June 26th, 2015
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Heading to Europa!, Parrot Mimicry Core, Counting Crows, Moth Tricks, Monkeys Wolfing Around, Hopping Lefties, Olfactory Fingerprinting, Baby ERV’s, And Much More…
Disclaimer disclaimer disclaimer!
The following hour of science broadcasting will be delivered solely by female voices this evening. The good doctor and I are aware of stereotypes for females in our field, and we ask you to check them at the door. Not only for women of science, but for those in the media.
You may find yourself upset by our “uptalk,” use of “vocal fry,” colloquialisms like “like,” or distracted by our hair, makeup, or our “valley girl laugh.” You may jump to the conclusion that when we get passionate about a topic, we are “uppety” or “mouthy,” and confuse confidence for rudeness. You might find us #distractinglysexy. Even worse, you may think we are quite articulate and smart, for women.
Then again, you may just see us as scientists, as passionate advocates for the scientific method, truth, and debate. You may see us as hosts of your weekly dose of science, who do hours of research to bring you objective information, with a bit of opinion tacked on at the end. Even better, you may see us as intelligent, quick-witted, entertaining, and maybe even a little bit funny.
And so, TWIS listeners, we make an oath to you today, to check our preconceived notions about your possible presumptions at the door, if you in turn check your stereotypes, assumptions, and categories there, too. For after-all, we’ve come here tonight to discuss the news. The science news. So join us now, won’t you?
For This Week in Science! Coming up next…
Heading to Europa!
NASA has laid out its plan for a mission to the Jovian moon Europa, which might be the most likely location to support life in the solar system aside from Earth. Expect a launch sometime in the 2020’s.
Parrot Mimicry Core
Bird researchers have found a previously unidentified region in the song-production system that is correlated to the incredible mimicry abilities of parrots.
Counting Crows
Crows neurons work just like ours when numbers of objects are involved, suggesting that the ancestor of birds and mammals could count, too.
Ethiopian wolves collaborate with gelada monkeys to catch rodents
Gelada monkeys could easily be attacked by wolves, and should thus scamper off when they are nearby, but the two species have learned to coexists for reciprocal gain.
Finally, the key to pigeon navigation has been found! …In a worm…
Researchers have discovered a sensor responsible for detection of the Earth’s magnetic field for the very first time, in a roundworm. However, since it was found in such a “basal” creature, it may be the key to most navigation of this type in the animal kingdom!
Museum tricks moths into homosexual behavior
London’s Natural History Museum has decided to use a rather unconventional form of pesticide to rid their collections of moths. Wax with female moth pheromones once rubbed onto males cause mating behaviors to be aimed at the wrong sex, hopefully ridding the space of these pests within a few generations.
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Olfactory Fingerprinting
Turns out that people who describe odors in a similar way have similar genetic profiles.
Kangaroos are lefties
The discovery of “handedness” in kangaroos and wallabies show us that most of these animals prefer their left hand (or paw), despite lacking the neural circuit that links the left and right hemispheres in their brain.
Baby ERVs
Endogenous retroviruses incorporated into our genomes throughout evolution are activated during developmental stages in the human embryo. What these elements do is still unknown.
Camo Tech Update
Researchers at the University of Central Florida have developed an ultra-thin flexible full-color microdisplay that has major implications for mobile devices and fashion.
Weed Labeling
Your weed is probably mis-labeled.
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Tags: Blair Bazdarich, Dr. Kiki, Justin Jackson, Kirsten Sanford, new media, news, Patreon, podcast, radio, science, talk, technology, This Week in Science, TWIS
Posted in animals, astrobiology, astronomy, astronomy, bioethics, biology, biotechnology, birds, cell biology, chemistry, cognitive psychology, cognitive science, conservationism, ecology, emergent behavior, endangered animals, engineering, evolution, exploration, FDA, genetics, infectious diseases, KDVS, mammals, medicine, microbiology, molecular biology, nanotechnology, NASA, neuroscience, parrots, pharmacology, physics, physiology, planets, podcast, psychobiology, science, science and politics, Science Education, science history, Science Music, sexuality, sexy scientists, space, space exploration, spacecraft, technology, therapies, worms, z-Broadcasts | No Comments »
June 22nd, 2015
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Philae Awakens!, Opto-CRISPR Future, Stress Babies, Neander-teeth, Dense Old Brains, The Amazing Seastar, No Mongoose Inbreeding, Otolith rosetta Organs, European Nation, Flexible Injectibles, Bath Power Ahoy!, Dogs Hate Rudeness, Papal Pronouncement, And Much More…
Disclaimer Disclaimer Disclaimer!!!
There are worse things in this world than sexism…
Though few that affect as many people…
And through a grand scale of time and location across the globe and throughout history,
it can be argued that no other practice of man has done as much damage to the society that harbored it,
than sexism…
Societies that value the abilities and contributions of women,
benefit from them.
Those societies that set limits on what women can contribute, limit themselves.
A snap shot of the last hundred years will find that nations which do not educate their women,
do not prosper.
The poorest nations on the planet are likely so, and likely to remain so,
because of the limits they put on educating 50% of their workforce…
and 100% of their mothers.
So when a nobel-prize winning scientist made disparaging remarks about women in science this past week,
it is understandable that anyone who understands the alternative, spoke out harshly against his words…
And while the alternative to educated women in science may have escaped this man of science,
it undoubtedly did not escape his wife’s…
Who just happens to be a scientist herself.
Proving perhaps that it’s never too late to learn new things,
but the sooner you do,
the better off you will be with
This Week in Science…
Coming up next
Philae Awakens!
We weren’t sure if the plucky little lander would wake up, but it did and till has data to send back to Earth via Rosetta. The ESA is working to get the Rosetta craft into a new orbit that puts it into more and better contact with the lander to fulfill further science on the comet.
Opto-CRISPR
Japanese researchers have combined light activation with the CRISPR/CAS-9 system, in effect creating a way to edit the genomes of cell with greater accuracy and temporal on-off control.
Stress Babies
Maternal stress influences mother’s and baby’s microbiota.
Neander-teeth
More information on the complexity of our neanderthal cousins.
Seastars may hold the greatest secrets to regeneration and immortality
Seastars removed foreign bodies from their insides without appearing to disrupt any internal organs or processes. Perhaps Wolverine should have been called “Starfish man”?
Mongoose inbreeding is a fine science
Mongooses go out of their way to keep the gene pool expansive despite living in tight family groups
Otoliths: the fishy rosetta stone
Scientists have studied how otoliths look based on a variety of variables and should now be able to draw conclusions about a fish’s previous record based on the tiny ear bone.
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Support us on Patreon!
European History
You’re all Asian.
Flexible Injectibles
Scientists have developed flexible mesh electronics that are injectible and compatible with human tissue. What does this mean for the future of biomonitoring?
Bath Power
Engineers harnessed bacterial swelling and humidity to make a power generating device that could run a small toy car.
Dogs snub people rude to their owners
This study lacks a lot of details and the science is a bit shakey, but it is an interesting prospect!
Papal Pronouncement
The Pope is set to tell everyone to be better stewards of the Earth. Think it will change things?
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Tags: Blair Bazdarich, Dr. Kiki, Justin Jackson, Kirsten Sanford, new media, news, Patreon, podcast, radio, science, talk, technology, This Week in Science, TWIS
Posted in animals, anthropology, archeology, astronomy, astronomy, bioethics, bioethics, biology, biotechnology, cell biology, chemistry, cognitive science, conservationism, echinoderms, ecology, emergent behavior, engineering, evolution, exploration, fish, genetics, KDVS, mammals, marine biology, medicine, molecular biology, NASA, neuroscience, paleontology, physiology, planets, podcast, science, science and politics, Science Education, science history, Science Music, sexuality, sexy scientists, space, space exploration, spacecraft, technology, therapies, z-Broadcasts | No Comments »
June 12th, 2015
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World Robot Domination Challenge, FasterBetterStronger, We Never Learn, Dino Teeth, Irish Gold, Bird Inspired Color, Prosocial Is New Normal, Run Rabbit, Test For Infections, Sleep On It, And Much More…
Disclaimer disclaimer disclaimer
The following hour of programming contains
cutting edge science
You don’t need to be a scientist to listen, but
if you listen long enough you may begin to see the world as a scientist sees it…
For the world of a scientist is a world of
endless questioning.
The pursuit of answers is a scientific pursuit,
but it inevitably leads to more questions, and more often than not the more
questions part is the thing that drives scientists to do more science…
There are likely things you have never questioned,
questions it simply never occurred to you to ask
or questions it could not have occurred to you
to ask because you didn’t know there was a something there to ask questions
about.
In this show we offer up a fresh batch of
questions posed by science.
Some with answers, some without, but all with the
ability to help you begin forming questions of your own…
The more you question, the more scientific your
brain becomes until one day you wake up to find yourself scientifically minded…
At which point you will have no choice but to
tune into the best source for formulating more science minded question lovers…
This week in Science…
Coming up next!
World Robot Domination Challenge
The South Korean robotics team took home the gold at the DARPA Robotics Challenge in Pomona, CA this past week. However, we have little reason to worry about robot domination just yet.
FasterBetterStronger
The military is testing an exoskeleton called MAXFAS that was developed to help stroke victims recover walking ability for use in training soldiers to shoot more accurately.
We Never Learn
A Nobel prize winning scientist at a luncheon for female scientists last week made comments about how difficult it is to do science with women because, “Three things happen when they are in the lab: you fall in love with them, they fall in love with you, and when you criticise them they cry.” He has since apologized for what he intended as “light-hearted” comments.
Dino teeth
Investigation into dino teeth
Irish Gold
Ancient gold trade route
Why do we help those in need?
A new study shows that we and other animals participate in behavior to help others when it makes no difference to us if we do or we don’t – but why?
How to make a color without pigment
Would you like an outfit that never fades? Or a car that doesn’t need touchups? Would you like to change the color of your bicycle anytime without paint? Bird feathers may have the answer.
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Support us on Patreon!
Rabbit virus vs cancer
Looks like a rabbit virus might have cancer on the run.
Test For Infections
A new simple blood test could inform people what viruses have interacted with their immune systems over the course of their lives. However, it’s not ready for mass use yet as it is plagued by false positives, and not entirely accurate.
Sleep On It
Research suggests that people might be able to unlearn implicit biases while we sleep. Using a technique called targeted memory activation, which has been shown useful in strengthening factual, action-based, and emotional memories, people’s biases were decreased for up to a week after training.
Hellboy Dino
A Triceratopsian dinosaur was discovered!
Camel Urine…
Don’t Drink It!
Canadian Camel Fossil
Hopefully, this fossil will help paleontologists understand the demise of the North American camel.
Website can ID a bird from a pic
Thank you Cornell Bird Lab!
Box jellies are basically terrifying
They lure in their prey with colorful lights.
Blow The Chute
NASA’s LDSD test last week resulted in a blown parachute, but the project director says it taught them a lot.
Brain Eating Good
Strangely, there is an upside to brain-eating.
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Tags: Blair Bazdarich, Dr. Kiki, Justin Jackson, Kirsten Sanford, new media, news, Patreon, podcast, radio, science, talk, technology, This Week in Science, TWIS
Posted in aerospace, animals, anthropology, archeology, artificial intelligence, bioethics, biology, biotechnology, birds, cancer, cell biology, cognitive psychology, cognitive science, computer science, ecology, emergent behavior, engineering, evolution, fish, genetics, infectious diseases, jelleyfish, mad cow, mammals, marine biology, medicine, microbiology, molecular biology, nanotechnology, NASA, neuroscience, nutrition, paleontology, parkinson's disease, physiology, podcast, psychology, robots, science, science and politics, Science Education, science history, Science Music, sexy scientists, sleep, space exploration, spacecraft, technology, therapies, world robot domination, z-Broadcasts | No Comments »
June 9th, 2015
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Drain Holes In Brains, Epigenetic Evidence, Evolution News, Rough Rubbers, Local Burning, Fruit Fly Clocks, Bluffing Birdies, Yawning Budgies, Sonic Screw Driver, Fake Chocolate News, Pluto’s Moon, Robo-Cheetah Jumps!, Oversexy Extinction Risk, Pillbugs, Kitties, And Much More…
Disclaimer disclaimer disclaimer
The problems of a world rich with scientific
knowledge
Are the kinds of problems you want…
Yes global warming is happening and being denied
and yet,
Thanks to science, we know it is occurring.
Yes a government lab accidentally sent
potentially live anthrax samples via regular mail to over 50 labs across the
country and around the world…
But thanks to scientists sending potentially
deadly samples of bacteria safely around the world, we no longer face the
prospects of having them send themselves via us human to human transfer…
Yes there is fierce debate over which direction
we should go in the applying the knowledge we have gained from the decoding of
the genome…
But we have decoded the genome! And will bring
about the next round of evolution thoughtfully… scientifically and occasionally
unintentionally
The future will be full of discovery and
occasional blunder
Not unlike…
This Week in Science
Coming up Next
Drain Holes In Brains
Physiologists have found lymphatic vessels in the meninges of the brain suggesting a mechanism by which some brain disorders might develop.
Epigenetic Evidence
Turns out that epigenetic heritability of traits results from local control of specific genetic factors via the chromatin. An interesting open access study teased various factors apart using fluorescent proteins.
Evolution News
A new 4-legged fossil has paleontologists rethinking the emergence of land animals. Additionally, a new look at dinosaurs suggests that feathers were likely a bird-specific adaptation.
It’s got flashy feathers…
for an early bird.
Rough Rubbers
For making copies of fossils, having the right rubber makes a difference in the accuracy of the replica.
Local burning, Global Warming
Turns out that carbon based energy source you’re using has even more of an effect on the Greenhouse effect than thought.
Fruit flies tell time!
Flies knew which scent led to sugar, depending on the time of day. They could do this in the dark or on a normal light cycle, but were confused when it was perpetually bright out.
Bluffing birds fool potential predators
Brown thornbill mimics fake alarm calls of other species to scare off lesser foes.
Budgies yawn just like us
Parakeets have been shown to yawn contagiously, just like us and our dogs!
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Support us on Patreon!
Sonic screw driver
Scientists use sound to swirl water.
Pluto’s moons are crazy
They experience a chaotic orbital dance that works just right for them to avoid destroying one another.
Fake News For You!
A science journalist faked a scientific study on the health benefits of chocolate for a German documentary. We discuss the situation and the fallout for science in general.
Robo-Cheetah!
This week in World Robot Domination, we bring you a hurdle-jumping robot cat.
Haptic Handshake
In a world first, an astronaut on the International Space Station virtually shook hands with a person on Earth.
Kitty Microbiome Kickstarter
Thanks to Jonathan Eisen at UC Davis for this one! Let’s find out what kittehs are made of!
Pillbugs For Climate!
Turns out that the little balls of fun reduce the prevalence of a greenhouse gas releasing fungus in the detritus layer.
Oversexed marsupials are in danger of extinction
Their unusual method of reproduction makes them extremely vulnerable to current population pressures – but what can we do to stop them?
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Tags: Blair Bazdarich, Dr. Kiki, Justin Jackson, Kirsten Sanford, new media, news, Patreon, podcast, radio, science, talk, technology, This Week in Science, TWIS
Posted in animals, anthropology, archeology, astronauts, astronomy, astronomy, bioethics, biology, biotechnology, birds, cell biology, chemistry, cognitive psychology, cognitive science, crustaceans, ecology, end of the world, energy conservation, engineering, evolution, exploration, genetics, global warming, insects, ISS, mammals, microbiology, molecular biology, NASA, neuroscience, nutrition, paleontology, physics, physiology, planets, podcast, psychology, robots, science, science and politics, Science Education, science history, Science Music, sexuality, sexy scientists, space, space exploration, spacecraft, technology, Toxoplasma, world robot domination, z-Broadcasts | No Comments »
June 5th, 2015
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White Nose Treatment, Brain Breaking Physics, School Creationism Banned, Zoonotic Pandemics, Rad-Away Realities, Birds Get Heavy, Big Brained Lives, Letters For Life, Not From Denmark, Mimicking Gammas, Safe-Keeping Crows, World Robot Domination, Dementor Wasps, And Much More…
Disclaimer disclaimer disclaimer
Despite all attempts to correct the situation
We still live in a world in which science education is largely
an elective…
Compared to anything you are likely to encounter in an
economics class, a political science class, or even an intro to world religions…
There is nothing more intellectually stimulating,
more mystery illuminating,
and more just plain interesting than science.
Since science education is not yet mandatory,
it follows that most media does not cover a subject most
people don’t know much about,
and so most people, not knowing what they’ve been missing out on,
Also don’t know that they are missing even more now as
science keeps adding to the list of things most people know nothing about
And since there are so few places to get great science news
There are few places more interesting than the following
hour of
This week in science…
Coming up next…
White Nose Syndrome could be vanquished!
The first bats to have a new treatment for WNS have been released, and scientists and park staff are cautiously optimistic!
Brain Breaking Physics
Quantum theory weirdness is finally confirmed in an experiment that took over 35 years to make happen.
School Creationism Banned
But, not in America… in Scotland.
Zoonotic pandemic vs. science = meh
Researchers are developing vaccines that are useful against multiple strains of virus and even multiple viruses, potentially helping in the fight against pandemics.
Birds get Heavy
Jays size up food items before choosing them, by either weight, sound, or both. That’s a smart bird!!
Big brains save lives
Female guppies with larger brains had a greater chance of evading predators, while males showed no such advantage. Sorry, guys…
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Support us on Patreon!
Rad-Away a reality
There is a new treatment that can potentially be used for acute radiation exposure.
New Letters For Life
Two new nucleotides have been created and shown to pair with natural DNA potentially enabling new functions and proteins.
Not from Denmark
New archaeological methods involving carbon dating have determined that a child buried in Denmark was not, in fact, from Denmark.
Mimicking Gamma Rays
Scientists at LLNL have created matter anti-matter pair using high-energy lasers that will allow greater understanding of the production of gamma rays, the highest energy bursts in the universe.
Crows store their tools for safe-keeping
Crows are very careful where they put their tools, so they know just where they are when they need them again.
Pluto In Your Hand
An app from NASA lets you follow the New Horizons mission on your phone.
World Robot Domination
They will recover better than you!
Dementor Wasps!
Nuff said.
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Tags: Blair Bazdarich, Dr. Kiki, Justin Jackson, Kirsten Sanford, new media, news, Patreon, podcast, radio, science, talk, technology, This Week in Science, TWIS
Posted in animals, anthropology, archeology, artificial intelligence, astronomy, astrophysics, astrophysics, avian flu, bioethics, bioethics, biology, biotechnology, birds, cell biology, chemistry, chickens, cognitive psychology, cognitive science, computer science, ecology, emergent behavior, engineering, evolution, exploration, fish, genetics, infectious diseases, insects, mammals, marine biology, medicine, microbiology, molecular biology, NASA, neuroscience, particle physics, physics, physiology, planets, podcast, psychobiology, psychology, quantum physics, robots, science, science and politics, Science Education, science history, Science Music, sexy scientists, space, space exploration, spacecraft, technology, theoretical physics, therapies, world robot domination, z-Broadcasts | No Comments »
May 15th, 2015
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NASA Moonshot Research, Cere’s White Spots, Crazy Clouds, Artificial Neurons, Under-reporting People, Clean Up Man, Snake Orgies, Bat Beams, Anti Bac Babies, Chicken Snouts, Drugs For Cleverness, Chocolate Or Friend, And Much More…
NASA Moonshot Research
NASA has funded 15 of the most sci-fi ideas to see what sticks.
Cere’s White Spots
White spots on the dwarf planet Ceres are becoming more visible and plentiful. Researchers believe the spots to be water ice.
Crazy Clouds
Researchers measured what they describe as a cloud of antimatter in a thundercloud, and don’t really know what it came from.
World robot domination… gets a bit closer
Memristors are leading the pack for the design of artificial neuron and learning networks.
HPV Vac at work…
The HPV vaccine is working well, and not just for women. New efforts are underway to vaccinate all girls by the age of 11 with the understanding that it could decrease cervical cancer by 80%.
Under-reporting life and death
It’s estimated that the lives (births and deaths) of millions of people worldwide go completely unreported. In the case of a disaster, these individuals can have terrific impacts on government plans for response scenarios. Researchers are working on new methods to count these invisible people.
Ladies love a clean pad
Female gobies pick suitable males by how clean they keep their nests, and how healthy their other eggs are.
Bats with 20/20 echolocation
Bats open their mouths wider to focus-in on objects nearby.
*An error was made during the show: Dr. Kiki thought the narrowing sound beam discussed referred to a narrowing of the sound wave period. In actuality, the bats’ mouths open wider to actually cast sound over a more narrow, well-focused area, and are more closed when they are projecting sound into a wider space. In effect, the bats do create a ‘beam’ of sound that can be more or less focused.
How to win out in a snake orgy
Red-sided garter snakes expend a lot of energy on making sure their sperm is successful.
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Anti bac babies = bad bac adults
Data suggests that anti-bacterials given to developing children have negative health effects into adulthood that arise from the disruption of natural bacterial populations.
Chicken Snouts
Yale researchers genetically manipulated chicken embryos to express an ancestral state, supporting ideas about how the transition from dinosaur to bird took place.
live long with wonder drug
A new drug given to old mice made them stronger, faster, and more clever. Not yet available for humans.
Chocolate Or Friend
A study in Animal Cognition suggests that rats are at least as likely to help a fellow drowning rat as they are to go after food; when chocolate was pitted against a drowning friend, they helped the friend 50-80% of the time.
Fishy sunscreen pills
A compound from fish genes have been successfully expressed in yeast, and could be used in pills or lotions for us to block harmful UV rays.
Jaw Jumping Ants
These ants use their jaws to jump to safety… sometimes.
Honeybee Stats
USDA reports that US honeybee populations dropped by 40% last year.
Recent Mates
A conference reports that Neanderthals and humans mated as recently as 37,000 years ago.
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Tags: Blair Bazdarich, Dr. Kiki, Justin Jackson, Kirsten Sanford, new media, news, Patreon, podcast, radio, science, talk, technology, This Week in Science, TWIS
Posted in animals, artificial intelligence, astrobiology, astronomy, astrophysics, bioethics, biology, biotechnology, birds, cell biology, chickens, cognitive psychology, cognitive science, computer science, deep space, ecology, emergent behavior, energy, engineering, evolution, exploration, extrasolar planets, fish, genetics, mammals, marine biology, medicine, microbiology, molecular biology, NASA, neuroscience, paleontology, particle physics, pharmacology, physicists, physics, planets, podcast, psychology, reptiles, robots, science, science and politics, Science Education, science history, Science Music, sexuality, sexy scientists, space, space exploration, spacecraft, technology, theoretical physics, therapies, world robot domination, z-Broadcasts | 3 Comments »
May 8th, 2015
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Hologram Or No?, Nasty Politicses, One In Six, DIY IQ?, Warm-Hearted Fish, Bad Birdfeeders, NASA Tech, Far Away Galaxy, Tooth-Dragging Penis Worm, Phosphorus For All, Bridging A Gap, Birds Are Older, Ethanol Smog, Beardpooplegate, And Much More…
Hologram Or No?
A recent paper showed that a holographic model of entropy could work in a flat space model of the universe when related to quantum entanglement. However, despite the headlines, this is not evidence that we do indeed exist in a hologram.
Political Nastiness
The proposed House NASA Authorization Bill is not fiscally friendly to NASA’s Earth sciences endeavors, proposing significant cuts to programs that would hobble NASA’s efforts to track climate, weather, and more.
One In Six
A new analysis suggests that if we do nothing to stem advancing temperatures around the world, we may lose one in six species.
Electricuting IQ’s with… electricity
It might not be a smart thing to zap your brain with DC.
Warm-hearted fish
Convergent evolution might have led many species of fish to develop endothermy.
Backyard bird-feeders may do more harm than good
Those feeders encourage backyard bullies and invaders, more than helpful native songbirds. Consider bird-friendly plants instead of seed.
Using NASA technology to learn about home sweet home
In a collaboration between NASA and arctic biologists, we see the effect loss of ice has on species much more clearly.
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Support us on Patreon!
Long ago and far, far away…
The furthest galaxy yet has been imaged telling us much about what might have occurred during the great ‘reionization’.
Tooth-dragging Penis Worm!
Yup. The Cambrian explosion came with an explosion of penis worms who are now being identified by their fossilized teeth, hard structures more often fossilized than the soft creatures themselves.
Phosphorus… for the rest of us
A new device clears waste water of approximately 90% of the phosphorus it contains.
Bridging A Gap
Loki, the cute nickname given to a species of archae bacteria that seems to be a transition between the Archea phylum and Eukaryotes.
Birds Are Older
A fossil bird find in China pushes back bird ancestry by 5-6 million years.
Ethanol smog
It turns out the the process used to make ethanol might be dirtier than the fuel itself.
Beardpoopgate2015
A confusion of the words “study,” “experiment,” “Bacteria,” and other key sciencey words led some people to believe beards are full of poop. But, there’s no science there.
World Robot Domination
They are not going to kill those of us who want to die… with a bear hug. Turns out the Japanese suicide bear is a fake.
Assisted Probe Death
Last week, after four years of service, the Messenger mission craft impacted into the surface of Mercury at roughly 8700km/hour, hopefully leaving a mark on planetary science as a whole, and not just the surface of the planet.
Autonomous Trucks Are coming!
Nevada just granted the first license to a driver-less truck made by Daimler.
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, Justin Jackson, Kirsten Sanford, new media, news, Patreon, podcast, radio, science, talk, technology, This Week in Science, TWIS
Posted in alternative energy, animals, artificial intelligence, astronomy, bioethics, bioethics, biology, biotechnology, birds, chemistry, cognitive psychology, cognitive science, computer science, conservationism, diy tech, ecology, emergent behavior, end of the world, endangered animals, energy, engineering, evolution, exploration, fish, genetics, global warming, KDVS, mammals, marine biology, microbiology, molecular biology, NASA, neuroscience, paleontology, petroleum, physicists, physics, planets, podcast, quantum physics, robots, science, science and politics, Science Education, science history, Science Music, sexy scientists, space, space exploration, spacecraft, technology, theoretical physics, therapies, world robot domination, worms, z-Broadcasts | No Comments »
May 4th, 2015
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:36:57 — 89.2MB)
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Editing Peeps, Himalayan Shakes, A Batwinged Dino, Better-Off Neanderthal, Mammoth Sequences, Winey Vino, The Beetle Field, Meds Muck Fish, African Gut Swap, MS Remyelination?, World Penguin Day, Marine Light Pollution, Cave-Climbing Catfish, And Much More…
Editing People
A study published last week in the journal Protein & Cell described the mixed results of Chinese scientists to use the Cas-9/CRISPR gene-editing technique to edit preimplantation stage human embryonic cells. The study highlights the lack of specificity of the technique, and the problems inherent in trying to edit the human genome. Additionally, it has increased the conversation around the ethics of human genetic modification.
Himalayan Earthquake Science
Researchers are struggling to understand just why the Nepalese earthquake that occured this past week did so where, when, and how it did. The region is known for earthquakes being at the boundary of crustal plates that have pushed the Himalayas into dramatic being, but predictability is still lacking. Scientists looking into the history of the region’s earthquakes are focusing on gaps in the seismic record for clues.
A Batwinged Dino!
A new dinosaur species has been described, called Yi qi, or “strange wing”, for its combination of bat-like wings and feathers.
Two Mammoths fully sequenced…
Thousands of years separating two mammoth fossils show that genetic diversity declined as populations dwindled.
It’s good to play the field, but not too much
Promiscuous female beetles get men who up their game, but if they’ve seen too much action, suitors give up trying.
Diabetes meds are mucking up fish
We were worried about birth control and antidepressants, but apparently that was the least of fishes’ troubles.
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African Gut Swap
Reseachers swapped the diets of 20 African Americans and 20 rural Africans, and found that cancer-risk profiles switched as well. Eating a diet high in fiber and low in fat and protein might be better for the gut.
No better than a Neanderthal
We were both low tech. So, we probably didn’t dominate with our mental prowess.
Remyelination For MS?
A new mouse study suggests that two drugs are potent activators of stem cells, and initiate differentiation and myelin production, suggesting that human tests should follow.
A wine by any other name is not so sweet
Marketing works differently for different personality types, so it is not always cut and dried.
How did we celebrate World Penguin Day?
By Spying on them and releasing the photos… Secret lives of penguins revealed!!
Light pollution changes marine ecosystems, too!
Cave-Climbing Catfish!
A species of catfish was filmed climbing the walls of a cave in Ecuador.
Antarctic Martian Water
Well, because everything that happens in Antarctica has to be related to Mars… there’s microbes in that there sub-glacial water flow!
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Tags: Blair Bazdarich, Dr. Kiki, Justin Jackson, Kirsten Sanford, news, Patreon, podcast, radio, science, talk, technology, This Week in Science, TWIS
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