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STEM Fatale Podcast episodes
- Episode 040 - Mildred Dresselhaus | Physicist & Electrical Engineer
Alternate Title: The Queen of Carbon
Emma tells Emlyn about the physicist and electrical engineer, Dr. Mildred Dresselhaus, who studied all things carbon and Emlyn tells Emma about the diet of saber-toothed cats and dire wolves!
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Sources
Main Story - Dr. Mildred Dresselhaus
- Weil, Martin. “Mildred Dresselhaus, physicist dubbed ‘queen of carbon science,’ dies at 86.” Washington Post. 2017 https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/mildred-dresselhaus-physicist-dubbed-queen-of-carbon-dies-at-86/2017/02/22/3355d3a2-f8a7-11e6-be05-1a3817ac21a5_story.html?noredirect=on
- Mildred Dresselhaus Autobiography for the Kavli Prize. http://kavliprize.org/sites/default/files/%25nid%25/autobiagraphies_attachments/Mildred_Dresselhaus_Biography_0.pdf
- Anderson, Mark. “Mildred Dresselhaus: The Queen of Carbon.” IEEE Spectrum. 2015. https://spectrum.ieee.org/geek-life/profiles/mildred-dresselhaus-the-queen-of-carbon
- MILDRED DRESSELHAUS: An Interview Conducted by Kelsey Irvin, IEEE History Center, 11 July 2013. Interview # 650 for the IEEE History Center, The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. https://ethw.org/Oral-History:Mildred_Dresselhaus
- Mildred Dresselhaus. The Franklin Institute. https://www.fi.edu/laureates/mildred-s-dresselhaus
- Angier, Natalie. “Carbon Catalyst for Half a Century.” The New York Times. 2012. https://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/03/science/carbon-catalyst-for-half-a-century.html
- MIT News Office. “Institute Professor Emerita Mildred Dresselhaus, a pioneer in the electronic properties of materials, dies at 86.” 2017. http://news.mit.edu/2017/institute-professor-emerita-mildred-dresselhaus-dies-86-0221
Women who Werk
- DeSantis et al 2019 Current biology paper: https://www.cell.com/current-biology/pdfExtended/S0960-9822(19)30786-9
- Science daily article: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/08/190805111913.htm
Music
“Mary Anning” by Artichoke
Cover Image
Emilio Segre Visual Archives/american Institute Of Physics
53 min - Episode 039 - Frances Oldham Kelsey | Pharmacologist
Alternate Title: The Drug Detective
Emlyn tells Emma about the FDA scientist, Dr. Frances Oldham Kelsey, that kept the birth-defect causing drug, Thalidomide, off the shelves in the US, and Emma tells Emlyn about the *power* of vitamin supplements!
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Sources
Main Story - Dr. Frances Oldham Kelsey
- Transcripts of Dr. Kelsey: https://www.fda.gov/media/89162/download
- "Frances Oldham Kelsey: Medical reviewer famous for averting a public health tragedy" : https://www.fda.gov/about-fda/virtual-exhibits-fda-history/frances-oldham-kelsey-medical-reviewer-famous-averting-public-health-tragedy
- "The Woman Who Stood Between America and a Generation of ‘Thalidomide Babies’" by Leila McNeill: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/woman-who-stood-between-america-and-epidemic-birth-defects-180963165/
- Wikipedia article about Frances Oldham Kelsey: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frances_Oldham_Kelsey
- "Frances Oldham Kelsey, Who Saved U.S. Babies From Thalidomide, Dies at 101" by Robert D. McFadden: https://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/08/science/frances-oldham-kelsey-fda-doctor-who-exposed-danger-of-thalidomide-dies-at-101.html?_r=0
- Biography of Dr. Frances Oldham Kelsey: https://cfmedicine.nlm.nih.gov/physicians/biography_182.html
Women who Werk
Johns Hopkins Medicine. "Vast majority of dietary supplements don't improve heart health or put off death, study finds." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 16 July 2019. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/07/190716095529.htm
Music
“Mary Anning” by Artichoke
Cover Image
Wikipedia
The White House
54 min - Short Stories 1 - Sameera Moussa | Nuclear Physicist
Alternate Title: Communist Cancers
This week we change up the format and talk about TWO historical women in science! Emlyn tells Emma about Dr. Yvonne Barr, who helped discover the first cancer-causing virus in humans, and Emma tells Emma about Dr. Sameera Moussa, an egyptian nuclear physicist who worked to make the medical use of nuclear technology affordable to all!
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Sources
Story 1 - Dr. Yvonne Barr
- The Cancer Virus: The story of Epstein-Barr Virus. D.H. Crawford, A. Richinson, and I. Johnnessen. 2014. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK
- Video of Dr. Yvonne Barr for 50th anniversary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MXFUHBRQjo
- UK Cancer Research Institute, https://scienceblog.cancerresearchuk.org/2014/03/26/50-years-of-epstein-barr-virus/
- “Viral Causes of Lymphoma: The History of Epstein-Barr Virus and Human T-Lymphotropic Virus” by Daniel Esau, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5621661/pdf/10.1177_1178122X17731772.pdf
- Cancer virus discovery helped by delayed flight, https://www.bbc.com/news/health-26857610
Story 2 - Dr. Sameera Moussa
- Sameera Moussa by Ignite Global Fund for Women http://ignite.globalfundforwomen.org/be-the-spark/sameera-moussa
- Decou, Christopher. 2018. “This Week in Science: Sameera Moussa, the Egyptian Mother of Nuclear Energy.” https://medium.com/@ccdecou/week-science-history-sameera-moussa-egyptian-89cdc6312838
Further reading on gender equality issues in STEM:
- Old boy's club of 1989: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0277539589800111
- Negative and marginalizing interactions limiting women's access to important resources: http://www.dl.begellhouse.com/journals/00551c876cc2f027,31a33a3e53bad464,08629c0a217631d5.html
- Sexism and microaggressions: https://journals.aps.org/prper/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevPhysEducRes.12.020119
- Research labs described as a “chilly place” for women: http://www.dl.begellhouse.com/journals/00551c876cc2f027,3d9029c134ca6690,734a6ef163b4eb9c.html
- Lack of female gatekeepers for research funding: https://www.ingenere.it/en/articles/gate-keeping-and-gender-challenge-science
- More ways in which STEM graduate environments disfavour women: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1179/0308018815Z.000000000112
- An article in science magazine about the issue: https://www.sciencemag.org/careers/2018/10/when-you-re-only-woman-challenges-female-phd-students-male-dominated-cohorts
Music
“Mary Anning” by Artichoke
40 min - Episode 038 - Vera Rubin | Astronomer
Alternate Title: The Dark Side of Matter
Emma tells Emlyn about the astronomer, Dr Vera Rubin, who found the best evidence of dark matter, and Emlyn tells Emma about research showing that male ecologists/zoologists rarely co-author papers with women!
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Sources
Main Story - Vera Rubin
- Interview of Vera Rubin by Alan Lightman on 1989 April 3, Niels Bohr Library & Archives, American Institute of Physics, College Park, MD USA. https://www.aip.org/history-programs/niels-bohr-library/oral-histories/33963
- Carnegie Science Staff Bio for Vera Rubin. http://dtm.carnegiescience.edu/people/vera-c-rubin
- Irion, R. (2002). The Bright Face behind the Dark Sides of Galaxies. Science, 295(5557), 960-961. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/3076066
- Overbye, Dennis (2016) “Vera Rubin, 88, Dies; Opened Doors in Astronomy, and for Women.” https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/27/science/vera-rubin-astronomist-who-made-the-case-for-dark-matter-dies-at-88.html?login=facebook
- Rubin, Vera C. (2011). An Interesting Voyage. Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics, 49(1), 1-28. https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/full/10.1146/annurev-astro-081710-102545
Women who werk
Salerno, P. E., Páez-Vacas, M., Guayasamin, J. M. & Stynoski, J. L. Male principal investigators (almost) don’t publish with women in ecology and zoology. PLoS ONE 14, e0218598–14 (2019). https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0218598
Music
“Work” by Rihanna
“Mary Anning” by Artichoke
Cover Image
Carnegie Institution of Washington, via Associated Press
44 min - Episode 037 - Rachel Carson | Marine Biologist & Environmentalist
Alternate Title: Conservation Sensation!
Emlyn tells Emma about the marine biologist, writer, and environmentalist, Rachel Carson, and Emma tells Emlyn about a heck of a lot of boss ladies!
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Sources
Main Story - Rachel Carson
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rachel_Carson
- Women's History: https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/rachel-carson
- American Chemical Society: https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/education/whatischemistry/landmarks/rachel-carson-silent-spring.html
- Fire Ants Video: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:16-p-1402-2_Fire_Ants_on_Trial.webm
Women who werk
- Jess Wade was awarded the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire! https://www.imperial.ac.uk/news/191453/imperial-academics-awarded-honours-queen/
- Xinzhu Wei and Rasmus Nielsen find that mutations in the CCR5 gene that make some people resistant to HIV may also reduce longevity. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-019-0459-6
- Olga Troyanskaya and a team of researchers develop a machine learning model that identified mutations in non-coding regions of the genome that are associated with autism. https://www.simonsfoundation.org/2019/05/27/autism-noncoding-mutations/
Music
“Work” by Rihanna
“Mary Anning” by Artichoke
Cover Image
Alfred Eisenstaedt/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
59 min - Episode 036 - Alice Ball | Chemist
Alternate Title: The BALLer method
Emma tells Emlyn about the chemist who found an effective treatment for leprosy, and Emlyn tells Emma about emotional contagion in ravens!
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Sources
Main Story - Alice Augusta Ball
- Brown, Jeannette. African American Women Chemists. Oxford University Press, 2012.
- UW School of Pharmacy. “UWSOP alumni legend Alice Ball, Class of 1914, solved leprosy therapy riddle.” 2017. https://sop.washington.edu/uwsop-alumni-legend-alice-ball-class-of-1914-solved-leprosy-riddle/
- Brewster, Carisa D. “How the Woman Who Found a Leprosy Treatment Was Almost Lost to History.” National Geographic. 2018. https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2018/02/alice-ball-leprosy-hansens-disease-hawaii-womens-history-science/
Women who werk
- Adriaense, J. E. C., Martin, J. S., Schiestl, M., Lamm, C. & Bugnyar, T. Negative emotional contagion and cognitive bias in common ravens (Corvus corax). Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 201817066 (2019). https://www.pnas.org/content/early/2019/05/14/1817066116
- Ars Technica article by Scott K Johnson: https://arstechnica.com/science/2019/05/watching-a-hangry-friend-makes-a-raven-a-pessimist/
Music
“Work” by Rihanna
“Mary Anning” by Artichoke
Cover Image
University of Hawai’i
44 min - Episode 035 - Isabella Aiona Abbott | Phycologist & Ethnobotanist
Alternate Title: Authoritarian Seaweed
Emlyn tells Emma about the Pacific phycologist and Hawaiian ethnobotanist, Dr. Isabella Aiona Abbott, and Emma tells Emlyn about the body mass index (BMI) of Marvel characters!
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Sources
Main Story - Isabella Aiona Abbott
- LONG STORY SHORT WITH LESLIE WILCOX. Isabella Aiona Abbott. https://www.pbshawaii.org/long-story-short-with-leslie-wilcox-isabella-aiona-abbott/
- Stanford News, Isabella Abbott, world-renowned Stanford algae expert, dies at 91” https://news.stanford.edu/news/2010/december/izzie-abbott-obit-120710.html
- “Pioneering professor is first lady of limu” by Jennifer Crites http://www.hawaii.edu/malamalama/2010/10/isabella-abbott/
- Isabella Aiona Abbott: 2001 Distinguished Economic Botanist: Interpreting Pre-Western Hawaiian Culture as an Ethnobotanist. (2002). Economic Botany, 56(1), 3-6. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.lib.utexas.edu/stable/4256514
- “Inspiration of Izzie” by Julie Packard https://www.huffpost.com/entry/inspiration-from-izzie_n_791382
- “A tribute to Isabella Aiona Abbott on the occasion of her 85th birthday. Happy Birthday Izzie!” by Huisman J.M. and Norris J.N. Cryptogamie, Algol., 2004, 25 (3): 219-239 https://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/23539/1/tribute%20to%20isabella%20abbott.pdf
Women who werk
1. Scientists find a possible biomarker for detecting CTE
- https://www.livescience.com/65434-cte-concussion-biomarker-tau.html
- https://n.neurology.org/content/early/2019/05/08/WNL.0000000000007608
2. Captain Dorito and the bombshell
- https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/05/190501153356.html
- https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2Febs0000164
Music
“Work” by Rihanna
“Mary Anning” by Artichoke
Cover Image
Stanford University
50 min - Episode 034 -Hedy Lamarr | Inventor
Alternate Title: A-Hedy of Her Time
Emma tells Emlyn about the Hollywood star and inventor, Hedy Lamarr, and Emlyn tells Emma about the book, Invisible women! Apologies on this episode, we get excited, and there is quite a bit of audio distortion.
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Sources
Main Story - Hedy Lamarr
- Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story. Directed by Alexandra Dean (2017).
- George, Alice. “Thank This World War II-Era Film Star for Your Wi-Fi.” Smithsonianmag.com. Aug. 4, 2019. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/thank-world-war-ii-era-film-star-your-wi-fi-180971584/
- Schearer, Steven M. Beautiful: The Life of Hedy Lamarr. Sept. 28, 2010. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=d4hLFzsNgKEC&oi=fnd&pg=PT4&dq=hedy+lamarr&ots=uZOGX1rctz&sig=kokzynKHFjilAy2HGANNJ9PphcQ#v=onepage&q&f=false
- Ouellette, Jennifer. Hop, Skip and a Jump: Remembering Hedy Lamarr. Jan. 9, 2012. https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/cocktail-party-physics/hop-skip-and-a-jump-remembering-hedy-lamar/
Women who werk
Caroline Criado Perez’s book entitled, “Invisible women: data bias in a world designed for men”.
Music
“Work” by Rihanna
“Mary Anning” by Artichoke
Cover Image
Zeitgeist Films
51 min - Episode 033 - Marie Tharp | Cartographer & Oceanographer
Alternate Title: Rift Valleys and Girl Talk
Emlyn tells Emma about the cartographer and oceanographer, Marie Tharp, who mapped the ocean floor and found evidence for continental drift, and Emma tells Emlyn about research on sex differences in spatial reasoning!
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Sources
Main Story - Marie Tharp
- Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute article, “Marie Tharp”: https://www.whoi.edu/page.do?pid=7500&tid=282&cid=23306
- “Marie Tharp - Plate Techtonics Pioneer” by Hali Felt: https://www.geosociety.org/gsatoday/archive/27/6/pdf/i1052-5173-27-6-32.pdf
- “Marie Tharp, The Woman Who Discovered The Backbone Of Earth” by David Bressan, Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidbressan/2018/07/30/hundreds-missing-and-many-feared-dead-after-laos-dam-collapse/#2d5f9e17f91b
- “How One Brilliant Woman Mapped the Secrets of the Ocean Floor | Short Film Showcase” by National Geographic https://youtu.be/vE2FK0B7gPo
- Four facts about Marie Tharp, the woman whose art mapped the bottom of the sea by Cassie Freund: https://massivesci.com/articles/marie-tharp-bottom-ocean-maps/
Women who werk
Researchers Jillian E. Lauer, Eukyung Yhang, and Stella F. Lourenco describe the development of gender differences in spatial reasoning.
Journal article: https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2019-17809-001?doi=1
Summary: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/04/190411154728.htm
Music
“Work” by Rihanna
“Mary Anning” by Artichoke
“I’m on a boat” by Lonely Island
Cover Image
https://exploration.marinersmuseum.org/subject/marie-tharp/
46 min - Episode 032 - Annie Easley | Mathematician & Rocket Scientist
Alternate Title: Easley Does it
Emma tells Emlyn about the NASA computer, mathematician, and rocket scientist, Annie Easley, and Emlyn tells Emma about the first female winner of the Abel Prize, Dr. Karen Uhlenbeck!
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Sources
Main Story - Annie J. Easley
- Interview of Annie J. Easley by Sandra Johnson, 2001, for the NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project. https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/NASA_HQ/Herstory/EasleyAJ/easleyaj.htm
- “Annie Easley, Computer Scientist” by Anne K. Mills. 2014. https://www.nasa.gov/feature/annie-easley-computer-scientist
- “The Trailblazing Human Computer Who Represented a New Age of Working Women” By Belle Hutton. 2018. http://www.anothermag.com/fashion-beauty/gallery/9695/annie-easley/4
Women who werk - Dr. Karen Uhlenbeck
- “Retired UT professor becomes first woman to win prestigious prize in mathematics” by Brenna Hinshaw. http://www.dailytexanonline.com/2019/03/25/retired-ut-professor-becomes-first-woman-to-win-prestigious-prize-in-mathematics
- “Karen Uhlenbeck, Uniter of Geometry and Analysis, Wins Abel Prize” by Erica Klarreich. https://www.quantamagazine.org/karen-uhlenbeck-uniter-of-geometry-and-analysis-wins-abel-prize-20190319/
- “Karen Uhlenbeck Is First Woman to Win Abel Prize for Mathematics” by https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/19/science/karen-uhlenbeck-abel-prize.html
Music
“Work” by Rihanna
“Mary Anning” by Artichoke
Cover Image
NASA
41 min
About STEM Fatale Podcast
From the publisher's feed
Emma and Emlyn teach each other about historic (and current) women in STEM and remind each other about things they DEF should know.