Sciencetits

For our last show before our summer break (we should be back in late August/September), we are chatting to @tobytheneuroscientist, who came across the Sciencetits TikTok FYP feed and Brenda immediately knew it would be great to get him on the show. Toby is a PhD student studying dementia at UCL and his social media content is just...*Chefs kiss.

We talk to Toby about how he decided to do his PhD, and what he wants to do with his career, with a little advice thrown in along the way.

Including the importance of networking and making use of British pub culture in all the right ways!

Find him as @tobytheneuroscientist on TikTok and send him some love!

Right as we are off for the summer, catch up on all our episodes, leave us a review or send us a note. We would love to hear from you!

Our email address: [email protected]

Follow us on all the socials!

Instagram, Threads and Tiktok- @sciencetitspod

BlueSky - @sciencetitspod.bsky.social

Content outlined and presented by Brenda Finney and Frances Hall.

Music from audiojungle.net – Konstantin Kasyanov

As always if you have questions or suggestions please get in touch! Email: [email protected]

Instagram & Tiktok- @sciencetitspod

BlueSky - @sciencetitspod.bsky.social

Content outlined and presented by Brenda Finney and Frances Hall.

Music from audiojungle.net – Konstantin Kasyanov

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this fiery episode, the Sciencetits team dives into the burning question: Do redheads really feel more pain? From personal horror stories of dental procedures gone wrong to the surprising science behind red hair and pain perception, this episode explores the genetics, pharmacology, and myths surrounding the MC1R gene and its impact on pain, anesthesia, and sedation.

As always if you have questions or suggestions please get in touch! Email: [email protected]

Instagram & Tiktok- @sciencetitspod

BlueSky - @sciencetitspod.bsky.social

X deactivated because it’s a cesspool due to its owner.

Content outlined and presented by Brenda Finney and Frances Hall.

Music from audiojungle.net – Konstantin Kasyanov

Links:

1. The aim of this narrative review was to explore and present the current state of knowledge on red hair and its plausible associations with altered responsiveness to pain, analgesics, and hypnotics. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38929804/
2. Second review – also from 2024 – this one from researchers in USA https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11227258/
3. https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/health-family/medical-matters-truths-among-those-redhead-myths-1.2353984
4. https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/author/B00ZAQXHCW/about

As always if you have questions or suggestions please get in touch! Email: [email protected]

Instagram & Tiktok- @sciencetitspod

BlueSky - @sciencetitspod.bsky.social

Content outlined and presented by Brenda Finney and Frances Hall.

Music from audiojungle.net – Konstantin Kasyanov

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we are joined by Mr. Finney as a helper to get through the content Brenda prepared on the Head of the US Department of Health and Human Services. That's right - not a scientist, but someone who leads them, RFK Jr. Its a bit of a doozy really to lay out, but it had to be done. We will touch on his origin story and then talk about his current activities.

ALSO - Frances feels famous as she was recognised as "Frances from the podcast!" at her conference a couple weeks ago. So that is a win at least.

As always if you have questions or suggestions please get in touch!

Our email address: [email protected]

Follow us on all the socials!

Instagram and Tiktok- @sciencetitspod

BlueSky - @sciencetitspod.bsky.social

Content outlined and presented by Brenda Finney and Frances Hall.

Music from audiojungle.net – Konstantin Kasyanov

Links:

1.     https://www.britannica.com/biography/Robert-F-Kennedy-Jr

2.     https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/did-a-tapeworm-really-eat-part-of-robert-f-kennedy-jr-s-brain

3.     https://people.com/politics/robert-f-kennedy-jr-controversy-timeline/

4.     https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deadly_Immunity

5.     https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/aug/05/robert-f-kennedy-trump

6.     https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/is-robert-f-kennedy-jr-antivaccine-his-own-words-show-that-he-is/

7.     https://www.fda.gov/vaccines-blood-biologics/safety-availability-biologics/thimerosal-and-vaccines

8.     https://www.cdc.gov/measles/data-research/index.html

9.     https://www.factcheck.org/scicheck/

As always if you have questions or suggestions please get in touch! Email: [email protected]

Instagram & Tiktok- @sciencetitspod

BlueSky - @sciencetitspod.bsky.social

Content outlined and presented by Brenda Finney and Frances Hall.

Music from audiojungle.net – Konstantin Kasyanov

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week I welcome Dr. Sarra Laycock to our show. Dr. Laycock has been a mentor and a friend to me for several years now and I wanted to share her unique perspectives and journey with all of you!

We did a interview in the same room for the first time using my new microphone - so that was quite fun - except for all the worrying about making background noise.

No links this week as we are just chatting through things but, as always if you have questions or suggestions please get in touch!

Our email address: [email protected]

Follow us on all the socials!

Instagram and Tiktok- @sciencetitspod

BlueSky - @sciencetitspod.bsky.social

Content outlined and presented by Brenda Finney

Music from audiojungle.net – Konstantin Kasyanov

As always if you have questions or suggestions please get in touch! Email: [email protected]

Instagram & Tiktok- @sciencetitspod

BlueSky - @sciencetitspod.bsky.social

Content outlined and presented by Brenda Finney and Frances Hall.

Music from audiojungle.net – Konstantin Kasyanov

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode we discuss the recent suborbital flight by Blue Origin, which featured an all-female passenger list. The flight, lasting only 11 minutes, apparently aimed to promote STEM education, cultural representation, and scientific research. The public's reaction was mixed, with some viewing it as a marketing stunt and others celebrating the achievement.

Its safe to say we are sceptical about the flight's impact, questioning the environmental emissions and the true scientific value of the mission. Also, we discuss the definition of "astronaut" and whether the crew qualifies, given they only reached suborbital space and did 2 days of training. It makes us wonder - if we do 2 days of intense first-aid training, are we allowed to call ourselves paramedics? (Spoiler - definitely not!)

As always if you have questions, comments or suggestions please get in touch!

Our email address: [email protected]

Follow us on all the socials!

Instagram and Tiktok- @sciencetitspod

BlueSky - @sciencetitspod.bsky.social

Content outlined and presented by Brenda Finney and Frances Hall.

Music from audiojungle.net – Konstantin Kasyanov

Links:

1.     https://www.media.mit.edu/posts/amanda-nguyen-carries-mit-research-projects-into-orbit/

2.     https://observer.com/2023/06/blue-origin-passenger-list/

3.     https://www.blueorigin.com/new-shepard/reserve-a-seat

4.     Wikipedia – for biographical information on passengers

5.     Aishabowe.com

6.     https://www.nasa.gov/reference/jsc-crew-operations-training/

https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Human_and_Robotic_Exploration/Astronauts/Pre-assignment_training

As always if you have questions or suggestions please get in touch! Email: [email protected]

Instagram & Tiktok- @sciencetitspod

BlueSky - @sciencetitspod.bsky.social

Content outlined and presented by Brenda Finney and Frances Hall.

Music from audiojungle.net – Konstantin Kasyanov

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We are busy, busy, busy in March! So mini episode it is!

So enjoy some outtakes and content that hasn't made it into episodes yet!

No links this week as its all a bit random.

Hope you like it.

As always if you have questions or suggestions please get in touch! Email: [email protected]

Instagram & Tiktok- @sciencetitspod

BlueSky - @sciencetitspod.bsky.social

X deactivated because it’s a cesspool due to its owner.

Content outlined and presented by Brenda Finney and Frances Hall.

Music from audiojungle.net – Konstantin Kasyanov

As always if you have questions or suggestions please get in touch! Email: [email protected]

Instagram & Tiktok- @sciencetitspod

BlueSky - @sciencetitspod.bsky.social

Content outlined and presented by Brenda Finney and Frances Hall.

Music from audiojungle.net – Konstantin Kasyanov

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

No, we are not talking about the f&#kery going on in the US. We'll get there when Brenda can do more than scream into the void.

This week we are talking paths not taken, anglerfish in the sun and can animals predict the apocalypse. A real mixed bag!

As always if you have questions or suggestions please get in touch! Email: [email protected]

Instagram & Tiktok- @sciencetitspod

BlueSky - @sciencetitspod.bsky.social

X deactivated because it’s a cesspool due to its owner.

Content outlined and presented by Brenda Finney and Frances Hall.

Music from audiojungle.net – Konstantin Kasyanov

Links:

1. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/black-seadevil-anglerfish-video-canary-islands
2. https://www.bbc.co.uk/future/article/20220211-the-animals-that-predict-disasters
3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqEtaOHpjIQ (for the marvellous Hannah Fry)
4. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/world-end-apocalypse-human-civilization-collapse-b2678651.html
5. https://mdanderson.libanswers.com/faq/26159

As always if you have questions or suggestions please get in touch! Email: [email protected]

Instagram & Tiktok- @sciencetitspod

BlueSky - @sciencetitspod.bsky.social

Content outlined and presented by Brenda Finney and Frances Hall.

Music from audiojungle.net – Konstantin Kasyanov

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ever heard of a Vampire Facial?

Well, until a month ago - Brenda had not. So what a rabbit hole she explored for our topic.

We are diving into beauty – specifically the wild stuff people will use for a facial. Hang on to your face rollers and BB creams (are those even used anymore?). Also, listen out for Brenda losing her mind and going on a rant…Enjoy at about 30minutes in!

As always if you have questions or suggestions please get in touch!

Our email address: [email protected]

Follow us on all the socials!

Instagram and Tiktok- @sciencetitspod

BlueSky - @sciencetitspod.bsky.social

X (Twitter Forever!) - @sciencetitspod – has been deactivated because well, it’s a cesspool (due to hewhomustnotbenamed)

Content outlined and presented by Brenda Finney and Frances Hall.

Music from audiojungle.net – Konstantin Kasyanov

References:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=Platelet-rich%20plasma%20AND%20facial%20

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38557322/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38798929/

As always if you have questions or suggestions please get in touch! Email: [email protected]

Instagram & Tiktok- @sciencetitspod

BlueSky - @sciencetitspod.bsky.social

Content outlined and presented by Brenda Finney and Frances Hall.

Music from audiojungle.net – Konstantin Kasyanov

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Two random stories that caught Frances’ eye on social media – and so she asks the question – are they for real? First, the opium poppy, is it actually grown in the UK for the pharma industry? And since we are on the topic of the poppy - can ingestion of poppy seeds cause false positives in drug tests? You'll have to listen to find out! Switching gears, our second story tackles gray hair—specifically, the booming market for “gray hair blocking” supplements like biotin gummies or vitamin B12. As always if you have questions or suggestions please get in touch!

Our email address: [email protected]

Follow us on all the socials!

Instagram and Tiktok- @sciencetitspod, BlueSky - @sciencetitspod.bsky.social, X (Twitter Forever!) - @sciencetitspod – dumped as it continues to be a cesspool of misinformation and muskinformation

Music from audiojungle.net – Konstantin Kasyanov

References:

https://www.ft.com/content/ee6ac233-8194-4b2a-91d7-1d2101c07fa9 ; https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-20996-9 ; https://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/20/business/international/tasmania-big-supplier-to-drug-companies-faces-changes.html ; DOI: 10.1093/jat/27.1.53 ; https://elifesciences.org/articles/67437

As always if you have questions or suggestions please get in touch! Email: [email protected]

Instagram & Tiktok- @sciencetitspod

BlueSky - @sciencetitspod.bsky.social

Content outlined and presented by Brenda Finney and Frances Hall.

Music from audiojungle.net – Konstantin Kasyanov

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Special Guest this week – Dr. Georgia Anderson

Part 2 of our conversation with Dr. Anderson – who (if you missed episode 6) has been Dr. Finney’s friend since they were 9 years old. (Go back and listen immediately!)

In this episode, Drs Finney and Hall continue their lively conversation with long-time friend and fellow researcher, Dr. Georgia Anderson. Together, they dive into the fascinating world of research methods, exploring how social sciences leverage both qualitative and quantitative approaches to uncover insights about the human experience.

Whether you're a researcher, a student, or just curious about how we make sense of complex social dynamics, this episode will leave you with a deeper appreciation for the art and science of research.

You may notice that Dr. Hall is a bit quieter than usual this week, she has been under the weather – but like a trooper she joined us anyway and made some really insightful observations.

Also there is a bit of editing – because Georgia and I kept going off in all directions! Humour me please I (Brenda) am not an expert at this!

If you find Georgia’s story interesting or inspiring please let us know and if you want to keep up with her activities, you can find her on Instagram @Docga2024

After our conversation, I had a quick look and found some organisations that offer general cancer or head and neck cancer support in the UK:

Macmillan Cancer Support

Cancer Research UK

The Swallows Head and Neck Cancer Support Group

Oracle head and Neck Cancer UK

As always if you have questions or suggestions please get in touch!

Our email address: [email protected]

Follow us on all the socials!

Instagram and Tiktok- @sciencetitspod

BlueSky - @sciencetitspod.bsky.social

X (Twitter Forever!) - @sciencetitspod – soon to be dumped if it continues to be a cesspool of misinformation and muskinformation

Content outlined and presented by Brenda Finney and Frances Hall.

Music from audiojungle.net – Konstantin Kasyanov

As always if you have questions or suggestions please get in touch! Email: [email protected]

Instagram & Tiktok- @sciencetitspod

BlueSky - @sciencetitspod.bsky.social

Content outlined and presented by Brenda Finney and Frances Hall.

Music from audiojungle.net – Konstantin Kasyanov

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.