The Show About Science

An accidental island sits in the middle of the Panama Canal, and for more than a century, it's drawn scientists from around the world. In this two-part series on Barro Colorado Island in Panama, Nate meets biologists Rachel Page and Erin Spear of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute to explore the questions hidden in one of the world's most closely studied tropical forests.

In this episode, Nate follows Rachel into the rainforest at dusk, where a puddle full of tiny, love-struck frogs must get loud and brave to survive.

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In this episode of The Show About Science, Nate visits the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Virginia, to learn how scientists are working to protect cheetahs from extinction. He talks with carnivore keeper Amber Dedrick and program curator Adrienne Crosier about cheetah personalities, purring cats, genetic bottlenecks, microbiomes, fertility science, and the quiet work of saving a species one generation at a time. What does it take to help the fastest cat on Earth keep running? Find out on this episode of The Show About Science.

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In 1991, hikers in the Alps spotted what looked like a doll frozen in the ice. It wasn’t a toy. It was a body. What police thought was a recent accident turns out to be something far stranger.

In this episode, Nate talks with author and journalist Brenda Fowler about the discovery of Ötzi the Iceman and the science that helped unravel his story. What can one frozen body teach us about early human civilization? Much more than you’d think.

Brenda is the author of Iceman Uncovering the Life and Times of a Prehistoric Man Found in an Alpine Glacier. 

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Seeds hold history. They carry the genetic blueprints of the past and the key to our future. But when disaster strikes, how far will scientists go to save them before they’re lost forever?

In this episode of The Show About Science, Nate traces the incredible journey of some of the world’s most valuable seeds - from the Middle East to the Arctic Circle to the wheat fields of Kansas. Along the way, he uncovers how a global network of scientists are racing against time to safeguard our food supply for generations to come.

Joining us on this journey are Mark Schapiro, author of Seeds of Resistance: The Fight to Save Our Food Supply, Luigi Guarino from the Crop Trust, Zakaria Kehel from the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), and Bart Panis from the World Banana Collection.

Want to see inside the Svalbard Seed Vault? Check out the virtual tour here: https://theshowaboutscience.com/?p=1135.

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What is it like to fly a plane while attempting to make a podcast from 2,000 feet in the air? And can we pull this off?

In this episode of The Show About Science, Nate chats with Carley Walker, the Director of Development at STEM Flights, and then takes to the skies with STEM Flights volunteer, Dragan Lazić, a passionate pilot and aviation safety expert.  Nate's thrilling flight experience at Waukegan National Airport highlights the importance of STEM education and programs like STEM Flights, which inspire young people to explore aviation and STEM careers.

STEM Flights is a national nonprofit organization that connects Middle and High School students with volunteer Pilot Mentors to inspire America’s youth to pursue STEM and aviation careers with a unique flight experience.

Learn more about STEM Flights:www.stemflights.org/

Apply to fly a STEM Flights mission:  www.stemflights.org/applyforastemflight

Learn more about Dragan and Golden Wings Team: www.goldenwingsteam.com/

T-Shirt Contest

The first 3 listeners who subscribe to The Show About Science mailing list will receive a Show About Science Flight Crew T-Shirt. Learn more at https://theshowaboutscience.com/2024/09/14/110-stem-flights-with-dragan-lazic-and-carley-walker/

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It's the hottest day of the year, and deep underground, a mysterious countdown has finally hit zero. After years of silence, millions of cicadas are emerging from the earth, ready to take the stage in a once-in-a-lifetime event. But how do these creatures synchronize their grand entrance?

In this episode of The Show About Science, Nate explores the fascinating world of cicadas emerging en masse after years of living underground. Joined by Jorin Graham, a physics PhD student from Northwestern University, they dive into the science behind cicada synchronization, the role of xylem in their lifecycle, and how synchronization mechanisms are key in nature.

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In this episode of The Show About Science, Nate unearths the surprising history of the Kentucky Coffee Trees growing in his backyard and quickly becomes obsessed with germinating their seeds. This obsession leads him to a lab at the University of Illinois at Chicago where he meets up with plant ecologist, David Zaya, to uncover the evolutionary tale of these trees and the role humans now play in preserving them.

Bacteriophages, also known as ‘phages,’ are the most common lifeform on the planet. They are constantly hunting for bacteria to infect and kill. What if we could harness these tiny microbes to help us in our fight against harmful, disease-causing bacteria? On this episode of The Show About Science, Ben Chan, from Yale University, joins Nate to explore the potential of phages in treating human infections amid the declining effectiveness of broad-spectrum antibiotics.

If you’re interested in collecting phage samples, you can email Ben at b.chan@yale.edu for further instructions on how to safely prepare and send your samples.

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In this episode of The Show About Science, Nate heads to the banks of the Chicago River to meet up with Melissa Pierce, PhD, the Technical Program Director at Current, a nonprofit water innovation hub. Together, they explore the complex world of urban water chemistry, focusing on the river's historical pollution problems and the measures taken to improve the water quality, in particular, an in-depth look at Current's H2Now program. In the second part of the episode, Nate travels to Washington, DC, to chat with Steve MacAvoy, PhD, a professor at American University. Steve's research has centered around studying the impact of urban infrastructure on river water chemistry and how the rising concentrations of specific chemicals are impacting our waterways.

Episode Resources:

H2NOW website: https://www.h2nowchicago.org/

Current's website: https://www.currentwater.org/

River Lab: https://www.currentwater.org/river-lab

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What it would really entail to conquer the relentless Martian elements, engineer a thriving, self-reliant biosphere, and craft life-preserving abodes within the alien realms of lava tubes?

Zach Weinersmith is the cartoonist behind the popular webcomic, Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal. He, along with his partner in science, Kelly Weinersmith, have just published a new book entitled, 'A City on Mars', which explores the science behind settling the Red Planet.

In this episode of The Show About Science, Zach and Nate delve into the monumental challenges of constructing a metropolis on the Mars.

Learn more about 'A City on Mars': https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/639449/a-city-on-mars-by-kelly-and-zach-weinersmith/

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What happens when 21 kids sue the U.S. government for a dream of a world without climate change? On this episode of The Show About Science, Nate interviews Elizabeth Rusch about the kids who are working to make that dream a reality. Elizabeth is the author of the new book, "The Twenty-One, The True Story of the Youth Who Sue the U.S. Government Over Climate Change," which tells the story of 21 young climate activists supported by environmental lawyer, Julia Olson, who sue the government for actively supporting the fossil fuel industry.  

Learn more about Elizabeth Rusch at https://www.elizabethrusch.com/

Follow the case at https://www.ourchildrenstrust.org/

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The platypus is a fascinating animal that has perplexed generations of scientists. Now researchers are studying the platypus on the molecular level, and it's just as surprising.

Frank Grützner is a professor of genetics at the University of Adelaide. Frank studies the monotremes, a different lineage of mammals that includes the iconic egg-laying duck-billed platypus and short-beaked echidna. 

On this episode of The Show About Science, we talk about the genetic mysteries of the platypus and their potential for advancing medical science. It's a captivating journey into nature, genetics, and medical breakthroughs you won't want to miss.

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Dr. Kimberly Arcand is a Visualization and Emerging Technology Scientist at NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory at the Center for Astrophysics, Harvard, and Smithsonian.

In this episode of The Show About Science, Nate and Dr. Arcand dive into the mysteries of the universe illuminated by Chandra's use of X-ray light. From uncovering the intricacies of black hole cosmic recycling processes to exploring the aftermath of exploded stars and the mesmerizing pulsars emitting high-energy particles like cosmic lighthouses, this is a galactic tour like no other!

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Can sound help us understand the complex patterns in our universe? This question leads Nate to Symbolic Sound in Champaign, Illinois, where composer Carla Scaletti guides him on a journey where sound, music, and data intertwine in captivating and thought-provoking ways. Along the way, we'll meet Kimberly Arcand, who unveils the hidden melodies of space through her celestial soundscapes, delve into the fascinating world of protein folding with Martin Gruebele, and listen to the delicate dance of DNA with Mark Temple.

This episode was inspired by a fantastic LA Times article entitled The Sounds of Science by Sumeet Kulkarni. https://www.latimes.com/science/story/2023-02-03/the-sounds-of-science

Kimberly Arcand is a visualization scientist and emerging technology lead at NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory with the Center for Astrophysics, Harvard & Smithsonian.

Martin Gruebele is a professor at the University of Illinois where he leads the Gruebele Group.

Carla Scaletti is an experimental composer, designer of the Kyma sound design language and co-founder of Symbolic Sound Corporation.

Mark Temple is a Senior Lecturer in Molecular Biology in the School of Science at the Western Sydney University (WSU). Mark also created a web app that lets anyone plug and play their own DNA that’s been sequenced by a company such as 23andMe or Ancestry.com.

Web App: http://dnasonification.org/index.html
Myrtle Rust performance: https://youtu.be/n_3edKbfmbg

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Brian Selznick is an illustrator and author best known for his books The Invention of Hugo Cabret, Wonderstruck, and The Marvels and Kaleidoscope. Brian joins Nate on this episode of The Show About Science to talk about the science behind his latest book, Big Tree. The book follows two small sycamore seeds, Merwin and Louise, who are looking for a safe place to grow while trying to save the entire world. Brian's research into fossil species, climate change, fungal hyphae and paleobotany form the backbone of this mesmerizing journey from the Cretaceous period to present day.

Learn more about Brian, Big Tree, and his other books: https://www.thebrianselznick.com

Transcript:

https://theshowaboutscience.com/2023/04/18/100-big-tree-with-brian-selznick

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The CZ Biohub’s inspiring story began when Priscilla Chan asked Stephen Quake a seemingly impossible question: “Is it possible to cure, prevent, and manage disease in our children’s lifetime?”.

In 2016, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, founded by Priscilla and Mark Zuckerberg, set out to answer that question with a bold new mission.

On the final installment of our CZ Biohub series, Priscilla and Stephen join Nate to talk about the work being done at Biohub, and how understanding human biology is the key to unlocking powerful medical treatments and cures. Through their commitment to the cause, they are showing that anything is possible.

Priscilla Chan is co-founder and co-CEO of the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI).

Stephen Quake is Head of Science at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, where he oversees CZI’s science grant programs, technology development, and the CZ Biohub Network. Stephen is also a professor at Stanford University.

Learn more about CZ Biohub: https://www.czbiohub.org/about/#history-amp-mission

Listen to more episodes from our CZ Biohub series:

https://theshowaboutscience.com/2023/02/12/099-accelerating-science-to-eradicate-disease-with-priscilla-chan-and-stephen-quake/

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On the third installment of our CZ Biohub series, we visit a lab nicknamed "Le Petit Hotel de Poisson" (The Tiny Fish Hotel) where scientists are using zebrafish as a model organism to study human development. Along the way, we'll meet Loïc A. Royer, who leads a team at Biohub including Merlin Lange and Shruthi VijayKumar who are using something called a light-sheet microscope to document the incredible complexity of individual cells as they develop into fully functioning organisms. Manu Leonetti and Sandy Schmid from previous CZ Biohub episodes also join us on the tour.

Watch a video created with the light sheet microscope here: https://theshowaboutscience.com/2023/02/12/the-tiny-zebrafish-hotel/

Learn more about the zebrafish research at the CZ Biohub: https://zebrahub.ds.czbiohub.org/

Learn more about the CZ Biohub:

https://www.czbiohub.org/

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This is the second episode of our four part series focused on the CZ Biohub in San Francisco where scientists are working to cure, prevent, or manage disease by the end of the century.

In this episode, we meet Quantitative Cell Science group leader Manu Leonetti. Manu and his team are using "genetic glowsticks" to map all 20,000 proteins in a single human cell. Their flagship project – OpenCell – is a library of fluorescently engineered cell lines to define the locations and interactions of human proteins within our cells.

You can see the images Manu describes in the episode here: https://opencell.czbiohub.org

Watch this video to learn more about OpenCell: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6j4fpV-q-Io

Listen to the first episode of our CZ Biohub series: https://on.soundcloud.com/1XALJ

Over the next 4 episodes, we're going to take you on a tour of the CZ Biohub in San Francisco where scientists are working to cure, prevent, or manage disease by the end of the century.

Every year, 400,000 people die of malaria - usually children in impoverished areas. In the first episode of our Biohub series, you'll meet Paul Lebel, a member of the CZ Biohub Bioengineering team, who is helping to create a device that uses machine learning to accelerate and improve the process for identifying malaria-infected red blood cells. If the project is successful, the hope is that they can diagnose the disease faster and help save lives.

Learn more about the Bioengineering team at CZ Biohub:

https://www.czbiohub.org/bioengineering/

We're revisiting one of our favorite episodes of The Show About Science from 2015. Back when Nate was 5 years old, he interviewed Santa Claus about the science behind his workshop and what happens when kids send drawings of new toys for Santa to produce in his present factory. Santa than suggested that Nate talk to Roger, his Head of Research and Development. Roger is also the author of The Physics of Christmas: From the Aerodynamics of Reindeer to the Thermodynamics of Turkey (amzn.to/1NwaZr4) and Can Reindeer Fly?: The Science of Christmas (amzn.to/1NwaYDG). Finally, Nate talks to Lt(N) Marco Chouinard from NORAD about the science of tracking Santa and the noradsanta.org website. Kids can also call NORAD on December 24th to find out when Santa will be arriving in their area. The number to call is +1 (877) HI-NORAD. Don't forget to follow me on Twitter. I'm @natepodcasts.

Alan Gratz is the New York Times bestselling author of 18 novels for young readers, including Ground Zero, Refugee, Allies, Grenade, Prisoner B-3087, Projekt 1065, and Ban This Book. His latest novel, Two Degrees, puts climate change front and center as four different kids navigate the threats of global warming. He joins Nate on this episode to talk about the science behind the book.

No spoilers episode: https://on.soundcloud.com/oYW8g

Learn more: https://www.alangratz.com/writing/two-degrees/

Music on this episode comes from Epidemic Sound and Blue Dot Sessions. Our theme song was composed by Jeff, Dan, and Theresa Brooks.

DALL-E 2 is a new AI system that can create realistic images and art from written text descriptions. Mark Chen is a research scientist at OpenAI, the company the created DALL-E 2. He joins Nate on this episode to explain how AI is putting the art in artificial intelligence.

Sign up to make your own images with DALL-E 2:

https://labs.openai.com/auth/signup

See what my friend, Olivia, and I made with DALL-E 2:

https://bit.ly/3MfG7BC

Music on this episode comes from Sounds Like An Earful and Epidemic Sound. Our theme song was written by Jeff, Dan, and Theresa Brooks.

Alan Nathan has been a Professor in the Department of Physics at the University of Illinois since 1977, but for the past 10 years, he has expanded his research interests to focus on the physics of baseball. His work looks at the dynamics of the collision between the ball and bat and the aerodynamics of a baseball in flight. On this episode of The Show About Science, he joins Nate to talk about what every baseball player should understand about physics and how that knowledge could improve their game.

Read more about Alan's work here: http://baseball.physics.illinois.edu/

Our theme song was composed by Jeff, Dan and Theresa Brooks. Additional music on this episode comes from Epidemic Sound.

The History Channel show, “Kings of Pain,” follows wildlife biologist Adam Thorn and professional animal handler Rob “Caveman” Alleva as they get bitten and stung by some of the most dangerous animals and vicious stinging insects in the world. On this episode of The Show About Science, Nate goes behind the scenes to learn how they're working to create a complete and comprehensive pain index that will ultimately help save lives.

"Kings of Pain" returns with a new season on Thursday, May 26th. Learn more here: https://www.history.com/shows/kings-of-pain

Subscribe to The Show About Science wherever you listen to podcasts and don't forget to leave a review!

Proteins are one of the main drivers of human diseases. Scientists are now mapping all of the proteins in the human body in a similar way to how the Human Genome Project mapped genes. On this episode of The Show About Science, Neil Kelleher, PhD invites Nate to his lab on the campus of Northwestern University to explain how it all works.

Learn more about Neil's work here: http://proteomics.northwestern.edu/

Why don't I have a tail? That's the question that Bo Xia asked himself when he was a little kid. Bo is now a PhD candidate at NYU Grossman School of Medicine. Bo's latest research attempts to answer his childhood question by identifying the mutation that resulted in ancestral humans losing their tails. On this episode of The Show About Science, Nate and Bo talk about his work and why this mutation may have happened.

Read more about Bo's work:

www.nytimes.com/2021/09/21/scienc…-their-tails.html

Hidden ten miles south of Hastings, Michigan and only accessible via an old gravel road is the Pierce Cedar Creek Institute, a nature center and biological field station. On this episode of The Show About Science, we meet Ellen Holste, PhD. Ellen is the Community Program Manager at the Pierce Cedar Creek Institute and our tour guide into the amazing world of fungi. Be prepared to learn and have some fun as we scour the prairie for all sorts of fungus.

Learn more about the Pierce Cedar Creek Institute: https://www.cedarcreekinstitute.org/

Listen to more episodes of The Show About Science: https://theshowaboutscience.com/

Special thanks to Sara Lien Edelman at the Pierce Cedar Creek Institute for helping make this episode possible.

Paul Davies is a theoretical physicist at Arizona State University where he leads the Beyond Center for Fundamental Concepts in Science. His research focuses mainly on quantum gravity, the theory of quantum black holes and the nature of time. On this episode of The Show About Science, he joins Nate to talk about the science of time travel.

Learn more about Paul Davies and the Beyond Center: http://beyond.asu.edu/

Listen to more episodes of The Show About Science: https://theshowaboutscience.com/

Wael Farah is a research scientist at the SETI Institute, where he searches the stars for alien life. The Allen Telescope Array (ATA), where Wael conducts his research, is located at the Hat Creek Observatory in Northern California. The ATA is a collection of 42 relatively small dishes (antennas) that are designed to work together for SETI searches.

In this episode of The Show About Science, Nate talks to Wael about how the Allen Telescope Array works, fast radio bursts, SETI, and what might lure extraterrestrial life to earth.

Learn more about SETI and the Allen Telescope Array here: https://www.seti.org/ata

What do our dogs think about all day? Do dogs experience emotions like people do? Gregory Berns is a bestselling author and a professor at Emory University where he studies animal neuroscience. On this episode of The Show Show About Science, he joins Nate to talk about how he trained dogs to go into an MRI scanner—completely awake—so he could figure out what they think and feel.

Learn more about Gregory's work here: http://gregoryberns.com/