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scientificanada

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scientificanada episodes

  • CUPEcast Ep. 1 : What is CUPEcast? Bargaining updates (Oct 21, 2019)

    Welcome to CUPEcast, a show about CUPE 3906 , the union for McMaster TAs, RAs, sessionals, postdocs, etc. In this first episode introduces the reason behind this podcast, introduces your host Adam, and will bring you up to date on the bargaining between McMaster and Unit 1. 

    Looking to help?

    Let’s keep this momentum going!

    • Reach out to your Department      Chair or Executive Committee for letters of support like those linked      above.
    • Similarly, if you are      involved in an organization on campus that supports our bargaining      priorities, ask your fellow members for a public statement of      support!
    • Use social media to increase      pressure on McMaster to return to the table ASAP. Our Twitter and Facebook accounts      tend to have lots of content for      sharing.
      • You can also take a picture       with the #BetterMac window sign and       tag us on these platforms. Visit BetterMac.ca for       a copy of the sign, or drop by the Union Office at Kenneth Taylor Hall,       room B111 to participate.
      • Sign & Share our Petition!
      • JOIN THE      STRIKE COMMITTEE!
        • All are welcome + the kind       of work will vary. There is something for everyone!
        • Next meeting: Wednesday,       October 23 | 12 PM – 1PM | Mills Library Room L304 (third floor)
        • Please note: This       committee is ratified after every strike vote and is generally tasked       with organizing pickets and other essential duties that arise in the       unique event of a strike. Forming this committee does not mean       that we are any closer to having to call a strike. It simply       means that we are making the necessary preparations, just in case.

          • For a complete list of past bargaining updates, click here.

          In solidarity,

          The Unit 1 Bargaining Team

          14 min
        • Random Walk Ep.3 Ethics of Science Communication with Dr. John Bandler and Rachelle Ho (Host: Adam)

          WISE (Women in Science and Engineering) and the SciGSA are hosting a very exciting talk on Tuesday, October 22nd. They are hosting Dr. John Bandler, decorated engineer and passionate science communicator, who will talk about the Ethics of Science Communication.

          This week I talk to Rachelle Ho (ex-WISE president) and Dr. Bandler about the event coming up, and how to ethically speak about science and research. We all want to tell a riveting story, but what you say and what people hear aren't always the same...

          Sign up to attend in advance here (but if you just show up, it'll be ok.)

          Follow Dr. Bandler and Rachelle on Twitter!

          Follow me on Twitter if you wanna!

          Thank Boonie personally, for supplying music to the show at Boonie.Rocks


           

          30 min
        • Random Walk E.2 (Oct 10/19): Media Numeracy with Dr. David Venus (Host: Adam)

          The Canadian (American) Federal (Presidential) elections are looming. This time around it seems like there is just as much discussion about the integrity of the candidates as there is about the media reporting on the candidates [cite]. #fakenews has become a globally recognized  hashtag, one-line-comeback, and an agonizingly slippery threat to democracy [cite]. By exploiting human psychology, the news industry is constantly presented with a shape-shifting slew of threats to its integrity.

          Today I talk to Dr. David Venus of the Physics and Astronomy department at McMaster about the need for media numeracy, and what he's doing to help (teaching a course on it).

          For details about the course, see the description here.

          I mentioned some of Dr. Venus' opinion pieces. They are here and here.

          Hey, you can follow me on Twitter @AdamFortais !

          And be sure to follow us on your favorite podcasting app (eg. Spotify, Apple, Google...). I've started posting back episodes under the new flag Scientificanada. No specific announcement yet, but do note that I re-introduced this episode under a different name... :)

          30 min
        • The AlmaMAC: What's up with White Nose Fungus with Adrian Forsythe (Host: Shawn)

          This week we heard from Biology Ph.D. candidate, Adrian Forsythe and he told us all about his research with white nose syndrome in bats!

          You can follow him on Twitter at @adrian_forsythe.

          Read his latest findings on how adaptation occurs within White Nose Syndrom pathogen Pseudogymnoascus destructans among strains in eastern North America here https://aem.asm.org/content/aem/84/16/e00863-18.full.pdf

          If you like what you heard, want to chat, or maybe want to be a guest, let us know on Twitter @almamac_radio or by email at [email protected].

          29 min
        • The AlmaMAC: Origins of life, grad life, and birding4lyfe with Sian Ford (Host: Adam)

          This week I went for a walk and stood in a line with Sian Ford from the Earth Science department. We talked about her research on the origins of life. Specifically, how “lipid membranes” (the things that surround all the important junk in your cells) could have formed. We also talked about all the birding she does in her spare time!

          You can follow her on Twitter at @sianford

          I opened the show with a quick announcement of the winners of the 2019 Ig Nobel Prizes.

          If you like what you heard, want to chat, or maybe want to be a guest, let me know on Twitter @adamfortais or by email at [email protected] .​

          See you next week!

          30 min
        • The AlmaMAC: Soapbox Science, Nobel Prizes and catching up with Carmen Lee from Ark&Anchor (Host: Adam)

          I hung out with Carmen Lee (a fellow soft matter physicist) at one of our favorite places to study and she told me all about Soapbox Science (an outreach event in Toronto that she will be presenting at), and a really cool Nobel Prize conference she got to attend in Germany.

          https://www.ryerson.ca/scixchange/

          http://soapboxscience.org/

          https://thewordonthestreet.ca/toronto/

          https://globalyoungacademy.net/events/69th-lindaunobel-physics/

          https://biobeat.nigms.nih.gov/2015/03/5-reasons-biologists-love-math/

          https://www.technologyreview.com/s/540621/physicists-solve-the-mystery-of-interleaved-phone-books/

          http://www.boonie.rocks/

          29 min
        • The AlmaMAC: Grape plasma, and research for fun with Hamza Khattak (Host: Adam, Sept 5/19)

          Note: We had some microphone difficulties about halfway through the episode this week. Sorry!

          Hamza joined my lab a year ago. In his undergrad, he did some horrible things to microwaves, and wonderful things to grapes. Here, watch this. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGX289yjew8

          His work on grape plasma went viral. https://www.altmetric.com/details/55788275/news

          We then talked a little about the Ig Nobel prizes, and why researching fun questions can be useful. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ig_Nobel_Prize

          Completely unrelated, ever wonder what Earth would be like if it were made completely out of blueberries? Blueberry world: https://arxiv.org/pdf/1807.10553.pdf

          Follow Hamza on Twitter, and ask him about anything! Grapes or non-grapes. Whatever! https://twitter.com/hamzakhatt

          28 min
        • The AlmaMAC: Forecasting childhood health by studying placenta with Christian Bellissimo (Host: Adam)

          Placenta is an incredible organ, and Christian Bellissimo tells us why.

          I guess I kind of always though the placenta was like the white of an egg. Oh boy was I wrong!

          Of course we know that early life stressors, including those during pregnancy, impact

          long term health of the baby. Usually we think smoking or drinking, but maternal obesity is also something than can affect the child. Christian and I talk about his work trying to understand how changes in development of the placenta may increase the risk of offspring disease later life.

          You can tweet questions to Christian here.

          You can read about the work that goes on in the Sloboda Lab (where Christian works) here.

          Aaaand... I joked about placenta recipes on the show, but I don't think I'm going to share any links. Use your judgement. Or consider getting on the list to donate it?

          28 min
        • The AlmaMAC: Microbes and arsenic in the groundwater (in Bangladesh) with Reisa San Pedro (Host: Adam)

          Arsenic is bad for you. It can be found in large quantities in rat poison, and it can be found in smaller (but still dangerous) quantities in groundwater. This is of particular concern in South-East Asia, and more specifically Bangladesh, where citizens have been developing cancers, skin lesions, and other horrible effects due to long-term arsenic exposure. But unlike many water contamination issues, human's aren't totally to blame!

          This week we welcome Reisa San Pedro, a 2nd year MSc student in the Geography and Earth Sciences department at McMaster University. We discuss the origin of the arsenic, why it's dissolving in the groundwater, and what's being done to better understand and avoid arsenic contamination in these affected countries. 

          For more details on her work, you can visit her supervisor's website.

          PS. Reisa is defending her MSc in September! Wish her luck! (not that she needs it...)

          29 min

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        Scientificanada is a podcast collective focusing on science news and culture. We are...