Popular Science Lecture - 85

No Brainer: Intelligent Behaviour in Brainless Organisms


Venue: Anna Centenary Library,
Kotturpuram
Chennai

November 23, 2024
11:00 am - 1:00 pm
Organised by Anna Centenary Library & TNSF

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About Program







This is part of its efforts to popularize science to the general public and students who are pursuing science as their career. TNSF attempt to focus on students on higher science as everyone knows that learning of science at college within the curriculum is not enough to acquire holistic knowledge of science at the appropriate time. Hence, to fill the gap between what students are acquiring through the curriculum and what it is required, TNSF is planning its activities on higher science to students who are pursuing higher education.



About the Lecture
Earlier this month, scientists from New York University showed that human embryonic kidney cells - disembodied and cultured for generations in the laboratory - could show canonical features of memory. Last month, Kolkata-based researchers engineered bacteria that could organize into artificial neural network-like architectures, and compute abstract mathematical problems. Memory and computing abstract problems are two processes that are typically thought to be the forte of the brain, a specialized organ composed of billions of specialized cells. But if cultured kidney cells can remember, and bacteria can be made to do (some) mathematics, what does this mean for us, and what we understand as intelligence?
In this lecture, The Speaker will summarize recent scientific studies that report 'intelligent behavior' in 'brainless' organisms: learning and memory in non-neuronal cells, and problem-solving in slime molds. In doing so, Sayantan will dwell on the possibilities and opportunities offered by these findings - for science and for humanity.

இந்த சொற்பொழிவில், சயந்தன் 'மூளை இல்லாத' உயிரினங்களில் 'நுண்ணிய அறிவு' காட்டும் சமீபத்திய அறிவியல் ஆய்வுகளை சுருக்கமாக விளக்குவார்: நரம்பணுக்கள் இல்லாத செல்களிலுள்ள கற்றல் மற்றும் நினைவாற்றல், மற்றும் புழை பூஞ்சையின் பிரச்சினை தீர்க்கும் திறன்கள். இதன் மூலம், சயந்தன் இந்த கண்டுபிடிப்புகள் அறிவியலுக்கும் மனிதகுலத்துக்கும் வழங்கும் வாய்ப்புகள் மற்றும் சந்தர்ப்பங்களைப் பற்றி ஆழமாகப் பேசுவார்.

SCHEDULE

Time: 11:00 am to 1:00 pm - November 23, 2024

Attendance Registration starts at 10:30 am

11:00 am

Introduction

11:10 am

Sayantan Datta
DAssistant Professor of Practice, Centre for Writing & Pedagogy, Krea University

No Brainer: Intelligent Behaviour in Brainless Organisms

12:10 pm

Q & A

Speakers

Sayantan Datta

Sayantan Datta

Sayantan Datta Originally trained as a neuroscientist, Sayantan Datta (they/them) is currently an assistant professor of practice at the Centre for Writing & Pedagogy, Krea University, and an award-winning science journalist and children’s book writer. They cover scientific discoveries and science-society interactions for several national and international platforms, including The Hindu, Hindustan Times, The Wire, and Scientific American. Their report on gender segregated living arrangements in Indian science institutions has been awarded the 13th Laadli Media and Advertising Award for Gender Sensitivity, and their children’s books have been listed twice in the prestigious Parag Honour List. At Krea University, Sayantan teaches courses on writing and communication, including a first-year undergraduate course in Writing and Oral Communication and an advanced course on Writing in Mathematics and Quantitative Sciences.

Venue

Anna Centenary Library,
Kotturpuram,
Chennai

Call

+91 9176512565

Email us

tamilnadutnsfchennai@gmail.com

Past Events

Nobel Prize 2018 - [Physics] and Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5ºC by IPCC
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Talk on Climate Change
LHC and Detection of Higgs Boson
Evolution And Datura - பரிணாம வளர்ச்சியும் ஊமத்தையும்
Science for Peace
Data Science, Artificial Intelligence and Cryptography
Biodiversity in Western Ghats
Nobel Prize 2019 - Physiology and Medicine
Nobel Prize 2019 - Physics
Nobel Prize 2019 - Chemistry
Evidence from a neuroimaging study of Sports
The cryosphere and climate of the earth
Demystifying Coronavirus
The discovery of Hepatitis C virus
The black hole formation and the centre of our galaxy
Genome Editing
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Art and Metal Technology of Chola Bronzes
Himalayan Glaciers - Science & Facts
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Next-Generation DNA Sequencing Technologies
Dark Matter and its Detection
Steven Weinberg: The physicist and his physics
The Nobel Prize in Physics 2021
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2021
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2021
Science, Equity, and Climate Action at COP-26
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