Our friend’s wife got the flu. Conveniently, they found an old half-used antibiotics packet in their cupboard. So they agreed she should take a couple of anti-biotic tablets for a few days just to be on the safe side. Yep. This actually happened. And we’re sure it happens all the time. No wonder antibiotic resistance is a problem. Ignorance around antibiotic resistance is rife and bugs are slowly winning the war against the old guard of traditional antibiotics. This is bad. But! There is hope! And it comes in the guise of a bacteria-eating virus. This is our main topic for the episode.

We also deal with:

It took 4 billion years for the first cells to evolve into the talking, walking, podcast-making, online shitposting, creative and utterly insane humans that now populate the earth.

BUT!

Is that ACTUALLY enough time for Darwin’s theory of incremental mutation to work its slow brand of magic??? A whole lot of smart people reckon it’s not. Justin and Justin try to find out whether they have a point! Spoiler alert: they don’t.

Justin Z also talks about his own recently published research looking at the health and educational deficit faced by twins.

PLUS!<

REFERENCES

Zeltzer, J. , Shand, A. W., Kelly, P. , Hopper, J. L., Scurrah, K. J. and Nassar, N. (2019), Early birth is a key factor in educational disadvantage of twins: a data linkage study. Acta Paediatr.

Caitlin E. et al (2019) Prebiotic amino acids bind to and stabilize prebiotic fatty acid membranes. PNAS Aug 2019, 201900275; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1900275116

Believe it or not, we actually went to Russia to find out.

Hopefully you’ll forgive the “on-location” sound quality as we discuss the difficulties of conducting and publishing research in Russia.

We also answer the following questions:

• What caused the mystery radioactive fog that descended on Europe in 2017?

• Can machine learning identify autism in babies from merely analysing eye movements?

• How does Burger King possibly have a 4.5 star google review rating

Jeremy’s Iron is an excuse for two mates to geek out over science, research and publication. It’s a conversation between a biostatistician (Justin Zeltzer) and an orthopaedic surgeon (Justin Bobyn).

Jeremy’s Iron is available on iTunes: HERE
Join our Facebook page: HERE

Masson et al (2019) Airborne concentrations and chemical considerations of radioactive ruthenium from an undeclared major nuclear release in 2017 PNAS https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1907571116

Cohen et al (2019) Foetal oestrogens and autism Molecular Psychiatry https://www.nature.com/articles/s41380-019-0454-9

Artoni et al (2019) Deep learning of spontaneous arousal fluctuations detects early cholinergic defects across neurodevelopmental mouse models and patients PNAS https://www.pnas.org/content/early/2019/07/16/1820847116

In an experiment that would make most researchers shudder with its methodological flaws, Justin Z and Justin B go head-to-head in a winner-takes-all 50m swim sprint.

Why?

We're both in our mid 30s, single and have too much time on our hands. And with content like this its probably staying that way.

Jeremy’s Iron is available on iTunes: HERE
Join our Facebook page: HERE

Scared of soy?? Us too.

This episode unpacks the man-boob myth and also looks at the effects of soy consumption on pre- and post-menopausal women.

Justin B grabs a strong Aeropress coffee just before the show - clearly his usual frenetic enthusiasm was going to be insufficient for this one. So we make it rain in the first half of the show as we deliver a some long overdue listener shout-outs, investigate the placebo effect, cross-examine Wim Hof,  discuss the downside of having a twin and castigate Spotify DJs.

Soy chat starts around 29mins.

Jeremy’s Iron is an excuse for two mates to geek out over science, research and publication. It’s a conversation between a biostatistician (Justin Zeltzer) and an orthopaedic surgeon (Justin Bobyn).

Jeremy’s Iron is available on iTunes: HERE
Join our Facebook page: HERE

Kaptchuk TJ, Friedlander E, Kelley JM, et al. (2010) Placebos without deception: a randomized controlled trial in irritable bowel syndrome. (link is external) PLoS One. 2010;5(12):1–7.

Martinez, J. and Lewi, J. (2008) An Unusual Case of Gynecomastia Associated with Soy Product Consumption. Endocrine Practice. Vol. 14, No. 4, pp. 415-418

Messina M. (2016) Soy and Health Update: Evaluation of the Clinical and Epidemiologic Literature. Nutrients. 2016;8(12):754. Published 2016 Nov 24. doi:10.3390/nu8120754

Panel on Food Additives and Nutrient Sources added to Food (2015) Scientific opinion on the risk assessment for peri- and post-menopausal women taking food supplements containing isolated isoflavones. EFSA J. 2015;13:4246.

Siepmann T1, Roofeh J, Kiefer FW, Edelson DG. (2011) Hypogonadism and erectile dysfunction associated with soy product consumption. Nutrition. 2011 Jul-Aug;27(7-8):859-62. doi: 10.1016/j.nut.2010.10.018. Epub 2011 Feb 25.

Our sophmore interview on Jeremy’s Iron is with renaissance tech bro Dylan Baskind. He’s the CEO of Qwilr - an online document-creation platform. He’s also the lead singer of Winter People and a visual artist. But what brings him to the podcast is his regular meditation habit. We ask him how meditation affects his high pressure work life and also how regular meditation might adversely affect the creative process.

Special Guest: Dylan Baskind.

Meditation is practiced by billions across the globe. Each person with their own personal relationship to their practice. There are countless stories of meditation’s positive effect on people’s lives. From tales of rapture, to people who have come back from the brink through meditation to those that just feel that meditation makes them 10% happier.

Great! Meditation works then. Cool! No need for a podcast about it

[resumes online shopping for bulk-buy Golden Gaytimes]

Wait. You’re saying there’s NO DEFINITIVE SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE THAT MEDITATION WORKS? How is that possibly true? Well in this episode, Justin and Justin creep through the sticky weeds of why the effectiveness of meditation is decidedly hard to tease out. Or maybe…. just maybe… it might not be as amazing as we think!

We also talk about retired search engines, poop transplants and we announce an interview with Dylan Baskind (CEO Qwilr Industries). Note that the interview will be released as a separate episode to follow shortly!

REFERENCES

Kabat-Zinn, J. (2011) Some reflections on the origins of MBSR, skillful means, and the trouble with maps, Contemporary Buddhism, 12:01, 281-306, DOI: 10.1080/14639947.2011.564844

Van Dam, N. (2018). Mind the Hype: A Critical Evaluation and Prescriptive Agenda for Research on Mindfulness and Meditation. Perspect Psychol Sci. 2018 Jan;13(1):36-61. doi: 10.1177/1745691617709589. Epub 2017 Oct 10.

Montessori and Steiner schools have been preaching “student-focussed” education for more than 100 years. What’s more, their rejection of teacher authority and strict curricula is progressively encroaching on mainstream schools. BUT is there any evidence that their progressive take on schooling provides any longterm benefits to students?? Justin and Justin hope to find out! In this episode we discuss the education principles of Montessori and Steiner schools and investigate any available scientific research on long-term effects to students. Also in this episode: Do elderberries protect you from the flu? What is the gut-brain axis? Does Justin Z have a gambling problem? Who are the other members of the band Genesis?

REFERENCES

Fischer, H. et al. (2013) The Effect of Attending Steiner Schools during Childhood on Health in Adulthood: A Multicentre Cross Sectional Study PLoS One. 2013 Sep 12;8(9):e73135. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0073135. 

Lillard, Angeline & Heise, Megan & M. Richey, Eve & Tong, Xin & Hart, Alyssa & M. Bray, Paige. (2017). Montessori Preschool Elevates and Equalizes Child Outcomes: A Longitudinal Study. Frontiers in Psychology. 08. 1783. 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01783.

Sobo, E. (2015) Social Cultivation of Vaccine Refusal and Delayamong Waldorf (Steiner) School Parents Med Anthropol Q. Sep;29(3):381-99. doi: 10.1111/maq.12214. Epub 2015 May 15.

Yang B, Wei J, Ju P et al. (2019) Effects of regulating intestinal microbiota on anxiety symptoms: A systematic review General Psychiatry 2019; 32: e100056. doi: 10.1136/gpsych-2019-100056

Jeremy’s Iron is an excuse for two mates to geek out over science, research and publication. It’s a conversation between a biostatistician (Justin Zeltzer) and an orthopaedic surgeon (Justin Bobyn).

So you think you’re eco-conscious hey? You don’t own a car, you keep a kitchen compost and you even reuse those brown paper mushroom bags to discretely drink your canned beer on public transport. Good for you! Unfortunately it adds up to about nothing if you take just one domestic flight.

Fly shame is real, and many people are going cold turkey on holiday making to reduce their environmental impact. In this episode, Justin B tries to convince Justin Z not to become one of these people. We also talk about new interesting findings in evolutionary biology, how a jet engine works and the magic castle in Los Angeles.

REFERENCES

Roberta Bergero, Jim Gardner, Beth Bader, Lengxob Yong, Deborah Charlesworth (2019). ; Exaggerated heterochiasmy in a fish with sex-linked male coloration polymorphisms. PNAS 2019,2018 18486; DOI:10.1073/pnas.1818486116

Bell, R. C., Webster, G. N. and Whiting, M. J. (2017) Breeding biology and the evolution of dynamic sexual dichromatism in frogs. J. Evol. Biol., 30: 2104-2115. doi:10.1111/jeb.13170

Justin Z completes the Iowa gambling task, and opens up about a burgeoning interest in losing money at poker. Justin B links this to social media use. It works. Mostly. They also talk about self-driving cars (as any self-respecting podcast ought to), and a new type of male contraception inspired by a layered cocktail. Jeremy’s Iron is an excuse for two mates to geek out over science, research and publication. It’s a conversation between a biostatistician (Justin Zeltzer) and an orthopaedic surgeon (Justin Bobyn).