May2018

 

Shreya Yadav, PhD Student at UH Mānoa
Clouds: not just a fluff piece
Clouds, magicked into and out of existence every minute in the sky, are more than just a great metaphor for life. This talk borrows heavily from the philosophy of the Cloud Appreciation Society to “fight the banality of blue-sky thinking” and to delight, instead, in the jellyfish, cauliflowers, and samurai swords that frequently sweep over our heads. We will take a quick walk through some cloud taxonomy, hit a little history and science, and spend a good amount of time looking at photos of very tiny droplets of water.
Shreya Yadav is a graduate student in marine biology at the University of Hawaii. She studies corals and fish in the Indian Ocean.

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Van Wishingrad, PhD Candidate in Landscape Genetics, Department of Biology, UH Mānoa

Life, uh, finds a way—and sometimes it gets weird.

Life is an interesting and strange phenomenon, and organisms have come up with a whole bunch of fascinating—and sometimes bizarre—ways to pass on their genes on to the next generation. From penis fencing to exploding testicles, sex can get dangerous—which might explain why some species have given up on sex altogether for the past 80 million years.

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Molly Mamaril, Blue Zones Project Engagement Lead in the 4M region

Blue Zones Project – How to Live to Be 100

Inspired by National Geographic longevity research, the Blue Zones Project is being launched in the Mānoa-Makiki-Mōʻiliʻili-McCully region this spring. Blue Zones Project is a health and well-being initiative sponsored locally by the Hawai’i Medical Services Association. In the early 2000s, a National Geographic team traveled to Blue Zones regions around the world where people were living to age 100+ at extremely high rates. These clusters of healthy centenarians were discovered in Okinawa, Italy, Costa Rica, Greece and Loma Linda, California. By observing their habits, researchers created a simple framework of longevity: the Power 9 principles. The Power 9 are the foundation of the Blue Zones Project which has been implemented in over 40 communities across the U.S., eight of which are here in Hawai’i. Through 2020, our team, alongside residents and business owners will be focused on implementing small, but purposeful nudges to make the healthy choice, the easy choice here in our neighborhood.

Molly Mamaril serves as the Blue Zones Project Engagement Lead in the 4M region, which comprises of Mānoa, Makiki, Mōʻiliʻili and McCully. She was born in Hawaiʻi, grew up in Minnesota, and came back to Honolulu to pursue her Master’s degree in Natural Resources Management at UH Mānoa. She enjoys mālama ‘āina conservation work, hiking and teaching yoga.