Tiny Matters

It's happening again! A Tiny Matters Q&A and mug giveaway! Sam and Deboki answer listener questions about science, like, ‘Is it true that when we think of a memory we are actually remembering the last time we thought of the memory?,’ ‘Why do differently colored cats have such differing personalities,’ and ‘What is quantum entanglement?,’ plus questions about methanol poisoning, sea foam, science podcasting, and what Sam and Deboki would ask Bill Nye if given the chance. They wrap up the episode with a drawing where five lucky listeners win a Tiny Matters coffee mug! 

To support Tiny Matters, pick up a mug here! All Tiny Matters transcripts are available here. 

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Love is everywhere: In friendships, in romance, in the songs we listen to, books we read, and movies we see. So whether you love love, hate love, or are somewhere in between, you’re still hearing about it all the time. And that means you’ve probably learned about a molecule called oxytocin, aka the ‘love hormone’ or ‘love drug.’ Oxytocin was at first considered a hormone strictly for childbirth and nursing. But, starting around 50 years ago, research began to shed light on the vastness of its importance, in part with the help of cute little animals called prairie voles, one of very few species in the animal kingdom who form monogamous bonds. In this episode, we unpack what we've learned oxytocin can and can't do, why you can't reduce love down to a single molecule, what happens when we not only fall in love but stay in love, and how our brains adapt to the loss of a loved one.

Links to the Tiny Show & Tell stories are here and here. Pick up a Tiny Matters mug here! All Tiny Matters transcripts are available here.

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In the winter of 1829, Dutch-Belgian anthropologist Philippe-Charles Schmerling discovered a fossil in a cave in Engis, Belgium — what looked like the partial skull of a small child. Schmerling is often called the father of paleontology, but even he had no idea what he had stumbled upon. Decades later, as other similar fossils came to light, the significance of Schmerling’s finding became clear: it was the skull of a child Neanderthal. It was not only the first Neanderthal fossil ever uncovered — it was the first fossil to be recognized as early human. Although Neanderthals died out around 40,000 years ago, advances in genetic sequencing have revealed that their DNA lives on in all of us today — in our immune systems, vulnerability to certain diseases and, as more recent work has found, the likelihood of being an early riser or "morning person."

In this episode, Sam and Deboki unpack the ancient human journey and the complicated web of relationships between ancient human species. Although Homo Sapiens are the only surviving humans today, for hundreds of thousands of years we were not alone.

Links to the Tiny Show & Tell stories are here and here. Pick up a Tiny Matters mug here! All Tiny Matters transcripts are available here.

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Last fall Sam and Deboki did a Q&A/mug giveaway episode and it was a hit. Round 2 it is! Anyone living within the U.S. is eligible.

Entering the raffle is easy. Just send your question(s) to [email protected].

Questions can be about a previous episode, some science thing you're dying to know the answer to, a question about podcasting, a question about science communication (scicomm) more broadly ... the sky’s the limit!

Just sending in a question enters you into a raffle to win a Tiny Matters mug, and if Sam and Deboki answer your question during the Q&A episode your name will be entered into the raffle twice. At the end of the episode, Sam and Deboki will draw 5 names out of a hat and send each of those people their very own snazzy Tiny Matters mug. 

Submit questions to [email protected] through the end of the day on Friday, January 19th, 2024. 

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Today, Sam and Deboki are taking a look back at a handful of their favorite episode moments from the second year of Tiny Matters. And it just so happens to also be episode 50! Asteroid updates, atom-sized transistors, a world without photosynthesis, and more!

Have suggestions for topics for 2024? Email us! [email protected]. Pick up a Tiny Matters mug here! All Tiny Matters transcripts are available here.

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A warning to listeners — this episode contains sensitive material surrounding homicide and assault.

On November 29th, 2012, a group of men broke into the Silicon Valley mansion of 66 year old investor Raveesh Kumra. The men attacked and tied up both Raveesh and his ex-wife who was living there, and then ransacked the home for cash and jewelry. By the time the paramedics arrived, Raveesh — who had also been gagged with tape — had died of suffocation. A few weeks later, the police arrested 26 year old Lukis Anderson. Anderson, whose DNA had been found on Raveesh's fingernails, was charged with murder. But the night of the homicide, Anderson had actually been at a hospital many miles away, being carefully monitored. So how did his DNA get on Raveesh’s fingernails?

In this episode of Tiny Matters, Sam and Deboki unpack the history and evolution of DNA profiling and how new, more sensitive, technologies can be both incredible tools for picking up trace amounts of DNA to home in on suspects and a huge liability that can lead to wrong convictions.

Links to the Tiny Show & Tell stories are here and here. Pick up a Tiny Matters mug here! All Tiny Matters transcripts are available here.

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The FDA drug approval process is known to be a lengthy and rigorous one. But the FDA-approved ingredient phenylephrine — found in common cold medicines like Sudafed, Mucinex, and NyQuil — was recently found to be no better than a placebo. Phenylephrine has been on store shelves for nearly 90 years. How could that happen?

In this episode of Tiny Matters, Sam and Deboki are joined by none other than Deboki's dad, Deb Chakravarti. Deb is a professor with years of industry experience and the current director of the York College FDA Partnership. He helps dissect the FDA's recent findings and how its history and ever-evolving role in the pharmaceutical industry contributed to phenylephrine being used in oral cold medicines for so long.

Deb, Deboki and Sam also unpack pharmaceutical ethics cases, like thalidomide in the 1950s and 60s, and the case of Vioxx in the early 2000s, which led to tens of thousands of deaths.

Sam and Deboki cap off the episode with tiny show and tells about how the nose is really 2 noses (!) and the story of a new, ingestible, vitamin-sized capsule that could protect people from dying of an opioid overdose, sleep apnea, or other conditions that depress breathing.

Check out PNAS Science Sessions here and wherever you listen to podcasts. 

Links to the Tiny Show & Tell stories are here and here. Pick up a Tiny Matters mug here! All Tiny Matters transcripts are available here.

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In 2021, 80,411 people in the United States died of an overdose involving opioids, making up 75% of all drug overdose deaths that year. That’s also 10 times as many opioid overdose deaths as in 1999. How did we get here?

In this episode, Sam and Deboki trace the origins of opioids, from opium and morphine to fentanyl, and scrutinize the significant role pharmaceutical companies played in kick starting the opioid crisis in the 1990s. Today, the highly potent opioid fentanyl has become the street supply of opioids, which has led to a steep incline in overdose deaths. On top of that, it can be adulterated with dangerous substances like xylazine or "tranq." Now more than ever, facilities focused on harm reduction are crucial. These facilities allow for safe needle exchange, which reduces the risk of transmitting diseases like HIV and hepatitis C, and also provide opioid users with treatment and access to other healthcare testing.

Although the opioid crisis is a tragic reality in this country, harm reduction, increased opioid research funding, and hefty pharmaceutical company payouts are providing glimmers of hope.

In the US, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has a National Helpline for individuals and family members facing mental and/or substance use disorders. It can be reached at 1-800-662-HELP (1-800-662-4357). It is confidential, free, in both English and Spanish, and open 24/7, 365 days a year. The helpline provides referrals to local treatment facilities, support groups, and community-based organizations.

Links to the Tiny Show & Tell stories are here and here. Pick up a Tiny Matters mug here! All Tiny Matters transcripts are available here.

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We often hear that dogs help lower our blood pressure, decrease our allergy risk, and even alert us to disease. But is there science behind those claims? In this episode of Tiny Matters, Sam and Deboki unpack some dog domestication history and fascinating research with Jen Golbeck and Stacey Colino, authors of the new book, The Purest Bond: Understanding the Human-Canine Connection. Links to the Tiny Show & Tell stories are here and here. Pick up a Tiny Matters mug here! All Tiny Matters transcripts are available here.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Happy spooky season, Tiny Matters listeners! In today’s episode, Sam and Deboki tackle two Halloween themed topics: The Salem witch trials and mummies. 

In 1692 and 1693 a series of hearings and trials took place in Salem, Massachusetts, leading to 19 people being executed, marking the last executions for witchcraft in the United States. Sam and Deboki speak with a researcher who has spent over a decade piecing together what did and probably did not happen during this time, helping unpack a popular (and highly flawed) theory that LSD from a fungus caused the Salem witch trials. She also offers up the more likely forces behind the hysteria. 

Sam and Deboki then travel back thousands of years to ancient Egypt and delve into the science behind mummification — from the 'grand experimentation' of the Old Kingdom mummies to the 'ideal' mummies of the 18th and 21st dynasties that look like they could wake up at any moment. Mummies were an integral part of the ancient Egyptian belief in divine transformation after death, but today there’s contention surrounding how they should be treated and if they should even be displayed for viewing. 

Links to the Tiny Show & Tell stories are here and here. Pick up a Tiny Matters mug here! All Tiny Matters transcripts are available here.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.