The Show About Science

When organs like kidneys and livers fail, it can be scary—especially for kids. But the science of regenerative medicine, where new organs are created from a patient's own cells and tissue, is a promising new field in medicine. Dr. Anthony Atala is the Director of the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine and he joins Nate on this episode to talk about how new organs can be created in the lab using 3D printers.

Last summer, Nate was walking to the train when he spotted a giant wasp carrying a cicada. Later he discovered that the insect he saw was a cicada killer wasp. These insects will paralyze cicadas with their venomous sting, but luckily rarely sting humans. Blake Newton is an entomologist at the University of Kentucky. He joins Nate on this episode of The Show About Science to talk about these fascinating creatures.

David Shoesmith is a professor of electrochemistry and corrosion science at the University of Western Ontario in Canada. He joins Nate on this episode of The Show About Science to explain why metal rusts and how it corrodes. They also talk about an experiment that you can conduct at home to see rust form.

Kids can do amazing things. And if you need proof of that, look no further than this episode of The Show About Science! First up is kid inventor Allie Weber, the host of the YouTube channel Tech-nic-Allie Speaking. After that is the story of Sophia Spencer, who inspired the hashtag #BugsR4Girls and co-authored a research paper for Annals of the Entomological Society of America. Finally, Nate chats with Olivia Van Ledtje (better known as LivBit), who hosts The Kidlit Show on Pinna and is an Ambassador for The Gills Club, an organization promoting girls in science through inquiry-based experiences meant to grow enthusiasm and activism for sharks and ocean life.

Watch episodes of Tech-nic-Allie Speaking: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZQmNgYJMS1YHaSuCU44E2AWatch

Sophia on Good Morning America: http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/girl-worldwide-attention-love-bugs-50017043

Listen to Sophia on NPR: https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/09/19/551876044/once-teased-for-her-love-of-bugs-8-year-old-co-authors-scientific-paper

Learn more about Olivia and The Kidlit Show: http://www.thelivbits.com/

What can we learning from studying teeth? As it turns out, quite a bit! Dr. Tanya Smith is working to understand how teeth grow, why they vary, and how this information can advance the field of human evolutionary biology. Dr. Smith joins Nate on this episode to talk about her work.