January 3rd, 2019
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2018 Predictions Review, 2019 Predictions, Drinkable Brain Juice, Dating Africa, Dinosaur Noses, Cuteness Aggression, Dimensional Bubble, New Horizons Snowman, Asimov Predicts, And Much More…
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DISCLAIMER, DISCLAIMER, DISCLAIMER!!!
It’s a brand new year,
A mere babe in the chronological woods
And with a new year come new hopes,
Which are usually old hopes, dusted off, ironed out and given a bit of polish
In the hope that in the new year the old hopes will finally be realized
And with each new year, that sense of hopefulness is often framed by a winter landscapes
And a twinge of uncertainty
With these first cold shuffling steps into the unknown future
It is can be comforting to trace your steps ahead and plan for what’s to come
And as with any forward looking plan,
to do so successfully you must do that thing that you can only do whilst looking forward…
Predict how the future will unfold!
So on the following episode, we will do just that, prognosticate the path of science yet to come…
Right here on This Week in Science
Coming up next!
Predictions from 2018 – How did we do?
KIRSTEN
“- Climate was on everybody’s mind this year, and although there was much to get depressed about, efforts for positive action were apparent.
– The Hunter therapy was successful in that there werent any negative responses , but there wasn’t a reliable positive response either.There was movement in the CRISPR CART field that is very promising: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/03/180306115721.htm. And, afaik, there aren’t any results for the Chinese HPV trial, but we know what other unsanctioned tests have been successful.
– Juno is still going strong, the first data from TESS became available in December of last year, so we should be hearing lots more from TESS in the coming year, INSIGHT landed without a ticker tape prade from little green men, China’s Chang’e 4 launched in December to attempt a landing on the far side of the moon THAT IS HAPPENING TOMORROW, no Indian lander… yet, and we are tantalkizingly close to imaging the event horizon of our Milky Way’s black hole.
– Self-driving cars and accidents were up, AND AI started to make some scary gains
– I’m still waiting for the microbial mind control, but I think we learned that it might actually be possible.
– As exciting as Physics was this past year, I don’t think that we really broke the mold… just reinforced it, really.
– There were a couple of snybio advancements, but it wasn’t a game-changer kind of year.
– And, we got one live show in last year. I hope we do another in 2019!”
JUSTIN
??? There were lots of words spoken here, but nothing written down.
BLAIR
“-Sperm: the new time-release capsule for your down-under, will begin clinical trials for cancer treatment!
NO
-We will discover a new kind of cephalopod!
NO
-Tardigrades will be discovered out in space, proving them to be the original alien.
NO
-Coffee will be proven good, and then bad, and then good again.
Kindof?
Coffee helps teams work together
…and reduces risk of type 2 diabetes
But climate change is creating new stress for the bean, and people are split on how to fix it…
-2018 will be the warmest year on record…
NO, 4th hottest
-White nose syndrome treatment will begin in the wild, saving some of the world’s bat populations!
Not yet, but a contender arrived! UV light!
-A scientists will run for congress in 2018 AND WIN.
YAS! 7! 3 engineers, 2 medical experts, a biochemist, and a software engineer!
-I will spend another amazing year on TWIS, and will once again find myself astounded at what a coffee shop interview for an internship in late 2011 became…
YES 🙂
-TWIS will cross another state off our live show map!
No :(”
Alright, what do we think will happen in 2019?
JUSTIN
“1) 2019 will bring waves of news about synthetic biological circuits…
While at first only used in convenient applications to allow biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies to quickly offer a smorgasbord of revolutionary products and cures…
Synthetic biological circuits will eventually replace all conventional electronics allowing everyone to remain completely unplugged all the time as the devices run on enzymes and not electricity.
However you will have to share your lunch with your phone…
2) A solar system will be discovered made up entirely of black holes,
Complete with an anchoring super massive black hole where the sun would be, smaller orbiting black holes and even moon like satellites, though much bigger than a moon, in orbit around those….
The stunning part of this discovery? It will be spotted not by a cosmologist with a telescopic array, but by a cosmetologist with really good set of teeth…
3) In 2019 Time Travel is Discovered!
Not that we discover how to time travel in 2019 but that we uncover the ancient tomb of a woman who is verifiably and undeniably of this century.
Awkwardly, the discovery comes five years before Lisa Randall even conceives of a theory by which she might actually be able to build such a device…
4) Despite all of the evidence to the contrary thus far 2019 is the year we learn that ALL sharks are primarily vegetarians… they just eat a bit of fish on the side…
Pescetarians everywhere are emboldened by this news and there is a noticeable up-tick in shark tattoos on people who have never been at sea.”
BLAIR
“-Tardigrades in space! Either on Mars, or somewhere else. We will not be sure if it is from contamination, or if they started out there. Yet…
-Dinosaurs will be reclassified as warm-blooded
-A national state of emergency will be declared in regards to climate change. Just not in the US…
-Tesla semi-trucks will go to market and start popping up across the country.
-Spiders will do something, or be discovered doing something, crazy and unexpected.
-Humans will invent a new (or overblown) food allergy.
-A CGI (human) character will star in a film alongside real actors, and we won’t be able to tell the difference. -Foldable smartphones will hit the shelves, and be short-lived…
-TWIS will do an amazing live show somewhere NEW in the world, with a great audience.”
KIRSTEN
“- the Chinese mission to the moon will be successful, and stoke the fire of the race back to the moon and onto Mars for the US
– the Indian moon mission will also launch successfully… because I am an optimist, and it would suck for the mission to fail after so many delays..
– LIGO/VIRGO will discover many more black hole mergers from big ones to little ones.
– we will see a successful SpaceX test of its crew capsule and docking with the ISS
– stem cell therapy companies will make a lot of noise as the FDA regulations kick in and cause some growing pains for the treatment industry
– There will be a kerfuffle between China and the rest of the world regarding CRISPR use in humans
– mosquitos with gene drive to limit reproduction will be released in the wild, mass hysteria will ensue
– CO2 capture will see a major development, and excite more people about helping reduce our greenhouse gas emissions
– another great year for TWIS!”
Support us on Patreon!
“Predictions 2019 from Ed Dyer
The Event Horizon Telescope will create the first actual detailed picture of the black hole at the center of the Milky Way.
Cell based vaccines will lead to a universal flue vaccine.
A genetically modified horse will be born that will be faster and stronger than its counterparts. Scientist in Argentina rewrote the genome of cloned horses and the first foals are expected in 2019.
The flow of pollutants into our rivers, lakes, and oceans will increase and record breaking algae blooms, and fish die-offs will occur.
Humans will become increasingly relent on AI computer models doing research, and AI technology in our homes. An AI will emerge that begins to act solely on its own, A first step towards World Robot Domination!
Rose colored glasses sales will plummet. Tin Foil hat sales will skyrocket.
Dr Obi-Wan Kiki, Jackson Skywalker, Imperial Princess Blair, save me TWIS team. Save me! Your my only hope!
-Ed Dyer”
Brain Cocktail Hour
Scientists at Yale created a drinkable chemical cocktail that reverses prion-related brain degeneration and restores memories in mice.
The 20,000 year pulse of African emigration
New data sheds light on the movements of early hominids.
Dinosaurs getting “nosey”
…and just like that, one of my predictions may have come true…
Cute aggression is a real thing
And it makes me wanna bite that puppy’s cute wittle face off!
An Expanding Bubble
According to string theorists, our universe is on the surface of an expanding bubble in an additional dimension, and so our 4 dimensions are an emergent property of that situation.
Ultima Snowman
The New Horizons mission successfully rendezvoused with Ultima Thule on New Years Day, and sent back an image of a reddish space snowman.
Asimov Predicted 2019
And, he did pretty well…
If You love TWIS, please consider making a donation below.
Don’t forget to tell a friend about TWIS, and to check out our Patreon page!
Tags: Blair Bazdarich, calendar, Dr. Kiki, Dr. Kirsten Sanford, education, Justin Jackson, Kirsten Sanford, new media, news, Patreon, podcast, radio, science, science news, science podcast, science policy, science radio, STEM, talk, technology, This Week in Science, Top 11, TWIS
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December 27th, 2018
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Top 11 of 2018!!!, And Much More…
Want to listen to a particular story from the show? You can do that here. Just look for the time-code link in the description.
DISCLAIMER, DISCLAIMER, DISCLAIMER!!!
What a year it’s been!
Of course I’m not talking about the things covered in the regular human news cycle
Yes there were wonderful
/ mundane /
painstakingly tragic human tragedies and triumphs this year…
But as a dedicated science news junkie,
nearly none of the news that exists beyond the pale of
Propelling our knowledge of the world at large really matters…
Yes I know it matters, yes everything matters…
But what separates science news from the rest of human the noise
Is that when we expand our knowledge in science
When we expand our understanding of the planet upon which we live
The solar system our planet resides within
The universe our solar system was born from…
That knowledge is firmly passed on to generations to come
To scientists and laymen alike
When we build upon the past, we build towards the future.
And as we build towards the future we can correct courses
That may have been poorly navigated in the past…
Nowhere else the trajectory of human progress and prosperity more firmly asserted
Then right here on
This Week in Science
Coming Up Next!
Top 11 Countdown…
Number 11
Geology
Diamond Earth
A new analysis of the crust and upper mantle of Earth using sound waves estimates that there are up to a quadrillion tons of diamonds hiding below the surface.
It came from space!
And landed in Greenland.
Deep Life
The Deep Carbon Observatory, which has been assessing the carbon inside our planet, recently reported that there’s a lot of life down there.
Number 10
Black holes
Milky Way’s Black Hole
It exists!
Speaking of Holes
Astronomers reported discovering black hole mergers in multiple galaxies.
LIGO/VIRGO
The black hole mergers list grows
Number 9
Mars
Water On Mars
A massive underground aquifer has been detected on Mars. The hypothesis s that it is full of liquid water.
Mars Insights Coming
After its months long journey to Mars, the Insight lander successfully landed in Elysium Planitia on the surface of Mars, sent back some images, and is getting to work on science preparations. We should begin to see results within the next month as it will be drilling into the surface of the red planet taking temperature and seismic readings.
Number 8
Gene Drive
Driving Genes
A research team from UCSD reported the first demonstration of successful gene drive in mammals.
Genie In The Lab
A CRISPR-based gene drive to destroy reproductive ability in female mosquitoes was successful in the lab.
Number 7
Mini-brains
Active Mini-Brains
Scientists turned stem cells into brain cells, and then into mini-brains, which spontaneously began connecting and communicating thru electrical signals that were eventually comparable to the brain activity of preterm babies.
Brains In Brains
Researchers showed that mini human brains implanted into mouse brains survived and functionally integrated into the host tissue.
Number 6
Microbiology
There is a battlefield beneath your feet…
Fungi vs. bacteria
The Sixth Sense
Just like our other senses, there is a fast-acting sensory system in the gut that communicates with the brain by way of the vagus nerve.
Create the blood you need
Stomach bacteria could turn donor blood into whatever type you need.
Support us on Patreon!
Number 5
Evolution
Turtle Missing Link
We’re getting close to finding where turtles belong in the evolutionary tree!
Oldest animals
Cholesterol molecules allowed identification of earliest animals.
Viruses – Alive?
Giant viruses have the ability to make synthesize protein – should we reclassify them and allow them into our “alive” club?
Ancient Viruses
Date back to the beginning of vertebrates, at least.
Number 4
Neuroscience
Secret Head Tunnels
Your brain and skull might have conversations about health. According to a new NIH-funded study, immune cells are more likely to travel to the damaged brain from the skull’s bone marrow than from other parts of the body. And, the cells move through special channels that connect the skull to the brain’s meninges.
Keeping your brain longer
Lymphatic vessels key to proper brain aging
Sexy Brain Cells
Microglia look and act differently in the male and female mouse brains.
Fixing Alzheimer’s
Using human cells, researchers at the Gladstone Institute in San Francisco confirmed that the presence of a protein called ApoE4 leads to damage that potentially causes Alzheimer’s. Additionally, using a “structure corrector”, they were able to fix the mutant protein and reverse its cellular effects.
Viral Memory
An unexpected discovery found that a protein important for memory formation, called Arc, acts like a virus in that it shuttles between neurons. Understanding why and how it does this will help in the understanding of information transmission within the nervous system, and could also be a new way to get gene therapy into cells without using viruses themselves.
Memories can be transferred between organisms
Maybe…
Number 3
Pregnancy
Baby Clone Monkeys
The first primate clones have been produced in China – two cutie-pie rhesus macaques.
You, Me, Uterus!
The Lancet reports the first instance of a live birth from a transplanted uterus from a deceased donor.
CRISPR Babies
A Chinese researcher has been using CRISPR to edit embryos for HIV resistance. Apparently, twin girls have been born from this process. Independent analysis of the results is still pending, although the international community is in an uproar.
My Two Dads
An effort to create embryos from stem cells taken from two male mice was unsuccessful, but teaches us much.
Number 2
Climate Change
The Bad News
The IPCC issued a report this week recommending world governments take a drastic and unprecedented change of tack to meet a highly conservative global warming goal of only 1.5 degree Celsius in part through yearly reductions of more than 1 billion metric tons of CO2 emissions globally over the next decade, and ending all coal-power by 2050.
Climate Assessment
The US government’s fourth climate assessment was released last week on Black Friday, and concludes that the US will sufffer major economic impacts if we stay the course on climate.
Shrinking Birds
Higher global temps could shrink species (not just in number)
Damaging Male Fertility
Climate Change damages sperm in insects
Number 1
Anthropology
Neanderthal art
Finger Bone Finding
One finger bone is helping tell the story of human migration out of Africa.
Homo naledi’s brain
African origins were a multi cultural affair
Neander-sovans
Ancient human DNA O’plenty
New Neander News
A dou of Denisovan
Hobbit folk have mostly neanderthal DNA
Neanderthals made sculpture
Primitive human cave art not so primative… also not human
Compassionate Neanderthals
Neanderthal DNA conferred virus resistance to out of africanus humanus
And, honorable mentions go to…
Sharks
They can be vegetarian and have fertilizing poop.
Spiders
They give milk to their babies, even into middle age. They watch the stars to know when to take flight. And take the air on electrical fields, not wind. And, Zombie spiders tell us they live in colonies and work together.
And, New Caledonian crows for being so smart.
Also, we live in the future…
Car… In… Space
3D printed corneas
Contacts as Doctors
If You love TWIS, please consider making a donation below.
Don’t forget to tell a friend about TWIS, and to check out our Patreon page!
Tags: Blair Bazdarich, calendar, Dr. Kiki, Dr. Kirsten Sanford, education, Justin Jackson, Kirsten Sanford, new media, news, Patreon, podcast, radio, science, science news, science podcast, science policy, science radio, STEM, talk, technology, This Week in Science, Top 11, TWIS
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December 20th, 2018
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Top 11 of 2005, Black Hole Loops?, Ring Rain, Momma Says Danger, Swimming With Danger, Guns Kill Kids, Space Fossils, Earth Fossils, Facebook Value?, CRISPR Mutants & Precision, Sounds Like Home, And Much More…
Want to listen to a particular story from the show? You can do that here. Just look for the time-code link in the description.
DISCLAIMER, DISCLAIMER, DISCLAIMER!!!
As another trip around the sun nears its end…
We often begin taking a number of looks back at the year in science that was…
With a Top Eleven best of… re-countdown-ing
Which I believe is next weeks show.
Despite that this is not the show in which we wistfully look back on the year that was
It’s hard not to take a little pause here at the 700th episode of TWIS
And think of all the science stories we’ve thunk about together…
That’s two episodes a day,
every day for all of the days of 2018 that lead up to today!
And to think of how many stories we didn’t cover.
How many more stories are headed our way.
And how no matter what seems to be going on in the world.
Each week we all get together to find out what’s been going on
This Week In Science
Coming Up Next…
Top 11 of 2005
Looking back at where we were… although we’ve been on the air at KDVS 90.3 FM since 2000, our podcast got its start in early 2005. So, I went back to our 2005 end of the year show to see what stories made the cut.
11) Cryptobiology – monkey cat
10) human reconstruction/cyborgs
9) Nanobots
8) Paleontology
7) Space robots – Cassini, Deep Impact, Hayabusa
6) Birdflumageddon/Tamiflu
5) Beginning of the universe
4) Origin of life
3) Stem cells and cloning scandal
2) Global warming – human caused
1) Evolution
Remember to join us next week for our 2018 Top 11 science stories year in review show to take a look back at what happened this year.
Black Hole Loops?
Does a new way of looking at physics taking place in singularities confirm that white holes exist?
Ring Rain
Saturn’s rings aren’t going to last forever.
Orangutans know when to stay quiet, and how to explain the past
Mum was the word for orangutans with a tiger nearby, but once the danger had passed, they sounded the alarm to tell their babies what just happened. This is quite the complex communication system, even for us!
Salmon become nose-blind to danger under changing ocean chemistry
Salmon can still smell the danger, but with heightened CO2 levels, they just don’t seems to care…
Support us on Patreon!
This Week in What Has Science Done for me Lately?!?
“What has TWIS done for me? Lately, some good stuff. But if I go back. Way back. It’s done something really amazing.
January 2012 – episode 355. A young ZooKeeper unsure of what her place is in this world, rings a doorbell in Noe Valley. Just a few months later, that ZooKeeper, still unsure of what her place is in this world, but enjoying every moment of science communication, is asked point blank in the chatroom what authority she has – as she is not a scientist. She agrees, she is not a scientist. The good doctor sitting next to her chimes in: “”You read articles, vet methods, do supplemental research, and communicate complex science to the public. You studied a science, and work in it. You use scientific thinking. You are a scientist.”” YOU. ARE. A. SCIENTIST.
Something clicks. That young scientist was never the same. Ever. And that was a good thing.
Thanks to this show, science is part of my identity and a priority in my life, and I grow and learn every week. Thanks to this show, I get to use knowledge and skills that I don’t always get to use other days of the week. I get to be an artist, when I was told I couldn’t. Thanks to this show, my life is organized, defined, and explained totally differently, and my passion has a place to live. Thanks to the listeners, the tweeters, the chatroomers, the patreon supporters. Thanks to the IT helpers, the friends and family that come out to our shows. Thanks to Justin for really championing this whole “”Blair’s Animal Corner”” thing, which in episode 356 was originally deemed “”Blair’s Animal House.””
But most of all, I am thankful to Dr Kiki, who gave me a chance at something when I was definitely not an obvious choice. Not a grad student, not even in education or communication at the time. But this ZooKeeper met up with her for coffee to discuss an internship, and things will never ever be the same.
It’s episode 700, and I am thankful for the past 7 years of This Week in Science.
–Blair Bazdarich”
#2 cause of death
Can science lead us to real gun control?
Space Fossils
Do ancient dust clouds tell us about the evolution of our universe?
Earth Fossils
Did feathers evolve more than once? Looks like it.
Facebook value?
How much would it cost for you to give up Facebook?
CRISPR Mutants
Our use of CRISPR isn’t ready for prime time yet.
CRISPR Precision
But, we are getting more precise every day.
Sounds like home.
Corals may listen for the ideal settling place, which opens up interesting methods for saving reefs!
If You love TWIS, please consider making a donation below.
Don’t forget to tell a friend about TWIS, and to check out our Patreon page!
Tags: Blair Bazdarich, calendar, Dr. Kiki, Dr. Kirsten Sanford, education, Justin Jackson, KDVS, Kirsten Sanford, new media, news, Patreon, podcast, radio, science, science news, science podcast, science policy, science radio, STEM, talk, technology, This Week in Science, TWIS
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December 13th, 2018
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:47:02 — 98.5MB)
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Uterine Influence, Deep Life, Dark Matter Evolution, Spider Milk, Junkie Finches, Midwest Climate Woes, Your Brain On Imagination, Information Mindset, Hexagonal Structures, Supernova Death, Toothless Whales, And Much More…
Want to listen to a particular story from the show? You can do that here. Just look for the time-code link in the description.
DISCLAIMER, DISCLAIMER, DISCLAIMER!!!
Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.
Which, on the surface may seem like an unreasonable and deeply flawed idiom.
Yes, there’s the whole there goes the basket, so goes all the eggs…
But, if when collecting eggs from hens you attempted to carry multiple baskets
The risk of dropping a basket would obviously increase…
And how many of us actually collect eggs now days?
The modern equivalent might be, don’t put all your eggs in one shopping cart.
Ok.
So, you’ve got a dozen eggs, you put six in this cart, and six in that one…
Still looks like the egg to cart ratio is off…
You now need a third cart…
4 eggs per cart, that seems a little less risky!
Unless you happen to be walking down an isle where someone else is attempting to push three carts
Because now the risk of being cut down at the Achilles by a shopping cart has gone up dramatically
When it comes to being a life form on planet earth, we are all in the same basket.
And until that changes we need to act like it.
Because where goes the earth, so goes all of us.
And nowhere is that made more obvious than
This Week in Science,
Coming Up Next…
Uterine Influence
Considering last week’s story about uterus transplantation, this story on the effect of hysterectomy on rats is worth consideration.
Deep Life
The Deep Carbon Observatory, which has been assessing the carbon inside our planet, recently reported that there’s a lot of life down there.
Dark through the ages…
a dark matter tale of stability.
Spider milk: not just for babies…?
Spiders can give milk… And what’s more, mom continues to make it long after young can fend for themselves! Does that sound like anyone you may know??
Darwin’s finches are getting spoiled rotten
Junk food is changing the course of evolution, in one of the poster-children of Darwin himself.
Chicken Years
We are affecting the evolution of chickens in unexpected ways.
Support us on Patreon!
This Week in What Has Science Done for me Lately?!?
“Hello Dr Kiki,
I’m Elie (pronounced like Ellie but it’s a guy’s name). I’m from Lebanon and currently doing my PhD in Molecular medicine in Cyprus. my work is on the role of natural killer cells in Multiple sclerosis specifically when it comes to EBV infections. Being in a specialized virology lab, we rarely get to see or hear of science news outside our fields, that’s why I find TWIS such an essential part of my week, so much so that I’ve gotten in the habit of writing one of the topics I hear on the week’s TWIS. It’s found some fans who now enjoy my weekly TWIS update. Let me tell you what has science done for me: it has sparked my curiosity in the workings of everyday, it’s let me pursue my studies in a field that’s so vast and unknown, and most of all it’s allowed me to tinker in the working of biology, and dabble in other sciences outside of biology. So thanks for your hard work and enthusiasm. Much love to you, Blair and Justin!
–Elie”
Too many eggs in the Midwest basket
Climate change will have increasingly negative impacts on agriculture.
Your Brain On Imagination
Is just reality.
Information Mindset
Your attitude carries more weight than some genes.
Lipid membranes more organized than we imagined
Hexagons make them structured.
Supernova Death
Did a supernova kill off the Meg by giving it cancer?
Toothless whale does more than look silly
They tell us about the evolution of baleen!
If You love TWIS, please consider making a donation below.
Don’t forget to tell a friend about TWIS, and to check out our Patreon page!
Tags: Blair Bazdarich, Dr. Kiki, Dr. Kirsten Sanford, education, Justin Jackson, KDVS, Kirsten Sanford, new media, news, Patreon, podcast, radio, science, science news, science podcast, science policy, science radio, STEM, talk, technology, This Week in Science, TWIS
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December 6th, 2018
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 2:01:21 — 111.6MB)
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CRISPR Babies Update, You, Me, Uterus!, Placenta In A Dish, Not Our Tools, Not A Dolphin, Uno Dos of Trace, New Species!, A Neuromorphic Synapse?, Galileo GPS Relativity, Going Greenland, No Heart Stem Cells, And Much More…
Want to listen to a particular story from the show? You can do that here. Just look for the time-code link in the description.
DISCLAIMER, DISCLAIMER, DISCLAIMER!!!
Humans…
they’re pretty much everywhere.
The following program is geared towards humans
Humans make up most of the listening audience.
The stories are mostly retold by humans,
Based on scientific work done by other humans.
There are humans helping record, edit, and rebroadcast the show.
There are humans who support the financial needs of the show.
There are even humans who visit the show from time to time.
But oddly, the actual content of the show is rarely directly about humans.
It’s one of the wonderful things about science;
Unlike most anything else we humans talk about…
Science allows us to focus our minds on things not human.
And as it turns out,
there’s a lot more going on in the universe than us!
And we’re going to talk all about it here on
This week in science,
Coming up Next…
CRISPR Babies Update
Apparently, the researcher who reported the first births of two gene-edited babies is now missing. Also, are we discussing the edited CCR5 gene, which according to research in individuals given CCR5 blockers ass part of HIV treatment is involved in learning and memory. So, tell us who was only interested in disease and NOT enhancement?
You, Me, Uterus!
The Lancet reports the first instance of a live birth from a transplanted uterus from a deceased donor.
Placenta In A Dish
Researchers in the UK have successfully created healthy placental organoids from donated placental tissue, which could lead to a platform for studying placenta-based disease in the lab.
Ancient mystery hominins somewhat discovered
Whose tools have we found?
If it walks like a dolphin…
it still isn’t a dolphin. It might be an Ichthyosaur!
A Conversation w/ Trace Dominguez! Find him at Uno dos of Trace.
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This Week in What Has Science Done for me Lately?!?
“Hi Everyone,
Long time listener (Eric-in-AK in the chatroom)
What has science done for me lately?
Well, on November 30, 2018 my home, Anchorage Alaska was hit by a magnitude 7.0 earthquake. The epicenter was 7 miles from town. In other places an earthquake that big and that close has been devastating and deadly.
However, Alaska is earthquake country. We have a large percentage of the world’s earthquakes. So we have some history.
On March 27, 1964, Anchorage and South-Central Alaska suffered a mind-boggling magnitude 9.2 quake. This quake, known as the Good Friday Earthquake for the day it happened, caused significant damage and a large loss of life.
In 1964, after the arrival of relief workers and disaster supplies came scientists. They studied the ground that had been moved by the quake. They looked at buildings. They talked with eyewitnesses and in the end, they came away with a better understanding of earthquakes.
The ground movement offered confirmation of the then new theory of plate tectonics. The damage assessments lead to new tough building codes used throughout earthquake prone regions. And the rescue and relief operations lead to new and updated procedures to react to such a quake.
So, what has science done for me lately? Because of the scientific work done in the aftermath of the 1964 Good Friday Earthquake, my home of Anchorage just rode through a potentially devastating 7.0 earthquake with some, but not a lot of damage, no fatalities and only a few injuries.
Thank you, science.
(personal note, the quake was a wild ride)
–Eric Knapp”
Seven spiders spinning, four wiggly eels, three sneaky sharks, two water bears, a seahorse, and a liverwort plant…
New species for the holidays!
A Neuromorphic Synapse?
Are we on the path to artificial brains? A new study suggests nanowires with memristor abilities might finally be up to the task.
Galileo GPS system confirms Einstein’s Relativity!
Galileo satellites were poorly launched in 2014, their elliptical orbit allowed them to measure time dilation due to their change in distance from earth’s mass.
Greenland is going, going…
Melting due to climate change is happening at a much accelerated rate.
No Heart Stem Cells
To address the controversy surrounding the existence of stem cells in the heart, a recent study traced the paths of dividing mouse heart cells after induced myocardial infarction to see if any of them became new heart muscle. The result? While cells propagated new blood vessels, immune cells, and scar tissue, no new heart muscle was found.
OSIRIS-REx At Bennu!
NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission arrived at the asteroid called Bennu this week, and is preparing to (technical term here) “boop” the chunk of space gravel to grab a piece and bring it back to Earth.
LIGO Virgo Catalog
The gravitational wave detector teams have released a full catalog of observations, which contain four additional black hole mergers based on deeper analysis of the data. The next observation season begins in Spring 2019.
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November 29th, 2018
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Interview w/ Dr. Alex Himmel from FermiLab,CRISPR Babies, Climate Bugs, Star People, Whale Wax, Zombie Spiders, Climate Assessment, InSight, Ion Wind Power, Passing Legos, And Much More…
Want to listen to a particular story from the show? You can do that here. Just look for the time-code link in the description.
DISCLAIMER, DISCLAIMER, DISCLAIMER!!!
Depending on how you arrived at this moment
you may have been told
that your existence was preceded by one or more of the following events…
A lump of clay fashioned just so
An extra rib put to better use
A delivery stork (that’s the one my grandmother told me)
A bolt of lightning into a pool of muck
A sperm an egg and an ancient ape
Or…
That you are simply made up of star stuff
As Carl Sagan once put it…
“The nitrogen in our DNA, the calcium in our teeth, the iron in our blood, the carbon in our apple pies were made in the interiors of collapsing stars.”
And while the answers to what we are made of and where we come from
are both mysterious to many and mostly known to science…
There are still gigantic questions left un answered
Often at the most minuscule of scales…
And tonight, we will find out once and for all, what some of those questions are
Here on
This week in science,
Coming Up Next…
Interview w/ Dr. Alex Himmel:
Dr. Himmel is an Associate Scientist at FermiLab on the NOvA and DUNE projects, and a Wilson Fellow, having received a 2017 DOE Early Career Research Award to optimize neutrino oscillation deciphering software. And, he’s been at this particle physics thing for a while now – he worked as a summer intern at FermiLab at the age of 16.
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This Week in What Has Science Done for me Lately?!?
I asked on Twitter, and this is what you said:
“Let’s me listen to podcasts, follow creators on a tablet, and watch Stan Against Evil on my dvr.” –Grandfather Paradox (@papadiabolous)
“I’m alive due to brain surgery in the 60s” — Randy LaMonda (@randylamonda)
“Science helped me complete a Maillard reaxn to have a crispy golden brown turkey. Thank you science you’re the best.” –Mike Lowery (@MikeLowery5)
“Heat in the oven raised the temperature of the sugar & butter mixture I poured over the top of this Apple pie and caused it to carmelize into a nice crunchy coating! Science!!!” –Dean Segovis (@HackAWeek)
“Without science I would not live anymore. I had a hole between the upper chambers of my heart. After a 12 hour medical intervention, i could really breath for the first time in my life. Thats 47 years ago in the early 70’s.” –Burkhard Dunkel (@BurkhardDunkel)
“Lately? It has been helping me since my first vaccine for polio. My father’s bypass surgery and handling of diabetes, and delivery of my first baby and how painless it was for my wife, ability to contact anyone on the planet with simple hand gestures. What more could one ask?” –Sai Krishna Vajjala (@Krish_NCC1701)
“Science kept my food cold until it helped cook it. Stored food safely until needed. Lights my house. Takes me to the store. Keeps me alive. Before it was science it was magic and still did all those things.” –Jeff Coffey (jcoffey1138)
“Most recently science is allowing this conversation to happen.” –Roger Williams (@halfacat)
CRISPR Babies
A Chinese researcher has been using CRISPR to edit embryos for HIV resistance. Apparently, twin girls have been born from this process. Independent analysis of the results is still pending, although the international community is in an uproar.
Climate Bugs
New species of bacteria have been discovered on the ocean floor that use hydrocarbons like methane as fuel, and might devour petroleum, too!
We really are all descended from star people
Or, at least people who looked at the stars.
Ah, let me sing ye a tale of whale ear wax
It’s a good thing whales don’t use q-tips, because that ear wax tells us a lot about life as a whale!
Zombie spiders, enslaved and eaten by wasps!
No, it’s not the latest horror film, it’s nature. Isn’t it beautiful???
Climate Assessment
The US government’s fourth climate assessment was released last week on Black Friday, and concludes that the US will sufffer major economic impacts if we stay the course on climate.
Mars Insights Coming
After its months long journey to Mars, the Insight lander successfully landed in Elysium Planitia on the surface of Mars, sent back some images, and is getting to work on science preparations. We should begin to see results within the next month as it will be drilling into the surface of the red planet taking temperature and seismic readings.
ION Drive
Because EVERYONE sent this to me this week… MIT researchers have succeeded in engineering the first aircraft (small though it is) to use no moving parts, and be powered by ionic wind.
Thanks to science, we now know how long it takes to pass a lego.
The answer: about two days.
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Tags: Blair Bazdarich, calendar, Dr. Kiki, Dr. Kirsten Sanford, education, Interview, Justin Jackson, KDVS, Kirsten Sanford, new media, news, Patreon, podcast, radio, science, science news, science podcast, science policy, science radio, STEM, talk, technology, This Week in Science, TWIS
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November 23rd, 2018
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Interview w/ Dr. Andrew Maynard, Artificial Pseudocells, Active Mini-Brains, Strong Old Mice, Pouring Rain, Poop Cubes, Vitamins For Babies, Spider Silk Strong, New Old Life, Tooth Rings, And Much More…
Want to listen to a particular story from the show? You can do that here. Just look for the time-code link in the description.
DISCLAIMER, DISCLAIMER, DISCLAIMER!!!
Giving thanks.
That thing we do once a year
and then go about taking everything and everyone for granted all over again.
And at times, depending on where you are standing in the world,
when you look about it may be difficult to find things to be thankful for.
So here are a few starters…
Be thankful for friends and/or family!
Unless you haven’t got such folks in which case…
Be thankful for your good health!
Unless yours happens to be failing you in which case…
Be thankful for sunny days!
Unless you are in a drought in which case…
Be thankful for rainy days!
Unless you live in a flood plain in which case…
Be thankful that we are all at least safe from immediate danger
Unless we aren’t in which case, can I hide with you?
But the point is,
humans have been surviving for as long as there have been humans on the planet.
And if there is one thing we should all be thankful for this year…
It is that we humans are a resilient bunch of hairless apes.
That no matter what feast or famine of good times or bad are thrown our way.
We eventually make it to the other side.
And nowhere is the metal of our resolve or the determination of will and fierce glint of persistence in the eyes of humanity more blindingly apparent than right here on…
This Week in Science
Coming Up Next…
Interview w/ Dr. Andrew Maynard
Andrew Maynard is a former physicist, a professor in the Arizona State University School for the Future of Innovation in Society, and leading expert in the responsible development of emerging and converging technologies. He directs the ASU Risk Innovation Lab, and chairs the ASU Master of Science and Technology Policy program. He writes regularly for popular science publications, and recently published a book called “Films from the Future: the Technology and Morality of Sci-Fi Movies“.
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This Week in What Has Science Done for me Lately?!?
This week we here at This Week in Science are grateful for the science that allows us to podcast and stream, so that we can talk about science with you. We are grateful for scientists who endeavor around-the-clock to discover more about the world around us, so that we can calk about that science with you. We are grateful for those who shine a light on the failings of the scientific institutions, so that science may one day better represent the world around it, and so that we can discuss the improvements to science with you. We are also grateful to science for helping us all to live healthier, longer, more fruitful lives, so that we can share our lives with you. We are grateful that you share your time with us.
Artificial Pseudocells
UCSD researchers have created artificial cell mimics with several lifelike traits, like cell-to-cell communication and quorum sensing.
Active Mini-Brains
Scientists turned stem cells into brain cells, and then into mini-brains, which spontaneously began connecting and communicating thru electrical signals that were eventually comparable to the brain activity of preterm babies.
Living longer/better lives through mice
Young proteins rejuvenate old muscles.
When it rains…
it really does pour.
Did you know that wombats poop cubes? We thought we knew why, but now we might know how…
It turns out, it all comes down the the end of their intestines. But there’s still some mystery there.
Vitamin D – it does a baby good!
Vitamin D may be an essential part of all reproduction across the animal kingdom. Pregnant? Past due? Go get some sun!
Spider Silk Strong
The strength of spider silk can now be attributed to nanofibrils that make up the strands.
It’s all in your teeth.
How many babies you’ve had, or when you were pregnant, may be written in the rings in your teeth!
New Old Life
First identified in the 19th century, Hemimastigotes have been given their own branch in the tree of life thanks to molecular phylogenetic analysis.
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Tags: Blair Bazdarich, calendar, Dr. Kiki, Dr. Kirsten Sanford, education, Interview, Justin Jackson, KDVS, Kirsten Sanford, new media, news, Patreon, podcast, radio, science, science news, science podcast, science policy, science radio, STEM, talk, technology, This Week in Science, TWIS
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November 15th, 2018
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Bad Desert Rain, Climate Change Sperm, Slow Your Roll, Primates Of The Caribbean, Neander-Lungs, Insect Pollution Punch, Plastic Poop, Reap And Soy, Scorpion Tales, Greenland Space Landing, Air Filter For Health, And Much More…
Want to listen to a particular story from the show? You can do that here. Just look for the time-code link in the description.
DISCLAIMER, DISCLAIMER, DISCLAIMER!!!
Perspective is everything.
That said, and with some authority,
I will now state with an equally authoritative voice that…
Perspective is not everything…
It is true that there is a proper perspective for most situations that allows those things being perceived to be more manageable, more positive, more insightful, more inspiring or simply more informative…
And of course the opposite is true as well.
But a glass half empty or half full, contains the same amount of water regardless of your perspective.
A petri dish left out over a weekend could be perceived as sloppy lab work…
Following this perspective could lead to countless meetings on the best way to prevent such things from happening in the future, maybe followed by some dirty looks from fellow folks in lab coats for making them attend such meetings through no fault of their own…
Or, it could be seen as an experiment all unto itself.
What happens when you leave a plate of bacteria out overnight in the lab?
What were the results of this mistake-speriment?
This is of course the perspective that Alexander Flemming assumed when he discovered that something had attacked a bacterial sample mistakenly left out in his lab…
Regardless of the perspective that Flemming had happened to don that day…
The occurrence of a soil fungus finding its way to that sample would have been the same.
But because the proper perspective was assumed for the situation, the hundreds of millions of human lives were saved by the anti-bacterial properties of penicillin.
And while the following program promises to make you smarter, wiser, faster, taller, more tuned in, yet with an air of being a comfortably tuned out human,
all the while secretly developing within your inner fish brain a telekinetic ability to astral project your mind to a quantum dimension of synergistically organic yet digitally disruptive string of nonsense words…
that we like to call
This Week in Science,
Coming Up Next…
Raining in the desert – it’s a bad thing.
Shifting climates cause odd flows of water, causing crazy things like heavy rain in the desert. That might sound like a good thing, but in fact desert microbes have much to fear from getting wet!
Your sperm hate climate change
Maybe climate change is finally hitting humans where it hurts? Right in the sperm!
It’s time to slow your carbon output.
The stock market may depend on it.
Primates of the Caribbean
Neander-lungs
Pollution creating a real 1-2 punch for insects
The molecules in air pollution are giving some plants a boost in their insecticidal tendencies, devastating insect populations. And that’s a bad thing…
Plastic poop
Plastic fibers found in fur seal poop, as a first in the wild. Can’t say it’s surprising, but it’s a good thing we’re working on it!
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This Week in What Has Science Done for me Lately?!?
“Hi TWIS! I’ve written in before but wanted to share recently not only what science has done for me lately, but what TWIS has done for me lately! As an ecology student science does a lot for me every day. It’s the core of all of my course work and therefore I am constantly immersed in all of it’s awesomeness. Recently, I was given an assignment to give an oral presentation on any scientific topic of my choice. I was elated (as any nerdy scientists should be), as I ran home to play one of the more recent TWIS episodes for inspiration! As a wildlife ecologist, Blair’s animal corner is my favorite part of the show and I was especially intrigued by her stories about Sea Star Wasting Disease. I was even more intrigued when I heard that the most recent study discussed was conducted by UVM marine biologist Melissa Pespeni, because UVM is where I hope to do my graduate work! So, I found the perfect topic for my oral presentation. I dove deep into the world of Sea Star Wasting disease and learned all kinds of new and important information that I might never have stumbled upon had it not been for TWIS. So thanks TWIS, for inspiring my most recent assignment topic; and thanks science, for teaching me new things about the world every day!
Best wishes and good science,
Minion Carlee ?”
You reap what you Soy.
Scorpion venom tells tales
The shape of the molecules give us a clue into scorpion familial relations!
It came from space!
And landed in Greenland.
A cheap air filter for your ticker
An inexpensive air filter may make all the difference for a healthy heart!
If You love TWIS, please consider making a donation below.
Don’t forget to tell a friend about TWIS, and to check out our Patreon page!
Tags: Blair Bazdarich, education, Justin Jackson, KDVS, new media, news, Patreon, podcast, radio, science, science news, science podcast, science policy, science radio, STEM, talk, technology, This Week in Science, TWIS
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