Superheroes of Science

Did you realize that the brain is like plastic and continues to change throughout your life? Dr. Ginger Campbell, Host of Brain Science podcast, joins us to discuss the 6 Things YOU Need to Know about YOUR Brain. Campbell takes us through a variety of interesting facts about the brain before discussing what we have learned through neuroscience. The interview closes with a discussion of some of the common misconceptions about the brain including the amount of brain-power we use and the left-brain /right brain.

Text 'BrainScience' to 55444 to receive a handout of brain facts from Dr. Campbell!

'Tis the season for holiday treats! While it can be fun to indulge, it's always a good idea to be mindful of our daily sugar intake. Can artificial sweeteners help us with our nutritional goals throughout the holiday season? Susie Swithers, Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs in the College of Health and Human Sciences and Professor in the Department of Psychological Sciences at Purdue University, gives an overview of different types of artificial sweeteners and discusses potential long term effects from using these sweeteners over regular sugar.

While hypoxia, or the reduced amount of oxygen available in a body of water, is a naturally occurring phenomenon, human impact can make hypoxia worse. Paris Collingsworth, Assistant Research Professor in the Purdue University Department of Forestry and Natural Resources and Great Lakes Ecosystems Specialist for the Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant, discusses his research with hypoxia in Lake Erie along with Great Lakes ecosystems and special properties of water that lead to the development of hypoxic conditions in Lake Erie during the summer months.

Did you ever wonder how scientists know what rocks are on Mars? Dr. Roger Wiens, PI of the SuperCam instrument on the Perseverance Rover that just landed this year on Mars, explains how it works. Roger also discusses meteorites on Earth from Mars, and the Wiens asteroid. That's right he even has an asteroid named after him!

Dan Cziczo is not only a friend of the Science from the Experts show on Superheroes of Science, he is an atmospheric scientist whose publications have been cited in scientific journals over seven thousand times. Cziczo serves as the current Department Head, as well as Professor, of the Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences at Purdue University. Cziczo explains the meaning behind the term "climate change" and provides a methodical history of climate change. Topics from this episode include trends in global temperatures, greenhouse gases, clouds, and a survey of historical climate data.

Link to the YouTube episode: https://youtu.be/lBcyo5OMHMk

Aerosols can be naturally existing or man-made, and both types of aerosols exist in our atmosphere. Alexander Laskin, Professor of Analytical Chemistry at Purdue University, explains how aerosols are classified, where different types of aerosols can be found throughout the world and the goal of his research in atmospheric chemistry.

Did you know that a 6 digit passcode takes less than 1 day to crack, while a 10 digit passcode can take several years? Just do not use a phone number, as this can be guessed easily. Nick Egbert joins us from the Purdue University Department of Mathematics. Nick is a PhD candidate who is specializing in cryptography and number theory. He explains how simple and extremely complex codes work. Nick teaches us that everything from depositing a check using your phone, logins to any website, to reusing passwords, all use cryptography.

Professor Tim Donohue from University of Wisconsin-Madison joins us to discuss Bioenergy. Donohue explains the importance of thinking about bioenergy-based research solutions and emphasizes that biofuels are not a new concept. Donohue explains various products that come from a barrel of oil, and making fuels and chemicals from dedicated non-food energy crops.

Most all diseases include some kind of environmental component according to Dr. Sarah Evans, Assistant Professor of Environmental Medicine and Public Health at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. If environmental factors are responsible for rapid disease rates, then we can work toward solutions that will be helpful in slowing these rates. Dr. Evans suggests actionable items we can do to reduce unnecessary exposure to dangerous chemicals including using our dollars to choose products that are phthalate-free, BPA-free, and fragrance-free, using more whole and fresh foods, and reducing household dust.

Deep learning was such an unpopular field of research in 2012 that there were only 3 labs in the world doing any research. Only in the last decade have we seen enormous progress in the fields of deep learning, machine learning (ML), and ultimately artificial intelligence (AI). Slater Victoroff, CTO and Founder of Indico Data, explains that AI is the automation of any process, with a computer, that would traditionally be completed by humans. Imagine the early elevators operated by humans. The first automated elevators would have been considered AI! Victoroff discusses all things AI and gives insight into why this field is progressing so quickly. The more progress we make towards AI, the more appreciation we gain for how incredible human cognition really is!

Link from the episode:

DALL-E

https://openai.com/blog/dall-e/