To: Friends and Colleagues of Ram Myers,
The Myers Memorial Stairwell Project has now been completed, and we'd like to invite you to an opening celebration at the end of the month.
On Wednesday, March 31st at 12:30 pm please join us in the Biology lounge on the 5th floor of the Biology/Earth Sciences wing of the Life Sciences Centre at Dalhousie. (Turn right as you exit the elevators and the lounge is at the end of the main hallway on the left). There will be a couple of short speeches in honour of Ram and the Memorial, followed by some food and drink. Please join us if you can! Also, please forward this invitation to others who may be interested in attending the opening.
Best regards,
The Myers Lab
Information about the memorial: Ram's former students have created a memorial in his honour in the North stairwell of the Life Sciences Centre at Dalhousie University, consisting of the first page of all 160-plus primary literature articles that were authored or co-authored by Ram. The papers were spontaneously taped up in the stairwell in the days following his passing, and are now permanently mounted on individual plaques on the wall of the stairwell in chronological order between the second and the eighth floors.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Nova Scotian Institute of Science
Next Regular Meeting of the NSIS
Monday, 5 April 2010
Monday, 5 April 2010
| Time: | 7:30 p.m. |
| Location: | Nova Scotia Museum of Natural History |
| 1747 Summer St., Halifax |
| Speaker: | Steve Mockford |
| Centre for Wildlife and Conservation Biology Department of Biology, Acadia University | |
| Title: | Conservation Genetics and Blanding's turtle in Nova Scotia |
ABSTRACT
The field of Conservation Genetics has a brief history. This history has been defined by rapid developments in DNA technology, advances in computer technology, and the development of new statistical techniques for analysis of the data that can now be generated. It has also been defined by increasing recognition of the role that genetics can play in helping to understand how species are distributed, the historical processes that underlie that distribution, and how this affects conservation and recovery. Within this brief historical context I will explore work done in Nova Scotia on the Conservation Genetics of Blanding's turtle and how it has contributed to the management and recovery of this charismatic reptile.
Genes, Genomics and Human Nature
Dr. Evelyn Fox Keller (MIT)
7:00pm
Tuesday, March 30
Alumni Hall, King's College
Description: Discussion of the role of genes has been plagued by linguistic uncertainty since their origin. At first the word 'gene' was little more than a place marker, a name for the presumed unit of inheritance. What is a gene? A gene is a difference maker. Yet geneticists also assumed that genes are trait makers. To this day, conflation between genes and mutations, between trait makers and difference makers, remains endemic. The meaning of the term has transformed over the course of the century, not to mention proliferated. The status of genes as trait makers has come under severe challenge, as has the status of genes as difference makers. It is that very confusion between the
two, and the place of that confusion in our understanding of human nature, of what is natural and what is unnatural, that will be explored in this talk.
Evelyn Fox Keller, one the world's leading philosophers of science and a pioneer in feminist theory, is the author of many books, including "Reflections on Gender and Science", "Secrets of Life, Secrets of Death", and "The Century of the Gene".
7:00pm
Tuesday, March 30
Alumni Hall, King's College
Description: Discussion of the role of genes has been plagued by linguistic uncertainty since their origin. At first the word 'gene' was little more than a place marker, a name for the presumed unit of inheritance. What is a gene? A gene is a difference maker. Yet geneticists also assumed that genes are trait makers. To this day, conflation between genes and mutations, between trait makers and difference makers, remains endemic. The meaning of the term has transformed over the course of the century, not to mention proliferated. The status of genes as trait makers has come under severe challenge, as has the status of genes as difference makers. It is that very confusion between the
two, and the place of that confusion in our understanding of human nature, of what is natural and what is unnatural, that will be explored in this talk.
Evelyn Fox Keller, one the world's leading philosophers of science and a pioneer in feminist theory, is the author of many books, including "Reflections on Gender and Science", "Secrets of Life, Secrets of Death", and "The Century of the Gene".
Mind the Gap: The Neurosciences and their Determination to Explain the Human
Dr. Cornelius Borck, Professor and Director, Institute for the History of Medicine and Science Studies, University of Luebek, Germany.
7:00pm
Thursday, March 18th
Alumni Hall, University of King's College
Description: Understanding the brain and the biological basis of mind, consciousness and behaviour is the ultimate challenge. The neurosciences, through increasing sophisticated technology, provide fascinating insights into human cognition, emotions and sociality. It this the imminent advent of a definitive undestanding of our mental apparatus, or the warning of a brave new world of manipulation, mind reading and thought control? Are we witness to a new chapter in human evolution?
Dr. Cornelius Borck is the former Canada Research Chair in Art History and Communication Studies, McGill.
7:00pm
Thursday, March 18th
Alumni Hall, University of King's College
Description: Understanding the brain and the biological basis of mind, consciousness and behaviour is the ultimate challenge. The neurosciences, through increasing sophisticated technology, provide fascinating insights into human cognition, emotions and sociality. It this the imminent advent of a definitive undestanding of our mental apparatus, or the warning of a brave new world of manipulation, mind reading and thought control? Are we witness to a new chapter in human evolution?
Dr. Cornelius Borck is the former Canada Research Chair in Art History and Communication Studies, McGill.
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