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What is in the This Week in Science Podcast?
Interview w/ The Bug Chicks, Space Is Closed?, Age Reversal For Mice, Conservatives of Atlantis, Bat Friends, Tracing Ivory, Lost Thoughts, Brain Thoughts, Into The Beyond, Shark Protection, And Much More…
Want to listen to a particular story from TWIS, the This Week in Science podcast? You can do that here. Just look for the time-code link in the description.
DISCLAIMER, DISCLAIMER, DISCLAIMER!!!
What is an earthling?
You?
Yeah, you probably qualify as such.
We humans are quick to put our own picture
into the frame next to the earthling entry in the Encyclopedia Galactica
But despite our impulse to take a planet teeming with life
And assume that we are the most relevant thing living here
There are many more forms of life that could just as easily represent the planet.
By the numbers we aren’t the most populace life form
We aren’t the biggest number by gross weight either
If just counting the number of legs we fare even worse
And while not being the only earthling on the planet may not occur to humans who see the earth as theirs and theirs alone…
There are some humans who have noticed that we are not alone…
Humans who are interested in understanding more than their own earthling experience
Humans who therefore know more about what it truly means to be an earthling
Than any earthling ever dared…
As long as those earthlings aren’t listening to
This week in science
Coming Up Next…
Are you ready for an interview?
The Bug Chicks are Kristie Reddick and Jessica Honaker. Scientists, educators, and besties.
Kristie has a Master of Science in Entomology and is an educational media specialist. She studies the biology, biodiversity, and distribution of solifuge arachnids in Kenya, and wants to train teachers in refugee camps to use insects as educational resources. Jessica also has a Masters of Science in Entomology, and is a science illustrator. Her research focuses on integrated pest management and her research on pecan aphids is helping to establish new pest control parameters for farmers in eastern Texas. She plans to continue her work in an effort to reduce reliance on pesticides in developing countries.
The Bug Chicks have offered a discount to TWIS listeners for their SEL educational curriculum… use the code: twisbug.
Support us on Patreon!
This Week in What Has Science Done for me Lately?!?
“Dr. Kiki, I’d like to share a true, but crazy story involving the microbiome (anonymously).
When I was born I was unable to process breast milk or lactose from cow milk and I had to be put on a soy milk. When I got older, around four, this allergy seemed to go away and I was able to drink milk all through my childhood with only a slight “souring” on my stomach that left my breath kind of bad.
I later had a surgery and the anesthesia apparently killed off a lot of my microbiome and poof I was lactose intolerant again. It makes my stomach hurt and gives me diarrhea so I just avoid it altogether now. So, what happened??
When I was four, my mean, older cousin decided to feed me some waste from our outhouse! That accidental fecal transplant made me able to mostly digest lactose for over 30 years until my gut biome got decimated! – Now this is the honest truth, it sounds nuts, but when my cousin admitted doing this (pretty much on her death bed) it hit me that this HAD to be what “cured” my lactose intolerance and why it came back after my surgery!”
Let us know what science has done for you lately, and we will read it on the show!
Now, let’s continue with SCIENCE NEWS!…
Space Is Closed?
A new analysis of the Planck satellite data suggests that the universe might be closed rather than flat, but astrophysicists are up for the debate.
Age Reversal For Mice
Using gene therapy, Harvard Wyss Institute scientists reversed symptoms of four aging-related diseases in mice.
The lost city of Atlantis…
was likely a conservative hot bed.
If you did live in Atlantis…
you now believe in global warming.
Finally, it’s time for Blair’s Animal Corner!
I Vant to Be Your Friend!
Bats make strong friendships when in captivity, and they remember who their buddies are when they get back on the outside.
Tracing ivory and catching bad guys
New technology could help us catch those still hunting elephants for their ivory. WHO IS EVEN STILL KILLING ELEPHANTS??
Let’s end with some quick SCIENCE NEWS stories!…
Lost Thoughts
Psychologists determined that people around the world prefer consuming information and entertainment to sitting quietly with their own thoughts.
Brain Thoughts
Using EEG, Russian researchers were able to watch thoughts in the brain in real time.
Into The Beyond
Voyager 2 reached interstellar space.
Sharks kill bacteria
Their mucous or some element of their biology keep them from contracting infection. Something else we could learn from them, IF WE JUST STOPPED KILLING THEM!!
I'm the host of this little science show. 
Hi,
this episode page and the RSS feed for this episode erroneously link to the file for the following week’s show #747, TWIS_2019_11_13.mp3. The correct file for Episode 746 seems to be available from the following link, but an update / fix to this page and RSS feed would be much appreciated:
http://traffic.libsyn.com/twis/TWIS_2019_11_06.mp3
Thanks, and keep on twising,
Martin
Thank you for letting me know! I’ll try to take care of it as soon as possible.