Durham
Fruit flies and alcoholism
Broad Street CafeLate last year, an intriguing new social and educational event emerged in Durham’s Broad Street Café. Called Periodic Tables, it’s an evening gathering on the second Tuesday of every month that features a scientific talk by a local expert. Past programs have considered the potential application of dinosaur research technology to the discernment of life in outer space, and have discussed the curious ethics surrounding the use of performance-enhancing technology. Tonight’s program, however, features a departure from the seasoned professors of the past: Instead, Duke University freshman Kapil Ramachandran discusses his award-winning discoverymade at the age of 16of a link between a specific protein found in fruit flies and alcoholism. Ramachandran’s talk, titled “Buzzed: Using Fruit Flies to Understand Alcohol Addiction,” begins at 7 p.m.
Since this talk conveniently takes place at suppertime, it might also be an opportunity to sample the offerings of the recently refurbished Broad Street Cafe, which now has brick pizza oven and craft brews on tap. The lecture series is sponsored by the N.C. Museum of Life and Science. Visit www.ncmls.org/periodictables for more information. There is no admission charge. David Fellerath
