The SciSchmooze

Kishore Hari
22 June 2026

Greetings science fans!

Father’s Day has me thinking about mentorship and the people who don’t just advance their field but spend their lives making sure the next generation can, too.

Bruce Alberts is one of the great biochemists of his generation, a pioneering researcher in DNA replication who went on to serve for 12 years as president of the National Academy of Sciences and to edit Science magazine. But alongside all of that, he insisted that science education was a place scientists needed to get personally involved. He has argued that “science education should be about learning to think and solve problems like a scientist, insisting, for all citizens, that st

From AI trust gaps to cosmic data floods to California's most elusive predator

Kishore Hari
May 18

Greetings science fans!

Some weeks, the news and the calendar seem to be in quiet conversation with each other. This is one of those weeks.

The question of what AI actually does to human life is getting harder to avoid. After a year of headlines claiming AI would replace millions of jobs, companies are quietly discovering something more nuanced: 

Every week is climate week, but especially this week.

Kishore Hari
20 April 2026

Greetings science fans!

This Wednesday is 56th anniversary of Earth Day. The theme this year is “Our Power, Our Planet,” a call to unite around clean air, clean water, and renewable energy, and a reminder that when communities act together, they can become an unstoppable force. It is a fitting theme for a week that also happens to be SF Climate Week, when more than 650 events and 1,000 speakers are descending on the Bay Area to do exactly that.

Earth Day has deep Bay Area ro

The SciSchmooze

Kishore Hare
16 March 2026

Greetings science fans!

It has been quite a week for Bay Area creativity. Last Thursday, thousands packed Frank Ogawa Plaza to welcome home Oakland’s own Alysa Liu, who took two gold medals to Milan and brought them right back to the city that raised her. At her request, she skipped the parade in favor of a celebration that would shine a light on Oakland’s artists and community.

Then tonight, at the 98th Academy Awards, Richmond-raised Ryan Coogler took home his first Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for Sinners, making him only the second Black American filmmaker ever to receive that award. Two Bay Area artists, two very different stages, one very loud reminder that this region does not lack fo

SciSchmooze
Kishore Hari
16 February 202

Hello again, friends of science!

Valentine’s Day was yesterday, but the science of love doesn’t take a day off.

Just in time for the season, UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center launched a wonderful new podcast series: The Science of Love, hosted by Geena Davis. Over three episodes, the series explores how love is expressed through caregiving, friendship, romantic attachment, and shared experience, and how these connections leave measurable effects on the brain, body, and even the microbiome. It’s a beautiful reminder that love is far bigger than romance.

Kishore Hari
19 January 2026

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. asked this question over half a century ago, and it remains as vital today as ever. Tomorrow, we honor his legacy on ML

A Blast from the Past

KISHORE HARI
Jul 15 2024

Herb had some technical challenges this week, so I’ll be your guest editor. It’s only been seven years since my last turn at the wheel - let’s see how this goes!

It’s been over 20 years since the Human Genome Project was “completed” - a monumental scientific achievement marking the successful sequencing of the entire human genetic code. This groundbreaking milestone ushered in a new era of genomic discovery that continues to revolutionize healthcare and scientific research to this day. One story caught my eye about the history and legacy of that work. In an incredible invest