#  Science Spotlights: Secret Conversations on the Seafloor & Born in a Crisis 

 



    ![Headshots of Rebecka Sepela and Silvio Mirabal Torres.](/sites/g/files/omnuum4986/files/styles/hwp_5_4__480x385/public/2026-03/04-04%20SciSpotlights%20event.jpg?itok=FsUb6ZN0) 

 



 

####  calendar\_today Date and Time 

 **April 4, 2026** 

 02:00PM - 03:30PM EDT 

####  pin\_drop Location 

 **Harvard Museum of Natural History**  

 [26 Oxford Street  
Classroom B (Third Floor)  
Cambridge, MA 02138  
United States



 ](<https://www.google.com/maps?q=US MA Cambridge 02138 26 Oxford Street Classroom B (Third Floor)>) 



 

 



 

### **In-Person Presentation**

Meet up-and-coming scientists and learn about questions at the forefront of research today in this series of short talks.

#### **2:00–2:30 pm - Secret Conversations on the Seafloor**

**Speaker:** Rebecka Sepela, Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Cellular and Molecular Biology, Bellono Lab

Invisible microbes cover every surface on Earth, sending chemical messages that shape animal behavior, health, and disease. But which messages matter, and how do animals sense and respond to them? Through her research with octopuses, Harvard scientist Dr. Rebecka Sepela detects, deciphers, and listens in on the secret conversations of the seafloor, revealing how microbes influence octopus behavior. Join her to learn about a hidden language that connects life in surprising ways.

#### **3:00–3:30 pm - Born in a Crisis**

**Speaker:** Silvio Mirabal Torres, Graduate Student, Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Kuzawa Lab

We know that the choices we make during our lifetime can affect our overall health and well being. But what if our story begins even earlier? What if experiences from before we were born—and even those of our parents and grandparents—can shape how our bodies grow and respond to the world? How can factors such as early-life stress and improper nutrition be passed down through generations and what roles do these factors play in our development? Join Harvard scientist, Silvio Mirabal Torres, as he explores big questions about how historical crises can impact health and resilience in people raised through them as well as those who have yet to be born.

Regular museum admission rates apply.



 

 



 

 See also:- [ Special Events ](/programs-audience/special-events)
 
 

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