Speaking Science

This week we're continuing our exploration of food and nutrition by talking with Neal Fortin, professor and director of the Institute for Food Laws & Regulations at Michigan State University. We wanted to know about food supplements- what they are, why we add them, and what are the regulations that govern them.

We're back! After taking some time to regroup with all of the changes in our world, we're diving back in to investigate the food we eat. With stay-at-home orders in place and recommendations for social distancing and small groups, many of us have been spending more time in our kitchen. While it is an opportunity to learn to cook more meals at home, it might also be an opportunity for greater snacking. We talked with Deanne Kelleher about diets and how we think about what we eat. We asked her about if diets even work and how we think about healthy eating.

This week is the final episode looking at global diseases. In the fall every year, you probably see signs for flu shots. It's a disease that we deal with every year, but there's still a lot of questions that we had about it. What sickness actually is the flu? What does the flu shot do? How contagious is it? Why do we always get sick every winter? This week we talk with Dr. Mason Meyer, Michigan State's pharmacist, to answer all our questions!

While COVID-19 might be making current headlines, not too long ago, another disease was making the news. African Swine Fever recently broke out (again) in 2019 and was devastating pig populations, especially in China. We talked with Dr. Rachel Rheams from Michigan State's Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory. We learned about sad purple-earred pigs, and (more importantly) what African Swine Fever is, why it is important to learn about, and how it impacts our daily lives.

We actually started planning this series a while ago and couldn't have foreseen how current events have played out. Today's episode is actually the second episode in this series, but we felt that it was important to address the current epidemic. There's a lot of information out there and we wanted to give you an opportunity to hear our conversation with an expert, Dr. Stuart Weston. We ask questions like "What is coronavirus?," "Where did it come from?," "How contagious is it?". We hope this helps you understand what is going on in the world around us and gives you tools to help those around you.

Today we're wrapping up our series looking at different parts of forensic science by investigating forensic anthropology. You might have seen the show "Bones" where Dr. Temperance Brennan uses forensic anthropology to solve crimes with Seeley Booth. We talked with Dr. Todd Fenton to see how similar reality is to fiction and what the work of a forensic anthropologist looks like.

This week we move onto another part of forensic science- chemistry. This discipline looks at most of the non-DNA analysis that goes on at crime scenes. This week we're talking to Dr. Ruth Smith from Michigan State University to learn about what a forensic chemist does, how they identify difference samples, and the research that Dr. Ruth is doing to help make this process even better.

For the next three episodes, we're going to look at what goes into forensic science. Many of us have watched Bones, CSI, or NCIS. The high-tech labs, the lightning-fast diagnostics, and the autopsy pros are what help the police catch the bad guy. But, is this what's it's like in real life? We talked to Ken Jones, Deputy Director of Analytical Science for the Baltimore Police Department, about how DNA plays a role in criminal investigations.

We're back at it this week with another one of our favorite beverages- coffee! We wanted to know how we get the perfect cup, so grab your favorite blend, sit back, and enjoy as we talk to Kelsie Gibbs to find out more.

We grab a drink all the time- water, pop, juice. So, what goes into making them? This week we're starting to explore some of the most popular beverages and the science behind them. We're kicking off by looking at beer with Dr. Jim Bruckner, a microbiologist who works in breweries on quality control and beer science. We got to hear about what goes into brewing beer, what choices you need to make to get to different tastes, and some of the more creative types of beer that use some unique science!