It's (Probably) Not Rocket Science

From cancer treatments to technology to monitor exposure to UV, scientific discoveries each face a unique journey before they reach the public. Today we’re exploring how innovation makes it to the community with excerpts from the Clinical and Translational Science Center's annual ⁠BioVenture Pitch Competition. ⁠

Pitch competitors:
⁠Dr. Eric Bartee⁠- Associate Professor in the School of Medicine Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Molecular Medicine

Dr. Kannan Ramaiyan- Research Associate Professor in the School of Engineering Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering

Dr. Rita Serda- Research Assistant Professor in the School of Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center

How hard is rocket science? Fifty-five years after Apollo 11 landed on the moon, students at the University of New Mexico built and launched their own rocket. In this casual episode, we explore why rocket science may not actually exist. Then, we hear from Fernando "Doc" Aguilar, who served in the Air Force Space Command before developing UNM's rocket engineering course. Later, Hyein Choi, a Lobo Launch alumna, walks us through the harrowing journey students faced leading up to the 2024 Spaceport America Cup.

Learn more about Lobo Launch. Explore more episodes of our show on podcast.unm.edu.

Microplastics have been found in human placentas, testicles, brains, and more, so what happens now? In this episode, we talk with ⁠Matthew Campen⁠, Regents’ Professor in the UNM Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, about what these findings mean for our health, how we can (or can't) find avoid microplastics, and what happens next. Then we hear from ⁠Eliane El Hayek⁠, Research Assistant Professor in the UNM Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, about ongoing research into the environmental impacts of plastics.

Read more about microplastics research:

⁠Microplastics in Every Human Placenta, New UNM Health Sciences Research Discovers⁠

⁠UNM Researchers Find Microplastics in Canine and Human Testicular Tissue⁠

⁠Microplastics Make Their Way from the Gut to Other Organs, UNM Researchers Find⁠

⁠Microplastics: Minimizing Exposure to An Invisible Health Threat⁠

Donate to the ⁠Pharmaceutical Sciences Department Activity Fund.⁠

Learn more about IPNRS and subscribe to the email newsletter on ⁠podcast.unm.edu.⁠

Ozempic and Wegovy have exploded in popularity for their ability to help people lose weight. Now, Poison Control Centers around the country are sounding the alarm over a growing trend of semaglutide overdoses and incorrect use. We explore the problem and what consumers should know with Dr. Joseph Lambson, director of the New Mexico Poison and Drug Information Center.

Learn more about Dr. Joseph Lambson and the New Mexico Poison and Drug Information Center. Read more from Dr. Lambson about semaglutide overdoses.

Publications discussed in the episode:

-Administration errors of compounded semaglutide reported to a poison control center-Case series

-TikTok scam promises popular weight loss drugs without prescription

-TikTok influencer accused of selling fake Ozempic and other weight loss drugs

- Ozempic for weight loss: How does it work and who can use it?

The Western U.S. is home to thousands of abandoned hard rock and uranium mines that pollute nearby water, soil and air with radiation and create health problems in nearby communities. This episode of It’s (Probably) Not Rocket Science explores the research of the UNM METALS Superfund Research Center working to measure toxicity, address remediation, and mitigate health risks for tribal communities living near abandoned mines.

Learn more about UNM METALS.

Read about related projects:

Today we're sharing the first episode of a brand new podcast with you called PlaceKnowing with Dr. Ted Jojola. The show is co-produced by the Indigenous Design and Planning Institute at The University of New Mexico and The Aunties Dandelion media organization.

The six-episode production will examine the essential relationship between land, storytelling, and community and the importance of visioning and revitalization around brownfields (abused or neglected land). The podcast aims to inform and inspire listeners to lead change in their own spaces through Indigenous design methodologies.

For new episodes, be sure to subscribe to PlaceKnowing with Dr. Ted Jojola on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Simplecast, or anywhere else you get your podcasts.

The Office of Management and Budget announced it would be combining race and ethnicity questions on all Federal forms, but one UNM scholar says the change could impact the ability to research and understand equity issues ranging from poverty to housing discrimination in the U.S. In this episode, Professor of Sociology Nancy López explains intersectionality in research and how the new Federal question format could complicate things in a major way.

Learn more about Professor Nancy López or her work with the Institute for the Study of “Race” and Social Justice.

Read more about OMB’s published revisions to Statistical Policy Directive No. 15 from the White House and from the U.S. Census. More information and an example of the proposed question is available in NPR’s story, Next U.S. census will have new boxes for ‘Middle Eastern or North African,’ ‘Latino.

What should a 16-year-old say if a police officer asks to search them? Law students from the UNM chapter of the Marshall-Brennan Constitutional Literacy Project have spent months teaching students from underserved high schools about their constitutional rights, how to interact with law enforcement and what a career in the legal field might look like. Soon, the group of high schoolers, their law student coaches, and UNM School of Law faculty will travel to compete in a national moot court competition in Washington D.C.

Learn more about Professor Maryam Ahranjani.

Learn more about the Marshall-Brennan Constitutional Literacy Project at UNM or the national organization.

Donate to UNM School of Law’s Marshall-Brennan Constitutional Literacy Project chapter.

Learn more about the show on podcast.unm.edu and follow it on Instagram and TikTok

How can mindfulness and the hero's journey help make us happier? A professor of Positive Psychology discusses proven strategies for happiness, thriving, and resilience to hardship with tips and exercises he teaches students at The University of New Mexico in one of the most popular courses offered at UNM.

Dr. Bruce Smith has researched, taught classes and written workbooks in Positive Psychology for more than two decades. In this episode, he walks us through some of the proven strategies for developing resilience to hard times and discusses how students were impacted by the pandemic. Learn more about him and his work in resilience, the hero's journey, and mindfulness interventions here. Learn more about his Positive Psychology workbook, "From Surviving to Thriving," here.

UNM will host the Western Positive Psychology Association's 8th annual conference March 22-24th. Learn more about the conference here.

Take a trip to outer space as we discuss early results of the James Webb Space Telescope, what astrophysicists think about astrology and how an expert in space optics suggests you clean your iPhone.  In this episode, we speak with Dr. John C. Mather, a Nobel Laureate and senior astrophysicist with NASA Goddard Space Flight Center about the James Webb Space Telescope results and with Tony Hull, a UNM adjunct professor and former JWST Program Manager at Tinsley who led the team that meticulously polished the mirrors in the James Webb Space Telescope.

This special episode of It’s (Probably) Not Rocket Science is also available as a video podcast.

Read more about the James Webb Space Telescope.

 
Learn more about Dr. John C. Mather, Nobel Laureate and Senior Project Scientist Emeritus for the Webb Telescope. Dr. Mather earned the 2006 Nobel Prize in Physics for his role with the COBE Satellite (Cosmic Background Explorer).

Learn more about Tony Hull, UNM adjunct professor of Physics and Astronomy and former JWST Program Director at Tinsley and the role of the mirrors in the James Webb Space Telescope.

Interested in learning more about the space research happening at The University of New Mexico? Visit loboday.unm.edu/2024.

Special thanks to NASA and the James Webb Space Telescope team for the images and videos used in the episode.