That's Science

In the spirit of A Christmas Carol, we've created a sort of That's Science ghost of Past, present, and Future! In this bonus Christmas episode, Amelia and Susan wrap up the past year of That's Science by looking back over the past sixteen episodes. As well as behind-the-scenes stories and recording disasters, we also get into what we've been up to since June and what to expect in the new year from us!

Thank you to everyone who listened this year, we're immensely proud of what we've created and couldn't have done it without all you lovely listeners!

Happy Christmas!

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In this episode of What’s Science, Amelia discusses scientific discoveries with science historian and lecturer in zoology, Matthew Cobb. The pair chat maggot noses, fictitious ah-ha moments and less than accurate depictions of scientists while trying to work out what exactly a scientific discovery is. Make sure to listen to our outro to get a That’s Science update from Episode 1.

For more on:

Matthew and Nathaniel’s Nature article: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-01313-5

Matthew and Nathaniel’s Twitter thread: https://twitter.com/matthewcobb/status/1650877644529975296

Twitter thread showing the Royal Society programme: https://twitter.com/ThatsSciencePod/status/1667178396093231104?s=20

Progress in Science (a historical overview of different theories by Feller and Stern: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK26378/

The nature of discovery: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4213439/

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CW: Discussions of consent and sex

This week's episode of 'Is that Science?' Phoebe joins me and Amelia to talk about her work as a sex educator and illustrator. Our conversation ranges from all things gender and sexuality to science communication and the arts. We hope you enjoy this conversation as much as we loved having it :))

Phoebe's Instagrams:

Art page: https://instagram.com/everybodys_invited?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Personal: https://instagram.com/phoebeebies?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

For more on:

The Vagina Museum: https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/exhibitions/the-vagina-museum-london-camden-twitter-public-support-new-venue-b948844.html

https://twitter.com/vagina_museum?lang=en

Frances Glesner Lee's Crime Scenes: https://americanart.si.edu/exhibitions/nutshells

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This week's episode of What's Science is all about statistics - much to the disappointment of our guest, Alex. Amelia and Alex navigate pandemic communication, not-so-scientific chemistry experiments and the scientific institution through caffeine- and stress-induced giggles - it's a fun one!

For more information on:

The definitions of Uncertainty and Error: https://www.visionlearning.com/en/library/Process-of-Science/49/Uncertainty-Error-and-Confidence/157

Uncertainty in Science Communication: https://www.forbes.com/sites/chadorzel/2015/10/08/the-certainty-of-uncertainty-scientists-know-exactly-how-well-we-dont-know-things/

Communicating statistics during the Pandemic: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666389921001537

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In this episode of "Is That Science", Dr. Vladmir Jankovic comes on to talk about the development of the climate crisis as a political issue. Despite its obvious presence in the modern day, the complexity of climate change can be incredibly hard for a non-scientific individual to talk about or understand. At times, this can feel overwhelming. So, in today's episode, Vlad will talk through the history of the crisis as a political issue, a framing goes some way to unpick some of the confusion around the issue. This was such a fascinating conversation and I'm so grateful Vlad took the time out to talk to me!

For more on:

Pint of Science Events: https://pintofscience.co.uk/events/manchester

The language of climate change: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000d719 and https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001gk5h

Individualization of responsibility: https://medium.com/@mitpress/individualization-plant-a-tree-buy-a-bike-save-the-world-ecb916df95e4 

Vlad's paper on climate change as market transition:  https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03085147.2013.791511?tab=permissions&scroll=top

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In this episode of what’s science, Amelia literally has to be told to “be cool” because she’s too excited to have Heidi Gardner, health equality researcher at the University of Aberdeen, on the podcast. The pair discuss Heidi’s PhD, why it’s important to include diverse and representative populations in clinical trials, and how that can be achieved – all while Amelia gushes about how much she loved Heidi’s past business Science On A Postcard/Little Science Co.

Heidi’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/heidirgardner?s=20

Heidi’s Blog: https://heidirgardner.wordpress.com/

Other people Heidi mentioned:

Heather Morgan (@hm_morgan on twitter)

Addy Adelaine (@AddyAdelaine on twitter)

Lynn Laidlaw (@lynn_laidlaw on twitter)

For more on

The Disabled Experience: Disability Visibility, edited by Alice Wong (2020)

Photovoice: https://participedia.net/method/5016 or https://feelingathome.org.uk/blog/what-is-photovoice/ or https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09687599.2012.717881

Inclusivity frameworks in Clinical Trials: https://www.nihr.ac.uk/documents/improving-inclusion-of-under-served-groups-in-clinical-research-guidance-from-include-project/25435

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TW: Discussion of suicide

In this episode, Paul Knowles joins Susan to have a chat about ecocriticism. With a lot of discussion about the climate crisis characterized by catastrophe, it is very easy to be overwhelmed by the discourse. However, in the field of ecocriticism, one has a different way to articulate the human relationship to the natural and more human world in a way that can build empathy and promote discussion in a way that hard statistics sometimes can't. Of course, it's a massive area of research and literature, but I had a great discussion with Paul and he's so knowledgeable about this work, and our discussion prompted a lot of post-interview followup web-searching on my part!

For more information on:

The Southern council in trouble for tree felling in Plymouth: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-65074972

A great discussion from BBC Radio 4 about preserving ancient woodlands: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001l940

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Content Warning: This episode discusses illness including HIV/AIDS and death. 

In this episode of What’s Science, Amelia discusses chronic pain, clinical trials and super placebo effects with Marcia Schofield, a pain specialist doctor and mum to your favorite podcast co-host, Susan. Marcia has been principal investigator on clinical trials, and especially in co-production of clinical trials with patients.  

For more information on: 

Clinical Trial Phases: https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/find-a-clinical-trial/what-clinical-trials-are/phases-of-clinical-trials 

Co-production of clinical trials: https://www.bmj.com/content/372/bmj.n434 

Sativex: https://www.mssociety.org.uk/about-ms/treatments-and-therapies/cannabis/sativex 

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Lucinda comes back to 'What's Science" to discuss with Susan the development and impact of the Sci-Fi genre. The inherently creative nature of the genre, reimagining a world outside our own, suits it well to playing out complex cultural feelings around science. But, of course, the genre itself is very interesting and fun! Lucinda's passion for it made her such a joy to chat to and we hope you enjoy the episode!

For more information on:

The different scientist tropes in media: https://filmschoolrejects.com/a-scientist-walks-into-a-movie-48b98b9e1af2/

Afrofuturism: https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2015/dec/07/afrofuturism-black-identity-future-science-technology

https://afritechnews.com/afrofuturism/

Lovecraftian Horror in film: https://www.bfi.org.uk/lists/10-great-lovecraftian-horror-films

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CW: Animal cruelty, death and disease.

Back after spring break, in this episode of What's Science, Amelia discusses Animal Testing with Meg and Amy. Covering why animals are used in experiments, the regulations in place and the alternatives on their way, the trio try to balance the emotive issues of animal cruelty with the scientific and medical reasons animals are used. It's a more serious episode than previous ones, but hopefully gives a good overview of this complex issue.

Before the recording we read:

Speaking of Research: Animal Research Regulations in the UK (https://speakingofresearch.com/facts/animal-research-regulations-in-the-uk/)

National Association of Biomedical Research: The importance of Animal Research (https://www.nabr.org/biomedical-research/importance-biomedical-research)

PETA: Answers to Common Arguments for Animal Testing (https://www.peta.org/issues/animals-used-for-experimentation/animal-testing-bad-science/)

Live Science: Alternatives to Animal Testing (https://www.livescience.com/65401-animal-testing-alternatives.html)

For more information on:

Pre-clinical and clinical trials: https://pharmaceutical-journal.com/article/feature/drug-development-the-journey-of-a-medicine-from-lab-to-shelf

Thalidomide: https://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/objects-and-stories/medicine/thalidomide or http://isciencemag.co.uk/features/how-optical-isomers-uncovered-the-horrors-of-thalidomide/

Twisted Doodles and her Grapefruit Cartoon: https://twitter.com/twisteddoodles/status/1620742934135201792?s=20

Chagas Disease: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/chagas-disease-(american-trypanosomiasis)

T. cruzi study: Costa FC, Francisco AF, Jayawardhana S, Calderano SG, Lewis MD, Olmo F, Beneke T, Gluenz E, Sunter J, Dean S, Kelly JM, Taylor MC. Expanding the toolbox for Trypanosoma cruzi: A parasite line incorporating a bioluminescence-fluorescence dual reporter and streamlined CRISPR/Cas9 functionality for rapid in vivo localisation and phenotyping. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2018 Apr 2;12(4):e0006388. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0006388. PMID: 29608569; PMCID: PMC5897030.

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