Liberation X Education: Recent Episodes
Arjun Collins
A Podcast hosted by the Malcolm X Ella Collins House in collaboration with the local communities of Boston Massachusetts. Liberation by Education.
As advancements in space travel increase so do the possibilities for humans to colonize other planets. However, what aspects of our socio-political infrastructures will humans bring into space, and how will race, class and power be stratified? On this episode, N.A. Ratanayake brings his experience as a NASA Aerodynamicist and science fiction author to discuss the real answers to these questions.
Alongside the conversation Drumbeat delivers a series of exclusive interviews with the indigenous people of Canada’s Arctic Region, where cutting edge research on climate change and a rich cultural heritage unveil the landscape that science and social development share.
N.A. RATNAYAKE
Prior to feeling the call to become an educator, Nalin A Ratnayake was a aerospace propulsion research engineer. He holds a B.S.E. and M.S. in Aerospace Engineering and has published 11 peer-reviewed technical papers on supersonic air-breathing propulsion, environmentally responsible aviation technologies, and advanced access-to-space systems.
After changing careers, Nalin completed an M.Ed. through the Boston Teacher Residency, focusing his studies on the connections between scientific literacy and social justice, particularly in the context of urban schools and communities.
After five years of teaching Physics and Engineering at an urban public high school in Boston, Nalin recently returned to research engineering, at a research center near Norfolk, Virgina.
Nalin writes fiction under the name N.A. Ratnayake. His speculative fiction has appeared in Crossed Genres Magazine as well as the post-colonial SF anthology We See A Different Frontier. His short story Remembering Turinam received an honorable mention in Gardner Dozois’s The Year’s Best Science Fiction, Thirty-First Edition.
Though later a New Englander and presently a resident of the Hampton Roads region of Virginia, Nalin was born and raised in the American West — a region whose history and character continue to strongly influence his writing. The mountains, rains, coasts, and deserts of the West have been the backdrop for a rich interplay of conquest, struggle, identity, and hope. These themes often emerge entangled in Nalin’s fiction.
As an engineer, writer, and educator, Nalin is strongly committed to exploring ideas for creating a more positive and sustainable future for all people.
You can find Nalin on Twitter as @quantumcowboy, and on the web at www.naratnayake.com.
DJ Michael Fanon, a.k.a. Michael X, a.k.a The Light-Skinned T’Challa, and Hassan weave a conversation around June’s Pride Celebrations, the etymology of the word pride, and some of the history behind the movement. Educator Asil Yassine joins us to discuss how pride takes form cross culturally in the educational system.
Drumbeat Radio airs every Sunday from 6am-noon. Arjun’s Arrow provides a podcasting platform for Drumbeat Episodes to a shorter more digestible size.
“In animal life there are certain moments where what happens at that moment could be more important than you would think…hatching is one of those moments.”- Dr. Karen Warkentin
While wading through a densely forested pond in some Neotropical realm, one might come face-to-face with a translucent and gelatinous globule of treefrog eggs. Peering into the individual egg sacs fastened to a leaf and hanging above the water may reveal the distinct characteristics of life: a head, a tail, perhaps a movement. The most discerning eye might observe—through the transparent skin of this yet to be born animal—a beating, red heart. Leaves tremble from even the slightest maneuvers through the habitat. The tiny beings in their pods start to quake as well, and plop! Those who were unborn just a moment ago are now swimming in the water below. Was it a coincidence that these embryos hatched so quickly? Certainly, some have interpreted similar observations as such. Karen Warkentin, on the other hand, thought differently – leading her to form the hypothesis of predator-induced escape-hatching and embark on a decades-long journey studying embryo behavior.
In Warkentin’s very first paper on the subject she described how these pre-natal beings have the ability to make evaluative decisions in response to environmental conditions in order to stay alive. Warkentin explains that, while eggs are extremely vulnerable to predation, the embryos inside them can receive information about the world around, and – during some developmental period – make the decision to hatch.
Phenomena subtle as these can go unnoticed in the jungle. The competing chorus of tropical birds and insects often drowns out the nearly noiseless drop of a tadpole into its aquatic home. Even more so, how perceptive one would have to be in order to capture the stirrings of these minuscule creatures hesitant in their egg capsule waiting for the right moment to hatch – or not. Warkentin’s research embarks on the journey of red-eyed treefrogs from conception to hatching and into their adolescent and adult lives. Understanding how the life patterns of these organisms are shaped is informed by a “critical transition point,” as Warkentin describes, when embryos make the decision to hatch.
Taking a broader view of the many elements of Warkentin’s research, we can begin to gauge the further implications behind the abilities of these organisms. The Narrow Escapes that treefrog embryos make from their predators happen too often to be called a coincidence, but how are they distinguishing external threats— like a parrot snake attacking a clutch— from something as harmless as rainfall. Despite being faced with these terrestrial dangers, somewhere along the organisms’ evolutionary history, the species was able to leave an aquatic habitat and colonize land. At the River Frijolito we can gain insight into the challenges of making such a transition, by observing the habits of another lineage of terrestrial egg layers, the glassfrog. Perhaps both the aforementioned phenomena can be clarified by observing these embryos under a microscope. When layer upon layer of body tissue is examined it is revealed that certain physiological mechanisms are triggered in the embryo in response to external cues. These Microscopic Revelations suggest that the interaction between embryos and the outside world may be happening at a neurological level, even more complex than previously believed. Perhaps it is with this possibility that we can begin to question what it means for an organism to inherit the will to survive. Consider the concept of adaptive plasticity in Agalychnis callidryas, the red-eyed treefrog.
Metamorphosis in the animal world is the transformation from a juvenile form into an adult one. Scientist and laymen alike might consider metamorphosis as simply a developmental process wherein the transformation is determined by a physiological mechanism that at some point leads to a new stage. Warkentin, however, describes both metamorphosis and hatching as being “critical transition points” during a “developmental window of possibility” within which the developing animal can make a decision that has a major impact on their life. When frog embryos hatch – and move from one life stage (in the egg) to the next (in the pond) – depends on what the embryo decides to do and when it decides to do it. Similarly – within the developmental window of possibility – when the animal leaves the pond for life on land depends on when it decides to climb out of the water.
Escape Ability Changes from Three to Five Days Old In the wild, red-eyed treefrog embryos are a natural source of food for snakes. In some ponds, over fifty percent of treefrog embryos are eaten by predators. The low success rate for hatching of the embryos is due mostly to predation on clutches that are not yet able to hatch. In the lab, Warkentin was able to manipulate the age of the clutches that snakes came into contact with, giving us a detailed look at how embryo response to predation changes as they develop.
The Makings of a Snake Snake charmers are those said to have the ability to control a snake; however, doing so in a scientific lab would call for a far greater level of discretion, abstraction and sometimes creativity. Here Warkentin and her student-scientists discuss the many approaches used to simulate predatory vibration patterns on frog clutches and the creation of a Snake Puppet.
Snake Puppet Master To create a puppet that resembles a snake is a feat alone. However, making that puppet slither, hiss, and command the presence of a serpent requires the discrete knowledge of a scientist and the craft of a Puppet Master. Adeline Almanzar, a student in the Warkentin lab, IS the Snake Puppet Master. See what her experimentation and analysis with three different snake species can tell us about how red-eyed treefrogs respond to predation in the wild.
Return to the Wild After experimentation, the animals in the Warkentin Lab are returned to the wild. The surviving frog tadpoles, once embryos have hatched, are returned to the same pond where their clutches were found. Snakes, like the one seen in this video, usually spend just a few weeks in the lab, giving the scientists valuable data.
Like the red-eyed treefrog, glassfrogs lay their eggs terrestrially, on land. While studying the behavioral similarities between these species of frog can give scientists key insights into their evolutionary histories, finding a tiny frog that is nearly transparent amidst the dense vegetation along a rainforest stream can be quite the challenge. Join Field Biologist Javier Mendez as he leads us into the realm of the elusive glassfrog.
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Aquatic Life v.s. Terrestrial Colonization
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Glassfrog Dads
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Parental Care and Offspring Success
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Hatching 101
A. Aquatic Life vs. Terrestrial Colonization
Lineages of frogs that evolved the ability to lay eggs on land, as opposed to in water, also had to evolve mechanisms to deal with the differences in biotic and abiotic components found in these environments. How can comparing glassfrogs and their behaviors give us further knowledge of plastic hatching?
B. Glassfrog Dads
In the world of glassfrogs, it is common for the male to provide most of the parental care to their eggs. How they do so while fending off the various threats posed by the environment is an example of an evolved behavior that went on to alter the fate of a species.
C. Parental Care and Offspring Success
“Waste disposal is an issue that life faces,” explains Dr. Warkentin, and in many animals waste disposal is aided by water, through its ability to flush out toxic substances. This makes waste disposal much easier for aquatic animals. So how do terrestrial animals who have far less access to water cope with the issue? One answer is to let parents take care of it, but how can frog embryos be sure that they will be given this life-saving tender love and care?
When observed under a microscope and encourage to hatch, treefrog embryos reveal the ability to release enzymes that can free them from their egg.
Enzyme Mediated Hatching and Confocal Microscopy Watching treefrog embryos hatch using the naked eye has revealed a lot about the conditions under which these organisms might choose to escape. Using the latest technology in confocal microscopy can tell us even more about how the embryos do so and the physiological implications behind this ability.
Complications at Birth - Induced Hatching Similar to human birth, the development and birth of a frog embryo is not without its complications. Without a parent to aide in the hatching process, how will individual embryos deal with the complications that often mean life or death? Perhaps there is a Plan B.
Brain Power? The Possibility of Innervation While physiological processes like the release of hormones or the digestion of nutrients in the body can be widely mediated and lengthy in time, interactions of nerves within the brain and their control of the rest of the body can be faster and more discretely operated. Here we examine how escape hatching, given its speed and specificity, might be a result of innervation, the connection of nerves cells to the hatching glands of treefrog embryos.
The Warkentin Lab's "Development of Adaptive Embryo Behavior" project is supported by the National Science Foundation, Boston University, and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. Arjun Collins Research Experience for Teachers was supported by the National Science Foundation. For more information on research in the Warkentin Lab, see the Warkentin Lab website. Below, read more about Warkentin’s work, and peek behind the scenes at STRI’s Experimental Pond in Gamboa, Panama:
Science News: Behaviors Unhatched: Embryo's Employ Survival Strategies
Discover Magazine - Escape Hatch
Journal of Experimental Biology - Embryos Sense Seismic Events
Observe the nocturnal behaviors of frogs with the help of infrared technology.
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Unlike the majority of frog species, the Red-Eyed Tree Frog lays its eggs on land rather than in water. They can also decide when to hatch from the eggs, that they’ve yet to be born from! Check back soon to learn about these amazing creatures, and their (r)evolutionary abilities.
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Photography courtesy of Miles Trevelyan-Johnson
The rural lifestyle dependent on hunting and/or agriculture has been the primary socio-cultural preference among civilizations throughout almost all of human history. The early 1800’s saw only 3% of the worlds population living in cities, 150 years later that number had jump to 30%. In 2008 the world’s population was recorded to be equally split between urban and rural areas. It is projected that by 2050, 70 percent of the world’s population will be living in cities. The majority of this growth will be experienced in less developed countries.
Advancements in technology, healthcare, access to food, water, shelter and a milieu of other modern amenities have made city life a far more poignant choice than it had been in the past however, to what consequence.
India, the sub-continent has had a crucial influence on the global climate in the areas of medicine, technology and socio-cultural evolution for centuries. More still, India now provides a model for human socio-culturally evolution under the pressures of population growth.
Kammatipaadam, a film from the Indian State of Kerala – highest English literacy rate in India at 94%, highest life expectancy at 78 years, lowest population growth at 3.4%– artfully depicts the possible effects of urbanizations coming from the perspective of one of the most governmentally successful states in India.
This time around Arjun’s Arrow speaks with Shaun Romy, about her lead role in the film and its stark rendition of urbanization and its effects on the Dalit communities of India.
Kammatipaadam Trailer
Check back with Arjun's Arrow on information about the play and upcoming showings in your area.
Medicine has changed, technology and productivity have been major contributing factors to the changes. However, the feasibility of over diagnosis, over prescription and over addiction in the United States, where three out of five American Adults are on at least one prescription drug and the number of adults taking five or more prescription drugs has jumped from 8% to nearly 20% since 2015 the question begs why have historical sciences, not been given tenure in the healthcare world, despite their proven effectiveness. Dr. Uma Dhanabalan dives into the subject.
Citizens from across the nation gather in New York for the annual celebrations of late revolutionary leader Malcolm X. City of Boston recognizes Malcolm's Legacy and annual commemoration. This May 19th, U.S. and Global Citizens began celebrations at the burial site of Malcolm X at the Ferncliff Cemetery in New York. Rituals at the gravesite featured in the above video include:
The Empty Chair - An African tradition in which a chair is left empty in honor of a leader who has passed.
Black Nationals Flag Recognition- A result of the of the Garvey movement that both Malcolm's Parents lead, Red represents the blood of the people lost, Black the people, the core and the strength and Green the fertile land.
Elder Speakers-Dr. Leonard Jeffries, Nana Kwaku-Duah Asante Ghana, recognized as a divisional chief in the Asante Kingdom of Ghana. Professor James Small, professor of Africana Studies and one of the original founders of the celebration.
The City of Boston has officially recognized Malcolm's Legacy. The document below encourages protocol commemoration of Malcolm X to begin May 19th 2018.
Explore our stellar neighborhood as Aerospace Research Engineer Nalin A. Ratnayake discusses his new book Red Soil Through Our Fingers, and the implications behind surviving and thriving in the farther reaches of space. Blast off on your drive home listening to this podcast episode!
After Listening: Check out GoogleMars and see if you can locate any of the real life Martian destinations that serve as a setting for the book.
Bio:
N.A. RATNAYAKE
Prior to feeling the call to become an educator, Nalin A Ratnayake was a aerospace propulsion research engineer. He holds a B.S.E. and M.S. in Aerospace Engineering and has published 11 peer-reviewed technical papers on supersonic air-breathing propulsion, environmentally responsible aviation technologies, and advanced access-to-space systems.
After changing careers, Nalin completed an M.Ed. through the Boston Teacher Residency, focusing his studies on the connections between scientific literacy and social justice, particularly in the context of urban schools and communities.
After five years of teaching Physics and Engineering at an urban public high school in Boston, Nalin recently returned to research engineering, at a research center near Norfolk, Virgina.
Nalin writes fiction under the name N.A. Ratnayake. His speculative fiction has appeared in Crossed Genres Magazine as well as the post-colonial SF anthology We See A Different Frontier. His short story Remembering Turinam received an honorable mention in Gardner Dozois’s The Year’s Best Science Fiction, Thirty-First Edition.
Though later a New Englander and presently a resident of the Hampton Roads region of Virginia, Nalin was born and raised in the American West — a region whose history and character continue to strongly influence his writing. The mountains, rains, coasts, and deserts of the West have been the backdrop for a rich interplay of conquest, struggle, identity, and hope. These themes often emerge entangled in Nalin’s fiction.
As an engineer, writer, and educator, Nalin is strongly committed to exploring ideas for creating a more positive and sustainable future for all people.
You can find Nalin on Twitter as @quantumcowboy, and on the web at www.naratnayake.com.
The City of Boston's groundbreaking archeological dig gives insight into the history of Boston's Roxbury neighborhood.Uncovering a plethora of artifacts, City of Boston archeologist Joe Bagley reveals a centuries old story beginning with the geological formations that provided the foundation for human rights leader Malcolm X and the people living in the area today.
Enjoy a sneak peak virtual tour inside the Malcolm X Ella Little Collins House at the end of the clip!
Playback technology enables guests to have real time conversations with someone now dead.Using archive clips, Malcolm X and Nephew Rodnell Collins have a conversation in the Boston home they once shared. Reunited they discuss; Islam in America, human rights and the meaning behind, “by any means necessary.”
Host: Adam Fowler
Rodnell Collins is the owner and developer of the Malcolm X Ella Collins House and Author of Seventh Child: A Family Memoir of Malcolm X
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