hat The science of sleep: what it is, how it works, and why it matters / Wallace Mendelson By library.mit.edu Published On :: Sun, 28 Jan 2018 06:39:05 EST Hayden Library - QP425.M46 2017 Full Article
hat What it's like to be a dog: and other adventures in animal neuroscience / Gregory Berns By library.mit.edu Published On :: Sun, 29 Jul 2018 07:36:13 EDT Hayden Library - QL785.B414 2017 Full Article
hat Cyborg mind: what brain-computer and mind-cyberspace interfaces mean for cyberneuroethics / edited by Calum MacKellar By library.mit.edu Published On :: Sun, 28 Apr 2019 07:25:40 EDT Online Resource Full Article
hat Mama's last hug: animal emotions and what they tell us about ourselves / Frans de Waal ; with photographs and drawings by the author By library.mit.edu Published On :: Sun, 4 Aug 2019 09:32:45 EDT Hayden Library - QL785.27.W33 2019 Full Article
hat Plight of the living dead: what the animal kingdom's real-life zombies reveal about nature--and ourselves / Matt Simon By library.mit.edu Published On :: Sun, 11 Aug 2019 09:34:13 EDT Hayden Library - QL757.S48 2018 Full Article
hat We that are young / Preti Taneja By library.mit.edu Published On :: Sun, 15 Sep 2019 07:36:30 EDT Hayden Library - PR6120.A465 W43 2019 Full Article
hat What red was: a novel / Rosie Price By library.mit.edu Published On :: Sun, 19 Jan 2020 06:45:35 EST Dewey Library - PR6116.R525 W43 2019 Full Article
hat What is Literature?: A Critical Anthology By www.wiley.com Published On :: 2020-04-13T04:00:00Z An essential guide to understanding literary theory and criticism in the European traditionWhat is Literature? A Critical Anthology explores the most fundamental question in literary studies. ‘What is literature?’ is the name of a problem that emerges with the idea of literature in European modernity. This volume offers a cross-section of modern literary theory and reflects on the history of thinking about literature as a specific form. Read More... Full Article
hat A Left that Dares to Speak Its Name: 34 Untimely Interventions By www.wiley.com Published On :: 2020-04-27T04:00:00Z With irrepressible humor, Slavoj iek dissects our current political and social climate, discussing everything from Jordan Peterson and sex “unicorns” to Greta Thunberg and Chairman Mao. Taking aim at his enemies on the Left, Right, and Center, he argues that contemporary society can only be properly understood from a communist standpoint.Why communism? The greater the triumph of global capitalism, the more its dangerous antagonisms multiply: climate Read More... Full Article
hat A Left that Dares to Speak Its Name: 34 Untimely Interventions By www.wiley.com Published On :: 2020-04-27T04:00:00Z With irrepressible humor, Slavoj iek dissects our current political and social climate, discussing everything from Jordan Peterson and sex “unicorns” to Greta Thunberg and Chairman Mao. Taking aim at his enemies on the Left, Right, and Center, he argues that contemporary society can only be properly understood from a communist standpoint.Why communism? The greater the triumph of global capitalism, the more its dangerous antagonisms multiply: climate Read More... Full Article
hat AYUSH releases immunity-boosting measures for self-care during COVID-19 pandemic: Here is what you can do By www.dnaindia.com Published On :: Sat, 11 Apr 2020 13:16:00 GMT The advisory was issued by the Ministry of AYUSH to support the efforts of all as a measure towards enhancing immunity. Full Article Health
hat Tom Chatfield on critical thinking and bias [electronic resource] By prospero.murdoch.edu.au Published On :: Full Article
hat Biased : uncovering the hidden prejudice that shapes what we see, think, and do / Jennifer L. Eberhardt, PhD By prospero.murdoch.edu.au Published On :: Eberhardt, Jennifer L. (Jennifer Lynn), author Full Article
hat Sociology Short Cuts: Crime and Deviance : Part 6: Hate Crime [electronic resource] By prospero.murdoch.edu.au Published On :: Full Article
hat The econosphere [electronic resource] : what makes the economy really work, how to protect it, and maximize your opportunity for financial prosperity / Craig Thomas By prospero.murdoch.edu.au Published On :: Thomas, Craig, 1969- Full Article
hat We can't talk about that at work! [electronic resource] : how to talk about race, religion, politics, and other polarizing topics / Mary-Frances Winters By prospero.murdoch.edu.au Published On :: Winters, Mary-Frances, author Full Article
hat Ruthenium(III) complexes containing thiazole-based ligands that modulate amyloid-β aggregation By feeds.rsc.org Published On :: Metallomics, 2020, 12,491-503DOI: 10.1039/D0MT00054J, PaperSamantha E. Huffman, Gideon K. Yawson, Samuel S. Fisher, Paige J. Bothwell, David C. Platt, Marjorie A. Jones, Christopher G. Hamaker, Michael I. WebbAlzheimer's Disease (AD) is a devastating neurodegenerative disorder where one of the commonly observed pathological hallmarks is extracellular deposits of the peptide amyloid-β (Aβ).The content of this RSS Feed (c) The Royal Society of Chemistry Full Article
hat Evidence that levels of nine essential metals in post-mortem human-Alzheimer's-brain and ex vivo rat-brain tissues are unaffected by differences in post-mortem delay, age, disease staging, and brain bank location By feeds.rsc.org Published On :: Metallomics, 2020, Advance ArticleDOI: 10.1039/D0MT00048E, PaperMelissa Scholefield, Stephanie J. Church, Jingshu Xu, Sarah Kassab, Natalie J. Gardiner, Federico Roncaroli, Nigel M. Hooper, Richard D. Unwin, Garth J. S. CooperMetal findings in human Alzheimer brains are consistent despite differences in sample post-mortem delay, age, Braak stage and biobank location.To cite this article before page numbers are assigned, use the DOI form of citation above.The content of this RSS Feed (c) The Royal Society of Chemistry Full Article
hat What is Literature?: A Critical Anthology By www.wiley.com Published On :: 2020-04-13T04:00:00Z An essential guide to understanding literary theory and criticism in the European traditionWhat is Literature? A Critical Anthology explores the most fundamental question in literary studies. ‘What is literature?’ is the name of a problem that emerges with the idea of literature in European modernity. This volume offers a cross-section of modern literary theory and reflects on the history of thinking about literature as a specific form. Read More... Full Article
hat "Sakuteiki" to Nihon no teien / Shirahata Yōzaburō hen By prospero.murdoch.edu.au Published On :: Full Article
hat Vor der Baumschattenwand nachts: Zeichen und Anflüge von der Peripherie 2007-2015 / Peter Handke By library.mit.edu Published On :: Sun, 7 Aug 2016 06:08:10 EDT Hayden Library - PT2668.A5 V66 2016 Full Article
hat Is that Kafka?: 99 finds / Reiner Stach ; translated from the German by Kurt Beals By library.mit.edu Published On :: Sun, 4 Sep 2016 06:09:45 EDT Hayden Library - PT2621.A26 Z88313 2016 Full Article
hat Of all that ends / Günter Grass ; translated by Breon Mitchell By library.mit.edu Published On :: Sun, 12 Feb 2017 06:36:00 EST Hayden Library - PT2613.R338 V5813 2016 Full Article
hat Science Podcast - A binary star system that includes a white dwarf and a news roundup (18 April 2014) By traffic.omny.fm Published On :: Fri, 18 Apr 2014 12:00:00 -0400 A distinctive binary star system; roundup of daily news with David Grimm. Full Article
hat Artificial intelligence programs that learn concepts based on just a few examples and a daily news roundup By traffic.omny.fm Published On :: Thu, 10 Dec 2015 14:00:00 -0500 Brenden Lake discusses a new computational model that rivals the human ability to learn new concepts based on just a single example; David Grimm talks about attracting cockroaches, searching for habitable planets, and looking to street dogs to learn about domestication. Hosted by Susanne Bard. [Img: Rodrigo Basaure CC BY 2.0, via flickr] Full Article
hat Podcast: A recipe for clean and tasty drinking water, a gauge on rapidly rising seas, and fake flowers that can fool the most discerning insects By traffic.omny.fm Published On :: Thu, 25 Feb 2016 14:00:00 -0500 Online News Editor Catherine Matacic shares stories on what we can learn from 6million years of climate data, how to make lifelike orchids with 3D printing, and crowdsourced gender bias on eBay. Fernando Rosario-Ortiz joins host Sarah Crespi to discuss how approaches to water purification differ between countries. [Image: Eric Hunt/Wikipedia/CC BY-SA 3.0] 0] Full Article Scientific Community
hat Podcast: Bionic leaves that make fuel, digging into dog domestication, and wars recorded in coral By traffic.omny.fm Published On :: Thu, 02 Jun 2016 13:59:00 -0400 Listen to stories on new evidence for double dog domestication, what traces of mercury in coral can tell us about local wars, and an update to a classic adaptation story, with online news editor David Grimm. Brendan Colón talks about a bionic leaf system that captures light and carbon and converts it to several different types of fuels with host Sarah Crespi. [Image: Andy Phillips/Flickr/CC BY-ND 2.0/Music: Jeffrey Cook] Full Article Scientific Community
hat Podcast: A farewell to <i>Science</i>’s editor-in-chief, how mosquito spit makes us sick, and bears that use human shields By traffic.omny.fm Published On :: Thu, 23 Jun 2016 14:00:00 -0400 Listen to how mosquito spit helps make us sick, mother bears protect their young with human shields, and blind cave fish could teach us a thing or two about psychiatric disease, with Online News Editor Catherine Matacic. Marcia McNutt looks back on her time as Science’s editor-in-chief, her many natural disaster–related editorials, and looks forward to her next stint as president of the National Academy of Sciences, with host Sarah Crespi. [Music: Jeffrey Cook; Image: Siegfried Klaus] Full Article Scientific Community
hat Podcast: Ending AIDS in South Africa, what makes plants gamble, and genes that turn on after death By traffic.omny.fm Published On :: Thu, 30 Jun 2016 13:59:00 -0400 Listen to stories on how plants know when to take risks, confirmation that the ozone layer is on the mend, and genes that come alive after death, with Online News Editor David Grimm. Science news writer Jon Cohen talks with Julia Rosen about South Africa’s bid to end AIDS. [Image: J.Seita/Flickr/Music: Jeffrey Cook] Full Article Scientific Community
hat Podcast: Saving wolves that aren’t really wolves, bird-human partnership, and our oldest common ancestor By traffic.omny.fm Published On :: Thu, 28 Jul 2016 12:00:00 -0400 Stories on birds that guide people to honey, genes left over from the last universal common ancestor, and what the nose knows about antibiotics, with Devi Shastri. The Endangered Species Act—a 1973 U.S. law designed to protect animals in the country from extinction—may need a fresh look. The focus on “species” is the problem. This has become especially clear when it comes to wolves—recent genetic information has led to government agencies moving to delist the grey wolf. Robert Wayne helps untangle the wolf family tree and talks us through how a better understanding of wolf genetics may trouble their protected status. [Image: Claire N. Spottiswoode/Music: Jeffrey Cook] Full Article Scientific Community
hat Podcast: An atmospheric pacemaker skips a beat, a religious edict that spawned fat chickens, and knocking out the ‘sixth sense’ By traffic.omny.fm Published On :: Thu, 22 Sep 2016 14:00:00 -0400 A quick change in chickens’ genes as a result of a papal ban on eating four-legged animals, the appeal of tragedy, and genetic defects in the “sixth sense,” with David Grimm. From the magazine In February of this year, one of the most regular phenomena in the atmosphere skipped a cycle. Every 22 to 36 months, descending eastward and westward wind jets—high above the equator—switch places. The Quasi-Biennial Oscillation, or QBO, is normally so regular you can almost set your watch by it, but not this year. Scott Osprey discusses the implications for this change with Alexa Billow. Read the research. [Image: ValerijaP/iStockphoto; Music: Jeffrey Cook] Full Article Scientific Community
hat Podcast: When we pay attention to plane crashes, releasing modified mosquitoes, and bacteria that live off radiation By traffic.omny.fm Published On :: Thu, 13 Oct 2016 12:00:00 -0400 This week, we chat about some of our favorite stories -- including a new bacterial model for alien life that feeds on cosmic rays, tracking extinct “bear dogs” to Texas, and when we stop caring about plane crashes -- with Science’s Online News Editor David Grimm. Plus, Alexa Billow talks to Staff Writer Kelly Servick about her feature story on the releasing modified mosquitoes in Brazil to combat diseases like Zika, dengue, and chikungunya. Her story is part of a package on mosquito control. Listen to previous podcasts [Image: © Alex Wild; Music: Jeffrey Cook] Full Article Scientific Community
hat Podcast: How farms made dogs love carbs, the role of dumb luck in science, and what your first flu exposure did to you By traffic.omny.fm Published On :: Thu, 10 Nov 2016 12:00:00 -0500 This week, we chat about some of our favorite stories—is Bhutan really a quake-free zone, how much of scientific success is due to luck, and what farming changed about dogs and us—with Science’s Online News Editor David Grimm. Plus, Science’s Alexa Billow talks to Katelyn Gostic of the University of California, Los Angeles, about how the first flu you came down with—which depends on your birth year—may help predict your susceptibility to new flu strains down the road. Listen to previous podcasts. [Image:monkeybusinessimages/iStockphoto; Music: Jeffrey Cook] Full Article Scientific Community
hat Podcast: What ants communicate when kissing, stars birthed from gas, and linking immune strength and social status By traffic.omny.fm Published On :: Thu, 01 Dec 2016 12:00:00 -0500 This week, we chat about kissing communication in ants, building immune strength by climbing the social ladder, and a registry for animal research with Online News Editor David Grimm. Plus, Science’s Alexa Billow talks to Bjorn Emonts about the birth of stars in the Spiderweb Galaxy 10 billion years ago. Related research on immune function and social hierarchy. Listen to previous podcasts. [Image: Lauren Brent; Music: Jeffrey Cook] Full Article Scientific Community
hat Podcast: Where dog breeds come from, bots that build buildings, and gathering ancient human DNA from cave sediments By traffic.omny.fm Published On :: Thu, 27 Apr 2017 16:00:00 -0400 This week, a new family tree of dog breeds, advances in artificial wombs, and an autonomous robot that can print a building with Online News Editor David Grimm. Viviane Slon joins Sarah Crespi to discuss a new way to seek out ancient humans—without finding fossils or bones—by screening sediments for ancient DNA. Jen Golbeck interviews Andrew Shtulman, author of Scienceblind: Why Our Intuitive Theories About the World Are So Often Wrong for this month’s book segment. Listen to previous podcasts. See more book segments. Download the show transcript. Transcripts courtesy of Scribie.com. [Image: nimis69/iStockphoto; Music: Jeffrey Cook] Full Article Scientific Community
hat Our newest human relative, busting human sniff myths, and the greenhouse gas that could slow global warming By traffic.omny.fm Published On :: Thu, 11 May 2017 14:30:00 -0400 This week we have stories on ancient hominids that may have coexisted with early modern humans, methane seeps in the Arctic that could slow global warming, and understanding color without words with Online News Intern Lindzi Wessel. John McGann joins Sarah Crespi to discuss long-standing myths about our ability to smell. It turns out people are probably a lot better at detecting odors than scientists thought! Listen to previous podcasts. [Image: Streluk/iStockphoto; Music: Jeffrey Cook] Full Article Scientific Community
hat What hunter-gatherer gut microbiomes have that we don’t, and breaking the emoji code By traffic.omny.fm Published On :: Thu, 24 Aug 2017 15:45:00 -0400 Sarah Crespi talks to Sam Smits about how our microbial passengers differ from one culture to the next—are we losing diversity and the ability to fight chronic disease? For our books segment, Jen Golbeck talks with Vyvyan Evans about his book The Emoji Code: The Linguistics Behind Smiley Faces and Scaredy Cats. Listen to previous podcasts. [Image: Woodlouse/Flickr; Music: Jeffrey Cook] Full Article Scientific Community
hat Putting the breaks on driverless cars, and dolphins that can muffle their ears By traffic.omny.fm Published On :: Thu, 14 Dec 2017 14:30:00 -0500 Whales and dolphins have incredibly sensitive hearing and are known to be harmed by loud underwater noises. David Grimm talks with Sarah Crespi about new research on captive cetaceans suggesting that some species can naturally muffle such sounds—perhaps opening a way to protect these marine mammals in the wild. Sarah also interviews Staff Writer Jeffrey Mervis about his story on the future of autonomous cars. Will they really reduce traffic and make our lives easier? What does the science say? Listen to previous podcasts. [Image: Laura Wolf/Flickr; Music: Jeffrey Cook] Full Article Scientific Community
hat Salad-eating sharks, and what happens after quantum computing achieves quantum supremacy By traffic.omny.fm Published On :: Thu, 11 Jan 2018 14:00:00 -0500 David Grimm—online news editor for Science—talks with Sarah Crespi about two underwater finds: the first sharks shown to survive off of seagrass and what fossilized barnacles reveal about ancient whale migrations. Sarah also interviews Staff Writer Adrian Cho about what happens after quantum computing achieves quantum supremacy—the threshold where a quantum computer’s abilities outstrip nonquantum machines. Just how useful will these machines be and what kinds of scientific problems might they tackle? Listen to previous podcasts. [Image: Aleria Jensen, NOAA/NMFS/AKFSC; Music: Jeffrey Cook] Full Article Scientific Community
hat Genes that turn off after death, and debunking the sugar conspiracy By traffic.omny.fm Published On :: Thu, 15 Feb 2018 14:15:00 -0500 Some of our genes come alive after we die. David Grimm—online news editor for Science—talks with Sarah Crespi about which genes are active after death and what we can learn about time of death by looking at patterns of postmortem gene expression. Sarah also interviews David Merritt Johns of Columbia University about the so-called sugar conspiracy. Historical evidence suggests, despite recent media reports, it is unlikely that “big sugar” influenced U.S. nutrition policy and led to the low-fat diet fad of the ’80s and ’90s. Listen to previous podcasts. [Image: Lauri Andler (Phantom); Music: Jeffrey Cook] Full Article Scientific Community
hat Neandertals that made art, live news from the AAAS Annual Meeting, and the emotional experience of being a scientist By traffic.omny.fm Published On :: Thu, 22 Feb 2018 14:15:00 -0500 We talk about the techniques of painting sleuths, how to combat alternative facts or “fake news,” and using audio signposts to keep birds from flying into buildings. For this segment, David Grimm—online news editor for Science—talks with host Sarah Crespi as part of a live podcast event from the AAAS Annual Meeting in Austin. Sarah also interviews Science News Editor Tim Appenzeller about Neandertal art. The unexpected age of some European cave paintings is causing experts to rethink the mental capabilities of our extinct cousins. For the monthly books segment, Jen Golbeck interviews with William Glassley about his book, A Wilder Time: Notes from a Geologist at the Edge of the Greenland Ice. Listen to previous podcasts. [Image: Marcus Trienke/Flickr; Music: Jeffrey Cook] Full Article Scientific Community
hat Animals that don’t need people to be domesticated; the astonishing spread of false news; and links between gender, sexual orientation, and speech By traffic.omny.fm Published On :: Thu, 08 Mar 2018 14:30:00 -0500 Did people domesticate animals? Or did they domesticate themselves? Online News Editor David Grimm talks with Sarah Crespi about a recent study that looked at self-domesticating mice. If they could go it alone, could cats or dogs have done the same in the distant past? Next, Sinan Aral of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge joins Sarah to discuss his work on true and false rumor cascades across all of Twitter, since its inception. He finds that false news travels further, deeper, and faster than true news, regardless of the source of the tweet, the kind of news it was, or whether bots were involved. In a bonus segment recording during a live podcasting event at the AAAS Annual Meeting in Austin, Sarah first speaks with Ben Munson of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis about markers of gender and sexual orientation in spoken language and then Adrienne Hancock of The George Washington University in Washington, D.C., talks about using what we know about gender and communication to help transgender women change their speech and communication style. Live recordings sessions at the AAAS meeting were supported by funds from the European Commission. This week’s episode was edited by Podigy. Listen to previous podcasts. [Image: Rudolf Jakkel (CC0); Music: Jeffrey Cook] Full Article Scientific Community
hat Drug use in the ancient world, and what will happen to plants as carbon dioxide levels increase By traffic.omny.fm Published On :: Thu, 19 Apr 2018 14:15:00 -0400 Armed with new data, archaeologists are revealing that mind-altering drugs were present at the dawn of the first complex societies some 5000 years ago in the ancient Middle East. Contributing writer Andrew Lawler joins Sarah Crespi to discuss the evidence for these drugs and how they might have impacted early societies and beliefs. Sarah also interviews Sarah Hobbie of the University of Minnesota about the fate of plants under climate change. Will all that extra carbon dioxide in the air be good for certain types of flora? A 20-year long study published this week in Science suggests theoretical predictions have been off the mark. This week’s episode was edited by Podigy. Listen to previous podcasts. [Image: Public domain Music: Jeffrey Cook] Full Article Scientific Community
hat The places where HIV shows no sign of ending, and the parts of the human brain that are bigger—in bigger brains By traffic.omny.fm Published On :: Thu, 14 Jun 2018 15:00:00 -0400 Nigeria, Russia, and Florida seem like an odd set, but they all have one thing in common: growing caseloads of HIV. Science Staff Writer Jon Cohen joins host Sarah Crespi to talk about this week’s big read on how the fight against HIV/AIDS is evolving in these diverse locations. Sarah also talks with Armin Raznahan of the National Institute of Mental Health in Bethesda, Maryland, about his group’s work measuring which parts of the human brain are bigger in bigger brains. Adult human brains can vary as much as two times in size—and until now this expansion was thought to be evenly distributed. However, the team found that highly integrative regions are overrepresented in bigger brains, whereas regions related to processing incoming sensory information such as sight and sound tend to be underrepresented. This week’s episode was edited by Podigy. Listen to previous podcasts. [Image: Misha Friedman; Music: Jeffrey Cook] Full Article Scientific Community
hat A polio outbreak threatens global eradication plans, and what happened to America’s first dogs By traffic.omny.fm Published On :: Thu, 05 Jul 2018 14:00:00 -0400 Wild polio has been hunted to near extinction in a decades-old global eradication program. Now, a vaccine-derived outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is threatening to seriously extend the polio eradication endgame. Deputy News Editor Leslie Roberts joins host Sarah Crespi to talk about the tough choices experts face in the fight against this disease in the DRC. Sarah also talks with Online News Editor David Grimm about when dogs first came to the Americas. New DNA and archaeological evidence suggest these pups did not arise from North American wolves but came over thousands of years after the first people did. Now that we know where they came from, the question is: Where did they go? Read the research. This week’s episode was edited by Podigy. Download a transcript of this episode (PDF) Listen to previous podcasts. About the Science Podcast [Image: Polio virus/David Goodsell/RCSB PDB; Music: Jeffrey Cook] Full Article
hat How our brains may have evolved for language, and clues to what makes us leaders—or followers By traffic.omny.fm Published On :: Thu, 02 Aug 2018 14:00:00 -0400 Yes, humans are the only species with language, but how did we acquire it? New research suggests our linguistic prowess might arise from the same process that brought domesticated dogs big eyes and bonobos the power to read others’ intent. Online News Editor Catherine Matacic joins host Sarah Crespi to talk about how humans might have self-domesticated themselves, leading to physical and behavioral changes that gave us a “language-ready” brain. Sarah also talks with Micah Edelson of the University of Zurich in Switzerland about his group’s research into the role that “responsibility aversion”—the reluctance to make decisions for a group—might play when people decide to lead or defer in a group setting. In their experiments, the team found that some people adjusted how much risk they would take on, depending on whether they were deciding for themselves alone or for the entire group. The ones who didn’t—those who stuck to the same plan whether others were involved or not—tended to score higher on standardized tests of leadership and have held higher military rank. This week’s episode was edited by Podigy. Download a transcript of this episode (PDF) Listen to previous podcasts. [Image: Scaly breasted munia/Ravi Vaidyanathan; Music: Jeffrey Cook] Full Article Scientific Community
hat Doubts about the drought that kicked off our latest geological age, and a faceoff between stink bugs with samurai wasps By traffic.omny.fm Published On :: Thu, 09 Aug 2018 14:15:00 -0400 We now live in the Meghalayan age—the last age of the Holocene epoch. Did you get the memo? A July decision by the International Commission on Stratigraphy, which is responsible for naming geological time periods, divided the Holocene into three ages: the Greenlandian, the Northgrippian, and the Meghalayan. The one we live in—the Meghalayan age (pronounced “megalion”)—is pegged to a global drought thought to have happened some 4200 years ago. But many critics question the timing of this latest age and the global expanse of the drought. Staff writer Paul Voosen talks with host Sarah Crespi about the evidence for and against the global drought—and what it means if it’s wrong. Sarah also talks to staff writer Kelly Servick about her feature story on what happens when biocontrol goes out of control. Here’s the setup: U.S. Department of Agriculture researchers wanted to know whether brown marmorated stink bugs that have invaded the United States could be controlled—aka killed—by importing their natural predators, samurai wasps, from Asia. But before they could find out, the wasps showed up anyway. Kelly discusses how using one species to combat another can go wrong—or right—and what happens when the situation outruns regulators. This week’s episode was edited by Podigy. Download a transcript of this episode (PDF) Listen to previous podcasts. [Image: Melissa McMasters/Flickr; Music: Jeffrey Cook] Full Article Scientific Community
hat What we can learn from a cluster of people with an inherited intellectual disability, and questioning how sustainable green lawns are in dry places By traffic.omny.fm Published On :: Thu, 11 Oct 2018 14:45:00 -0400 A small isolated town in Colombia is home to a large cluster of people with fragile X syndrome—a genetic disorder that leads to intellectual disability, physical abnormalities, and sometimes autism. Spectrum staff reporter Hannah Furfaro joins host Sarah Crespi to discuss the history of fragile X in the town of Ricaurte and the future of the people who live there. Also this week, we talk about greening up grass. Lawns of green grass pervade urban areas all around the world, regardless of climate, but the cost of maintaining them may outweigh their benefits. Host Meagan Cantwell talks with Maria Ignatieva of The University of Western Australia in Perth and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in Uppsala about how lawns can be transformed to contribute to a more sustainable future. This week’s episode was edited by Podigy. Download a transcript of this episode (PDF) Listen to previous podcasts. About the Science Podcast [Image: Adam Kerfoot-Roberts/Flickr; Music: Jeffrey Cook] Full Article Scientific Community
hat Treating the microbiome, and a gene that induces sleep By traffic.omny.fm Published On :: Thu, 31 Jan 2019 14:45:00 -0500 Orla Smith, editor of Science Translational Medicine joins host Sarah Crespi to talk about what has changed in the past 10 years of microbiome research, what’s getting close to being useful in treatment, and how strong, exactly, the research is behind those probiotic yogurts. When you’re sick, sleeping is restorative—it helps your body recover from nasty infections. Meagan Cantwell speaks with Amita Sehgal, professor of neuroscience at the University of Pennsylvania and an investigator at Howard Hughes Medical Institute in Chevy Chase, Maryland, about the process of discovering a gene in fruit flies that links sleep and immune function. This week’s episode was edited by Podigy. Download the transcript (PDF) Listen to previous podcasts. About the Science Podcast [Music: Jeffrey Cook] Full Article Scientific Community
hat Possible potato improvements, and a pill that gives you a jab in the gut By traffic.omny.fm Published On :: Thu, 07 Feb 2019 14:30:00 -0500 Because of its genetic complexity, the potato didn’t undergo a “green revolution” like other staple crops. It can take more than 15 years to breed a new kind of potato that farmers can grow, and genetic engineering just won’t work for tackling complex traits such as increased yield or heat resistance. Host Sarah Crespi talks with Staff Writer Erik Stokstad about how researchers are trying to simplify the potato genome to make it easier to manipulate through breeding. Researchers and companies are racing to perfect an injector pill—a pill that you swallow, which then uses a tiny needle to shoot medicine into the body. Such an approach could help improve compliance for injected medications like insulin. Host Meagan Cantwell and Staff Writer Robert F. Service discuss a new kind of pill—one that flips itself over once it hits the bottom of the stomach and injects a dose of medication into the stomach lining. This week’s episode was edited by Podigy. Download the transcript (PDF) Listen to previous podcasts. About the Science Podcast [Image: Michael Eric Nickel/Flickr; Music: Jeffrey Cook] Full Article Scientific Community