Blue Streak Science Podcast

Blue Streak Science News Birth Control for men? Tapeworm spreads cancer to human Sonic screwdriver opens the brain Secretive speartooth sharks snagged for science... whilst selling seashells by the seashore Solar wind stripping Martian atmosphere WHO officially declares Sierra Leone Ebola-free Wine tasting is junk science A$$#*(& of the Week Last week I was scrolling through my Facebook newsfeed. Tucked in among the cat videos and “here’s what I’m having for dinner” pictures was a piece from the Daily Express written by James Delingpole. James Delingpole is an English columnist who has written for the Daily Mail, the aforementioned Daily Express, The Times, The Daily Telegraph, and The Spectator. He’s also the executive editor for the London branch of the Breitbart News Network, a radical right wing news blog founded by the late Andrew Breitbart. It seems like every week on the A$$#8(& of the Week I’m talking about some anti-science blowhard who denies that anthropogenic climate change is real. T

Blue Streak Science News Electronic skin feels the heat, hears the sound. Yay! Dinosaurs used nasal passages to keep brains cool Cancer cells use secret tunnels to communicate, smuggle cancer signals their neighbors Jellyfish suck! New class of DNA repair enzyme discovered Molten metal storms rage on orphan planet that lost its star Tuberculosis now rivals AIDS as leading cause of death, says WHO Ireland to legalise supervised heroin injection. Pam Bondi, A$$#*(! of the Week A$$#*(! of the Week This week’s Blue Streak Science A$$#*(! of the Week is Pam Bondi, the Attorney General for the state of Florida. Who is Pam Bondi? Pam Bondi was appointed to her office by Governor Rick Scott, who is infamous for when he said "I'm not a scientist" in response to questions about climate change prior to his re-election. In the bizarro world of Governor Rick Scott no state employee is permitted to address or say things like “climate change” or “global warming”. Pam Bondi, being the loyal foot soldier in the Rick Sc

Can magnets can reduce religiosity and xenophobia? Blue Streak Science News Ebola reemerges in Guinea with 2 new cases (go away Ebola!) Ethanol and sugars found on a comet. Bring limes, Cointreau, and salt! Magnetic Energy Directed Into Your Brain Can Reduce Your Religious Beliefs Vibrations tell bees where mates are from Bees farming fungus among us Where could the first CRISPR baby be born? Lion populations in decline Search For Intelligent Aliens Near Bizarre Dimming Star Has Begun Self-sacrificing immune cells spew out DNA nets to trap invaders The Return of the A$$&*(# of the Week Our A$$&*(# of the Week is Australian Minister for the Environment, Greg Hunt. Shout-outs and Acknowledgments The Matter of the Meat We close the show with a discussion on the recent WHO report on cancer and processed meats; a case of media misunderstanding science once again. Great article by Ed Yong in The Atlantic regarding the WHO report Shout out to our Blab.im followers: Michael Hernsin Kylie Smith Peter

Announcements On Monday, 19 October, 4:00PM EDT Blue Streak Science is hosting its first weekly "Blab-up"! Blab is a new platform that enables a public video chat. Viewers come in to watch the livestream and they can participate by leaving comments. If one of the four seats is open you can join in with the other talking heads. We're having these Blabs to engage with our listeners, and get ideas and suggestions for the next episode. Your input would be greatly appreciated, and we invite you to join in. Blue Streak Blab!    Zika Disease, another reason to hate mosquitos. Blue Streak Science News First in utero stem cell trial Beyond the Helix: 'Supercoiled' DNA Twists into Crazy Shapes Breast cancer drug tamoxifen beats superbug MRSA Zika Disease: Another reason to hate mosquitos Homosexuality may be caused by chemical modifications to DNA...or not Wet paleoclimate of Mars revealed by ancient lakes at Gale Crater Elephants almost never get cancer thanks to multiple gene copies Frog mass extinction on the

Blue Streak Science News Foam artificial heart Nobel Prize week A 'working' miniature brain New test detects all viruses that infect people Death by worm-star Tales of epigenetics The Jackass of the Week Our Jackass of the Week is Dr. Ben Carson Ben Carson is a retired Johns Hopkins neurosurgeon and Republican Party candidate for President of the United States. He has become popular figure in the right-wing political media for his views on social and political issues after a speech at the 2013 National Prayer Breakfast. This year on the 4th of May at a rally in Detroit Carson announced he was running for the Republican nomination in the 2016 presidential election. On 30 September, last week, Carson was asked by a voter in New Hampshire to explain his disbelief in climate change. Dr. Ben Carson The question was: "You don't believe in evolution or climate change, I believe. And I was just wondering, do you seriously not believe that climate change is happening?" The New Republic’s Rebecca Leber reported

Blue Streak Science News Biologists find unexpected role for amyloid-forming protein New duck-billed dinosaur found in Alaska Supermoon! The Associated Press style change gives 'climate skeptics' the boot Perplexing Pluto: New ‘Snakeskin’ Image and More from New Horizons Early Life infections may be a risk factor for Celiac disease in childhood Liquid water on the surface of Mars! Viruses join fight against harmful bacteria Flower declines shrink bee tongues The Jackass of the Week Our Jackass of the Week is Martin Shkreli. Shkreli is a 32 year old hedge fund manager specializing in healthcare companies. Shkreli’s company, Turing Pharmaceuticals bought the rights to the toxoplasmosis drug Daraprim last month, and from his responses to the outrage it seems he is embracing his title as the most hated man, and the Blue Streak Science Jackass of the Week. He’s taken to Twitter and hurled insults, calling people “morons”, criticizing Twitter itself by saying that it “seems to be a great medium for socialist and

Conversation with William S. Shafer, Ph.D. Host Kellie Vinal discusses antibiotic resistance, its history, current state and future implications with Dr. William Shafer of Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. William Shafer received his PhD degree in Microbiology from Kansas State University in 1979 where he studied the genetics of enterotoxin synthesis by Staphylococcus aureus. After postdoctoral studies with P.F. Sparling  at the University of North Carolina where he studied the genetics of antibiotic resistance expressed by Neisseria gonorrhoeae, he moved to Emory University School of Medicine where he now Full Professor. He is also a Senior Research Career Scientist at the Atlanta VA Medical Center. He has been continually funded by the NIH and VA since 1984, has published over 115 manuscripts, serves on multiple Editorial Boards and served on several NIH, VA and international study sections. For more information about Dr. Shafer please visit his faculty page at the Emory University Department of Micro

Fossils of a new species of human, Homo naledi, discovered in South Africa. Ivy gives her expert view on a story about researchers who reawaken sleeping HIV in patient cells to eliminate the virus. Hawk species invisible force shield protects hummingbirds from jays...very nice of them. A new robot has crown of thorns star fish in its sights. Great news in conservation: sea turtles set new nesting record in the United States! Physicists show 'molecules' of light may be possible...whaaaat? 5-Million-Degree Plasma 'Tornado' Rages on the Sun (Video). The wait for more Pluto data is almost over.  The Shout Out goes to the makers of the Foldscope.  

Announcements Absences Our two esteemed hosts, Kellie Vinal and Sophie McManus are not with us for this week's podcast. Kellie is currently in the beautiful Black Rock Desert of Nevada attending the annual Burning Man festival. We are looking forward to her return and a report of this year's happenings on the playa. Sophie is pulling up roots and moving from sunny Sydney, Australia to the green lawns and hallowed halls of the University of Cambridge. We expect to hear back from Sophie in early October. New Co-host! Ivy Shih We are proud to introduce our new co-host, Ivy Shih. Ivy is an HIV researcher based in Sydney, Australia, studying early events of HIV infection in immune cells and capturing those events with high-resolution microscopy. After completing her Honours Thesis, she is now completing a PhD at The Kirby Institute about HIV infection in skin. Ivy loves writing about science with articles in Riaus and Biodetectives. A self-confessed bibliophile and dinosaur enthusiast, in her spare time Ivy enjoys

Interview with Sarah Moffitt of the Bodega Marine Lab Dr. Sarah E. Moffitt Sarah Moffitt is an ocean and climate scientist with the University of California at Davis’ Bodega Marine Lab in Bodega Bay, California. Dr. Moffitt is an expert in the marine ecological consequences of abrupt climate warming. She received her doctoral training in paleoceanography, climate change, geochemistry and marine ecology from the University of California at Davis. Dr. Moffitt is interested in using past events to understand modern anthropogenic climate change. We talk about how scientists study the global climate and how they build robust theories on how and why the planet warms. We then move to Dr. Moffitt's research in paleoceanography and marine ecosystems in the context of abrupt warming. For a full list of her publications you can visit her website at sarahmoffitt.com Bodega Marine Lab Blue Streak Science News Major advance toward more effective, long-lasting flu vaccine! Chimpanzees found to survive in degraded and human

Blue Streak Science News Australia’s emissions target panned both home and away (boo!) Scientists protest Scotland’s ban of GM crops Retinal changes may serve as measures of brain pathology in schizophrenia Octopus genome reveals secrets to complex intelligence Matter and antimatter are mirror images Do bears freak out when they see a UFO? The Jackass of the Week In the United States there is a war going on. This time it’s the war against science. It’s no secret that among American conservatives scientific illiteracy has become a source a pride. When faced with science that runs contrary to their cherished views the default position is belligerent denial. From former Senator Todd Akins’ infamous “legitimate rape” statement to virtually anything pumped out by the Heritage Foundation, conservatives have turned the anti-science position from a liability to a winning political strategy.[read more] When you think of a typical science denier, who comes to mind? For me, it’s a conservative who toes the party line

Blue Streak Science News Ebola survivors face difficult road ahead The tree of life expanding Charting the slow death of the universe First known venomous frogs discovered Coca-cola assures us coca-cola isn't bad for us Making a mouse brain more primate-like The A------- of the Week are the surfers of Byron Bay, New South Wales Shout-outs and Acknowledgments Please visit BioDetectives as they track life science stories from Down Under to Up North. This episode of Blue Streak Science Podcast comes to you from Sydney, Australia; Atlanta, Georgia; and Sonoma County, California! See you again next week!

I just read a piece by John D. Sutter on CNN’s website titled, “Woodward County, Oklahoma: Why do so many here doubt climate change?” This county has among the highest rates of those who do not accept climate change as real. From his conversations in Woodward County Mr. Sutter assumed that between 70-90% of residents believed climate change is a myth. Most of the residents of the county believed that number, too...that the great majority of their neighbors just don’t buy into the idea that climate change is happening. The reality on the ground is that according to Yale research only 30% of people there think climate change is bogus. But because the anti-science voices tend to be the loudest, the average person, the majority, stay silent. When you remain silent you give the impression of agreement, of complicity. And nationally, only 18% of people refuse to accept the scientific consensus on climate change. What we have here is a tin-foil hat wearing, conspiracy-believing minority...a small minority. A radical

Recently NASA announced the discovery, for the first time, of an Earth-like planet orbiting a star like our own Sun 1,400 light years distant. The planet is a bit larger and older than earth, and it occupies the “habitable zone”, where conditions are optimal to make life a possibility. Kepler 452b system Right now I’m sure that spectral analysis is being conducted to see if this planet has an oxygen-rich atmosphere, a strong indicator of life. Moreover, I’d bet good money that radio telescopes are being pointed toward Kepler 452b in hopes that maybe, just maybe there’s an intelligent species there who are using radio signals for communication. Perhaps these creatures are like us in many ways...just a little more than a century from the discovery of broadcast radio and now maybe they’re enjoying technologies similar to our satellites, Internet, and smartphones. Perhaps they’ve sent astronauts to their moon or nearby planets, and have a space probe that has recently made a flyby to their outermost planet, even

The desire, the yearning for answers lies within each of us. The discomfort of not knowing the answers can lead us down many paths of beliefs and behaviors. Our discomfort at not knowing everything immediately has given us 24 hour cable news, and smartphones never outside of our reach. It’s given us our social media, news websites…one more peek at the smartphone before we drift off to sleep…only to reach for the smartphone the very moment we awake. When a major tragedy happens in the world this discomfort of not knowing everything about it can result in obsessive media watching. And when the news outlets have repeated ad nauseam every known detail about the tragedy, and fill in the gaps with gratuitous speculation still they continue on. Conspiracy theories, cultural bigotry, meteors, terrorist plots…no amount of speculation is too outlandish, ugly, or improbable to breathlessly blather while the ever-believing public look for answers...any answers. We must accept that when we don’t know, we just don’t know. 

Citizen Science. Sounds good, but what is it? Citizen science happens when a member of the general public, a person who is not a professional scientist, collects or analyzes data relating to the natural world, and most importantly shares it with the science community and the public. There are so many ways each of us can participate. Citizen Scientists Possibly the largest and oldest example of a citizen science project is the Christmas Bird Count administered by the National Audubon Society in North America. It has been held since 1900 and now has over 50,000 citizen scientists making observations. The purpose of the bird count is to provide population data for use in conservation biology. You amateur astronomers are amazing! New comets are being discovered all the time, stars even. Those mysterious plumes seen rising from Mars last February probably would have been missed completely if it weren't for amateur stargazers. In episode nine of the podcast, that’s next week, Blue Streak Science is going to start i

Science denial. It’s nothing new. Pope Urban VIII imprisoned Galileo out of anger and fear; a denial of the truth. Two and a half centuries later Charles Darwin publishes The Origin of Species and the fundamentalist shit hits the biblical fan. One-hundred fifty years later there are still those who deny the scientifically undisputed fact of biological evolution. There are many other examples, but let me get to the big one. Climate change. That seems to be the denial du jour.  In the face of a near unanimous worldwide consensus among climate scientists the denialists are stalwart. Hands over ears and screaming la-la-la-la-la. And that leads me to what all of these instances of science denial have in common. A challenge to a strongly held belief, or worldview. These beliefs were once the only way of coming to terms with nature and the universe. But then science came along and ruined everything. As a valid way of looking at nature these beliefs are dead. They have ceased to be! Bereft of life, they rest in peace

From kindergarten through 12th grade every child in the United States has the right to attend school free of charge. But should we have a right to a college education? I assert that every child and every person has the right to higher education. This year President Obama proposed to make community college free for many students. But even this small, incremental step toward free education has virtually no chance in the harsh reality of a do-nothing Congress. Still, I do believe that opening the topic for discussion is beneficial. After all, we will one day return to having a Congress who puts the interests of the people first. It will happen. Why would we even want to foot the bill for higher education? It’s expensive and what benefit would it confer on the betterment of American society? Per capita income rises sharply in regions that have a higher rate of college graduates. This means better and higher paying jobs, higher property values, lower crime, lower rates of incarceration and the associated expenses

We romanticize childhood in so many ways. For example, we look at our children and see little scientists. After all, they’re naturally curious and they even conduct basic experiments that help them to understand their surroundings. Most of us can remember our own childhoods and how the novelty of almost everything in our world fascinated us. Why is the sky blue? How deep is the ocean? Why do boats float and planes fly? Our childhood experiments often delved into biology. You toss the fly into the spider’s web and see what happens. The spider dashes across its web for a tasty meal. Can’t find a fly to lob into the web? You throw in a small twig and wait, but nothing happens. A few repetitions of this experiment and the child version of you is already submitting a paper to the Journal of Arachnology. But that’s where the similarities end. The real reason that children are not natural scientists is because of their unfortunate, but natural tendency to believe what adults tell them. But the scientific mind always

On the day of his inauguration in 1961 President John F. Kennedy proclaimed that the torch of American idealism had been passed to a new generation. He called on Americans of all walks of life to come together in self-sacrifice to fight tyranny, poverty, disease, and even war itself. And growing up I thought my generation was going build upon those brave efforts...that we would be a generation to lead the world by example. We could have ridden that wave of the 1960’s...the successes of civil rights legislation, desegregation, environmentalism, gender equality, and sexual and reproductive rights. But something happened in the 1980’s. Just as my generation began embarking on their careers our country took a hard turn to the right, to the religious right. It was the goal of Reverend Jerry Falwell and his self-anointed Moral Majority to elect right-wing Christian politicians to evangelize in the halls of Congress, the White House, and even in the Supreme Court And boy howdy did they succeed And so it has been for