Locally Sourced Science

In today’s episode, you’ll hear interviews of two Cornell scientists who are observers of vastly different organisms living in the great outdoors.

First off, horticulturist Brandon George talks about his observations of the characteristics of how different plant species and cultivars grow in their natural habitat. George talks about the concept of plant sociability in exploring the plantings in the Cornell Botanic Garden Bioswale (https://cornellbotanicgardens.org/location/bioswale-garden/). Brandon George is receiving a Masters in Professional Studies in Public Garden Leadership at the Cornell College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. He explores the field of horticulture at his podcast, “Horticulture Rising” (https://horticulture-rising.libsyn.com/).

The second half of today’s show features an interview with Dr. Krysten Schuler about the incidence of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in wild and captive deer populations. CWD was discovered in captive deer in Pennsylvania near the New York border in late May 2021. Schuler discusses the measures being taken to prevent the spread of CWD to deer in New York State.

Schuler is Assistant Research Professor in the Department of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences at the Cornell College of Veterinary Medicine.

For more information about Chronic Wasting Disease, visit (https://wildlife.cornell.edu/our-work/cornell-wildlife-health-lab/chronic-wasting-disease-risk-assessment-prevention-and)

To close out today’s show, we feature a number of local science events happening in the month of August:

https://freescienceworkshop.org/

https://www.priweb.org/visit/events#event=67213086;instance=20210813100000

https://www.tcpl.org/events/highkey-science-family-program

http://www.communityscience.org/4h2o/

Producer: Esther Racoosin

Host: Fred Balfour

Music: Joe Lewis; Blue Dot Sessions

In today’s show, we feature an report about three neuroscientists who have developed inexpensive “Do-it-yourself” neuroscience research tools. Cornell researchers Drs. Bruce Johnson and David Deitcher, and Hobart and William Smith Colleges professor James Ryan hope that their epifluorescence microscope and micromanipulator can be used in undergraduate laboratory courses. Cornell undergraduate student Joanna Papadakis also speaks about her experience building and using the microscope in her neuroscience lab course.

To learn more, visit: https://www2.hws.edu/ryan-creates-3d-printed-fluorescence-microscope/, and https://www.funjournal.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/june-19-134.pdf?x89760

Later on in the show, you’ll hear about how Ithaca-area birders Mark Chao and Miyoko Chu introduced passers-by on their evening walks to an Eastern Screech Owl roosting in a dead tree.

We also recognize Asian American and Pacific Islander History Month by profiling the late Nobel Laureate, Dr. Roger Y. Tsien. He, along, with Dr. Martin Chalfie and Dr. Osamu Shimomura, received the 2008 prize in chemistry for the discovery of and development of the green fluorescent protein, GFP for use in cell biological applications.

Producer: Liz Mahood

Interviews: Esther Racoosin

Music: Joe Lewis and Blue Dot Sessions

In today’s episode, we begin by listening again to an interview from March 2020 to re-explore how metastatic cancer cells migrate. In our second interview, we hear about a recent study showing similarities between the metabolic behavior of migrating embryonic neural crest cells and metastatic cancer cells.

First off, Dr. Mingming Wu talks about her laboratory’s studies of how tumor cells migrate in response to exposure to chemokine hormones. This work models cancer cell chemoinvasion and its implications in cancer metastasis. Dr. Wu is a Professor in the Cornell Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering. For more information, visit https://biofluidics.bee.cornell.edu/cancer-cell-invasion.html

In the second part of today’s show, we speak with Dr. Marcos Simoes-Costa, Assistant Professor in the Cornell Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics. One area of investigation in Dr. Simoes-Costa’s lab is the study of the developmental fate of neural crest cells in the chicken embryo. 

In today’s interview, Dr. Simoes-Costa talks about a recent study investigating what genes are expressed when neural crest cells start to migrate. The neural crest cells began to produce high levels of enzymes related to glycolysis, an anaerobic form of metabolism. This is similar to the metabolic behavior of metastatic cancer cells. For more information about Dr. Simoes-Costa’s work, visit https://research.cornell.edu/news-features/embryo-single-cell-amazing-wonder.

Producer : Liz Mahood

Interviews of Drs. Mingming Wu and Marcos Simoes-Costa: Esther Racoosin

Music: Joe Lewis and Blue Dot Sessions

Just in time for Women’s History Month, the Museum of the Earth has opened an exhibit called “Daring to Dig, Women in American Paleontology”.

The exhibit explores the achievements, adventures, and discoveries made by women in American paleontology over the past few centuries.

In today’s show, you’ll hear an interview of Kate Rowell, the organizer of the new exhibit.

For more information about the exhibit, visit https://www.museumoftheearth.org/daring-to-dig/

Later on in the show, we speak with Dr. Alexandra Moore, Senior Education Associate at the Paleontological Research Institution. She discusses how citizen scientists can get involved in the City Nature Challenge, an international effort for people to find and document plants and wildlife in cities across the globe.

The local City Nature Challenge is taking place in the Eastern Finger Lakes region from April 30 to May 3. Anyone can participate! For more information about how to take part in this local “bioblitz”, visit: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/city-nature-challenge-2021-ithaca-ny

Producer and Interview of Dr. Alexandra Moore: Esther Racoosin

Interview of Kate Rowell: Dr. Anna Levina

Music: Joe Lewis and Blue Dot Sessions

Similar to previous years, in March we recognize women scientists who have connections to the Finger Lakes.

Isa Betancourt is an entomologist and science communicator who received her B.S. from Cornell University and M.S. from Drexel University. She runs The Bugscope! a very popular live broadcast every Thursday ~2:45 pm ET. Her followers can learn about 6 and 8 legged creatures on her Facebook account and on Twitter as well.

She talks to Mark Sarvary about insects and science communication (they share a passion for both of those topics) and her super exciting upcoming adventure with National Geographic.

In a historical piece, Kitty Gifford tells us about Anna Botsford Comstock (September 1, 1854 – August 24, 1930) and her best-selling book The Handbook of Nature Study.

Dr. Anna Levina is an Active Learning Postdoctoral Researcher and potato expert at Cornell University. Nancy Ruiz talked to her about potatoes, teaching, pedagogy, and life in general.

Producer: Mark Sarvary

Music/Voiceover: Joe Lewis

Contributors: Kitty Gifford, Nancy Ruiz & Mark Sarvary

In today’s show, we hear interviews of two different professionals who use microscopes in their work.

Mark Sarvary starts the show off by presenting a review of an exhibition called “The History of Glass and the Microscope”, that was on display in 2016 at the Corning Museum of Glass. You can still read about the exhibit here: (https://www.cmog.org/collection/exhibitions/microscopes).

Our first interview of today’s show is with Dr. Brooks Crickard, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics at Cornell University. He talks about his research using single molecule total internal reflection microscopy (TIRFM). This technique allows him to directly visualize proteins and protein complexes as they function on DNA in real-time. Crickard also discusses challenges he has faced as a new faculty member during the pandemic.

In the second part of our show, you’ll hear an interview with Sten Anderson, a science teacher at DeWitt Middle school in Ithaca, New York. He recently taught his 7th grade students how to use foldscopes, flexible, waterproof, paper-based microscopes (www.foldscopes.com).  Students learned how to use foldscopes during both in-person and remote instruction.  Anderson guided students in how to gather, examine and record images of non-living and living specimens.  The purchase of a foldscope for each of his students was made possible by a Red and Gold Grant from the Ithaca Public Education Initiative (http://www.ipei.org).

Producer: Liz Mahood

Segments: Mark Sarvary, Nancy Ruiz, Esther Racoosin

Music: Joe Lewis, Blue Dot Sessions

In this episode, Mark Sarvary interviewed the new dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Dr. Benjamin Houlton began his term on October 1, 2020, as the Ronald P. Lynch Dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. He is also and a professor in the departments of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Global Development.

Hear the story of how Dean Houlton almost received a Cornell Ph.D. and how he works with farmers in both California and in New York state to mitigate the impact of climate change.

In the second interview, Candice Limper talked to Nancy Ruiz about her research at Cornell University, discussing what Alzheimer’s disease is and some of the symptoms. Nancy is a 4th year Ph.D. candidate and is trying to understand what factors contribute to the development of this disease as part of her thesis. During this interview, she describes a mouse model that she uses to understand the molecular mechanisms involved.

In our Locally Birding segment, Kitty Gifford talked about the largest American woodpecker (and used some puns). Kitty mentioned in her segment this recent research: The Re-Establishment of Pileated Woodpeckers in New York City Following Nearly Two Centuries of Extirpation

Thanks for listening and thanks to our contributors:

Producer: Mark Sarvary

Segments: Mark Sarvary, Candice Limper, Kitty Gifford

Music: Joe Lewis

Kitty Gifford interviews Dr. Frank Castelli, Educational research postdoc with the Investigative Biology Teaching Laboratories at Cornell.

One of the greatest challenges in online learning is that students do not turn their cameras on and teachers speak into the void. Frank Castelli and his co-author, Mark Sarvary, studied this phenomenon and published a study in the Journal Ecology and Evolution titled  “Why Students Do Not Turn on Their Video Cameras During Online Classes and an Equitable and Inclusive Plan to Encourage Them to Do So,”

The results of the study are discussed along with a plan any instructor can use to encourage camera use:

1. Do NOT require video cameras to be turned on and do offer alternatives.

2. Explicitly encourage camera use, explain why you are doing so, and establish the norm

3. Address potential distractions and give breaks to help maintain attention.

4. Use active learning techniques to keep students engaged and promote equity.

5. Survey your students to understand their challenges.

You can also read about the study in the Cornell Chronicle:

Appearance, social norms keep students off Zoom cameras

Janani Hariharan interviews Dr. Corrie Moreau, Martha N. and John C. Moser Professor of Arthropod Biosystematics and Biodiversity at Cornell University.

Dr. Moreau created a seminar class called Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in STEM in Fall 2020. This interview touches on her motivation to create such a class especially in the wake of the George Floyd protests of 2020, the structure of the class and her favorite moments of the class. She also shared some recommendations for other educators who might want to design similar classes at their own institutions.

And, to close out the show, Esther Racoosin speaks with Zoe Learner Ponterio, Manager at the Spacecraft Planetary Image Facility, also known as SPIF, located at Cornell. SPIF is hosting a watch party on Thursday, February 18 at 2:30 pm to view the landing of the Mars 2020 mission. To find out more about SPIF, visit http://www.cornellspif.com

Esther Racoosin speaks with Dr. Kelly Zamudio, Professor in the Cornell Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology.

Dr. Zamudio studies how emergent pathogenic chytrid (KIT-rid) fungi species are affecting amphibian populations in the Americas.

During the interview, Zamudio talks about how the principle of One Health is essential for both guiding the preservation of amphibian biodiversity around the world, as well as protecting human health.

Candice Limper speaks with Dr. Jody Gangloff-Kaufmann who is who is a New York State Integrated Pest Management program official.

Gangloff-Kaufmann talks about a new bug in town called the spotted lanternfly, which is an invasive plant hopper that is native to China and likely arrived in North America hidden on goods imported from Asia. While this is a beautiful bug with all its spots and colors, it is posing a problem for some businesspeople in the local area. The reason for this is because it is eating plants such as those in the vineyards and orchards, which is not so great for business. 

Happy 2021! In this episode we discuss the most essential element on this planet: water.

But first, Kitty Gifford will start with her new segment: “Locally birding! From the birdfeeder to the skies. Look out and look up!” She talks about the gyrfalcon.

We decided to have two different approaches. First, Aiden Mahoney interviewed Helen Cheng about living on the coast and thinking about climate change related events, such as Hurricane Sandy.

Water resources are often affected by agricultural run-off. Eric Bates takes us to a modern dairy farm to discuss what farmers are doing in the Finger Lakes to help the Cayuga Lake Watershed.

Producer: Mark Sarvary

Music: joelewisbass.com

Interviewers: Aiden Mahoney and Eric Bates

Locally birding segment: Kitty Gifford