Petri Dish

Part 2 of 3 of our series on Kelp! Part 1 was all about natural kelp forests and how cool they are, but part 2 is focused on how humans can EXPLOIT kelp for our own purposes, muahahaha! Can we use kelp to fix all that carbon we've been releasing into the atmosphere to help us reverse climate change? What about farming kelp for food and products? What about using kelp as a fancy filtration system to clean up water supplies? Find out about all that this week!

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Hey everyone! This next series of Petri Dish is about Kelp, due to strong demand from Nathan. Kelp are those big floaty plant-looking things (but they aren't plants, technically)! This episode, we dive into natural kelp forests and how they're both environmentally great and also at risk of shrinkage. In future episodes we'll cover kelp farming and the fun uses of kelp!

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This week we have a one-off episode for you on koji! Koji is a Japanese fermented ingredient with analogues in other East Asian cuisines -- basically it is a grain that has some mold growing on it. But oh, the fancy foods you can make with it! Soy sauce, miso, sake, and so many other delicious things! But how does koji get made? What is the deal with the mold? And what sorts of fun things could you make at home with this fuzzy stuff?

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Hi folks! Welcome to part 2 on Afforestation/Reforestation! Last time, we discussed the Chinese effort to plant a ton of trees, both to combat desertification and to capture carbon, with complex results in terms of water availability and climate across the whole of China. This time, we discuss the Great Green Wall of Africa, an effort to stem the growth of the Sahara (whether it is growing or not is actually a matter of some debate...). We'll also talk some about Sargassum! Hop on in!

Use the code POD at stamps.com to get big discounts this holiday season!

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Hey everyone! On this week's episode of Petri Dish, Sean and Nathan start their two-part conversation on Afforestation and Reforestation! There's a lot of talk about how trees can help save the planet from climate change and make all kinds of fun biomes for critters, replenish aquifers, prevent desertification, and so on. But is it as simple as just planting a ton of trees? Tune in to find out about all the sciencey details!

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On this, our last episode of our series on beer, we discuss the history of beer then talk about some of the cool ways synthetic biology and genetic engineering are being used to make the beer of the future!

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Last week we discussed how to make a beer. This week we use that knowledge to discuss the differences between different kinds of beers, from delicious stouts to stanky sours! Next week we'll talk about the past and future of beer, including genetic modification!

References:

https://www.popsci.com/science/article/2013-01/beersci-what-difference-between-lager-and-ale/

https://www.businessinsider.com/most-popular-beers-in-the-world-2018-9

https://academic.oup.com/dnaresearch/article/23/1/67/2462472

https://www.popsci.com/science/article/2012-12/beersci-how-beer-gets-its-color/

https://www.craftbeer.com/craft-beer-muses/analysis-what-makes-sour-beer-taste-sour

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0740002017302952

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/jib.569

https://journals.asm.org/doi/full/10.1128/AEM.00566-20

Beer! One of humanity's oldest companions! Why are there so many kinds? How do we go about making beer? What is science doing to advance beer into the future? This is a three-parter on beer, with the first week focusing on the steps involved in beermaking, along with the science behind them! Next week we'll cover the different kinds of beer, followed by an episode on the future of beer!

References:

https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/zymurgy/zymurgy-extra-2-row-vs-6-row-barley/

https://pediaa.com/difference-between-alpha-and-beta-amylase/

https://beerandbrewing.com/the-heart-of-darkness-exploring-dark-malts/

http://www.beer-brewing.com/beer_brewing/beer_brewing_yeast/ale_yeast.htm

https://www.mdpi.com/2306-5710/2/4/34/htm

https://grainfather.com/beer-fermentation-process/

https://www.keystonehomebrew.com/secondary-fermentation-pros-cons/

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780123738912000365

On this episode of Petri Dish, we have two updates on the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic! First, the FDA has approved the use of the Pfizer vaccine on children ages 5 and up! Second, there is a new promising small molecule drug coming out of clinical trials that seems to reduce severe COVID by 50% in high-risk patients AND it can be taken orally! Find out about the science behind these two topics this week on Petri Dish!

References:

https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.121.056135

https://www.pfizer.com/news/press-release/press-release-detail/pfizer-and-biontech-announce-positive-topline-results

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/safety/myocarditis.html

https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/clinical-considerations/myocarditis.html

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/myocarditis/symptoms-causes/syc-20352539

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41594-021-00651-0

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02783-1

https://www.merck.com/news/merck-and-ridgebacks-investigational-oral-antiviral-molnupiravir-reduced-the-risk-of-hospitalization-or-death-by-approximately-50-percent-compared-to-placebo-for-patients-with-mild-or-moderat/

It's the spooky season once again and this year on Petri Dish we explore the science and history of mummies! While ancient Egyptian mummies certainly have captivated the world, they aren't even close to the only culture that purposefully mummified the dead! Learn about other ancient mummies, and some much more modern ones as well, this week on Petri Dish!

Warning! This episode mentions human remains and some stuff that is truly macabre -- that definitely is also true for the references!

References:

https://www.oldest.org/culture/mummies/

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/photography/article/mummy-photography-ulla-lohmann

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3931544/

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/dr-gottfried-knoche-and-his-mummies