Tag Archives: Science

News, Podcasts, Science

Top New Science Podcasts: Academics’ Out-Of-Office Emails, Greenest Oranges And Baby Talk (Nature)

Audio Leave a comment

Nature PodcastsHear the latest from the world of science, brought to you by Benjamin Thompson and Nick Howe. This week, how setting an out-of-office email could help promote a kinder academic culture.

In this episode:

00:47 Being truly out of office

Last year, a viral tweet about emails sparked a deeper conversation about academics’ work-life-balance. Could email etiquette help tip the balance? Careers Article: Out of office replies and what they can say about you

09:35 Research Highlights

Finding the ‘greenest’ oranges, and the benefits of ‘baby talk’. Research Article: Bell and Horvath; Research Highlight: Babies benefit when Mum and Dad are fluent in ‘baby talk’

12:06 News Chat

Updates on the novel coronavirus, assessing Iran’s nuclear capabilities, and the potential impacts of Brexit on UK research. News: Coronavirus: latest news on spreading infection; News: How quickly can Iran make a nuclear bomb?; News: Brexit is happening: what does it mean for science?

News, Podcasts, Science

Science Podcasts: Low-Cost Cryo-Electron Microscopes & Genetic Roots Of Schizophrenia

Audio Leave a comment

Science Magazine PodcastsStructural biologists rejoiced when cryo–electron microscopy, a technique to generate highly detailed models of biomolecules, emerged. But years after its release, researchers still face long queues to access these machines. Science’s European News Editor Eric Hand walks host Meagan Cantwell through the journey of a group of researchers to create a cheaper, more accessible alternative.

Cryo-Electron Microscopes

Also this week, host Joel Goldberg speaks with psychiatrist and researcher Goodman Sibeko, who worked with the Xhosa people of South Africa to help illuminate genetic details of schizophrenia. Though scientists have examined this subject among Western populations, much less is known about the underlying genetics of people native to Africa.

Website

News, Podcasts, Science

Top New Science Podcasts: Australian Fires, Isaac Asimov’s Robots And The Coronavirus (Nature)

Audio Leave a comment

Nature PodcastsListen to the latest from the world of science, with Benjamin Thompson and Nick Howe. This week, establishing climate change’s role in Australian bushfires, and revisiting Isaac Asimov’s thoughts robots.

In this episode:

00:46 Behind the bushfires

Researchers are working to establish the role that climate change is playing in the bushfires that are raging across Australia. News Feature: The race to decipher how climate change influenced Australia’s record fires; Editorial: Australia: show the world what climate action looks like

10:02 Research Highlights

The debate around how Vesuvius claimed its victims, and an ancient mummy speaks. Research Highlight: Vitrified brains and baked bones tell the story of Vesuvius deaths; Research Article: Howard et al.

12:21 Asimov’s legacy

This year marks the centenary of Isaac Asimov’s birth. We reflect on the impact of his writing on the field of robotics. Essay: Isaac Asimov: centenary of the great explainer

21:00 News Chat

The latest on a new virus from Wuhan in China, and social scientists’ battle with bots. News: Coronavirus: latest news on spreading infection; News: Social scientists battle bots to glean insights from online chatter

Science, Technology, Videos

Science And Technology: “3D Printing With Living Organisms” (MIT Video)

Video Leave a comment

A method for printing 3D objects that can control living organisms in predicable ways has been developed by an interdisciplinary team of researchers at MIT and elsewhere. This technique may lead to 3D printing of biomedical tools that can be customized to fit the physical body and biomarkers of its users.

3D printing with living organisms MIT Video January 23 2020

 

(Learn more: http://news.mit.edu/2020/3-d-bioprint…)

Listen to an explainer on 3D bioprinting and biohybrid materials: https://soundcloud.com/mitnewsoffice/…

Podcasts, Science

Science Podcasts: Stress Turns Hair Grey, Giant Sloths, Fake Whiskeys And Climate Change (Nature)

Audio Leave a comment

Nature PodcastsHear the latest science news, brought to you by Nick Howe and Benjamin Thompson.  This week, why stress makes mice turn grey, and how to think about climate change.

In this episode:

00:45 Going grey

Anecdotal evidence has long suggested stress as a cause of grey hair. Now, a team of researchers have showed experimental evidence to suggest this is the case. Research Article: Zhang et al.; News & Views: How the stress of fight or flight turns hair white

08:39 Research Highlights

Ancient bones suggest that giant ground sloths moved in herds, plus an atomic way to check for whiskey fakes. Research Highlight: A bone bed reveals mass death of herd of giant ground sloths; Research Highlight: Nuclear-bomb carbon unmasks fraudulent luxury whisky

10:40 Climate optimism

To tackle climate change, the former UN secretary for climate change argues that the biggest change needs to be mindset. Comment: Paris taught me how to do what is necessary to combat climate change

18:09 News Chat

The latest on a new virus from Wuhan in China, and insights from ancient African genomes. News: China virus latest: first US case confirmed; Research Article: Lipson et al.

Health, Medicine, News, Science, Studies

Research: Scientists Find Protein To Regulate Immune Attacks, Reduce Rheumatoid Arthritis

Leave a comment

From a New Atlas online article:

1200px-Karolinska_Institutet_seal.svgScientists have just discovered a new mechanism that can be key in regulating these immune attacks, raising new hopes of drugs that can protect against joint inflammation and the ailments it can bring.

Through the use of the CRISPR gene-editing tool, the Karolinska Institutet scientists have now shed further light on the role they play in inflammation. The technology enabled the team to make adjustments to a set of hand-picked immune cell genes as a way of learning how those tweaks can impact the behavior of the cells.

“The results we obtained using CRISPR were key to quickly understanding how the system under study is regulated,” says Dr Wermeling. “I have high hopes that the experimental use of CRISPR will be hugely important to our understanding of how immune-cell behavior is regulated, and that this can guide us in the development of new efficacious drugs.”

https://newatlas.com/medical/newly-understood-protein-raises-hopes-of-advanced-arthritis-treatments/?utm_source=New+Atlas+Subscribers&utm_campaign=68b0bd3225-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_01_21_02_40&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_65b67362bd-68b0bd3225-93002753

Food, News, Science, Videos, Wildlife

Nature & Science: Making Flowers Of Food Plants More Attractive To Insect Pollinators (Cambridge)

Video Leave a comment

A rising world population means we’ll need more food in the coming years. But much of our food relies on insect pollination, and insects are in decline around the world. Can we make flowers better at being pollinated, to help solve this problem?

Improving flowers to help feed the world Cambridge University Video January 21 2020

Research from the Glover Lab (https://twitter.com/Beverley_CUBG) in the Department of Plant Sciences (https://twitter.com/PlantSci)

News, Podcasts, Science

Top New Science Podcasts: Lack Of Clinical Trial Reporting, Gut Microbe Links To Chronic Disease

Audio Leave a comment

Science Magazine PodcastsThough a law requiring clinical trial results reporting has been on the books for decades, many researchers have been slow to comply. Now, 2 years after the law was sharpened with higher penalties for noncompliance, investigative correspondent Charles Piller took a look at the results. He talks with host Sarah Crespi about the investigation and a surprising lack of compliance and enforcement.

Also this week, Sarah talks with Brett Finlay, a microbiologist at the University Of British Columbia, Vancouver, about an Insight in this week’s issue that aims to connect the dots between noncommunicable diseases like heart disease, diabetes, and cancer and the microbes that live in our guts. Could these diseases actually spread through our microbiomes?