Pear Review Club: Recent Episodes
Pear Review Club
It's a podcast about funny, weird and wild science, presented by wilder scientists!
In the style of a journal club, join Vicky, Bonnie and Jack where each episode one of them will present on some of the funnier and fun side science. From putting dead fish into MRIs to combining bread, AI and cancer pathology no topic is too big, too small or too weird for these three. Listen in, as together, they have a bit of a laugh and maybe even learn some lessons or two along the way.
Email: the.pear.review.pod@gmail.com
Insta and Twitter: @PearReviewClub
Bonnie's back from Spain, which means the crew's back for another episode! This time around Bonnie covers the story of how one whale model souvenir expanded into an idea of efficiency from sea to land to a whole company creating blades for fans and wind turbines across the world. This is the story of Frank E Fish and WhalePower.
Find us on Instagram and Twitter: @PearReviewClub
WhalePower: https://whalepowercorp.wordpress.com/
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After a long hiatus, we're back with Pear Review Bites a (hopefully) shorter form of what we do best, fun science.
This ep, Vicky explores the microstructural characterisation of potato chips and Jack discusses the dumpling Degree of Doneness (DoD).
Papers:
- Microstructural Characterization of Fried Potato Disks Using X-Ray Micro Computed Tomography: https://doi.org/10.1111/1750-3841.13219
- Dumpling Cooking - Modeling and Simulation: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ifacol.2015.09.007
Follow us on Insta and Twitter: @PearReviewClub
Follow Vicky
- Twitter: @vicky__tan
- The Chip Connoisseur on Insta: @_thechipconnoisseur
Follow Jack on Twitter: @jack_chan15
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/pear-review-club/message
In this episode, we're privileged to have Dr Ricardo Garcia-Rosas, CEO of Virtetic for an exclusive interview on his company and gain some insights on entering the start-up space.
Virtetic is empowering the prosthetics community through the use of Virtual Reality (VR). Virtetic has 'gamified' interventions for prosthetics users with VR solutions to make rehabilitation fun and interactive!
Find Virtetic: https://www.virtetic.com.au/ & https://www.linkedin.com/company/virtetic/
Find Ricardo: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rigaro/
Find us on:
Twitter & Instagram: @PearReviewClub
Email: the.pear.review.pod@gmail.com
Find Jack: @jack_chan15
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/pear-review-club/message
Missing cutlery in your tea room? Yeah me too. This episode, special guest, Saki, brings a study all about missing cutlery that might give you some hints as to where your missing cutlery is going!
Find Saki:
Twitter: @Kobayashi1S
LinkedIn: sakurako-kobayashi-655681217
Find us on:
Twitter & Instagram: @PearReviewClub
Email: the.pear.review.pod@gmail.com
Find Jack and Vicky: @jack_chan15 @vicky__tan
Sources: https://www.mja.com.au/journal/2020/213/11/what-forks-longitudinal-quality-improvement-study-tracking-cutlery-numbers
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In the year 2000, Japan was polled on what they thought was their greatest invention in the 20th century. Their answer? Instant noodles. This is the history and food science behind that invention. From fabled beginnings in the Qing dynasty, to the collision of Asian and US innovation in the late 20th century and to why surface area to volume ratios are actually important, Jack leaves no stone unturned, no noodle uncooked in his magnum opus of an episode.
Find us on:
Twitter & Instagram: @PearReviewClub
Email: the.pear.review.pod@gmail.com
Find Jack and Vicky: @jack_chan15 @vicky__tan
Sources
Noodles, traditionally and today, Journal of Ethnic Foods: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352618116300828?via%3Dihub
The Humble Origins of Instant Ramen, Gizmodo: https://gizmodo.com/the-humble-origins-of-instant-ramen-from-ending-world-5814099
Remembering a man who used his noodle, Cosmos: https://cosmosmagazine.com/science/chemistry/in-science-today-remembering-a-man-who-used-his-noodle/
The Savory Science of Instant Noodles, Discovery Magazine: https://www.discovermagazine.com/health/the-savory-science-of-instant-noodles
A review of the alleged health hazards of monosodium glutamate, Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1541-4337.12448
Brain activation by the umami taste substance monosodium L-glutamate via gustatory and visceral signaling pathways, and its physiological significance due to homeostasis after a meal, Journal of Oral Biosciences: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1349007912000801
Effects of salt and kansui on rheological, chemical and structural properties of noodle dough during repeated sheeting process, Food Chemistry: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0308814620322275
Using its noodle for success, Nippon.com: https://www.nippon.com/en/features/c00512/
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Eels are weird and Sri has returned to tell you all why! Did you know we still don't fully understand how eels reproduce? Or that eels are metamorphic creatures? Or that they go towards the Bermuda Triangle to birth young and probably die? Yeah me neither. Join us for another wild ride!
Find us on Twitter and Instagram: @PearReviewClub
Find Sri on Twitter: @srimayeev
E-mail: the.pear.review.pod@gmail.com
EMBL PhD Symposium: https://emblphdsymposium.org.au/
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Tickling for science? Weird but true! In this episode, Vicky takes us through the studies, the certifications, and stories that have shown there is a right way to tickle a rat. If you work with rodents and need some happier lil' subjects the this is the ep for you!
Find us on Twitter and Instagram: @PearReviewClub
E-mail: the.pear.review.pod@gmail.com
Purdue Rat Tickling and Certification: https://ag.purdue.edu/ansc/gaskill/resources/
Jaak Panksepp: https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/jaak-panksepp-rat-tickler-who-revealed-emotional-lives-of-animals-dies-at-73/2017/04/21/01e367ce-2536-11e7-a1b3-faff0034e2de_story.html
Studies by Shimpei Ishiyama: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2019.07.085 & https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aah5114
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Ever think about breathing through your butt? Me neither. But Ryo Okabe and the Takebe lab certainly do and together they have developed a system where, you can, indeed, breath through your butt. Crazy.
In this episode, Bonnie takes us through this year's landmark study on butt breathing and how this could potentially be a new therapy for patients with respiratory failure.
Find us on Twitter and Instagram: @PearReviewClub
E-mail: the.pear.review.pod@gmail.com
Links:
Mammalian enteral ventilation ameliorates respiratory failure: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.medj.2021.04.004
Graphical abstract: https://bit.ly/2WPYNm5
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What could bread, artificial intelligence and cancer have in common? In this episode, Jack takes you through the story of Hisashi Kambe and his journey from a basic software engineer, to the man who pioneered a bread-recognising AI that can also help fight cancer. Wild.
Join us for our tastiest episode yet as we uncover the history behind BakeryScan!
Find us on Twitter and Instagram: @PearReviewClub
E-mail: the.pear.review.pod@gmail.com
Links:
BakeryScan at work: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-VRYhIRHO0
The New Yorker: https://www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/the-pastry-ai-that-learned-to-fight-cancer
PlantSnap: https://www.plantsnap.com/
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/pear-review-club/message
Ohh maaan we're back and with the Lord of the Doctors herself, Sri! This ep, Sri takes us on a wildly fascinating journey through the life of the questionable scientist, Royal Raymond Rife Jr (yeah there's two of them), and the even more questionable Rife machine. As what was pitched as the cure-all for practically every disease known to man, Sri's here to shine some light on some next-level pseudo-science!
Find us on Twitter and Instagram: @PearReviewClub
Find Sri on Twitter: @srimayeev
E-mail: the.pear.review.pod@gmail.com
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/pear-review-club/message
You know what sucks? The current state of the economy. But also mosquitoes. This episode Bonnie is challenging common myths and questions around mosquitoes, like do they have a preference for different blood and does eating a banana increase your chance of a mozzie bite? Join us as we unpack the science and a barrel of good times!
Find us on Twitter and Instagram: @PearReviewClub
E-mail: the.pear.review.pod@gmail.com
Landing Preference of Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae) on Human Skin Among ABO Blood Groups, Secretors or Nonsecretors, and ABH Antigens: https://doi.org/10.1603/0022-2585-41.4.796
Chemical ecology of interactions between human skin microbiota and mosquitoes: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1574-6941.2010.00908.x
Impact of Consumption of Bananas on Attraction of Anopheles stephensi to Humans: https://doi.org/10.3390/insects9040129
TESTING VITAMIN B AS A HOME REMEDY AGAINST MOSQUITOES: https://doi.org/10.2987
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Uber? More like Poo-ber. Got 'em.
This episode, Vicky takes us through the flawed science behind rideshare! Together we discuss how rideshares may actually be worse for the environment, the terrifying business practice behind Uber and the implications of the rideshare job market. So buckle up, pop a mint and enjoy the ride!
Find us on
Twitter and Instagram: @PearReviewClub
E-mail: the.pear.review.pod@gmail.com
Resources
Nature Sustainability: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-020-00678-z
Frontier Economics: https://www.frontier-economics.com.au/publications/ride-sharing-public-transportation
Business Insider: https://www.businessinsider.com.au/gig-economy-australia-work-rideshare-jobs-2020-9
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This week we have a big, mini-episode about our worst fails in science and the lab things that sometimes, might ever so slightly annoy us from time to time. From bad westerns to almost fixing yourself with PFA, listen to the things you hate as presented by the people you love.
Twitter and Instagram: @pearreviewclub
Email: the.pear.review.pod@gmail.com
The secret to success, wealth, fortune and fame: https://www.sigmaaldrich.com/chemistry/stockroom-reagents/learning-center/technical-library/mass-molarity-calculator.html
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/pear-review-club/message
Happy Lunar new year! This episode we're taking turns to try and debunk or verify the science behind health myths as told by our Chinese parents. Join us as we learn about sighs, cold uteri, wet hair, bad knees, and how Jack, our resident ABC, broke all the rules growing up Chinese.
Find and write to us on
Twitter and Insta: @PearReviewClub
Email: the.pear.review.pod@gmail.com
Sighing/Aerophagia
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cgh.2009.06.029
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2012.05.013
Coldwater/Fertility
Treatment of Infertility with Chines Medicine 2nd Edition, Jane Lyttleton
https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3414225
Wet hair/Headaches
Jenny
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mehy.2012.08.017
Shorts in winter/Bad knees
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.knee.2009.10.005
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In 2010 there was an enemy plaguing ethical science across the world. That enemy was not correcting for multiple comparisons [when running statistical analyses on fMRI and other experiments]. This is the story of Craig M Bennet and how he and his team fought bad science using an fMRI and one dead Atlantic salmon.
Find us on
Twitter: @PearReviewClub
Email: the.pear.review.pod@gmail.com
MRI and fMRI theory: https://dx.doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.nec.2010.11.001, https://imotions.com/blog/eeg-vs-mri-vs-fmri-differences/
Dangers of MRI: https://youtu.be/plvIEf7JsKo
Craig M Bennett's website: http://prefrontal.org/blog/about/
Bennett et al. "Neural Correlates of Interspecies Perspective Taking in the Post-Mortem Atlantic Salmon: An Argument For Proper Multiple Comparisons Correction" Journal of Serendipitous and Unexpected Results, 2010.
https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/scicurious-brain/ignobel-prize-in-neuroscience-the-dead-salmon-study/
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