The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation kicks off its 2007-2008 Public Lectures in Science series next month with a look at the fascinating world of symbiosis.

Noble Foundation scientist Marilyn Roossinck, Ph.D., will make her presentation - entitled "Symbiosis: Nothing is an Island" - at 7 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 6, at the Kruse Auditorium on the Noble Foundation's Ardmore campus.

"We think of ourselves as individuals, but we live with billions of other organisms, mostly bacteria and fungi, which live in and on us," said Roossinck, who is the Public Lectures in Science organizer and a professor in the Noble Foundation's Plant Biology Division. "This talk examines how all life on this planet is dependent on the other organisms that live in, on or in close association with it. From clown fish and anemones to the bacteria in our intestines that are essential for digestion, no organism lives in isolation."

The three-part series will continue on Feb. 21 with a look at climatology - an overview of climate change on earth and other planets. This presentation will be made by Susan Postawko, Ph.D., professor of meteorology at the University of Oklahoma. Postawko is a planetary scientist who has been studying climate change for almost 30 years. During her presentation, Postawko draws from her extensive research experience and attempts to answer many important questions, such as "What is happening to our planet?" "What can we do about it?" and "How will climate change impact our lives?"

Oklahoma State University Professor of Rangeland Ecology Terry Bidwell will present the final lecture - entitled "Prairie Restoration with Fire and Grazing" - on April 24, 2008. Oklahoma has some of the last remaining native prairie - home to a unique ecosystem of plants and animals. Bidwell's lecture looks at how this fragile ecosystem can be maintained or restored through good management, including controlled burning.

All lectures will begin at 7 p.m. and take place at the Kruse Auditorium on the Noble Foundation's campus in Ardmore. A reception will follow each presentation.

For additional information on the Noble Foundation's Public Lectures in Science, contact the Noble Foundation at 580.223.5810.

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News Release Issued: November 21, 2007

The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, Inc. (www.noble.org), headquartered in Ardmore, Okla., is a nonprofit organization conducting agricultural, forage improvement and plant biology research; assisting farmers and ranchers through educational and consultative agricultural programs; and providing grants to nonprofit charitable, educational and health organizations.