Sci-why: Recent Episodes
Sci-why Podcast
Science has answers to all the whys, sometimes it´s just hard to find them. Or find someone who will explain them to you. Fear not! Raul is the smart one, Agata a bit less, but together they will make sure that you get why the sea is salty or airplanes can fly. Join us on our very new podcast with the right amount of smart and a bit too much of funny.
HIV caused panic in the 80s, but nowadays one can have a perfectly normal life with HIV, enjoy safe sex, and have healthy children. But lately a new treatment has revealed that HIV can be erased from the body. Listen to this episode to learn how it is possible! -- Sources: About HIV. CDC (2021) / Kumar Gupta et al. (2020): Evidence for HIV-1 cure[...]: a case report. The Lancet / Michelle Roberts (2020): Second patient cured of HIV, say doctors. BBC / HIV: First woman in world believed to be cured of virus. BBC (2022)
Pregnancy is not a piece of cake. It can be hard and full of complications, and your baby can face a tough time, too, when you least expect it. So many things can go wrong that science has to do something about it. On this episode we discuss the future of pregnancy and a new technology to help premature babies to survive. -- Sources: Jenny Kleeman (2020): ‘Parents can look at their foetus in real time’: are artificial wombs the future? The Guardian / Is this the future of human birth? BBC (2022)
Rocket science and brain surgery are among the most difficult professions, so people working in them must be super intelligent, or are they? Find out why you (yeah, you!) could be a rocket scientist or a brain surgeon if you wanted to! -- Sources: Inga Usher et al. (2021): “It’s not rocket science” and “It’s not brain surgery”—“It’s a walk in the park”: prospective comparative study.” British Medical Journal / Giovanni Sala, Alexander P. Burgoyne, et al.(2017):"Checking the “Academic Selection” argument. Chess players outperform non-chess players in cognitive skills related to intelligence: A meta-analysis." Intelligence.
FIRE! The cornerstone of civilization and most attractive natural phenomenon, but what is it? What is it made of and how does it work? Today we explain why fire is like that and few bonus features that make it even cooler. -- Sources: K. Schmidt-Rohr (2015): "Why Combustions Are Always Exothermic, Yielding About 418 kJ per Mole of O2." Journal of Chemical Education. / Anne Marie Helmenstine (2018): "What is the State of Matter of Fire or Flame? Is it a Liquid, Solid, or Gas?" Tought Co. / Esther Inglis-Arkell (2011): "How does fire behave in zero gravity?" Gizmodo.
Do you believe in aliens? With the universe being so vast, it makes sense that somewhere another advanced civilization is developing, but where are they? And why we have not heard from them yet? We answer these questions and more in this week´s episode. -- Sources: Charles Krauthammer (2011): Are We Alone in the Universe? The Washington Post / Kristen A. Hite; John L. Seitz (2020): Global Issues : an introduction. Wiley-Blackwell. / Tim Urban (2014): The Fermi Paradox. Huffington Post / Chris Impe (2011): The Living Cosmos: Our Search for Life in the Universe. Cambridge University Press. / Stephen Webb (2002): If the Universe Is Teeming with Aliens... Where Is Everybody? Fifty solutions to the Fermi Paradox and the Problem of Extraterrestrial Life. Copernicus Books.
What if you could see music, taste colours, or feel the touch of a perfume? This is possible through a neurological condition called "synesthesia." In this episode we talk about how it works, what triggers it, and why it happens. -- Sources: Cytowic RE (2002). Synesthesia: A Union of the Senses. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press / Rich AN, Mattingley JB (2002): Anomalous perception in synaesthesia: a cognitive neuroscience perspective. Nature Reviews. Neuroscience / Galton F (1880): Visualized Numerals. Nature / Mroczko-Wąsowicz A, Nikolić D (2014): Semantic mechanisms may be responsible for developing synesthesia. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience / Nikolić, D. (2009): Is synaesthesia actually ideaesthesia? An inquiry into the nature of the phenomenon. Proceedings of the Third International Congress on Synaesthesia, Science & Art.
They look like rubber aliens and most people are scared of them, but octopuses are among the friendliest and most harmless of creatures. In this episode we discuss some incredible facts about them, like their disguise skills or their astonishing intelligence. -- Sources: Rachel Nuwer (2013): Ten curious facts about octopuses. Smithsonian Magazine / Katherine Harmon (2013): Even Severed Octopus Arms Have Smart Moves. Scientific American / Olivia Judson (2017): What the Octopus Knows. The Atlantic / Octopus With a Big Dilemma. Octolab TV
Today we give an answer to classic Christmas problems, like what happens to your lights, how can Santa travel the world, or why Rudolph´s nose glows. Happy Holidays! -- Sources: Dorian M. Raymer and Douglas E. Smith (2007): Spontaneous knotting of an agitated string. PNAS / Trust me on the rest.
Humans feel the need to surround themselves with beautiful things, art, and decorative elements. But why and how can science explain it? Join us in this episode to find the answer! -- Sources: Grazyna Jasienska (2006): Symmetrical women have higher potential fertility. Evolution and Human Behavior / Roni Dengler (2018): This city fights crime with gardening. Science / Leslie Snapper (2015): Your kid could not have done that. Cognition / AJ Machin (2007): Why are some handaxes symmetrical? Journal of Archeological Science. / Richie Khandelwal (2005): Patterns in nature. / Bryan Lawson (2003): The Architectural Healthcare Environment and its Effects on Patient Health Outcomes.
Reality has much more than what we can perceive, and some very clever people think that our universe holds more dimensions than we can measure yet. Join us today to learn how the mysterious 10 dimensions are hiding in plain sight. -- Sources: Rob Bryanton (2006): Imagining the Tenth Dimension / Matt Williams (2014): A Universe of 10 Dimensions. Universe Today / Visualize the 4th, 5th & 6th dimension (2018). Polygyan.
People are getting taller and taller with each generation, and this trend has spiked in the last 100 years, but why? No one knew until very recently. Join us to discover why and how does it happen, and what does it mean for the future generations. -- Sources: Phillippa Roxby (2021): The brain sensor discovery behind humans getting taller. BBC News. Stephen O'Rahilly (2021): MC3R links nutritional state to childhood growth and the timing of puberty. Nature. NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (2016): A century of trends in adult human height. eLife.
If you want something done, do it yourself. That was the approach of the scientists from this episode. Eight strange scientists (and a few more) who went the extra mile to prove their hypothesis, and crossed the final frontier: experimenting on themselves. -- Sources: Enrique Chaves-Carballo (2005): Carlos Finlay and yellow fever: triumph over adversity. Military Medicine / HFW Wulf (1998): The centennial of spinal anesthesia. Anesthesiology / RF Mould (2007): Pierre Curie, 1859–1906. Current Oncology / Veena Rao (2015): JBS Haldane, an Indian scientist of British origin. Current Science / JM Siegel: A tribute to Nathaniel Kleitman. Psychiatry and Brain Research Institute. University of California, Los Angeles / Dieter Hagenbach; Lucius Werthmüller; Stanislav Grof (2013): Mystic Chemist: The Life of Albert Hofmann and His Discovery of LSD. Santa Fe, NM: Synergetic Press / "The Doctor Who Drank Infectious Broth, Gave Himself an Ulcer, and Solved a Medical Mystery". Discover Magazine / Elisabeth Svoboda (2008): The Worms Crawl In. TheNew York Times.
The Egyptian pharaoh Rameses II only let the slaves go free after facing God´s wrath in the form of ten Plagues, right? But, did you know that there is a scientific explanaiton for those Plagues? Join us in this episode to learn how the ten Plagues actually could have occurred and the chain of events that triggered each one of them. -- Sources: Stephen Mortlock (2019): "The Plagues of Egypt”. The Biomedical Scientist. / Khamesipour, F. (2018): "A systematic review of human pathogens carried by the housefly (Musca domestica L.)" BMC public health. / Marr JS and Malloy CD (1996): "An epidemiologic analysis of the ten plagues of Egypt". Caduceus (Springfield, Ill.) / Walsby AE Schanz F and Schmid M (2005): "The Burgundy-blood phenomenon: A model of buoyancy change explains autumnal water-blooms by Planktothrix rubescens in Lake Zürich". New Phytologist.
Spooky season hangover! To say farewell to Halloween, we have chosen a creepy experiment that has been a protagonist of many horror stories. In this episode we talk about the dreadful lobotomy, its inventor, and a man who became so obsessed with it that he could have been his own patient. -- Sources: German E. Berrios (1997): The origins of psychosurgery: Shaw, Burckhardt and Moniz. History of Psychiatry. / Jack El-Hai (2005): The Lobotomist / Hugh Levinson (2011): "The strange and curious history of lobotomy“, BBC News.
Spooky season! For this Halloween special episode we talk about 6 creepy experiements performed in the name of science. Hear about two-headed monsters, zombie dogs, the horrors of war, and much more that will sure give you the chills. -- Sources: Williams, Peter, and Wallace, David (1989). Unit 731. Grafton Books. / Elisabeth Nix (2020): Tuskegee Experiment: The Infamous Syphilis Study, History Magazine. / Transplanted Head (1955), Time Magazine. / Ethan Blue (2009): The Strange Career of Leo Stanley: Remaking Manhood and Medicine at San Quentin State Penitentiary, 1913-1951, Pacific Historical Review. / Haney, C.; Banks, W. C.; Zimbardo, P. G. (1973). "A study of prisoners and guards in a simulated prison". Naval Research Review. / Konstantinov, Igor; Alexi-Meskishvili, Vladimir (2000). "Sergei S. Brukhonenko: The Development of the First Heart-Lung Machine for Total Body Perfusion". The Annals of Thoracic Surgery.
Nowadays it is so easy to find new planets that a teenager can do it in his third day of intership at NASA. However, back in the day things were a little more complicated. There were no fancy devices and advanced technology, so they had to make-do with other things, like using Venus to know how far the Earth is from the Sun. Join us to learn how they did it in this week´s episode! -- Sources: Hannah Morrison (2020): Meet the NASA intern who discovered a new planet on his third day. BBC News. / David Shortt (2012): Some Details About Transits of Venus. The Planetary Society. / Tim Sharp (2018): Edmond Halley: An Extraordinary Scientist and the Second Astronomer Royal. Space. / Tim Sharp (2021): How far is Earth from the sun? Or: What is an astronomical unit? Space. / Peter Aughton (2002): Endeavour: The Story of Captain Cook's First Great Epic Voyage. London: Cassell & Co.
In this episode we do not talk so much about science, but about the scientists. Join us to know more about the crazy French expedition to Peru to determine whether the Earth was a sphere or not, and the series of unfortunate events that happened to the oblivious scientists who lead the mission. -- Sources: Jim R. Smith (2002): The Meridian Arc Measurement in Peru 1735 – 1745. IIHSM. / Lafuente, A & Mazuecos, A. (1987): Los Caballeros del Punto Fijo. Ediciones del Serbal / Guillén Tato, Julio F. (1973). Los tenientes de navío Jorge Juan y Santacilia y Antonio de Ulloa y de la Torre-Guiral y la medición del Meridiano. Madrid: Caja de Ahorros de Novelda. / Raú Hernández Asensio (2008): El Matemático impaciente: La Condamine, las pirámides de Quito y la Ciencia Ilustrada (1740-1751). IEP Lima.
We rewatched Jurassic Park (1993), which is a banger every time, and that got us thinking how far genetic engineering went. Nowadays, the idea of such a park is not that crazy. In this episode we talk about genetic technologies, how do they work, and what they can be used for. -- Sources: Barrangou R (2015): The roles of CRISPR-Cas systems in adaptive immunity and beyond. Current Opinion in Immunology. / Redman M, King A, Watson C, King D (2016): What is CRISPR/Cas9. Archives of Disease in Childhood. Education and Practice Edition. / Hsu PD, Lander ES, Zhang F (2014): Development and applications of CRISPR-Cas9 for genome engineering. Cell. / Michael Crichton (1990): Jurassic Park.
For most of us, chemistry class was a nightmare because of our teachers and their methods. Actually, chemistry can be really cool! In this episode we talk about the cool guy Mendeleev, his adventures and story, and how he came up with the most elegant solution for the mess that chemistry was before him.
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Sources: Alexei Storonkin, Roman Dobrotyn (1984). D. I. Mendeleev's Life and Work Chronicles. Leningrad: Nauka. / Gordin, Michael D. (2004). A Well-ordered Thing: Dmitrii Mendeleev and the Shadow of the Periodic Table. / Scerri, Eric (2019). The Periodic Table: Its Story and Its Significance. Oxford University Press.
The story of how a man robbed two banks with lemon juice proved not only that it could be done, but also how incredibly wrong someone can be. This strange story triggered a very interesting research on how incompetent people cannot realize how little they actually know about almost anything. Tune in to learn about the Dunning-Kruger Effect!
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Sources: Dunning and Kruger: "Unskilled and Unaware" Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (2000). / David Dunning: "The Dunning-Kruger effect, Advances in Experimental Social Psychology" Elsevier (2011). / William Poundstone: "Head in the Cloud, Little", Brown and Co. (2016).
Plastic is a global problem that seems impossible to get rid of, right? Not quite. Join us to learn why plastic is so hard to deal with, and what are the newest scientific advances in recycling it.
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Sources:
Saint Paul Neighbourhood Energy Consumption: Recycling Plastic: Complications and limitations, Eureka Recyling. / Yoshida, Shosuke et al.: A bacterium that degrades and assimilates poly(ethylene terephthalate, Science, (2016). / Morgan Vague et al.: Environmental Consortium Containing Pseudomonas and Bacillus Species Synergistically Degrades Polyethylene Terephthalate Plastic, mSphere, (2020). / Chris Lydgate: Bio Major Breeds Microbes That Eat Plastic, Reed Magazine, (2018). / Chris Lydgate: These Microbes Eat Water Bottles, Reed Magazine, (2021).