Science Cafe

Cannabis Unchained
Canton: Tuesday, Feb 25,  7:15 pm
Potsdam: Wednesday, Feb 26,  7:15 pm 

Cannabis has been part of the pharmacopoeia for millennia. Only in the last 80 years, has it been demonized and effectively outlawed.  Yet, in the face of criminalization, cannabis use persists. In this discussion, Ann McLaughlin, Certified Cannabis Caregiver, will explain new findings and what we know about the structure and function of over 100 cannabis compounds, known as "phytocannabinoids,” the role they play in maintaining homeostasis in humans and animals, and how they contribute to physiological, psychological, social, and behavioral effects.  Come and get a glimpse of these exciting new discoveries.

Don’t Throw it Away!  Recovering Energy from Food Waste
Canton: Tuesday, March 10,  7:15 pm
Potsdam: Wednesday, March 11,  7:15 pm 

Did you know that about half of the food produced in the U.S. is thrown away? In fact, food waste makes up more than 20% of our solid waste! Instead of throwing it away, food waste can be processed to recover important resources. Resource recovery programs use anaerobic digesters to convert organic wastes into biogas and fertilizer. Join Professors Stefan Grimberg and Jan DeWaters (Clarkson, Engineering) to explore options for our household waste, and hear about the ‘Food-to-Energy’ program happening at Canton Central School, in partnership with Clarkson and St. Lawrence County Cornell Cooperative Extension. 

Combatting the Lily Leaf Beetle
Canton: Tuesday, March 24,  7:15 pm
Potsdam: Wednesday, March 25,  7:15 pm

Many gardeners in the North Country are familiar with the Lily Leaf Beetle (Lilioceris lilii), a non-native invasive that decimates lilies in gardens across the northern US and southern Canada. However, the beetle also has potential to extirpate populations of native lilies in the wild. Efforts to control the beetle have focused on how gardeners can protect their ornamental lilies, but the beetle’s impact on wild lilies hasn’t been studied.  Paul Siskind, a Master Naturalist, will discuss the natural history of the beetle, and explain an integrated pest management protocol that he developed for gardeners.  He will also discuss his project of surveying and monitoring infestations of the beetle in wild populations of native lilies across St. Lawrence County.

The Pharmacology of a Public Health Emergency
Canton: Tuesday, April 14,  7:15 pm
Potsdam: Wednesday, April 15,  7:15 pm 

Opioids provide one of the most effective means of pain relief, but instances of opioid overdose have claimed the lives of over 700,000 people in the US in the last 20 years alone, and the annual mortality rate continues to climb.  Despite over 100 years of research on opioids and their receptors, which recognized the addictive nature of oxycodone as early as 1939, understanding of opioid pharmacology among clinical and public health professionals remains poor.  In this talk, Professor Damien Samways (Biology, CU) will attempt to demystify the pharmacology of opioids, explaining their effects on the central nervous system, and how their relative potencies and maximal effect ceilings can be altered by changes in neuronal opioid receptor density.