Sunday, February 26, 2017

Join us on March 13th as Craig Berg presents - Venomous Reptiles: Alternative Facts!


On Monday, March 13th, at 7:00 p.m., we will be gathering for the 3rd installation of the USS, and this time we are straying away from the world of medicine to venture into more venomous territory...

Come once again to the Sugar Maple to hear Milwaukee County Zoo's own Craig Berg, Curator of Ectotherms, enlighten us all on some common misconceptions regarding reptiles and one of their most intriguing attributes! 

As curator of reptiles/aquariums at the Milwaukee County Zoo (MCZ), Craig manages and oversees animal health monitoring, animal staff and budgets. His interest in practical applications of conservation biology have led to the development of successful reintroduction methods for snakes and turtles. He is also involved with field research programs for Caribbean herpetofaua and Caribbean reefs. He has acted as a research mentor to undergraduate students as part of the Smithsonian’s Research Experiences for Undergraduates program, taught Zoo Biology at the request of the Society of Brazilian Zoos and he serves as a scientific advisor to the Urban Ecology Center. He has authored or co-authored more than a dozen articles concerning fishes, amphibians and reptiles.
He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in biology from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Craig’s Favorite Zoo Animals & Why: Cephalopods, King Cobra, Monitor Lizards- all for the same reasons.  They are very intelligent and responsive to people. As for fishes, he likes cichlids because of their huge repertoire of behaviors.

If Craig Had to Do It All Over Again and Couldn’t Work At a Zoo, He would Be a: Paleontologist or a Marine Biologist


Tell your friends and hope to see you there!!

Dr. Peter LaViolette hosted February's USS Event: "Using 3D Printing to Solve Real Problems in Radiology"

Dr. LaViolette showed us how physics and biology combine to help fight diseases such as brain and prostate cancer, aid surgeons with complex pre-surgical planning, as well as many other interesting functions. His talk delved into the difficulties of determining what challenges doctors and scientists face when attempting to link findings on radiology studies with actual diseased tissue, and how his team has been able to improve the accuracy of these matches with the use of 3D printing! Not only that, but he brought in mini 3D printed brains (mapped off of his own brain MRI), as well as a 3D printed infant skull (see photo below), jaw bones, prostates, and other fun things. See below for a brief video glimpse into his fascinating talk!




Dr. Mark McNally hosted the Inaugural USS Event on 1/9/17: "Genetic Disease: The Fix is in With RNA"

Dr. McNally kicked off the debut gathering of the USS with a healthy mixture of science and wit to teach the crowd of 50 eager scientists and science-appreciators about how badly things go wrong in the human body when genes don't work properly, and how his team of scientists and others are working to fix those glitches through the crafty use of RNA splicing! Much fun was had and even more was learned by all who attended. A solidly successful start to the spreading of scientific scholarship in our fair city of Milwaukee!