PopTech Videos: PopCasts

Using genomes as an archeological record, Pardis Sabeti studies the patterns of natural selection. Why do some people have genetic resistance to disease while others do not? Her work has taken her throughout Africa to research the deadly Lassa fever and help doctors and nurses find a cure.

What sound does a tsunami make? An earthquake? The whole Earth? Milton Garcés studies infrasound, sound that is lower in frequency than the “normal” limit of human hearing. He shares some of his recordings of storms, earthquakes and tsunamis. Perhaps most astounding of all, he plays the vibration humming at the core of the entire planet.

Katherine J. Kuchenbecker studies how humans process tactile stimuli. Through her work, she is able to design haptic interfaces, virtual objects and distant environments that feel real to the human touch. Her work aids in everything from creating more immersive environments for surgeons to designing tablet computers with surfaces that simulate reality.

Jessika Trancik works to discover and scale new energy technologies while also providing foresight as to where they are going next. She integrates technological details with climate change mitigation targets to make tech problems easier to solve and better for the planet.

Iain Couzin studies how animals coordinate behavior. He has discovered that locust plagues don’t occur because the insects are cooperating. Rather, it is a forced march: if they stop, they risk being cannibalized. Such insights help communities to track oncoming outbreaks while also challenging scientists’ theories of collective animal behavior.

Alysson Muotri is working at the forefront of research on Autism Spectrum Disorder. By studying stem cells from adult patients with Rett syndrome, his work is uncovering new insights into the environmental and genetic causes of autism, and the possibility that autistic neurons may be induced to revert back to normal neurons.

Can gaming cure disease? By creating games like EteRNA for protein folding and nano-engineering, Adrien Treuille and his colleagues are outsourcing research, each week scoring and then synthesizing top players’ work. By studying players’ strategies, scientists can improve their computer modeling while also creating new ways to fight disease.

After his infant son was rushed to intensive care, Jonathan Rothberg was driven to invent high-speed DNA sequencing. His work ushered in the era of personal genetics and today his technology is used in laboratories and medical centers all over the world. Rothberg’s efforts led the way towards the first sequence of an individual human genome.

Saman Arbabi and Kambiz Hosseini started a satirical television show, Parazit, broadcast on Voice of America. Today, it is an international phenomenon, drawing more than 700,000 followers. They use the power of satire combined with content from citizens on the street to expose injustices happening across Iran.

Daniel Kish’s organization, World Access for the Blind, trains the visually impaired to achieve greater freedom and mobility through echolocation, a technique that simulates a bat’s night vision of perceiving the environment through sound.

Amy Cuddy revealed that we can actually change feelings we have about our own status through the physical positions we take with our bodies. Her research participants had higher levels of testosterone and lower levels of cortisol after only two minutes in a “power pose”. Cuddy asked if such findings can have wider implications for empowerment training.

We caught Blitz the Ambassador and his crew practicing backstage before they performed at PopTech.

The President of Iceland describes how his country encountered social and democratic upheaval after the economic crisis of 2008. By combining wide-scale systemic inquiry into governance and judicial systems and investing in clean energy and technology, Iceland has been able to bounce back with remarkable economic vitality.

In a coup d’etat of DIY, designer Thomas Thwaites set about building a toaster from scratch. He reverse engineered a $7 toaster into 400 separate parts and then set about recreating steel from iron ore rocks, plastic from microwaved potatoes and copper from homemade bromide mush. It’s an examination of the industrial materials and processes in our lives.

Inspired to help a blind friend navigate the streets of their West Bank refugee camp, Palestinian students Asil Abulil, Nour Al-Arda, and Asil Shaar and their teacher Jameela Khaled, designed a cane that beeps and vibrates, which won an award at Intel’s International Science and Engineering Fair.