On the evening of Sept. 23, 2020, the second in a series of webinars was hosted by MSU Bozeman’s Initiative for Science, Technology, Ethics & Society, entitled SLOWING THE SPREAD: HOW WE CAN DETECT THE VIRUS IN MULTIPLE WAYS, featuring Dr. Blake Wiedenheft and Dr. Seth Walk (Associate Professors in Microbiology & Immunology at Montana State University), who discussed their efforts to test for SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater and expand testing in Montana.
Parts of human body most affected by SARS-CoV2 – the intestines are highly involved.
Dr. Blake Wiedenheft
Dr. Seth Walk
Dr. Kristen Intemann, Director of the Initiative for Science, Technology, Ethics & Society, moderated the discussion.
You can find out more here: http://www.montana.edu/stes/
On the evening of August 26, 2020 the first part of a series of online community fora on topics related to the COVID-19 pandemic was held. Sponsored by the Initiative for Science, Technology, Ethics and Society at Montana State University, Bozeman, it was titled, SPILLOVER: UNDERSTANDING THE ORIGINS OF PANDEMICS.
It featured presentations by award winning author, David Quammen, whose 2012 book, SPILLOVER: ANIMAL INFECTIONS AND THE NEXT HUMAN PANDEMIC, warned of coming pandemics; and Dr. Raina Plowright, Associate Professor of Microbiology & Immunology, who specializes in the dynamics of infectious diseases and the process of pathogen spillover from animals to humans.
Professor Kristen Intemann of the MSU History & Philosophy Department and Director of the Initiative for Science, Technology, Ethics and Society, moderated the discussion.
Kristen Intemann, Professor of Philosophy at Montana State University, delivered a Provost’s Lecture entitled “Believing Responsibly in an Era of Fake News, Attacks on Science, and Alternative Facts”. After first illustrating the problem with a series of recent examples, she described her family background with its educational, political, religious, and ethnic diversity. In this mix she was the child constantly asking, “Why?” As a philosopher, she sees that epistemology–how we know–intersects with ethics–how we interact with those we learn from. She described what it means to acquire knowledge responsibly, engaging with others on the basis of values such as respect and humility.
Dr. Kristen Intemann, Associate Professor of Philosophy at MSU, presents an overview of genome editing technology—what it is and how it works—and discusses some of its potential risks and how scientists, philosophers, and others are thinking about its research and regulation.
Dr. Blake Wiedenheft
Dr. Seth Walk
