Brain Buzz

In Episode 31 we are joined by Ellie Gooderham from the Department of Archaeology at Simon Fraser University to chat how cultural changes affect juvenile development and health. Ellie shares with us how the social, cultural, and physical environments affect population stress, and how these periods of stress impacted juvenile development in Portugal from the 8th to 16th centuries. How do cultural shifts affect population health? How do archaeologists determine the age of an artifact? Do all archaeologists get to wear a cool hat and carry a whip? All this and much more in Digging Through the Past: The Archaeology of Culture Change with Ellie Gooderham.

In Episode 30 we are joined by Rachel Mazac from the University of British Columbia’s Faculty of Land and Food Systems to discuss sustainability in the development of food-based dietary guidelines. Rachel shares with us how governments and health agencies are incorporating food sustainability into dietary guidelines and how nutrition, health, and the environment are inextricably intertwined. What are the five domains used to approach sustainability in food-based dietary guidelines? Where does the social and cultural context for eating belong in promoting sustainable and healthy food guidelines? What would the perfect food-based dietary guideline look like? All this and much more in Food for Thought: Sustainability in Food guidelines with Rachel Mazac!

In Episode 29 we are joined by Matt Smith, the Information Technology Manager and Technical Analyst at the University of British Columbia’s Department of Psychology, to chat about the role of information technologists in research. Matt explains how information technologists can work with researchers to empower, drive, and manage research projects. What is ‘general research computing’ and ‘high performance computing,’ and how do they differ? What does an Information Technologist do to facilitate research? How often is IT support requested for assistance with a device that will not turn on when it is unplugged? All this and much more in Tech Support and Science with Matt Smith!

In Episode 28 we are joined by Kaylee Byers from the Department of Interdisciplinary Studies at the University of British Columbia to chat about rat ecology, behaviours, and their impact on human health. Kaylee shares with us how the movement of rats in urban settings leads to a clustering of disease pathogens. How does pest control lead to changes in social behaviour and an increase in pathogen prevalence? What is the density of urban rats and how far-ranging are they? Where in the world could you go to avoid rats? All this and much more in Oh Rats! with Kaylee Byers!

In Episode 27 Dr. Athena Aktipis from the Department of Psychology at the Arizona State University joins us to chat about cooperation from a cellular to human scale. Athena shares with us how the five principles of cooperation can be applied across systems, how cancer represents a breakdown of this multicellular cooperation, and how a need based transfer system is an optimal cooperation and generosity strategy. What is cooperation and can any action be altruistic? Do we need bad people to have cooperation? What can zombies tell us about cooperation and psychology? All this and much more in Cooperation, Cancer, and Conmen with Dr. Athena Aktipis!

In Episode 26we are joined by Simon Dubé from Concordia University to discuss artificial socio-sexual entities. Simon shares with us how people perceive new socio-sexual technologies and how that relates to their individual characteristics, personality traits, and sex life. We also talk about how people perceive these technologies psycho-physiologically in comparison with human romantic or sexual partners. What are artificial socio-sexual entities? How do arousal and sexual interactions differ between sex robots and human partners? Does a sexual interactions between an individual and a sex robot cause one to lose their virginity? All that and much more in Erobotics & Sex Robots with Simon Dubé.

In Episode 25 we are joined by Lydia Roos from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte to chat about Infidelity and PTSD. Lydia shares with us how interpersonal relationships can be traumatic and what the psychological outcomes of these traumatic experiences can be. What are the four components of PTSD? What constitutes PTSD? Why is infidelity not considered trauma? What are the rates of PTSD-like symptomology for individuals who have suffered interpersonal trauma? All this and much more in Infidelity and PTSD with Lydia Roos.

In Episode 24 we are joined by Dr. Chris Rowell from the Sauder School of Business at the University of British Columbia to discuss blockchain technology. Chris explains how blockchains can empower individuals by enabling them to retake ownership of their own technological data and to reduce fees from online transactions. How does blockchain technology allow people to retake ownership of their data? Can smart contracts make online transactions safer, cheaper, and easier? How does blockchain work? All this and much more in Blockchain Technology with Dr. Chris Rowell!

In Episode 23 we are joined by Marina White from Carleton University to discuss infant development born from mothers with HIV. Marina shares with us how exposure to maternal HIV infection affects neural and physical development pre- and postnatally. What is the transmission rate of HIV from mothers to pre- and postnatal infants? How does HIV exposure impact neural development? How is HIV transmitted and how effective are Antiretroviral Therapies? All this and much more in HIV and in utero Development with Marina White!

In Episode 22 we are joined by Audrey Aday from the Social Identity Lab at the University of British Columbia to chat about social identity and authenticity.