Listen to the experts and ask questions about the avian flu, or bird flu, at the fourth “Science Café” on Saturday, July 15, from 10 a.m. to noon at the National Atomic Museum in Albuquerque. Experts will address the latest on the flu, when it is expected to reach the United States and the likelihood of it mutating to a human-borne illness. Admission is free, but seating is first come, first served.
Attendees will hear what likely path the flu will take in the U.S. and what the plans for action are in New Mexico.
KNME-TV’s Science Café is held six times a year, each at a different location. The concept is to show clips from an episode of NOVA scienceNOW, with an expert on hand to answer questions and lead an open discussion with the audience in “café style.”
This month, over coffee and refreshments, visitors can watch a short segment from an episode of NOVA scienceNOW discussing pandemic flu – historically and as the avian flu. Then, they are invited to join a discussion about current information about the avian flu, what is anticipated for New Mexico and what steps are being taken in advance of its arrival.
Special guests include Catherine Macken , theoretical biologist, and Tim Germann, physical chemist /computer scientist, from Los Alamos National Laboratory. Both are working on tracking and mitigating pandemic influenza. Joining them is Mack Sewell, state epidemiologist with the N.M. Dept. of Health.
For more information call: (505) 245-2137 or 277-1218
Media Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920; e-mail: cgonzal@unm.edu