Distillations | Science History Institute

Baby horses and giraffes walk soon after they’re born, and they can feed and take care of themselves pretty quickly, too. A one-year-old person, on the other hand, is basically helpless. But humans go on to live much longer than most other mammals, and scientists have long been trying to piece together why this is the case. One theory, called the grandmother hypothesis, claims that grandmas are the key to why humans live so long. Unlike most other species, human females live long past their childbearing years and so can help raise their grandchildren, allowing their daughters (or daughters-in-law) to have another baby before the first one can take care of itself. As warm and fuzzy as this idea sounds, it turns out to be pretty controversial. In this episode of Distillations we explore the grandmother hypothesis and find out what the debate is all about. Credits Hosts: Michal Meyer and Bob Kenworthy Producer: Mariel Carr Associate Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez  Music Our theme music was composed by Zach Young.

Though they lived decades apart, Adolphe Dessauer and Abdelwahhab Azzawi share similar stories. They were both esteemed physicians who faced violence and persecution in their home countries. They both sought refuge abroad and found safety, only to find themselves facing a new struggle—getting permission to practice medicine in their new homes. Dessauer, a Jewish doctor, fled Germany for the United States in 1938. Azzawi, a 36-year-old ophthalmologist from Syria, found asylum in Germany in 2015. Both men’s lives were spared through the generosity of their new countries, but they had to struggle to give back in the most meaningful way they could—by sharing their medical expertise. In 2016 every American Nobel laureate in science was an immigrant. And it wasn’t just that year; U.S. winners often are born abroad. Yet as global an enterprise as science has become, navigating bureaucracy and straddling boundaries seems to be as difficult in the 21st century as during World War II. Show Clock  00:13 Intro 01:35 The German doctor  14:28 The Syrian doctor  Credits Hosts: Michal Meyer and Bob Kenworthy Producer: Mariel Carr Associate Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez  Reporter: Catherine Girardeau  Audio Engineer: Catherine Girardeau Music Our theme music was composed by Zach Young. Additional music is courtesy of the Audio Network.

There are no parents in the world who want to see their child sick. Often the illness is no big deal—you follow doctor’s orders and your kid gets better soon. But what do you do when your child is really sick, and it’s because of decisions the founders of your religion made more than 300 years ago? And what do you do when the medical solutions seem to run counter to that very same religion? This is the dilemma faced by many Amish and Mennonite parents in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, whose children suffer from genetic diseases at rates exponentially higher than the rest of the population. These Plain People, as they call themselves, typically eschew technology. But 30 years ago they chose to step out of character and embrace the latest advances in genomic medicine to help save their children. Reporter Kyrie Greenberg spent almost a year getting to know some of these families, and she produced this podcast with us.   Credits Hosts: Michal Meyer and Bob Kenworthy Producer: Mariel Carr Associate Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez  Reporter: Kyrie Greenberg Music Original music composed by Zach Young. Additional music courtesy of the Audio Network.

On April 22, 2017, more than one million people in 600 cities around the world took to the streets in the name of science. Many were scientists themselves, and quite a few donned lab coats. Some were protesting for the first time. It was an unusual sight perhaps, but science has never been immune to politics. “If we could imagine angels doing science maybe it wouldn’t be political,” says Liz Lopatto, science editor of the technology site the Verge, “But since it’s humans, it’s inescapable.” Throughout the past century quite a few scientists have taken up political causes, but the tide of politics and science ebbs and flows, from the labs to the streets and back again. Now, after a period of relative quiet it seems to be flowing again. But this time it’s different. Sociologist Kelly Moore says, “I don’t know of any period in American history when scientists have felt the need to collectively defend science as a public good.” Show Clock 00:32 March for science 02:14 Science as a noun, science as a verb  04:55 Science and politics throughout history  Credits Hosts: Michal Meyer and Bob Kenworthy Producer: Mariel Carr Associate Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Additional Reporting and Production: Kyrie Greenberg  Audio Engineer: Dan Powell Music  Original music composed by Zach Young. Additional music courtesy of the Audio Network.

There was a time when tattoos were taboo, and you thought long and hard before getting one. Today 20 percent of American adults are inked. Tattoos just don’t carry the stigma they once did—unless it’s a particular kind of tattoo, in a particular place on the body. Fortunately, as our penchant for getting tattoos has grown, so has our ability to get rid of them. In the 1960s researchers started experimenting with lasers to remove tattoos, and since then the technology has dramatically improved. Now we can erase our past, whether it’s a sailor’s bad decision from overseas or a gang identifier that prevents its owner from getting a job—and could even get him killed. Sociologist and CHF research fellow Joseph Klett traces the modern history of tattoo removal through the stories of his father—a retired sailor—and ex-gang members in California.   Credits Hosts: Michal Meyer and Bob Kenworthy Reporter: Joseph Klett Producer:  Mariel Carr Associate producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Additional production by Kyrie Greenberg  Audio engineer: Dan PowellVoiceover artist: David Dault  Music  Original music composed by Dan Powell. 

Most of us are content to use our existing five senses to see, hear, smell, taste, and touch our way through the world. But an increasing number of people called biohackers are not satisfied with watching the everyday brilliance of a sunset or petting a silky kitten. They want infrared vision and electromagnetic fingertips. “Why wouldn't I want to add one more sense to the ones I already have and enjoy so much? The ability to feel just a little bit more?” Nic Fox asked reporter Catherine Girardeau. Fox has a device embedded in his chest that vibrates when he faces magnetic north. To understand more about these would-be cyborgs we turned to Kara Platoni, author of We Have the Technology: How Biohackers, Foodies, Physicians and Scientists Are Transforming Human Perception, One Sense at a Time. Platoni is a science reporter and a lecturer at University of California, Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism. She describes how many biohackers feel the future hasn’t gotten here fast enough. They’re ready to be cyborgs now. Show Clock 00:03 Intro 03:10 The North Sense 13:12 Interview with author Kara Platoni Credits Hosts: Michal Meyer and Bob Kenworthy Guest: Kara Platoni Reporter: Catherine Girardeau Producer:  Mariel Carr Associate Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Music Music courtesy of the Audio Network.

For as long as humans have been around they’ve worried about their smell. “That’s why we’ve had perfumes for as long as we’ve had people,” says Cari Casteel, a CHF research fellow studying the history of deodorant. But, Casteel says, "it wasn't until the late 19th, early 20th century that the technology and the chemistry catches up to what people want." Today most Americans don’t give a second thought to using deodorant. In fact, some 90% of the population slathers the stuff on. But in the late 19th and early 20th centuries deodorants and antiperspirants were new, and their makers had to convince potential customers (all women) that perfumes alone weren’t cutting it and that their body odor and perspiration were unacceptable. They did so by preying on women’s insecurities, an approach later used successfully on men. In this episode we explore some of the funny, disturbing, sexist, and quirky advertisements from deodorant’s history and discover that today’s commercials are strangely similar to those of the past. Show Clock 00:01 Intro 01:20 Odorono ad  03:57 The history and science of deodorant   09:55 Old ads vs. new ads   Credits Hosts: Michal Meyer and Bob Kenworthy Guest:  Cari Casteel Producer:  Mariel Carr Associate Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Additional Production by Kyrie Greenberg  Music Music courtesy of the Audio Network.

We all know hydration is important to health, but many people find water boring to drink. Juice and Coke aren’t boring, but they aren’t very healthy either. One way to transform water into a more exciting drink is to add bubbles. For centuries carbonated water from natural springs was used as a medicine. Now lifestyle and health concerns have combined to drive fizzy water’s renewed popularity. Join us as we unpack the long history of carbonated water, from natural mineral springs, to the invention of artificial carbonation by a radical 18th-century chemist, to the fading tradition of seltzer deliverymen in New York City. Show Clock 00:01 Intro 00:24 The rise of fizzy water  04:30 Seltzer Boys 06:40 What's the difference between seltzer, mineral water, and club soda?  08:22 The history of carbonated water   11:55 Seltzer and health Credits Hosts: Michal Meyer and Bob Kenworthy Producer:  Mariel CarrAssociate Producer: Rigoberto HernandezReporter: Rigoberto HernandezAdditional production by Kyrie Greenberg  Special thanks to Alex Gomberg and Brooklyn Seltzer Boys Music Music courtesy of the Audio Network.

The sports bra is omnipresent in today’s sports landscape. But the current iteration of this nifty item is less than 40 years old, and it arrived with a serendipitous origin story. For this episode of Distillations we talked to Lisa Lindahl, an entrepreneur from Vermont, who in 1979 patented what was to become the modern-day sports bra. It’s a story about a runner who wanted running to be more comfortable. “It was the right product at the right time. It really struck a chord for so many women,” says Lindahl. “This product came into being because it was something I wanted.” We also talked to our museum team about their new exhibition, Second Skin: The Science of Stretch, and the roles stretch fabrics play in health and sports. Christy Schneider, exhibits project manager at the Museum at CHF, says it’s all about getting the body you want, whether you want to dance all night or run a marathon. “How do you that?” asks Schneider. “You clothe it in a second skin.” Show Clock 00:05 Intro00:32 ‘The Sports Bra Seen Round the World’ 05:40 A brief history of the sports bra10:53 The technology and science behind the sports bra11:50 Why stretch fabric matters 15:20 Conclusion Credits Hosts: Michal Meyer and Bob Kenworthy Guests: Brandi Chastain, Lisa Lindahl, Gillian Maguire, and Christy Schneider Reporter: Rigoberto Hernandez Producer: Mariel Carr Associate Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Audio Engineer: Seth G. Samuel Music Music courtesy of the Audio Network.

Our producer is pregnant. For the past nine months people have asked what her birth plan is, which to her seems like asking what kind of weather she had planned for her wedding day. “All of a sudden my life was full of these terms: natural, medicated, doula, epidural, and it quickly became clear that there was a great debate—and I was supposed to choose a side.”  We wanted to know when this controversy started, and why comedian Amy Schumer is joking about sea-turtle births. So we talked to Lara Freidenfelds, a historian of sexuality, reproduction, and women’s health in America, and learned some surprising things about our nation’s early childbirth practices. Freidenfelds also shared her views about why a growing number of women are opting for unmedicated births, while Amy Tuteur, a retired obstetrician and the author of Push Back: Guilt in the Age of Natural Parenting, tells us that once upon a time all births were natural—and a lot of mothers and babies died. Show Clock 00:01 Inside Amy Schumer: "It's Better for the Baby" 01:00 Intro 02:32 Feature story: "I Can't Get To You" 11:25 Amy Tuteur and Lara Freidenfelds discuss the history and controversy behind natural childbirth Credits Hosts: Michal Meyer and Bob Kenworthy Guests: Amy Tuteur and Lara Freidenfelds Reporter: Kristin Gourlay Producer: Mariel Carr Associate Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez Audio Engineer: Seth G. Samuel Music Music courtesy of the Audio Network.