| From: Stewart Russell via talk <talk@gtalug.org> | Subject: Re: [GTALUG] FSOSS 2017 cancelled due to strike | While there might be occasional grizzles on this list about FSOSS, the fact | that there is a conference on open things within transit range of us at all | is pretty neat. Let's hope it gets going again soon. I think that FSOSS has been great. Not perfect. Well worth my time. One problem: it is always scheduled for the same dates as the Gairdner Symposia. These are about things medical, not up my alley, but amazing. So this year I'm going to hit the Gairdners hard. <http://gairdner.org/events-upcoming/> The Gairdner Awards have been given our for decades and have an amazing record of predicting who will later win a Nobel prize in medicine. Each fall they put on three series of talks at the McLeod Auditorium, part of the Med. Sci building at the University of Toronto. They are free and open to the public but some require more background than I have. (They also scatter talks at campuses of other universities, including York.) Oct: 26: Here's the most accessible one of the three, The Gairdner Foundation Laureate Symposium. These are from each of the folks who got an award this year: <http://gairdner.org/events/2017-gairdner-laureate-symposium/> Oct 27: Another symposium is "New Frontiers in Targeted Therapies for Human Health". This one may require more background, but I'm going to try it. <http://gairdner.org/events/2017-gairdner-symposium-new-frontiers-targeted-therapies-human-health/> Oct 25: Still another is "2017 Gairdner Global Health Symposium". This one is not in the McLeod Auditorium. The morning session is at 686 Bay St. and the afternoon is at the U of T Faculty Club. It is free but requires registration (through Eventbrite). Again, I'm going to try it even though I expect that I don't have enough background. <http://gairdner.org/events/2017-gairdner-global-health-symposium/> Since the GGHS ends early on Oct 25, you could even follow it up with the "Women in Science with Dr. Huda Zoghbi" at 4:30. Free, but requires registration. (She was awarded a Gairdner in 2017.) Less fortunately, "CRISPR Unplugged: The Editing Business" starts before the GGHS but overlaps with it. CRISPR is a relatively recent discovery/invention which is revolutionizing gene editing. (Barrangou was awarded a Gairdner in 2016.) There are plenty of othr things on through the year. I'm watching this right now: <http://gairdner.org/events/public-lecture-dr-antoine-hakim/> Oops: it is in French. I wish I were more functional in French.