Get ready for coffee and dessert with your science. Explorit Science Center’s 17th annual lecture series is expanding to include “Science Cafés,” informal evening discussions with area scientists, complete with refreshments.

The first installment will be at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday (Jan. 15) at Explorit’s main site, 2801 Second St. Area residents are invited to attend the free program and meet two UC Davis scientists who will talk about the latest findings on schizophrenia and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

“Science cafés are catching on around the country,” says Megan Chiosso, program director at Explorit. “You can just sit and listen to the discussion or you can ask as many questions as you wish. We’re betting our cafés will be fascinating as well as entertaining. And the coffee and treats will be great, too.”

The cafés will alternate with more traditional lectures that will take place at the Davis branch of the Yolo County Public Library, 315 E. 14th St. The cafés and lectures all take place on the third Tuesday of the month and begin at 7:30 p.m. All are free.

Here is the series lineup:

• Jan. 15 café: “Understanding Schizophrenia and ADHD”
At two UC Davis research institutes, the latest brain imaging technology is revealing the inner workings of the brains of individuals with schizophrenia and attention deficit disorder. Café visitors will be able to view images and gain an overview of this medical frontier.

The guest experts will be Dr. J. Daniel Ragland, associate professor at the UC Davis Imaging Research Center, and Dr. J. Faye Dixon, child clinical psychologist at the UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute. The café will start at 7:30 p.m. at Explorit Science Center’s main site, 2801 2nd St.

• Feb. 19 lecture: “The New Digital Sky: Exploring the Dark Side of the Universe”
Most of our universe is composed of invisible dark matter and dark energy. Little is known about their nature, but new viewing techniques make dark matter visible. In this illustrated talk, we’ll learn about the mysteries of dark matter and dark energy, and we’ll get an update on progress building a novel telescope-camera that will scan the universe’s dark side.

The speaker will be Dr. J. Anthony Tyson, astrophysicist and professor of physics, UC Davis, and director of the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) project. The lecture will begin at 7:30 p.m. at the Davis public library, 315 E 14th St.

• March 18 café: “Flying Cars and the Future of Travel”
Is it possible to create a flying car and operate it in a controlled airspace as an alternative to the automobile? The café’s guest expert thinks so: His Davis-based company, Moller International, is taking orders for its Skycar. The vehicle takes off and lands vertically and is “roadable,” meaning it can be driven on a road as well.

The café guest expert is Paul Moller, Skycar inventor and head of Moller International, based in Davis. The event is at 7:30 p.m. at Explorit’s main site, 2801 2nd St.

• April 15 lecture: “What Made Us Human? Comparing the Human and Chimp Genome”

The sequencing of the genome of our closest relative on the tree of life, the common chimpanzee, has allowed us for the first time to know what elements of our genome are distinctly human. While they make up less than 1 percent of our total DNA, these human-specific sequences still number in the millions. We will talk about the results a computational scan of these sequences to find the genetic basis for what makes us human.

The speaker will be Dr. Katherine S. Pollard, assistant professor, UC Davis Department of Statistics and UCD Genome Center. Her talk will be at 7:30 p.m. at the Davis public library, 315 E 14th St.

Intel is sponsoring the café-lecture series and Stone’s Cafe and Catering in east Davis is providing the refreshments. More information is available at www.explorit.org or (530) 756-0191.