“Science in the News”
There aren’t a lot of science related activities in Boston, and the few that are held might not be feasible for those on a college budget. But if you do happen to be looking to get your science on, there are a couple of free science seminars going on that may teach you a thing or two.
For one, Science in the News, a Harvard graduate student organization, hosts its annual free seminars on a weekly basis September through November. These seminars examine the science behind media reports, which is often questionable, and bring discoveries and important data to the talk. The talks are typically held at Harvard Medical School in the Longwood Area.
This past week’s seminar was held on Wednesday, September 30 at the Armenise Auditorium of Harvard Medical School. More than 100 people came to the event. The topic of discussion was on “How Synthetic Biology is improving the World Around Us,” and was led by three Harvard graduate students.
The seminar was split into three different components: an introduction of what synthetic biology is, the challenges that its scientists encounters—especially in the perspective of renewable chemistry for health and environment, and the potential future applications of the field.
The hosts defined synthetic biology as an interdisciplinary branch of biology that aims to create useful biological devices or machines. They gave a series of examples and the different components of biology that make up the discipline, a fascinating overview for local science nuts.
In regards to the topic of renewable chemicals concerning health and environment aspects, the talk delved into the challenges of finding an efficient way to reach the end product. A lot of it is detective work, such as figuring out the molecular component that is critical to achieving the desired outcome and determining the long term effects it may have.
The hosts made sure to address the field’s potential, ranging from saving lives to helping to control the environment around us. Once it was over, an informative question and discussion followed.
In total, the seminar was about one and a half hours long with a chance to socialize and network with people from different aspects of science related fields.   
Be sure to check them out and not only learn about the up-and-coming moves in science, but also potentially meet some cool people!