In the beginning, the universe contained nothing more than hydrogen and helium. But how did we get from there to the universe we know now—one filled with a vast array of complex stars, planets, and galaxies? And how do these celestial bodies form, and from what? These questions form the basis of research done by Catherine Espaillat, a Boston University College of Arts & Sciences professor of astronomy and director of BU’s Institute for Astrophysical Research.

In a way, everything in the universe is beholden to a life cycle, and that includes stars, moons, and planets. Espaillat’s research, which makes use of NASA’s ultra powerful James Webb Space Telescope, looks at how baby stars interact with regions of space dust and gas called protoplanetary disks to become celestial bodies like our Earth, sun, and moon.

Have you ever stopped to wonder how many alcoholic beverage ads you encounter in a day—on the bus or on TV, at the movies or a sports stadium? What about how many alcohol products—like the much-discussed Dunkin’ Spiked drinks—are styled to look like their nonalcoholic counterparts? How about how much less you’d drink if you weren’t constantly bombarded with all those alcohol ads?

The tactics used by alcohol companies to sell their products—and how many of those ads might end up appealing to children—are a big focus of David Jernigan’s research. A Boston University School of Public Health professor of health law, policy, and management, his goal is to raise awareness of alcohol as a public health hazard. The way it’s advertised, sold, talked about, and idealized, he says, can lead to increased rates of car accidents, substance use disorder, and mortality—risks that are exacerbated in underage drinkers.

For the latest episode of Explain This!, host Alene Bouranova sat down for a conversation with Jernigan, asking him how underregulated alcohol marketing can compromise collective safety, and what can be done to prevent further damage. 

Does Boston Spanish have its own accent and dialect? In the second episode of The Brink podcast Explain This! coproducer Sophie Yarin chats with Daniel Erker, a Boston University College of Arts & Sciences associate professor of linguistics and Spanish, about linguistic variation—the phenomenon of language evolution. As a sociolinguist, Erker’s scholarship looks at how human factors—such as migration, colonialism, and contact—shape what we say and how we say it. Director of the BU-based Spanish in Boston Project, which is funded by the National Science Foundation, his research is invested in understanding the unique ways that local Spanish speakers communicate.

Everybody knows the ubiquitous Boston accent—“pahk the cah in Hahvahd Yahd.” Listen now as Erker tells us what effect it might have on the city’s bilingual residents.

In our debut episode, The Brink’s science writer Jessica Colarossi sits down with Steve Ramirez (CAS’10), a BU College of Arts & Sciences assistant professor of psychological and brain sciences, to discuss his lab’s research on how the brain records and stores memories. Ramirez’s team relies on a biological technique called optogenetics that lets them view memories as physical phenomena in the brain—a process known as engram mapping. We asked Ramirez about where memories are stored, the differences (and similarities) between human and nonhuman memories, and how memory-manipulating technology could be used to alleviate symptoms of PTSD in a clinical setting.