麻豆传媒映画

From comics censorship in schools to the use of comics in historical inquiry, 麻豆传媒映画 faculty and staff this week will again bring their wide-ranging expertise to panels at San Diego Comic-Con.

Assistant professor of biology Elena Blanco-Su谩rez joins fellow scientists, engineers, child development specialists and a local Star Wars aficionado for  鈥淕rogu's World: The Science Behind the Mandalorian,鈥� a panel organized by Fleet Science Center in Balboa Park.

These experts will discuss how Baby Yoda's brain development in the 鈥淪tar Wars鈥� spinoff compares to that of human children, what it would take to create Mando鈥檚 armor in real life and the father-son bond between the two characters.

鈥淕rogu is called Baby Yoda, but if you think about his emotional intelligence, skills and level of cognition, he doesn't seem like a toddler to me,鈥� said Blanco-Su谩rez. 鈥淗e understands several languages, he can communicate with humans, other alien species, droids. Maybe he walks like a toddler, but I think that's more his anatomy because he jumps and flips in the air and is very skillful in other senses.鈥�

At 麻豆传媒映画, Blanco-Su谩rez studies neuroplasticity, or how the brain changes in response to outside influences. Some adaptations can be positive, such as those that enable someone to learn a new language or heal after a brain injury.

Others have a negative effect. Maladaptive plasticity occurs when the brain rewires in a way that inhibits beneficial adaptations. For example, when stroke patients lose mobility in one arm, they rely on the other arm more, which strengthens the neural circuits controlling that arm and prevents healing in the circuits that control the affected arm.

鈥淲e are trying to figure out how to find that balance, to help the brain repair itself more efficiently,鈥� Blanco-Su谩rez said.

Her lab specifically targets astrocytes, a type of brain cell that supports plasticity, to enhance healing in people who have been affected by stroke. The methods they develop could also be applied to treating neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's.

鈥淭he Mandalorian keeps getting blows to the head and he wouldn't be able to just get up and keep fighting like nothing happened,鈥� she said. 鈥淓ven if he's wearing a helmet, just like football players, those blows accumulate over time and that can impair the ability of the brain to heal itself and in the long term cause more serious damage, like developing dementia.鈥�

With people living longer and neurodegenerative diseases occurring more and more often, Blanco-Su谩rez says brain research is more relevant than ever.

鈥淭here was no Alzheimer's disease when people were dying at 40. Now we are living more than twice as long, so we are developing neurodegeneration,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he brain is still a huge mystery. New diseases are going to come through. Neurodegeneration is the next research frontier.鈥�

Blanco-Su谩rez鈥檚 panel, which includes Audrey Hokoda (professor emerita, College of Education) is scheduled for 7:30-8:30 p.m. Saturday, July 25, in room 5AB of the San Diego Convention Center.

麻豆传媒映画 faculty members participating in additional panels at Comic-Con include:

THURSDAY, JULY 23

Panels, Pages, and the Past: Using a Comics Archive to Teach Cultural and Historical Inquiry 10:30-11:30 a.m., Room 26AB
Elizabeth Pollard (chair of history; co-director Center for Comics Studies); Pamela Jackson (comic arts librarian; co-director Center for Comics Studies); Mary Stout (lecturer of history and Weber Honors College); Laurence Grove (former College of Arts and Letters visiting scholar-in-residence in the Center for Comics Studies)

A Comics Reading Club鈥� for Faculty! 
5-6 p.m., Shiley Special Events Suite, San Diego Central Library
Pamela Jackson and Elizabeth Pollard; Conor McLaughlin (staff development manager, Center for Inclusive Excellence); Van Tarpley (lecturer, Department of History).

San Diego On Screen 
2-3 p.m., Room 5AB
Jake Rowlett (undergraduate program advisor and lecturer in the Department of Geography)

Invincible: The Price of Power and the Strength of Connection 
8:30-9:30 p.m., Room 29CD
Sara Roldan (lecturer, Department of Psychology)

FRIDAY, JULY 24

What Now?!: Comics Censorship in Schools and Libraries 
3-4 p.m., Shiley Special Events Suite, San Diego Central Library
Mary Stout 

Star Wars Tourism: Visiting the Galaxy Far, Far Away on Earth 
6-7 p.m., Room 7AB
Jake Rowlett

SUNDAY, JULY 26

Pop Culture Exhibited: Comics, Film, And Other Fandoms On Display!
2:30-3:30 p.m., Room 25ABC
Pamela Jackson

Leslie L.J. Reilly contributed to this article.