Tiny Matters

Laura Figueroa, an Assistant Professor at UMass Amherst specializing in bee conservation and bioacoustics, shares fascinating insights on how sound helps monitor everything from volcanic eruptions to insect populations. She discusses innovative bioacoustic methods to track bees and their crucial roles in ecosystems. Listeners will be intrigued by the phenomenon of 'swiftquakes' triggered by music and the challenges of identifying insect sounds. Figueroa emphasizes the significance of making these tools accessible to enhance our ecological understanding.

On March 11, 2020, after over 118,000 cases of COVID-19 had been reported in 114 countries, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic. The term Long COVID began popping up across the globe shortly after. People with Long COVID experience any combination of a huge number of symptoms that range from gastrointestinal issues to brain fog to extreme exhaustion and an inability to do what were once pretty simple tasks like getting dressed, preparing meals, or even getting out of bed.Although we have a ways to go before we understand a disease as complex as Long COVID, over the last few years scientists have made significant research strides and the millions of people suffering from Long COVID have brought light to health conditions including ME/CFS, that many people didn’t previously realize existed. In this episode, you’ll hear from an ME/CFS researcher, a Long COVID patient about her difficult and winding experience to understand what was happening in her body following a COVID infection, and a journalist and author who recently wrote a book on Long COVID.Here's a link to Ryan Prior's book, The Long Haul: How Long Covid Survivors Are Revolutionizing Health Care. And here's a list of Long COVID resources: https://www.covid.gov/be-informed/longcovid https://solvecfs.org/solve-long-covid/long-covid-resources/ https://www.bu.edu/ceid/training-education/long-covid-resources/ https://longcovidalliance.org/  Tiny Matters has a YouTube channel! Full-length audio episodes can be found here. And to see video of Sam, Deboki, and episode guests, check out Tiny Matters YouTube shorts here!Links to the Tiny Show & Tell stories are here and here. Want to watch Sam talk about the (proposed) connection between lead and the fall of the Roman Empire? Watch that video here. Pick up a Tiny Matters mug here! All Tiny Matters transcripts are available here.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Camille Breeze, Director at Museum Textile Services, and Susan Heald, textile conservator at the Smithsonian, dive into the fascinating world of textile conservation. They discuss how forensic techniques reveal hidden stories in fragile garments and the innovative methods used to preserve these historical pieces. The duo highlights the collaboration between conservators and scientists, tackling challenges posed by environmental threats and synthetic materials. They also emphasize the importance of inclusivity in museum practices, showcasing diverse cultural narratives through textiles.

Every year, tuberculosis claims over a million lives despite being curable. Tuberculosis or TB is an infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. About 5–10% of people infected with TB will eventually get symptoms. In the early stages a TB infection might cause chest pain, a cough, night sweats, and loss of appetite. But eventually it could create holes in the lungs and cause you to cough up blood. And of course, TB can be deadly.In this episode of Tiny Matters, Sam and Deboki talk with TB researcher Uzma Khan as well as John Green, the author of books including The Anthropocene Reviewed, Paper Towns, The Fault in Our Stars, and Turtles All the Way Down. John is also the co-creator of Crash Course and one half of the vlogbrothers — the other half being his brother Hank Green, who Deboki and Sam chatted with on the show last year. Although he's best known as an author and YouTuber, last summer John made headlines for something else: fighting for more equitable access to tuberculosis treatments, particularly bedaquiline, an incredibly effective and essential medicine for patients with drug-resistant tuberculosis.In this episode, Sam and Deboki cover the science and history of this devastating yet treatable disease, the recent public pressure on companies that is leading to increased treatment and testing access, and clinical trials that make John and Uzma hopeful that one day this humanity-plaguing disease could be gone. If you’d like to learn more, go to tbfighters.org. You can also subscribe to John’s newsletter: tbfighters.org/newsletter.  We have a YouTube channel! Full-length audio episodes can be found here. And to see video of Sam, Deboki, and episode guests, check out Tiny Matters YouTube shorts here!Links to the Tiny Show & Tell stories are here and here. Pick up a Tiny Matters mug here! All Tiny Matters transcripts are available here.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Deboki and Sam put out a survey last month asking Tiny Matters listeners for feedback and were overwhelmed by the number of people who asked for more Tiny Matters episodes! At Tiny Matters, we like to give the people what they want, so we're going to begin releasing bonus episodes soon. But to do that, we need your help. If you're a regular Tiny Matters listener you are well aware of something called the Tiny Show and Tell. At the end of every episode, Deboki and Sam each take a few minutes to share a science discovery or piece of news or maybe a science article they came across and found fascinating. Now they want YOU to share something!Email tinymatters@acs.org with some science news you’re itching to share, a cool science factoid you love telling friends about, or maybe even a personal science story. In these new “Tiny Show & Tell Us” bonus episodes, Deboki and Sam will read your emails out loud and then go a bit deeper into the tiny science of it all. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Discover the chaos in the early 1900s NYC coroner's office, allowing murderers to escape justice. Learn how forensic toxicology pioneers cracked mysterious poisoning cases involving cyanide, radium, and arsenic. Explore the intriguing cyanide poisoning mystery at Hotel Margaret and the emotional toll of forensic investigations.

Explore the remarkable journey of in vitro fertilization (IVF) and its impact on reproductive science. Discover the emotional experiences of patients seeking this life-changing technology. Learn about historical milestones, including the groundbreaking birth of Louise Brown, the first IVF baby. Delve into advancements like egg freezing and the ethical complexities surrounding IVF. The discussion also highlights the influence of media on public perception and the importance of accessibility in reproductive health.

Tiny Matters listeners are THE BEST and we want to bring you more of what you like! Head to bit.ly/tinypodsurvey to give us feedback and help us make Tiny Matters even better. The survey should take no more than 5-10 minutes to fill out. Your motivation? Filling out the survey will enter you into a Tiny Matters mug raffle! Thank you in advance <air hug>See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Trace Dominguez and Julian Huguet, science communicators from That's Absurd, Please Elaborate, delve into the fascinating history of lawns. They take us from the Cretaceous period to the origins of modern turf, exploring the shift from utility to leisure. The duo discusses the evolutionary advantages of different grass species and challenges conventional lawn care practices, highlighting their environmental impacts. Coupled with humor, they engage listeners in a lighthearted investigation of a seemingly simple question that unearths complex societal implications.

Deboki Chakravarti, an expert on animal extremities and their health implications, dives into the fascinating survival strategies of hibernating bears and Mexican cavefish. She explains how bears avoid blood clots during hibernation and the potential treatments this offers for humans. The conversation extends to the cavefish, revealing their unique adaptations to starvation and darkness that could inform fatty liver disease research. Deboki also humorously ponders the strange case of a mushroom growing on a frog, highlighting the complexities of defining species.