The Caltech Associates

Sarkis Mazmanian, Caltech’s Luis B. and Nelly Soux Professor of Microbiology, will join us tomorrow night at The Lotos Club in New York City to talk about his team’s study of the connection between the gut microbiome and autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

In their research, they discovered a novel gut-brain interaction in animal models. This discovery informed a pilot human study in which a drug targeting the microbiome was shown to be associated with improvements in anxiety and irritability in trial participants. Their findings suggest that changes in the microbiome regulate behaviors associated with ASD, and could lead to a new approach for improving the lives of people with autism.

See all of our upcoming spring 2024 events on our website:
https://associates.caltech.edu/events

As part of the 73rd season of the Caltech Playreaders, The Escape, directed by Joann Doyle, is tonight at 6:30 p.m. In this version of the classic confrontation between a man and the Devil, author and Caltech alum, David Brin constructs an irreverent and fantastical nether world.

More: https://events.caltech.edu/calendar/caltech-playreaders-73rd-season-the-escape?utm_medium=social-organic&utm_campaign=events-other&utm_source=facebook&utm_content=&utm_term=

A rendering of the future Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing by Living Habitats, the landscape architecture firm leading the design of the project in collaboration with state and local agencies. Caltech Associates members will visit the project site this Saturday, November 4! We’ll be joined by Caltech assistant professor of geobiology Julia Tejada and Robert Rock, the principal and COO of Living Habitats.

When completed in 2025, The Annenberg Foundation's Wildlife Crossing will be the largest wildlife corridor in the world. Overcrossing U.S. Route 101 to reconnect the Santa Monica Mountains and the Simi Hills in Agoura Hills, California, this bridge will help restore and protect what is considered a biodiversity hotspot—one of only 36 such places in the world—and allow mountain lions and other wildlife to move freely throughout a habitat that has been bisected by human development.

We’re excited about our tour this Friday of the National Ignition Facility (NIF), where we’ll learn about the future of fusion energy from Dr. Tammy Ma, a graduate of Caltech who now leads the Inertial Fusion Energy Institutional Initiative at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Dr. Ma is a member of the team that achieved fusion ignition at NIF, for the first time in history deriving more energy from fusion than the laser energy used to drive it. This photo by Damien Jemison was taken inside a NIF preamplifier support structure.

See all of our upcoming events on our website: https://associates.caltech.edu/events

When completed in 2025, the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing will be the largest wildlife corridor in the world. Overcrossing U.S. Route 101 to reconnect the Santa Monica Mountains and the Simi Hills in Agoura Hills, California, this bridge will help restore and protect what is considered a biodiversity hotspot—one of only 36 such places in the world—and allow numerous species to freely move throughout a habitat that was bisected by human development.

Our family-friendly day trip to the Annenberg Wildlife Crossing on Saturday, November 4, will include brunch and a presentation by Julia Tejada, assistant professor of geobiology, who will explore how geological processes, climate change, and biotic interactions have changed and shaped the structure of mammalian communities through time.

See all of our upcoming events on our website: https://associates.caltech.edu/events

In December 2022, a team at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) conducted the first controlled fusion experiment to reach “breakeven,” producing more energy from fusion than the laser energy used to drive it. On July 30, 2023, the team succeeded again, yielding even better results.

This image is a rendering of the inside of NIF’s target chamber, showing the target positioner moving into place. Pulses from NIF’s high-powered lasers race through the facility at the speed of light and arrive at the center of the target chamber within a few trillionths of a second of each other, aligned to the accuracy of the diameter of a human hair.

On Friday, October 27, the Caltech Associates will visit NIF for a private tour with Dr. Tammy Ma, an alumna of Caltech who leads the Inertial Fusion Energy Institutional Initiative at NIF.

See all of our upcoming events on our website: https://associates.caltech.edu/events