Science Spotlights: Secret Conversations on the Seafloor & Born in a Crisis

Meet up-and-coming scientists and learn about questions at the forefront of research today in this series of short talks!

On March 25, hear from Rebecka Sepela, Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Cellular and Molecular Biology, Bellono Lab. Invisible microbes cover every surface on Earth, sending chemical messages that shape animal behavior, health, and disease. But which messages matter, and how do animals sense and respond to them? Through her research with octopuses, Harvard scientist Dr. Rebecka Sepela detects, deciphers, and listens in on the secret conversations of the seafloor, revealing how microbes influence octopus behavior. Come learn about a hidden language that connects life in surprising ways.

Afterwards, hear from Silvio Mirabal Torres, Graduate Student, Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Kuzawa Lab. Discover how factors such as early-life stress and improper nutrition be passed down through generations and what roles do these factors play in development. Join Harvard scientist, Silvio Mirabal Torres, as he explores big questions about how historical crises can impact health and resilience in people raised through them as well as those who have yet to be born.

Regular museum admission rates apply. Recommended for ages 10 and up.

Presented by the Harvard Museum of Natural History and Harvard Museums of Science & Culture