Strange New Worlds: A Science & Star Trek Podcast

Response to DSC: "Kobayashi Maru" In the first episode of Discovery's fourth season, we meet the Alshain, who navigate by their planet's magnetic field, which is in the processes of reversing polarity. Do planetary magnetic fields actually flip? And do real-life organisms use magnetism to orient themselves? Paper about protist–magnetic bacteria symbiosis: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41564-019-0432-7 Paper about human magnetoreception: https://authors.library.caltech.edu/90480/ Follow Mike on Twitter: twitter.com/Miquai

Guests: Dr. Caleb Scharf & Dr. Stuart Bartlett One thing—perhaps the thing—that sets humans apart is the way we encode information in our environment. In his book "The Ascent of Information," Caleb Scharf, Director of Astrobiology at Columbia University, coined a new name for this externalization of data. It's the "dataome"—like the "biome" because this information can be seen as a living system in its own right. On this exciting episode of Strange New Worlds, Mike is joined by Dr. Scharf as well as astrobiologist and artificial life researcher Dr. Stuart Bartlett to discuss how the concept of the dataome interfaces with themes in Star Trek. Why is AI such a prevalent villain in the Trek universe? Will we ever become the Borg? What can we learn about biology by creating synthetic life? "The Ascent of Information," by Caleb Scharf: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/621175/the-ascent-of-information-by-caleb-scharf/ Follow us on Twitter! Mike: https://twitter.com/Miquai Caleb: https://twitter.com/caleb_scharf

Guest: Shi En Kim Science journalist Shi En Kim joins Mike to read their StarTrek.com article about how scientists are transplanting tardigrade genes into human cells à la Stamets in Star Trek: Discovery. Then, Kim joins Mike to share some science stories from her AAAS Mass Media Fellowship at Smithsonian Magazine and their connections to Star Trek. Kim & Mike's StarTrek.com article "Discovery's Tardigrades Are Making a Name For Themselves in Our World": https://www.startrek.com/news/discoverys-tardigrades-are-making-a-name-for-themselves-in-our-world Kim's space debris article: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/can-worlds-first-space-sweeper-make-dent-orbiting-debris-180978515/ Kim's spider silk article: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/fourteen-ways-spiders-use-their-silk-180978354/ Kim's website: https://shienkim.wordpress.com/ Follow us on Twitter! Mike: https://twitter.com/Miquai Kim: https://twitter.com/goes_by_kim

Guest: Basem Al-Shayeb Special Co-Host: Elise Cutts Scientists recently announced the discovery of Borgs (yes, Borgs), which they describe as giant genetic elements that assimilate DNA from their archaeal hosts. We speak to the lead author of the Borg paper—UC Berkeley graduate student Basem Al-Shayeb—about finding the Borgs, their global implications, and, of course, the story behind their naming. Basem's paper, "Borgs are giant extrachromosomal elements with the potential to augment methane oxidation": https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.07.10.451761v1 Two recent science news articles by Elise: "Desert Life Conjures Organic Carbon from Thin Air" in EOS: https://eos.org/articles/desert-life-conjures-organic-carbon-from-thin-air "Missing Antarctic microbes raise thorny questions about the search for aliens" in Science News: https://www.sciencenews.org/article/antarctica-microbes-habitability-aliens-extraterrestrial Follow us on Twitter! Mike: https://twitter.com/Miquai Basem: https://twitter.com/themicrobeguy Elise: https://twitter.com/elisecutts

Luke Tower is a high school student with a passion for science and engineering who is trying to figure out what he wants to study. As part of this journey, he's been interviewing different kinds of STEM professionals on his podcast, Atomic Interviews. On this BONUS episode of Strange New Worlds, we're listening to an interview that Luke did with Mike about planetary science, astrobiology, and Mike's career path. Enjoy! Atomic Interviews: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/atomic-interviews/id1550208265 Follow Mike on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Miquai

Guests: Prof. Myriam Telus, Dr. Jessie Christiansen, Dr. James T. Keane, and Dr. Tiffany Kataria Mike hosts a panel discussion about diversity in science & Star Trek, which initially aired live on July 18, 2021, at the IDIC Podcast Festival hosted by Women at Warp. Rewatch all of the IDIC Podcast Festival sessions: https://www.womenatwarp.com/idic-fest/ Follow us on Twitter! Mike: https://twitter.com/Miquai Jessie: https://twitter.com/aussiastronomer James: https://twitter.com/jtuttlekeane

Guest: Dr. Maddie Stone Can Star Trek help us solve climate change? Science journalist Dr. Maddie Stone joins Mike to recap specific instances of environmentalism in Star Trek—TNG: “Force of Nature,” VOY: “Thirty Days,” and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home—and imagine how contemporary Star Trek can more directly address our present-day climate crisis. “It's Time for Star Trek to Tackle Climate Change” by Maddie Stone: https://gizmodo.com/its-time-for-star-trek-to-tackle-climate-change-1833261411 “Five times Star Trek biology plots went off the rails” by Maddie Stone: https://www.sciof.fi/five-times-star-trek-biology-plots-went-off-the-rails-2/ Follow us on Twitter! Mike: https://twitter.com/Miquai Maddie: https://twitter.com/themadstone

Guest: Thea Weiss According to one line of thought, the emergence of robots and artificial intelligence has engendered a brand-new category of being. How should we flesh-and-blood creatures treat these synthetic entities? In part two of an interview with University of Washington psychologist and astrobiologist Thea Weiss, we discuss a study that examined whether children ascribed mental states, civil rights, and moral standing to a robot named Robovie—and how this study relates to the battle over Data's self-determination in TNG: "The Measure of a Man." Short video describing Thea's lab's research: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEKrTa_z-zk&t=2s Follow us on Twitter! Mike: https://twitter.com/Miquai Thea: https://twitter.com/TheaWeiss17

Guest: Thea Weiss As technology becomes increasingly pervasive, more and more people are perceiving the natural world through screens and simulated experiences. One day, astronauts on long-duration missions may only know natural environments through virtual reality...or perhaps the holodeck. What does this mean for our mental and physical health? In the first of two episodes featuring University of Washington psychologist and astrobiologist Thea Weiss, we discuss whether simulated nature imparts the same restorative benefits as actual nature, the concept of the uncanny valley, and a phenomenon known as "environmental generational amnesia." Also, check out UW Astrobiology's brand-new series of public science panels, hosted by Mike! Panel 1 "Where is the best place to look for life in the universe?" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nd9nGwH6DpA&t=3s&ab_channel=UWAstrobiology Panel 2 "What is life and how did it begin?" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eA595wUW5PI&ab_channel=UWAstrobiology Panel 3 "How will we find and recognize life out there?" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlTsw7ZR8I8&t=1s&ab_channel=UWAstrobiology Follow us on Twitter! Mike: https://twitter.com/Miquai Thea: https://twitter.com/TheaWeiss17

Guest: Dr. Una McCormack New York Times bestselling science fiction writer Dr. Una McCormack joins us to talk about the scientific themes in her 2020 Star Trek: Picard novel The Last Best Hope—from allegories for climate change and science denialism to the pursuit of synthetic sentience. Info about the IDIC Podcast Festival, July 17 & 18, 2021: https://www.womenatwarp.com/idic-fest/ The Last Best Hope, by Dr. Una McCormack: https://unamccormack.co.uk/?books=star-trek-picard-the-last-best-hope Follow us on Twitter! Mike: https://twitter.com/Miquai Una: https://twitter.com/unamccormack