Join us for our Sexy Science Special! $10 tickets available here.
Leslee Matsushige
Title: “The Fascinating, Fantastic, Fabulous Family of Fishes: Seahorses, Seadragons and Pipefish“
Ever wonder where those mythological images of King Neptune riding on horses under the sea came from? Did you know there are dragons that live in the ocean? Have you seen a tiny fish that is about the size of a large colorful toothpick? These myths of these unusual creatures are most likely derived from the existence of seahorses, seadragons and pipefish! Find out fascinating facts about the fantastic fishes in the Syngnathidae family. Birch Aquarium at Scripps has an accomplished program in the exhibit and propagation of seahorses and their relatives.
Our talented aquarist team have been rearing seahorses in captivity for more than 20 years. Many of these Birch Aquarium-born seahorses are on display, and many have been sent around the world to help reduce collection pressure on wild populations. We have successfully raised 12 species of seahorse and shipped over 4000 seahorses to more than 100 aquariums and zoos around the world. Our Seadragon Propagation Program was created to focus on breeding these fabulous fishes related to seahorses. Learn what a seadragon is, they are super cool! We are excited to share our success in breeding and rearing of weedy seadragons at Birch Aquarium.
Leslee Matsushige is a graduate of the University of Hawaii and has been an Associate Curator at Birch Aquarium at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego since 1992. Her specialty is in the husbandry of syngnathids, mainly with seahorses and seadragons. She instituted a very successful seahorse propagation program in 1996 and a seadragon propagation program in 2012. The successful propagation of syngnathids has been a vital part of the Birch Aquarium’s conservation programs.
Leslee is also a member of the IUCN Species Survival Commission’s Seahorse, Pipefish and Seadragon Specialist Group. This group provides independent technical and scientific advice to governments and other groups to improve the conservation status of these species. The members regularly assess the threat of extinction for these animals, undertake and publish research that supports the survival of wild populations, and develop conservation action plans for threatened species.
Leslee has made contributions to the Syngnathid Husbandry Manual that shares pertinent information on the care and propagation of Syngnathids. She collaborates with syngnathid researchers, and has given many presentations for aquarium conferences and public interest groups.
Pascal Gagneux
Title: “How sperm sweet talk the female”
Your existence is due to the successful fusion of two haploid gametes, an egg and a sperm, nine months before your birth. Most of us do not appreciate how extremely unlikely the fateful encounter between these two cells was. Sperm cells are one of the few cell types that evolved to travel within the body of another individual. In order to reach their goal successfully, sperm cells have come to rely on countless remarkable adaptations, including a powerful “outboard engine”, the flagella and midpiece packed with energy-generating mitochondria, and thick and complex sugar coat. This sugar coat can dynamically change and acts as an antiadhesive, invisibility cloak and general life saver for the sperm. Sperm cells are active without expressing a single gene, as their DNA is tightly packaged in the sperm head and remains totally silent.
Pascal will walk you through the epic journey that half of each of you completed before you were even conceived. You will come to think of sugars not just as a source of calories, but as a part of the language of life, allowing cells to recognize each other and communicate, before individual development even starts.
Pascal Gagneux is Professor and Chair of Anthropology, and Professor of Pathology at UC San Diego and is the Executive Co-Director of CARTA, the Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny. He is interested in the evolutionary mechanisms responsible for generating and maintaining primate molecular diversity, especially with regards to glycans, sugar molecules coating every living cell.
Pascal has studied the behavioral ecology of wild chimpanzees in the Taï Forest, Ivory Coast, population genetics of West African chimpanzees, and differences in sialic acid biology between humans and great apes with special consideration of their differing pathogen regimes and sexual selection via cryptic female choice.
Natalia Reagan
Title: “Time to Increase Your Clitoracy Rate! Homo sapiens, Simian, and Snake Slits Explained“
Let’s talk about the unhung hero of genitalia – the clitoris! In October 2022, Dr. Blair Peters, a queer gender-affirming care surgeon, and their team of researchers published that they finally counted all the nerve fibers on the human sweet bean. The result? 10,281 nerve fibers on average- a whopping 2000 more than previously stated (and wait till you hear WHY the old stat was off!). And it’s not just humans that are celebrating. Just a month later, in December 2022, another paper was published by an all-female team of researchers that determined snakes not only have a clitoris, but they have two devil’s doorbells, or a hemiclitores. These scientific discoveries further illustrate why diverse voices and representation matters in science. Lastly, we will lightly touch on the hypertrophied clitoris (or pseudopenis) of some very lucky monkeys. Get ready for more than your fair share of clitbait!
Natalia Reagan is a biological anthropologist, comedian, producer, professor, and monkey-chaser. She has hosted a Bigfoot TV show, been a comedy writer, correspondent, podcast host on Neil deGrasse Tyson’s “StarTalk”, an animal expert on “Nat Geo Wild’s Everything You Didn’t Know About Animals”, and a host and writer for Discovery’s DNews. Your dad’s probably seen her on History’s “UnXplained” and “Unbelievable” Travel Channel’s “Paranormal Caught on Camera”, “Everybody Loves Raymond” and “My Name is Earl”. She also has been producing science comedy content for over 15 years including series like “Talking Shit with Dr. Todd and Natalia” and you can catch her live science comedy show “Survival of the Filthiest” playing stages in LA & beyond. Natalia also hosts a weekly livestream on YouTube, also called “Survival of the Filthiest” featuring scientists, comedians, and activists. Lastly, she can be seen performing science-themed burlesque as Prof. Eva Lution- “come for the boobs, stay for the science!”
Follow Natalia on YouTube or on IG for more info! @natalia13reagan
Nerd Nite San Diego is thrilled that Matt Wasowski will attend our February event and kick things off with the fun story of how Nerd Nite began. As CEO of Nerd Nite, Matt also edited the book “How to Win Friends and Influence Fungi,” which is full of essays from Nerd Nite speakers from around the world. We’ll have copies for sale at the event!