The Beaker Report

With the semester back in full swing, the guys have their plates full. Steve and Caleb's schedules are now filled with reading, writing, lab work, teaching, and classes are keeping them both very busy. Steve talks about testing out his new force platform, the Achilles II, after weeks of design work and building. Caleb finally tells us about his purple bacteria that he found when he was in the field in Washington.

Steve shares some advice on always being skeptical of what you are taught. He spent some time going back over the anatomy of the muscles that he records from using the Achilles II. He used a book called The Anatomy of the Rat, by E. C. Greene, an amazing female anatomist from the early 20th century. Then Caleb talks about how important going back in time through the literature can be crucial for your research. Sometimes some very effective techniques can become forgotten over time.

After a long in-depth explanation of how muscle cells are organized and how they work, Steve and Caleb talk about how crazy it is that humans have figured out all of this detailed information about how the world works. They also can't believe that they get to be a part of it all. This episode is jam packed. They go all over the place but they end it with a bit of UFC talk.

Happy Labor Day from The Beaker Report. Steve spent his weekend moving into a new house. The guys start by talking about living with someone after having lived on their own and how having your own space is essential. After recapping their Labor Day activities they discuss their first week of fall semester. They talk about what it is like to teach labs and some of the differences in teaching Bio majors vs non-majors.

Next, they give some advise on how to keep track of references when writing research papers. Sometimes it can be a challenge to keep it all organized and a reference manager program like Endnote or Zotero can be really helpful. They also talk about how important math in biology can be. If you are interested in research, do yourself a favor and keep taking math courses beyond Calculus I.

Finally, the guys get into some travel stories. Steve bashes on United Airlines and Caleb retells some stories of his military experiences.

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Caleb and Steve start this episode with some discussion on how important it is to always be on the lookout for ways to improve yourself. They also talk about how teaching someone can be the best way to learn. They also take a dive into the difference between certain cultural norms around the world. Steve explains what happens on Ganges river India which leads to a discussion about how strange death rituals can get.

Eventually they get back on topic and they talk about how much research is going on out there answering the questions that you would have never thought to ask. Also, the guys talk about caffeine and how it doesn't seem to effect some people. Maybe a future #brainyfact possibly? There is much more in this episode. Give it a listen

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