Ask a Scientist

Have you ever wanted to know more about sustainable ways to make materials like plastics? In this episode, Dr. John Trawick, Senior Research Fellow at Genomatica, talks to us about using biology to make stuff. That is, he uses microbes (small living things like bacteria) to make the building blocks of plastics! In this episode, he tells us more about what this means and how it works. This is a more sustainable way to make materials like plastics that are used in so many everyday items. Dr. Trawick will explain all about the process of making these plastic building blocks, he will give examples of products that use these building blocks, and much, much more!! 

Links to more information: 

Genomatica website: www.genomatica.com.

Mater-Bio (Novamont) in Italy has licensed Genomatica technology and makes 1,4-butanediol by fermentation instead of from crude oil: https://www.novamont.com/eng/                                                                                                                                                                 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsEfH8-2uN4

Genomatica is bringing renewable nylon to reality: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GTAJKDQhLQ&feature=youtu.be

Very Cherry Bright Moistuizer: https://www.sephora.com/product/very-cherry-bright-15-clean-vitamin-c-serum-with-acerola-cherry-P449400

Brontide: https://www.brontidebg.com/

Lavazza: https://www.lavazza.com/en.html

Have you ever seen a bug in your house and wanted to know how it got there and how to get rid of it? Dr. Sydney Crawley, Assistant Professor at North Carolina State University, studies the that live in and around your house (urban insects). She focuses on studying bed bugs, cockroaches, mosquitoes, and other pests that can harm people or pets. She answers all of your questions about these bugs and gives us some useful tips to prevent the bugs from coming into your house and how to get rid of them when you find them! She'll even teach you how to make your own fruit fly trap! 

Dr. Crawley’s Linked In https://www.linkedin.com/in/sydney-crawley-62916b7b/ 

Catepillar poop https://youtu.be/bxYuLjyf1Qw 

Peackcok spider https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3HlwwJG85cn

Camel cricket https://www.pestworld.org/pest-guide/occasional-invaders/camel-crickets/

Velvet ant https://www.pestworld.org/pest-guide/stinging-insects/velvet-ants-cow-killers/

Giant prickly stick insect https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extatosoma_tiaratum

Giant water bug https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belostomatidae

Cacropia moth https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyalophora_cecropia

Orchid mantis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hymenopus_coronatus

Madagascar hissing roach https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madagascar_hissing_cockroach

Have you ever wanted to know more about birds? In this episode, Alyssa DeRubeis talks about her Master's research at the University of Arkansas studying grassland birds in North America. She talks to us all about birds and what we can do to help birds. She answers all of your questions about birds, including "why do some birds fly south in the winter, while others don't?" "how is climate change affecting birds?" and "do all birds lay eggs?" She even gives some great advice about bird feeders and demonstrates some bird calls! 

Bobwhite quail -  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_bobwhite

California condor - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_condor

Giant ibis - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_ibis

Henslow’s sparrow - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henslow%27s_sparrow

Grasshopper sparrows - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grasshopper_sparrow

LaCante sparrows - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LeConte%27s_sparrow

Red-winged blackbird - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-winged_blackbird

Bobolink - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobolink

Eastern meadowlark - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_meadowlark

Eastern bluebird - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_bluebird

American kestrel - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_kestrel

Painted bunting - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Painted_bunting

Scissor-tailed flycatcher - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scissor-tailed_flycatcher

Snowy owl - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowy_owl

Great gray owl - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_grey_owl

Jabiru stork - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jabiru

Dicksissel - https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dickcissel

Hoatzin - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoatzin

American redstart - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_redstart

Inaccessible island rail - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inaccessible_Island_rail

Bearded vulture - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bearded_vulture

Hook-billed kite - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hook-billed_kite

Golden eagle - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_eagle

Canada jay - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada_jay

Cliff swallow - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cliff_swallow

Warbler - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warbler

www.ebird.org

Do you ever wonder if there is life on other planets? Do you love Sci Fi movies about extra terrestrials? In this episode, Dr. Jeff Coughlin, of the SETI Institute and Kepler Mission at NASA, talks to us about exoplanets and the search for life on other planets. He will answer all of your questions about exoplanets, including, "what is an exoplanet? Where is the closest exoplanet?" and of course the important question "how do you look for life on other planets?" So grab your telescopes and get ready to explore outer space! 

Have you ever wanted to know more about life in the ocean? In this episode, Susann Rossbach, PhD candidate in Marine Science at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, will talk to us about life underwater, specifically giant clams!! She will answer all of your questions about these wonderful invertebrates, like how big do they get, what do they eat, and how are the being affected by climate change. So grab your scuba gear and get ready for an underwater adventure into the world of giant clams! 

Ocean Sunfish: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocean_sunfish 

What is social science? Brooke McWherter, PhD student at Purdue University, talks to us all about being a social scientist. She is a natural resource social scientist, so she studies people’s thoughts and behaviors around natural resource management and conservation. she answers all of your questions about what it's like to work with people and study the ways that people think and feel about the natural world! 

Red-fronted macaw https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-fronted_macaw 

Have you ever wanted to know more about antibiotic resistance? In this episode, Lisa Stein, a master's student at the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa. She answers all of your questions including "what does antibiotic resistance mean?" "how to bacteria become resistant to antibiotic medicines?" and "how can you protect yourself from resistant bacteria?" 

Have you ever wanted to know how birds communicate with each other? Dr. Kelly Ronald, professor of biology at Hope College, talks to us all about bird communication! Why do birds sing early in the morning? How many noises can birds make? Why are birds so many different colors? Why are some birds bright colors and others aren't? She answers all these questions and more! 

Link to lyrebird sounds https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjE0Kdfos4Y

Dr. Ronald’s website https://www.kellylronald.com/

Have you ever wanted to know more about how libraries work? In this episode, Ben Chiewphasa, Government Information Librarian and Assistant Professor at the University of Montana, talks to us all about library and information sciences! Information is all around us: When you turn on the TV, read a news article, watch a YouTube video, and a lot more! Ben will answer all your questions about how information gets created, collected, organized, preserved, and distributed! He will even talk about fake news, how to identify it, and how to avoid it! So turn off your tvs, close your Google searches, and get ready to hear all about the world of information from a librarian and information scientist!  

Have you ever wanted to know more about animals without backbones (invertebrates)? In this episode, Dr. Jen Bauer, Collections Manager at the University of Michigan Museum of Paleontology, talks to us all about invertebrates and the 2 million fossils in the museum that she manages! She tells us all about sea urchins, sea stars, and what its like to work with 2 million fossils! She describes ancient invertebrates and how she studies family trees going back hundreds of millions of years! 

Here are links to things we've mentioned throughout the episode:

University of Michigan’s online fossil repository https://umorf.ummp.lsa.umich.edu/wp/

Dr. Bauer’s website Time Scavengers https://timescavengers.blog/

Venomous sea urchins -  https://www.liveabout.com/are-sea-urchin-spines-venomous-2962963

Sea star stomach: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DFXGafpGkQ

Fossil Focus: Blastoids  https://www.palaeontologyonline.com/articles/2018/fossil-focus-blastoids/

For listeners to explore other fossil types:  https://www.digitalatlasofancientlife.org/vc/

Heart urchin: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heteraster#/media/File:Heteraster_oblongus.jpg

Devonian sea star: http://michiganbasinfossils.org/viewrecord/8

Cryptoschisma: https://www.steinkern.de/steinkern-de-galerie/spanien/blastoidea-cryptoschisma-schultzii-de-verneuil-d-archiac-1845-12855.html