Science! With Friends

Flag on the play . . . This episode has been called for excessive celebration and unnecessary radness!!!

Football: it’s as much a part of Thanksgiving as turkey, cranberries, and pumpkin pie. Physics: it’s as much a part of football as touchdowns, tackles, and tailgating. Jocelyn and Bradley are joined this week by football physics maestro Dr. Timothy Gay, who coaches us on the physics behind “Deflategate” and solves the gyroscope problem of the perfect spiral pass. He also explains how electrons are and are not like footballs, and how his research into their interactions with matter could yield critical insights about the origins of life on earth. Along the way, Tim shares stories from a life of fateful encounters with everyone from Bill Belichik to old Nazi rocket scientists to the drummer of Motley Crüe.

Learn more about Tim’s amazing work at http://physics.unl.edu/~tgay/ and at the links below!

Football Physics: The Science of the Game: https://www.amazon.com/Football-Physics-Science-Timothy-Gay-ebook/dp/B004GHOISI

Huskervision playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLE039D7520F3FC856

Throwing a perfect spiral:
https://news.unl.edu/newsrooms/today/article/tipping-point-after-20-years-gay-solves-conundrum-of-football-physics/
https://www.wsj.com/articles/why-does-a-patrick-mahomes-football-pass-look-so-beautiful-these-physicists-believe-they-have-the-answer-11602253787
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/16/science/football-pass-physics.html
https://aapt.scitation.org/doi/full/10.1119/10.0001388?journalCode=ajp

Electrons and chiral molecules:
https://phys.org/news/2014-09-dna-right-handed-helix.html
https://news.unl.edu/newsrooms/today/article/physicists-get-surprising-results-from-electron-molecule-collisions/

Tommy Lee Goes To College:
https://www.aps.org/publications/capitolhillquarterly/200604/reality-show.cfm
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0432677/fullcredits

Related episodes:

Beauty, Symmetry, and Funsize Physics (Shireen Adenwalla): https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/28-shireen-adenwalla-beauty-symmetry-and-funsize-physics/id1471423633?i=1000461961912

How to Get Away With Meowder (Greg Gbur): https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/34-greg-gbur-how-to-get-away-with-meowder/id1471423633?i=1000466086468

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens
Bacteria in blenders and bird poop confusion
Doggies that drool when a little bell rings
These are a few of our favorite things . . .

More specifically, these are a few of Jocelyn and Bradley’s all-time favorite experiments in the history of science! This week, the hosts consider the role of experiment in the scientific process and the qualities that make an experiment especially significant or compelling. They highlight several “classic” experiments in physics, cosmology, genetics, molecular biology, and psychology, and they discuss how these experiments tested the limits of human ingenuity to crystallize key concepts and chart new directions for scientific research. Move over, Oprah—we’re releasing the first-ever list of our favorite things!

Related episodes:
The scientific method: Is it a thing? https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/54-discussion-the-scientific-method-is-it-a-thing/id1471423633?i=1000485209730
Research all the things! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/62-discussion-research-all-the-things/id1471423633?i=1000493142965
Quantum whaaaat? (Part 1): https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/30-discussion-quantum-whaaaat-part-1/id1471423633?i=1000464036509
Quantum whatnot (Part 2): https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/31-discussion-quantum-whatnot-part-2/id1471423633?i=1000464036508

Further Reading:
Cavendish experiment (1797-98):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cavendish_experiment
https://youtu.be/2PdiUoKa9Nw
* https://sciencedemonstrations.fas.harvard.edu/presentations/cavendish-experiment
* Historical note: This resource—and Jocelyn during the episode—describes the source of light in the Cavendish experiment as a “laser beam.” Astute listeners will note that the laser (as in Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation) was not built until 1960, so what Cavendish used in his original apparatus was a light source, but not a laser.
Double-slit experiment (1801-03):
For electrons: https://aapt.scitation.org/doi/full/10.1119/1.2757621
For large molecules: https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2013/CP/c3cp51500a#!divAbstract
https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/what-does-the-new-double-slit-experiment-actually-show/
Visual Tutorial: https://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/primer/java/interference/doubleslit/
Class from Khan Academy: https://www.khanacademy.org/science/physics/light-waves/interference-of-light-waves/v/youngs-double-split-part-1
DIY:

The living world is infinitely more complex than the categories we create to contain and constrain it. This week, we turn to an ancient reservoir of biological wisdom to illuminate life’s wondrous complexity. We are referring, of course, to the humble snail.

In this episode, Jocelyn and Bradley are joined by Dr. Maurine Neiman, an evolutionary biologist who was once branded a “snail pornographer” by conservative media outlets. Maurine explains that, far from being a trivial or esoteric topic, the sex lives of snails—or, sometimes, lack thereof—offer crucial insights into one of the biggest open questions in evolutionary biology, namely, why sexual reproduction evolved in the first place. Maurine explains how snail species vary widely in their reproductive strategies, from hermaphroditic garden snails to the freshwater snails she studies in her own research, which have both sexually reproducing and asexually reproducing lineages. By comparing the fates and fortunes of these lineages in various environments, Maurine’s research sheds light on the costs and benefits of different reproductive strategies. The friends also discuss how studying the evolutionary origins of sexual difference can impact how we think about maleness and femaleness, challenging our conventional assumptions about (binary) sex in both science and society.

Follow Maurine on Twitter at @mneiman, and learn more about her amazing work at the links below!

http://bioweb.biology.uiowa.edu/neiman/index.php
https://clas.uiowa.edu/gwss/people/maurine-neiman

Iowa City Darwin Day: https://iowacitydarwinday.org/

“Everything You Never Wanted to Know About Snail Sex”: https://www.kqed.org/science/1446777/everything-you-never-wanted-to-know-about-snail-sex

Matt Ridley, The Red Queen: Sex and the Evolution of Human Nature: https://www.amazon.com/Red-Queen-Evolution-Human-Nature/dp/0060556579

The Lively Lab @ Indiana: https://lively.lab.indiana.edu/index.html

Robert J. Richards, The Romantic Conception of Life: Science and Philosophy in the Age of Goethe: https://www.amazon.com/Romantic-Conception-Life-Philosophy-Foundations/dp/0226712117

Andrew Cunningham & Nicholas Jardine, eds., Romanticism and the Sciences: https://www.amazon.com/Romanticism-Sciences-Andrew-Cunningham/dp/0521356857

Andrea Gambarotto, “Lorenz Oken (1779–1851): Naturphilosophie and the reform of natural history”: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/british-journal-for-the-history-of-science/article/lorenz-oken-17791851-naturphilosophie-and-the-reform-of-natural-history/AA5EBBBE4ED2FDBBA7E23C4466D854C7

Vampires! Werewolves! Zombies! Calculus exams!

What makes something "monstrous"? Why do monsters inspire such fear and fascination? And what “monsters” has science inadvertently created throughout history?

In this Halloween-themed episode, Bradley and Jocelyn explore the monsters of nature and the nature of monsters. From Frankenstein to Dracula, they discuss how monster lore often represents perceived "violations" of the natural order, and how newly discovered phenomena and technologies continually challenge our assumptions about that order. They also consider "Jekyll and Hyde" moments in the history of modern science, discussing topics from mustard gas to DDT, nuclear energy, and gene editing technologies.
They also share their thoughts on the ultimate monster of nature. So what is it? Tune in to find out!

MWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Further reading:
Wonders and the Order of Nature: https://www.amazon.com/Wonders-Nature-1150-1750-Lorraine-Daston/dp/0942299914

The Science of Monsters: https://www.amazon.com/Science-Monsters-Origins-Creatures-Love/dp/145166799X

Master Mind: The Rise and Fall of Fritz Haber: https://www.amazon.com/Master-Mind-Laureate-Launched-Chemical/dp/0060562722

Great Radiolab episode about his story: https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/radiolab/articles/bad-show

DDT:
https://www.epa.gov/ingredients-used-pesticide-products/ddt-brief-history-and-status
https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npg/npgd0174.html

Lead piping:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2509614/
https://www.epa.gov/ground-water-and-drinking-water/basic-information-about-lead-drinking-water

History of the Atomic Bomb: https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/us-history/rise-to-world-power/us-wwii/a/the-manhattan-project-and-the-atomic-bomb

Chernobyl:
https://www.who.int/ionizing_radiation/chernobyl/WHO%20Report%20on%20Chernobyl%20Health%20Effects%20July%2006.pdf
HBO show here: https://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/safety-and-security/safety-of-plants/chernobyl-accident.aspx

CRISPR & Designer babies:
https://www.technologyreview.com/2018/11/25/138962/exclusive-chinese-scientists-are-creating-crispr-babies/
https://www.nature.com/news/crispr-fixes-disease-gene-in-viable-human-embryos-1.22382

Grab hold, friends, and follow us into the Chamber of Science! Behold the power of the Natural Philosopher’s Stone . . . peer into the Erlenmeyer Flask of Fire . . . join the Order of the Elements . . . and meet the Professor of Aksarben*!

Jocelyn and Bradley are joined this week by the Headmistress of Harry Potter Science, Dr. Rebecca Lai! Rebecca describes how she combines her love of chemistry with her love of fantasy literature to ignite a spectacular reaction in the hearts and minds of Harry Potter enthusiasts of all ages. She explains how real invisible ink works, and how the properties of light refraction could someday be used to create a real-life invisibility cloak; she describes the amazing applications of gold in both the Muggle world—including Rebecca’s own research—and the wizarding world; and she tells us where to find some real “fantastic beasts.” She also shares how Harry Potter has led her outside of her own field of expertise into a variety of interdisciplinary topics, and how this same emphasis on connection and creativity inspires her work on biosensors. Along the way, the friends discuss their favorite Harry Potter characters, houses, and charms, and Rebecca shares her hopes for the future . . . including a collaboration with J.K. Rowling herself!

So, is it science, or is it magic? YES!

*You might be from Nebraska if . . . you got that last reference.

Learn more about Rebecca’s amazing work at http://chemweb.unl.edu/lai/ and at the links below!

UPCOMING LIVESTREAM EVENT! A Muggle’s Guide to Harry Potter’s Chemistry: https://www.slsc.org/event/first-friday-harry-potter-2020/
More Harry Potter:
http://chemweb.unl.edu/lai/harry-potter-book-series-outreach-activities/
https://cen.acs.org/education/outreach/Chemists-recreate-Hogwarts-magic-mere/97/i41
https://www.informalscience.org/news-views/harry-potter-x-science-pop-culture-strategy-science-engagement
SciPop Talks!:
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them Among Us: https://unl.libguides.com/c.php?g=51789&p=4289685
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them Among Us II: https://unl.libguides.com/c.php?g=51789&p=4770815
Elements in the Harry Potter World: https://unl.libguides.com/c.php?g=51789&p=7195843
Biosensors: http://chemweb.unl.edu/lai/biosensors/
More podcasts ft. Rebecca:
Potterology (Ologies podcast with Alie Ward!): https://www.alieward.com/ologies/potterology
Ask a Scientist: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dr-rebecca-lai/id1500764341?i=1000470730721
Faculty 101: https://news.unl.edu/newsrooms/today/article/lai-shares-magic-of-chemistry-in-faculty-101-podcast/

People will see the flower and say, “Here is the silver of our mother’s hair upon the ground and the rose from the wings of the spirit bird. Our mother’s tears of bitterness have given us food.” *
Before the dig could begin en masse, a single bitterroot was dug and blessed. . . . ‘The first one that usually gets dug out of the ground, we talk to that bitterroot just like it's a human being because it's our first visitor and we thank that bitterroot for being here again for us," said Charlie Quequesah. [And] thus continued the connection between nature and generations of Indian people.†
Jocelyn and Bradley are joined this week by ethnobotanist and Salish scientist Rose Bear Don’t Walk, who shares her journey from growing up on the Flathead Indian Reservation in northwestern Montana to earning a political science degree at Yale, and then returning to Montana to study environmental science. Through these diverse experiences, Rose has nurtured a passion for social and environmental justice. She has also realized that, for many indigenous communities, recovering traditional ecological knowledge of plants is a key element in preserving culture and improving health. Rose discusses how her Bitterroot Salish and Crow heritage inform her scientific identity and practices, and she describes her current project to promote food sovereignty among her own Salish people by supporting healthy, culturally-relevant food practices in her community. The friends also discuss the ancient and powerful idea of food as medicine—for the mind, body, and spirit.
*The Gift of the Bitterroot, as told by Johnny Arlee: https://www.lessonsofourland.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Gift-of-the-Bitterroot.pdf
†“Salish, Pend d'Oreille tribal members gather bitterroots to honor family, tradition”: https://missoulian.com/news/state-and-regional/lake_county/salish-pend-doreille-tribal-members-gather-bitterroots-to-honor-family-tradition/article_abbf108a-714c-11e0-a345-001cc4c002e0.html
Follow Rose on Twitter at @rosedontwalk, and learn more about her amazing work at the links below!
https://500womenscientists.org/updates/2020/8/1/an-ethnobotanist-the-plants-of-her-people
https://www.umt.edu/news/2020/01/011320know.php
https://missoulian.com/news/local/university-of-montana-grad-wins-fellowship-for-the-future/article_5175cb31-f333-5a7b-be9d-4338f3c9c499.html
Summit on Culturally Competent Conversations for Equity and Belongingness: https://youtu.be/-twfH3_XfE8
Stories for Action podcast: https://youtu.be/P27Gm8KY5Ec
Recovering our Roots: The Importance of Salish Ethnobotanical Knowledge and Traditional Food Systems to Community Wellbeing on the Flathead Indian Reservation in Montana: https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/11494/
Rose powwow dancing! https://youtu.be/gjLMDl_FzHw
SciShow: https://www.youtube.com/user/scishow

Move over, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider – Coralie Adam: Asteroid Wrangler is in the house!

Coralie joins Jocelyn and Bradley to discuss her exciting work with the OSIRIS-REx mission and its upcoming touchdown on the asteroid Bennu. She shares the challenges of controlling the spacecraft and collecting samples on an object 207 million miles away from Earth (talk about working remotely, amirite?!), and how this mission is historic in more ways than one: making history as the first U.S. spacecraft to collect a sample from an asteroid, with the potential to illuminate the early history of the solar system and the origins of life on Earth. Coralie also describes her journey from young space enthusiast and aspiring archeologist to a real live “space archeologist” of sorts, explaining how she has forged a career that bridges engineering and science.

You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll learn to pronounce fun words like “stereophotoclinometry”!

Follow the mission on Twitter at @OSIRISREx, and learn more about Coralie’s amazing work at the links below!

https://www.linkedin.com/in/coraliejackman/
https://www.wired.com/story/the-remarkable-stuff-scientists-get-done-as-they-work-from-home/
https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6712127544151408640/
KinetX: https://www.kinetx.com/
OSIRIS REx:
https://www.asteroidmission.org/
https://www.asteroidmission.org/team/team-list/
https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/13724
https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2020/osiris-rex-begins-its-countdown-to-tag
https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2020/osiris-rex-observes-an-asteroid-in-action
https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2020/osiris-rex-produces-nightingale-mosaic
https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2020/second-rehearsal-puts-osiris-rex-on-path-to-sample-collection

“Do your research.” Sound advice, but what does it really mean?

“Trust, but verify.” So whom can we trust? And how do we verify?

In an age of contested truths and “alternative facts,” the value of scientific research is both more critical and more in question than at any time in recent memory. Everyone—scientists included—must rely on knowledge produced and documented by others. Yet there are crucial differences between the kind of research we conduct as private individuals and the kind of research scientists conduct as a community, and these differences have major implications for how we evaluate competing knowledge claims to become informed citizens. In this episode, Jocelyn and Bradley discuss the multiple meanings of “research”; how the collaborative, systematic, and ongoing nature of scientific research yields reliable knowledge; and why the popular perception that experts are always “changing their minds” is actually a strength and not a weakness of the research process.

“Truth, Lies, and ‘Alternative Facts’: Navigating the Strange, Sticky Politics of Expertise” (Jocelyn’s SciComm talk): https://youtu.be/ZetbNSMSIRY

Related episodes:

“What’s so ‘basic’ about basic research?”: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/12-discussion-whats-so-basic-about-basic-research/id1471423633?i=1000448570255

“Science is for Everyone”: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/35-discussion-science-is-for-everyone/id1471423633?i=1000466778549

“The scientific method: Is it a thing?”: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/54-discussion-the-scientific-method-is-it-a-thing/id1471423633?i=1000485209730

If Bill Nye, Weird Al, Pentatonix, and Igor Stravinsky had a CRISPR baby . . . What’s that, now? That’s not how CRISPR works? I should have paid more attention in A Capella Science class? Well, anyway . . .
It’s Jocelyn’s birthday episode, and we’re celebrating with her dream guest: musical scientist, scientific musician, and edutainer extraordinaire Tim Blais, creator of A Capella Science! In this rocking, rolling, rollicking discussion, Tim riffs on his early influences, from Bill Nye to Disney’s Fantasia; his journey to musical science stardom; the qualities of a “good” science parody video; the most fun and challenging aspects of bringing a song idea to fruition; and how the goals of his channel have evolved since his early viral videos. The friends also discuss the parallels between science and art, and how “iterated creativity” is a key to success in both.

Follow Tim on Twitter @acapellascience, and learn more about his amazing work at https://www.acapellascience.com/ and at the links below!

“The Surface of Light” (episode intro): https://youtu.be/2INJiNpZFBI

YouTube channels:
A Capella Science: https://www.youtube.com/user/acapellascience
A Capella Science 2: https://www.youtube.com/user/acapellascience2
ACS Live: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKmwh393RQvWB_KCu1xe29g
Tim Blais: https://www.youtube.com/user/TimblaisMusic/videos
Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/acapellascience
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/acapellascience
“How To Make Good Science Art”: https://youtu.be/G94yp-a8XG8
Thread on science lyricism: https://twitter.com/acapellascience/status/1307888111079378945
Also mentioned in this episode:
“Bohemian Rhapsody,” The Muppets edition: https://youtu.be/tgbNymZ7vqY
“The Bizarre Behavior of Rotating Bodies, Explained” (Veritasium video): https://youtu.be/1VPfZ_XzisU
Funsize Physics: https://funsizephysics.com

Weed. Reefer. Pot. Grass.
Hemp. Marijuana. Cannabis.
THC. CBD. WTF?!?

The cannabis industry is the fastest-growing job sector in the country, and the only thing more multifaceted than this ancient and powerful plant may be the myths and misconceptions that grow up around it. Fortunately, Dr. Andrea Holmes is here to cut through the chaos and lend scientific clarity to this incredibly important topic!

In this episode, Andrea tells Jocelyn and Bradley how she went from a rebellious youth to a student who struggled with chemistry and eventually to a Ph.D. organic chemist. She explains how this training—and a lifelong aversion to boredom—has been her ticket to a stimulating, wide-ranging research career. Most recently, Andrea has brought her interdisciplinary vision and entrepreneurial spirit to the cannabis industry, founding the Cannabis Studies Program at Doane University. She shares her enthusiasm for the incredibly complex and diverse world of cannabinoids—i.e., chemical constituents of the cannabis plant with a host of useful properties and applications. Andrea also shares her bold vision for a future of medicine in which scientific and “alternative” approaches are not opposed to one another, and instead, science embraces and helps to elucidate a more holistic understanding of human health and wellness.

Learn more about Andrea’s amazing work at https://www.doane.edu/andrea-holmes and the links below!

Biofilms: https://www.doane.edu/sites/default/files/media/Images/Academic%20Departments/Sciences/--Chemistry/2018%20CURB%20Biofilm%20brochure.pdf
Nanoprinted sensors:
https://futurumcareers.com/find-identify-act-andrea-holmes
Doane University Cannabis Studies Program: https://www.doane.edu/academics/division/cannabis-studies
Precision Plant Molecules: https://precisionplantmolecules.com/
https://futurumcareers.com/find-identify-act-andrea-holmes