under CC BY-NC 3.0
Record Scratch by luffy, licensed under CC BY 3.0
Drumroll by ddohler, licensed under CC BY 3.0
Image: Photo by Dean Chahim/Fossil Free Stanford, licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
SSC #19: Exploring Protein Design: the Next Frontier of Biomedicine by Foster Birnbaum and Jack Ryan
Stanford SciCast
32 minutes 5 seconds
4 years ago
SSC #19: Exploring Protein Design: the Next Frontier of Biomedicine by Foster Birnbaum and Jack Ryan
Our bodies are powered by proteins. They convert the food we eat into energy, convert that energy into motion, and keep our cells, and therefore ourselves, alive and healthy. Proteins can also pose a danger to our wellbeing -- the proteins surrounding the SARS-CoV-2 virus are particularly well suited to recognize and bind to human cells, allowing the virus to infect us. Given that proteins underlie so many biological processes, researchers have been attempting to create new proteins that accomplish a specific function since the 1940s.
In this episode of Stanford SciCast, seniors Foster Birnbaum and Jack Ryan explore this decades-old challenge, known as the protein design problem. They explain how proteins fold, why that folding is important to a protein’s function, and how researchers use computational models of protein folding to facilitate protein design. Also, they interview Dr. Possu Huang, a professor in Stanford’s Department of Bioengineering, to discuss how his lab is applying artificial intelligence to protein folding and how solving the protein folding problem would affect society.
To learn more about protein design, visit Dr. Huang’s lab website at http://www.proteindesign.org/ or check out one of his most recent publications at https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.01.06.895466v1.
Music credits:
Upbeat Whistle - Unknown artist (https://freemusicarchive.org/track/Upbeat_Whistle/download)
Awake - Scott Holmes (https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Scott_Holmes/cinematic-background-music/awake)
Space Travel - Borrtex (https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Borrtex/Distant_Sphere/5_Space_Travel)
Algorithms - Chad Crouch (https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Chad_Crouch/Arps/Algorithms)
Pretty Simple - Podington Bear (https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Podington_Bear/Background/Pretty_Simple)
Firestorm - Sputnik Booster (https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Sputnik_Booster/Robot_Science/04_-_Firestorm)
Beads was scattered - urupin (https://freesound.org/people/urupin/sounds/157688/)
Happy Theme - maxmakessounds (https://freesound.org/people/maxmakessounds/sounds/353543/)
Stanford SciCast
Stanford University knows it needs to take bold action on environmental issues—it’s creating a new school focused on sustainability and climate change, it has plans to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050… So, why is it so hesitant to cut ties with the fossil fuel industry? In this episode of the Stanford SciCast, your hosts Ruby Gates and Vrinda Suresh unpack Stanford’s sustainability commitments, and its resistance to fossil fuel divestment, through conversations with student organizers and experts on climate science, climate denial, and the fossil fuel industry.
*Note: Ben Franta and Paul Edwards’ interviews were conducted on May 24 and May 27, respectively. When they reference court rulings that came out “today” or “the last couple of days,” they are referring to rulings that happened the week of May 23.
Additional Info:
Check out Fossil Free’s open letter to Stanford’s president: https://www.stanforddaily.com/2021/03/30/letter-to-the-university-president-the-school-of-sustainability-and-climate-should-refuse-funding-from-fossil-fuel-companies/
Sign their petition here: http://bit.ly/refuseffmoney
Dr. Ben Franta’s work on fossil fuel companies:
Early oil industry disinformation on global warming - Environmental Politics
Early oil industry knowledge of CO2 and global warming - Nature Climate Change
Shell and Exxon's secret 1980s climate change warnings - The Guardian
The Daily Brew Podcast Episode with Stephan Graham and Kam Moler: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6VnPO17tkJ7GNI3vQK8T5q
Noam Bergman’s Paper
Bergman, Noam. 2018. "Impacts of the Fossil Fuel Divestment Movement: Effects on Finance, Policy and Public Discourse" Sustainability 10, no. 7: 2529. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10072529
Music and Sounds:
Flutterbee by Podington Bear licensed under CC BY-NC 3.0
Elephants on Parade by Podington Bear licensed under CC BY-NC 3.0
Releasing the Sculpture by Podington Bear licensed under CC BY-NC 3.0
New Skin by Podington Bear licensed under CC BY-NC 3.0
Caterpillar Brigade by Podington Bear licensed under CC BY-NC 3.0
Love Song #1 by Podington Bear licensed under CC BY-NC 3.0
Record Scratch by luffy, licensed under CC BY 3.0
Drumroll by ddohler, licensed under CC BY 3.0
Image: Photo by Dean Chahim/Fossil Free Stanford, licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
