The Science of Everything Podcast

Dive into the fascinating clash between low-carb and low-fat diets. Explore the carbohydrate-insulin model of obesity and its claims about weight gain. Discover the complexities of ketosis and the role of ketone bodies in dietary choices. Investigate scientific studies that reveal no major differences in weight loss between low-carb and low-fat approaches. Plus, learn about the environmental impact of high animal product consumption. It's a captivating look at the science of nutrition and its implications for health!

An interview with Ariel Zeleznikow-Johnston, author of the book 'The Future Loves You: How and Why We Should Abolish Death'. We begin by discussing how best to define death, focusing on the idea of death as the permanent disruption of psychological identity, and how such identity is constituted by our personality, desires, and memories. We then consider the science of brain preservation, including the recently-developed technique of Aldehyde-Stabilized Cryopreservation, and how it could be used to indefinitely preserve the brain structure that encodes or personal identity. Ariel argues that such a preserved brain could potentially be used to construct a digital simulation of our brains, essentially allowing us to survive the biological death of our bodies. We conclude by considering some potential challenges of implementign such a technology, and whether it would achieve widespread social acceptance. Ariel's book: The Future Loves You: How and Why We Should Abolish Death Turning Fate into Choice: Patient Self-Determination and Life Extension More on brain preservation: A case for developing Aldehyde Stabilized Cryopreservation into a medical procedure How much protein structure loss is there following glutaraldehyde crosslinking? Large Mammal BPF Prize Winning Announcement Mapping the Drosophila brain: The connectome of an insect brain | Science      

Explore how obesity, diabetes, and hypertension intertwine in the complex web of metabolic syndrome. Discover the alarming effects of enlarged fat cells on health and how they disrupt metabolic signaling. Delve into the mechanisms behind insulin resistance and its role in diabetes. Uncover the relationship between blood lipids and glucose metabolism, learning about the significance of LDL and HDL. The conversation highlights the dangers of these conditions and their contribution to increased mortality, making for a thought-provoking listen.

Dive into the essentials of human nutrition, exploring the vital roles of carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, and minerals. Learn about the differing types of carbohydrates and the health implications of fats, including the risks of trans fats. The discussion touches on the impact of malnutrition, especially in children, and the importance of micronutrients. Finally, understand the complexities of overnutrition and the significance of basal metabolic rate in obesity and weight management.

Dive into the fascinating world of home appliances! Discover how refrigerators chill and sift through the mechanics behind rice cookers and microwaves. Uncover the science of washing machines and the tidy performance of vacuum cleaners. Learn about the design and plumbing innovations in modern flush toilets. The discussion reveals how engineering shapes daily conveniences and offers insights into the future of home technology. Plus, find out how video resources are enhancing the educational experience!

Dive into the fascinating world of personality psychology! Discover the evolution of the field through legends like Freud and Jung, and how their ideas shaped modern understanding. Learn about the Big Five personality traits and their implications for self-concept and behavior. Explore the allure and controversies surrounding the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. Lastly, find out how values and narrative identity shape who we are and drive our motivations in life!

An introduction to the processes by which cells control which genes are expressed. We begin with an overview of why genetic regulation is necessary and the key stages where such regulation occurs, including key concepts such as transcription factors and DNA binding domains. We then discuss prokaryotic gene regulation, focusing on the lac operon in E. coli. We then expand the discussion to cover the various mechanisms of eukaryotic gene regulation, including chromatic remodelling, transcriptional regulation, post-transcriptional regulation, RNA editing, and micro RNAs. Recommended pre-listening is Episodes 34-35: DNA Structure and Function, and Episode 118: Cell Signalling. If you enjoyed the podcast please consider supporting the show by making a PayPal donation or becoming a Patreon supporter. https://www.patreon.com/jamesfodor https://www.paypal.me/ScienceofEverything

Here we survey of the causes and consequences of genetic mutation, including a discussion of mechanisms of endogenous and induced mutations, rates of mutation, types of single nucleotide mutations, and the phenotypic effects of mutation. We also discuss various mechanisms for detecting and repairing genetic mutations, including base excision repair, DNA mismatch repair, nucleotide excision repair, double strand break repair. We conclude with an examination of large-scale chromosomal changes, including deletions, duplications, inversions, and translocations, unequal crossing over, with a brief look at polypoidy in plants and aneuploidy in humans. Recommended pre-listening is Episodes 34 and 35: DNA Structure and Function, and Episode 44: Cell Division. If you enjoyed the podcast please consider supporting the show by making a PayPal donation or becoming a Patreon supporter. https://www.patreon.com/jamesfodor https://www.paypal.me/ScienceofEverything

An introduction to classical Mendelian genetics, in which we discuss Mendel's experiments with peas and the laws of heredity that he discovered, including inheritance of one allele from each parent, the law of dominance, and the law of independent segregation. We then consider more complex cases of genetic inheritance, including sex-linked traits, incomplete dominance, codominance, and epistasis. The episode concludes with a discussion of quantitative traits determined by many genes, including how genetic variation is described, how sources of variance are identified using genome wide association studies, and the conceptual issues with defining heredity and separating the effects of genes from those of environment.   If you enjoyed the podcast please consider supporting the show by making a PayPal donation or becoming a Patreon supporter. https://www.patreon.com/jamesfodor https://www.paypal.me/ScienceofEverything Check out out youtube channel! The Science of Everything Podcast - YouTube

Continuing our series on General Relativity, we discuss the derivation of the Schwarzschild metric as a vacuum solution to Einstein's Field Equations, and analyse the physical meaning of this solution, including the properties of the singularity, event horizon, and effects of time dilation and length compression. We then consider how solutions like the Schwarzschild metric yield testable predictions such as gravitational lensing and graviational redshift, which serve as important evidence in support of General Relativity. We conclude with a discussion about some of the more exotic aspects of black holes, including Hawking radiation, the no hair theorem, and the black hole information loss paradox. Recommended pre-listening is Episode 136: Introduction to General Relativity. If you enjoyed the podcast please consider supporting the show by making a PayPal donation or becoming a Patreon supporter. https://www.patreon.com/jamesfodor https://www.paypal.me/ScienceofEverything