Tiny Matters

NASA collecting material from asteroid Bennu and bringing it back to Earth. Debates and risks during construction of Lunar Receiving Laboratory for Apollo 11 mission. No moon microbial crisis occurred. Applying lessons from mistakes to other fields like AI and climate change.

This podcast explores the annual flu vaccine and the need for it, including an in-depth discussion on influenza virus types, past pandemics, and the challenges of developing vaccines for birds. It also delves into the potential of a universal vaccine and the advancements in technology to combat global pandemics. The podcast touches on the risks of DNA synthesis and the ethical controversies surrounding gene editing.

Sam and Deboki answer listener questions about science, including the role of hookworms in curing allergies and measuring the end of the universe. They also discuss gene therapy and the promising levitus treatment for Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The podcast explores avoiding harmful PFAS chemicals and different paths in science communication. The episode concludes with the announcement of the Tiny Matters mug giveaway winners.

The podcast explores the difference between taste and flavor, emphasizing the role of smell in flavor experience. It discusses strategies to make disliked foods more appealing and the impact of exposure on changing preferences. Additionally, it touches on the recent discovery of a 39 million-year-old whale and its significance in understanding whale evolution.

This podcast explores how colonialist practices and climate change are devastating poorer countries in the global south. It discusses the catastrophic effects of these factors on Pakistan's waterways and irrigation network, as well as the misgovernance, poverty, and inequality caused by colonialism in the global south. The podcast also challenges the flawed concept of unity in relation to climate change and highlights the impact of the global factory system. Additionally, it touches on menopause in animal species and provides book recommendations on sustainable consumption.

Mad cow disease, also known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) was first discovered in cattle in the UK in 1986. In 1996, BSE made its way into humans for the first time, setting off panic and fascination with the fatal disease that causes rapid onset dementia. In this episode, Sam and Deboki cover the cause, spread and concern surrounding mad cow and other prion diseases. 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.

On April 20, 2010, a drilling rig called Deepwater Horizon exploded, capsizing 36 hours later. Eleven workers were killed and, over the next 87 days, more than 100 million gallons of oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico in what the EPA has called the largest marine oil spill in history. With public distrust of the companies responsible mounting, scientists had to find a way to study the spill and communicate what they found. So when faced with a crisis of this magnitude, when the stakes are so high, how do you dispel misinformation and effectively communicate what you know? Find links to buy Chris Reddy's book Science Communication in a Crisis: An Insider's Guide here. 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.

Sam and Deboki will be raffling off Tiny Matters coffee mugs in an upcoming Q&A episode. Entering the raffle is easy! Just send your question(s) to tinymatters@acs.org.Questions can be about pretty much anything — a previous episode, some science thing you're dying to know the answer to, a question about podcasting, or about Deboki's and Sam's past lives as researchers or what helped them get into science communication as a career... the sky’s the limit! Just sending in a question enters you into the raffle, and if Sam and Deboki answer your question during the Q&A episode your name will be entered into the raffle twice. At the end of the episode, Sam and Deboki will draw 5 names out of a hat and send each of those people their very own snazzy Tiny Matters mug.Submit questions to tinymatters@acs.org through the end of the day on Friday, August 11th, 2023.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode of Tiny Matters, Sam and Deboki unravel two very different environmental disasters: Hurricane Katrina and this year’s Ohio train derailment. They’ll cover the science underlying those events, the confusion and misinformation that followed them, and how human influence infiltrates all of these disasters, even ones deemed “natural." The Tiny Show & Tell stories are here and here. And to support Tiny Matters, pick up a 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.

A few months ago, we did a bonus Q&A about the HBO series The Last of Us, a show about a pandemic caused by a fungus that turned people into terrifying zombies. After that bonus episode aired, we received emails from people who wanted to learn more about fungi and the fungal infections on the rise, like white nose syndrome in bats and Candida auris in humans. This episode is all about fungal pandemics in a huge range of organisms — how they take hold and the fight to stop them. You can find Emily Monosson's book Blight: Fungi and the Coming Pandemic 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.