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Each fall, in the even years, the Wright Science Colloquia are held in Geneva, Switzerland, at the Jean Piaget Auditorium of the University of Geneva. Held biennially since 1984, this renowned lecture series was founded by Dr. H. Dudley Wright with the aim of presenting the latest scientific findings to the general public, and especially to inspire young people towards a scientific career.
The Wright Science Colloquia have as their general orientation, "Man and his Universe," with specific themes ranging from the formation of the universe to contemporary problems of the environment, and reproduction. Speakers at the forefront of research are invited to present complex topics in language comprehensible to an educated audience interested in science, but not necessarily with scientific training.
During each of five consecutive evenings, one eminent scientist presents a lecture, followed by a round-table discussion of the evening's topic featuring all five of the week's speakers. Written questions from the audience are discussed by the speakers, and simultaneously translated into English and French throughout the program.
The Wright Science Colloquium for 2006
The Earth is a space shuttle, which carries mankind into space. The life and survival of its passengers depend on a small atmospheric layer, with a thickness a thousand times smaller than the shuttle's size. It is thus not surprising that these passengers should be curious about the atmosphere's evolution, the more so as they themselves contribute to considerably modify this evolution through their activities. What is the evolution of Earth's climate since its origin? Does the Sun vary? Why was the Earth completely frozen at some geological times? What are the effects of volcanos? What do we learn about the climate from the analysis of polar ices? What is the impact of human activities and is mankind vulnerable to climate changes? These are among the questions that educated and responsible people cannot ignore. Thus, the Fondation Wright presents this years's lectures on "Climate [R]evolution".
"Evolution of Earth's Atmosphere from the Origin," James Kasting (Pennsylvania State University)
"Astronomical Forcing of the Climate System," Edouard Bard (College de France, Paris)
"Climate Changes: Gentle or Abrupt?" Thomas Stocker (Institut de Physique, Univ. of Bern)
"Anthropogenic Climate Change," Susan Solomon, (NOAA Earth Systems Lab, Boulder)
"Climate Effects on Human Society," Stephen Schneider (Institute for Environment, Stanford Univ.)
(Visit the Wright Science Colloquium 2006 website)
The Wright Science Colloquium for 2004
For the first time in history, human beings are in a position to modify their own biological fate. This is due to the past 20 years of basic research in life sciences, which have led to discoveries of great impact, not only on our scientific knowledge, but also on a variety of domains outside science itself. Thus, we have at our disposition today, novel technological and theoretical tools, which suggest a new vision of concepts as ancient and fundamental as the birth, death, lifespan or the uniqueness of each of us.
Will our children continue to be the result of sexual reproduction? Will they be genetically selected to prevent diseases or to confer upon them some social ‘advantages’?
The end of our life is also a matter of concern ; are we going to continue delaying death or will a mere improvement of the means of its coming be acceptable? In this respect, the use of stem cells represents a therapeutic challenge without precedent, due to their potential use to replace ageing tissues. Alternatively, the regeneration of organs could be stimulated, much in the same way it occurs in many other animal species.
The time will come soon when human beings will apply to themselves their emergent capacities to change the world, to modify these ‘good old chromosomes that haven’t changed much since Cro-Magnon’ as phrased by Jean Rostand.
How can we usethese novel therapeutic tools in a strict respect of human dignity, rather than for a race towards an illusory perfection and a desire for immortality?
Our society is disconcerted by this biological revolution and the underlying instrumentalisation of human beings. It takes time to react, and when it does, its response to these problems is often awkward, due to the complete absence of both the necessary knowledge and legal framework, not to mention the ethical or religious contexts which can hardly accomodate these new parameters. We are simply unable to confront the reality and to project it into a close future; we are prisonners of our history and traditions.
Therefore, it is the right time to think about these extraordinary developments, to know where we stand and to try to imagine the future, in order to foresee both the benefits and the dangers of what will unavoidably occur. To this aim, the Wright Colloquium 2004 has invited five world-recognized experts in this field, to present their scientific views as well as their personal considerations on these issues.
Cloning, stem cells, genetic modifications, and organ regeneration will be some of the themes addressed during this Colloquium, by these well-known personalities. These issues will be put into a social and ethical context on Wednesday evening, a time especially dedicated to a reflection about the place and importance of human beings within this new upcoming bio-technological society.
"Cells from Cloned Embryos," Ian Wilmut (Roslin Institute, UK)
"Enhancing Stem Cell-Mediated Mammilian Regeneration," Nadia Rosenthal (European Molecular
Biology Laboratory, Italy)
"Stem Cells in Neurobiology and Brain Disease,"
Ronald D.G. McKay (National Institutes of Health, USA)
The Ethics of Embryonic Stem Cells," Henri Atlan (Human Biology Research Center, France)
"New Limbs for Old: lessons from the salamander," Jeremy P. Brockes (University College of London, UK)
(Visit the Wright Science Colloquium 2004 website)
The Wright Science Colloquium for 2002
At the beginning of the 20th century, mankind was busy
with a number of new inventions: the car, the
aeroplane, the telephone and many others. In those days, engineers
focused on developing objects of human scale. Typically, engine of
a car is about one meter square and a telephone 10 centimetres square.
However, during the century, technology has made use of miniaturisation
and has changed completely. This has led to the present Information
Technology society. Nowadays, inventions are on the microscopic scale
with each element of an electric circuit measuring only thousandths
of a millimetre. We are still at the beginning of this adventure and
there is a long way to go before some of the dreams of today become reality. In order to give an overview of
the present understanding, the Wright Colloquium 2002 has invited
five worldwide specialists who will present different aspects of state
of the art, Nanoscience.
"Shaping the World at the Atomic Scale," Donald
Eigler (IBM, USA)
"2010, NanoSpace Odyssey," Harold Kroto (University of Sussex,
Brighton)
"Molecular Electronics," R. Stanley Williams (HP Laboratories,
Palo Alto)
"Nano Sensors Snoop Around," Henry Baltes (ETH, Zürich)
"Nanotechnology and Biology," Georges M. Whitesides (Harvard
University)
The Wright Science Colloquium for 2000
Time, matter, and energy: three very familiar concepts. Everything around us, like the paper in your hand or the screen in front of you is made of matter. Clocks mark the passage of time and our wrinkles portray it. Food brings us the energy useful for our activities and petrol allows us to travel. However, time, matter, and energy are still mysterious. The five lectures of this Wright Colloquia bring not only fundamental knowledge of time, matter, and energy, but will also do so in a very original way. From stars to genes, from cosmological times to biological times, we will not forget to consider perspectives leading to daily applications.
"The Time of the Astronomer," Gustav Tammann
(University of Basel)
"Superconductivity: A Macroscopic Quantum Phenomenon," Alex
Muller (University of Zurich)
"Binary Pulsars and Relativistic Gravity," Joseph Taylor
(Princeton University)
"The Fourth Dimension: Gene Discoveries and Biological Time,"
Michael Rosbash (Brandeis Univ.)
"Perspectives for Fossil Energies in the 21st Century,"
Claude Roulet (Schlumberger/Paris, Ltd.)
The Wright Science Colloquium for 1998
This year's theme, "In the Heart of the Genome," explores the Human Genome Project--a vast, comprehensive and international effort to decipher human heredity. This effort has already produced much scientific insight and advanced technology, culminating in the full sequencing of our DNA by the year 2005. Identification of genes will be of help for medical purposes as well as for preventive medicine. This series of lectures will address many of the scientific and technological challenges, and will also raise ethical and legal issues which should be carefully considered.
"Genes, Genome and Society", Lee Hood (University of Washington)
"Human Genome and Genetic Diseases", Jean-Louis Mandel (Universite
Louis Pasteur)
"Gene Therapy", Alex Kahn (University of Paris)
"The Role of Genes in the Creation of Organs", Mark Fishman
(Harvard Medical School) "What the Genome
Won't Tell Us",
Lewis Wolpert (University College London)
The Wright Science Colloquium for 1996
The theme this year was "Life and Longevity." The series first considered how to define ageing, from the point of view of the individual to that of the population. The theme then went on to explore the realm of molecules and cells, dealing with the molecular basis of neurodegenerative disorders associated with ageing, such as Alzheimer's disease. Finally, the colloquium addressed disorders caused by prions, such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob and mad-cow diseases.
"Defining Ageing: From Individuals to Populations." Albert
Jacquard (Institute National Francais
d'Edudes Demographiques)
"Ageing: What, Why and How?" George Martin (University of
Washington)
"Programmed Cell Death in Biology and Disease." Robert Horowitz
(MIT)
"Plagued with Plaques: Molecular Basis of Alzheimer's Disease."
Konrad Beyreuther (Heidelberg University)
"Going Mad: Prion-Mediated Neurodegenerative Diseases." Charles
Weissmann (Zurich University)
The Wright Science Colloquium for 1994
The topic of this series, "Brain and Intelligence," began with a discussion of Neural Darwinism, a theory of brain development and function. That theme was then carried into the realm of the interaction of drugs with the brain, and the mechanisms of memory and consciousness. The goal of each speaker was to present fundamental scientific information in an accessible and stimulating manner.
"Neural Darwinism," Gerald Edelman (Scripps Research Institute)
"Logistics of Brain Development," Pasko Rakic (Yale University)
"Neuronal Communication and Drugs," Jean-Pierre Changeux (Institut
Pasteur)
"Molecular Mechanism of Memory." Eric Kandel (Columbia University)
"Consciousness, Cognition, and Computation," John Searle (University
of California, Berkeley)