Brain Break Room: Recent Episodes
Sara Taylor
Welcome to the Brain Break Room! Where we talk about all the wild science topics that spark curiosity, joy, confusion, and more! Hosted by Sara Taylor, Ph.D.
In this episode we climb the mountain of scientific evidence for gender affirming care, but first we stop at base camp to cover the basics. What is gender affirming care? Who is it for? And then quickly onto the summit: the overwhelming evidence showing the benefit of gender affirming care for the people that need it.
Content Warning: brief mention of statistics related to suicidality.
Sources of content and inspiration
"Frequently Asked Questions About Transgender People" by the National Center for Transgender Equality: linked here
"Transgender and Nonbinary Identities" by Planned Parenthood: linked here"Mental health and gender dysphoria: A review of the literature" by Cecilia Dhejne and others published in 2016 in the journal International Review of Psychiatry : linked here
"Suicidality, Self-Harm, and Body Dissatisfaction in Transgender Adolescents and Emerging Adults with Gender Dysphoria" by Claire Peterson and others published in 2016 in the journal Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior: linked here
"Self Harm and Suicidality in Children Referred for Gender Disphoria" by Madison Aitken and others published in 2016 in the journal Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry: linked here
"Association Between Gender-Affirming Surgery and Mental Health Outcomes" by Anthony Almazan and Alex Keuroghlian in 2021 in the journal JAMA Surgery: linked here
American Medical Association reads:
- "Why anti-transgender bills are a dangerous intrusion on medicine" by Kevin B. O'Reilly (May 2021): linked here
- "What to know about gender affirming care for younger patients" by Timothy M. Smith (Dec. 2021): linked here
- "AMA reinforces opposition to restrictions on transgender medical care" June 15, 2021 press release: linked here
Spark Plug
Transgender Law Center https://transgenderlawcenter.org/about#mission-vision
@Them on Instagram
CreditsCover art and newsletter design by Abby Armato
Intro and outro music "In My Dreams" by Freebeats.io
Contact the pod at brainbreakroompod@gmail.com
Sign up for the newsletter at http://eepurl.com/hS0FbL
This episode answers the question of how our bodies avoid absolute chaos when we have two X chromosomes. Featuring the story of a brilliant female scientist - Dr. Mary Lyon, the experiments that led to her breakthrough discovery, and how it is helping patients today. Cat-lovers, never fear, the magic and mystery of calico cats is also covered!
Sources of content and inspiration"The Gift of Observation: An Interview with Mary Lyon" by Jane Gitschier published in 2010 in the journal PLoS Genetics at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2809768/
"Mary Lyon: The Geneticist Who Discovered That Women Are (Cellular) Mosaics" by Manuel Ruiz Rejon published in 2020 in OpenMind at https://www.bbvaopenmind.com/en/science/leading-figures/mary-lyon-geneticist-discovered-women-are-cellular-mosaics/
"Sex Chromosomes in Mammals: X Inactivation" by John Wing and Claire O'Connor published in 2008 in the journal Nature Education at https://www.nature.com/scitable/topicpage/sex-chromosomes-in-mammals-x-inactivation-522/
CreditsCover art and newsletter design by Abby Armato
Intro and outro music "In My Dreams" by Freebeats.io
Contact the pod at brainbreakroompod@gmail.com
Sign up for the newsletter at http://eepurl.com/hS0FbL
Ever wonder how we figured out how the world was getting hotter? Have you too been haunted by pop hits referencing climate change, wondering how long we have known about it? This episode explores work done by scientists in the 1800s that predicted the current climate crisis.
Sources of content and inspirationRead"How 19th Century Scientists Predicted Global Warming " by Clive Thompson for JSTOR Daily at https://daily.jstor.org/how-19th-century-scientists-predicted-global-warming/
CreditsCover image by Abby Armato
Intro and outro music "In My Dreams" by Freebeats.io
Sign up for the newsletter at: http://eepurl.com/hS0FbL
Quick update on podcast business: tldl (too long don't listen); more full length episodes to come soon!
Today's episode dives into the biological definition of the sexes. Male / female is just where the story begins. Listen to learn more!
Sources of inspiration and content"X Chromosome Infographic" published by National Human Genome Research Institute
"Geneticists make new discovery about how a baby's sex is determined" published by ScienceDaily
The impact of sex on gene expression across human tissues by Oliva et al. published in Science in 2020
Sex differences in gene expression and regulatory networks across 29 human tissues by Lopes-Ramos et al. published in Cell Reports in 2020
CreditsCover art by Abby Armato
Intro and Outro music "In My Dreams" by Freebeats.io
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The third and final migratory bird mini-series episode is here! Features bird brains, funky physics, and increasingly carnivorous mice.
Sources of Content and InspirationA World on the Wing: The Global Odyssey of Migratory Birds by Scott Weidensaul
CreditsCover art by Abby Armato
Intro and Outro music "In My Dreams" by Freebeats.io
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The birds are cool mini-series continues with a special guest! We take a brief pause from the wonders of bird migration to dive into the world of amateur birding. In an episode filled with fun bird facts, an avid birder joins me to discuss the joy of walking slowly outside, the birding community, bird tracking controversy, and the next craze - fantasy birding.
Sources of Content and InspirationA World on the Wing: The Global Odyssey of Migratory Birds by Scott Weidensaul
CreditsCover art by Abby Armato
Intro and Outro music "In My Dreams" by Freebeats.io
Sign up for the newsletter at http://eepurl.com/hS0FbL
Billions of birds follow their genes for seasonal journeys up to thousands of miles long. That’s right - this episode dives into the fascinating details behind bird migration. Part one of a three-episode mini-series starts with migration basics and goes into the dramatic traits and changes that allow birds to migrate. Organs shrink and expand, insides are liquified, and respiratory systems are pushed just about to the max. Listen to hear all about it!
Sources of Content and InspirationA World on the Wing: The Global Odyssey of Migratory Birds by Scott Weidensaul
CreditsCover art by Abby Armato
Intro and Outro music "In My Dreams" by Freebeats.io
Sign up for the newsletter at http://eepurl.com/hS0FbL
This episode takes a walk on the dark side of foraging. Listen to learn about seven deadly mushrooms – what they look like, where they grow, and (most importantly) the science behind what makes them deadly.
To learn moreFollow Alexis Nikole-Nelson @blackforager on Instagram or @alexisnikole on TikTok for joyful foraging content!
Read “7 of the World’s Most Poisonous Mushrooms” by Melissa Petruzzello at https://www.britannica.com/list/7-of-the-worlds-most-poisonous-mushrooms
Spark PlugIndigenous Peoples’ History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
CreditsCover art by Abby Armato
Intro and Outro music "In My Dreams" by Freebeats.io
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This episode is brought to you by the brilliance of one Lindsay Ejoh. She is a neuroscientist that joined the pod to talk about how we experience pain in our body (and especially in the brain). We discuss the wide world of pain research and explore the placebo effect and its opposite (nocebo), how our body naturally relieves pain, what chronic pain looks like in the brain, and more!
To learn moreVisit Lindsay's Tik Tok (@neuro_melody) to learn more about her life as a scientist and about pain neuroscience
Visit Lindsay's highlighted blog posts on Penn Neuro Know at https://pennneuroknow.com/2021/05/18/stressing-yourself-sick-the-impact-of-stress-on-the-gut/ and at https://pennneuroknow.com/2021/03/16/the-endogenous-opioid-system-your-bodys-natural-pain-reliever/
Spark Plug
Check out Black in Neuro at https://www.blackinneuro.com/ and by following the organization on Twitter (@BlackInNeuro)
- Donate at https://www.blackinneuro.com/Donate
- Shop merchandise at https://www.etsy.com/shop/BlackInNeuro
CreditsCover art by Abby Armato
Intro and Outro music "In My Dreams" by Freebeats.io
Sign up for the newsletter at http://eepurl.com/hS0FbL
This episode goes into some of the most commonly asked questions about dogs - how do we know how old they are in 'human years', can they understand us, do they love us, and - most importantly - why are their noses cold? It also goes over most famous dogs that were involved in monumental scientific breakthroughs. In a nutshell: science about dogs and dogs who do science.
Sources of content and inspiration
Read more about commonly asked questions about dogs (and their answers) here: https://www.sciencefocus.com/nature/dog-facts-science/
For more on maternal love for human children versus dogs, check out my blog article on Penn Neuro Know here: https://pennneuroknow.com/2021/07/13/parenting-across-species/
Read more about famous science dogs at: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/most-famous-dogs-science-180976324/
CreditsCover art by Abby Armato
Intro and Outro music "In My Dreams" by Freebeats.io
Sign up for the newsletter at http://eepurl.com/hS0FbL
Today we take a walk on the smaller side and talk about brain cells (and not just your classic neurons). Glia are the lesser known brain cells and still count up to 85 million strong. They are one of the most exciting areas of discovery of neuroscience today. So join me as we hop on this Magic School Bus tour of all things glia!
Sources of content and inspirationVisit Dr. Ukpong Eyo’s lab website: https://med.virginia.edu/neuroscience/faculty/primary-faculty/ukpong-eyo-ph-d/eyo-lab/
Read Dr. Ukpong Eyo’s paper on microglia movement called "P2Y12R-dependent translocation mechanisms gate the changing microglial landscape" published in Cell reports athttps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29694903/
Visit Dr. Nathan Smith’s lab website: https://thesmithlaboratory.org/
Read Dr. Nathan Smith’s work on astrocytes called "Calcium-Independent Astrocytic Lipid Release Modulates Neuronal Activity Through Kv Channels" at https://ssrn.com/abstract=3577242 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3577242
CreditsCover art by Abby Armato
Intro and Outro music is "In My Dreams" by Freebeats.io
Sign up for the email newsletter at http://eepurl.com/hS0FbL
This episode explores the science and art of connecting with others. Guests Dr. Ted Brodkin and Ashley Pallathra dive into a framework for connecting – called attunement – that they define in their recent book Missing Each Other. Featured: the scientific truth behind the “same brain train”, the magic of the 1990s Chicago Bulls, AI emotion recognition, a brand-new segment called Spark Plugs, and more!
To Learn MoreVisit the Missing Each Other website and blogs:
- https://missingeachother.com/
- https://missingeachotherbook.medium.com/
- https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/missing-each-other
Watch a robot (actually a simulated being) learning to walk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gn4nRCC9TwQ
Watch V.S. Ramachandran talk about his discovery on a way to treat phantom limb pain: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNTCFSuKEMA
Spark PlugsTransgender History by Susan StrykerThe Happiness Trap by Russ Harris
World as Lover, World as Self by Joanna Macy
CreditsCover art by Abby Armato
Intro and Outro music is "In My Dreams" Freebeats.io
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Guest Gloria Marino brought everything to the table for this interview - joy, expertise, insight, and reflection. Together, we discuss many topics related to cancer and cancer biology including defining stages, centering patients in research, cancer treatment history and progress, and much more. Need more reasons to listen? There are not one but two cats featured in this episode and a reference the opening sequence of Mulan (1998).
To Learn MoreRead more about Henrietta Lacks and her cells in The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca SklootCatch up on Gloria's blog at https://barebonesbio.wordpress.com/ and follow on Twitter at @_BareBonesBio and on Instagram at @barebonesbio for blog updates
Find information about ComSciCon at https://comscicon.com
CreditsCover art by Abby Armato
Intro and outro music is "In My Dreams" by Freebeats.io
Sign up for the email newsletter at http://eepurl.com/hS0FbL
This slightly abbreviated episode goes through examples of animals seeking to alter their consciousness in the natural world and what we can learn from them. Highlights include Doc the cat, hardy tree shrews, and bat obstacle courses.
Sources of Content and Inspiration
"Animals getting high: 10 common drunks" by Natalie Mullerhttps://www.australiangeographic.com.au/topics/wildlife/2011/10/animals-getting-high-10-common-drunks/
"Voluntary Consumption of Beverage Alcohol by Vervet Monkeys: Population Screening, Descriptive Behavior and Biochemical Measures" by Ervin et al. (1990) published in Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior
" Overview: how is alcohol metabolized by the body?" by Samir Zakhari (2006) in Alcohol Res Health
"Chronic intake of fermented floral nectar by wild treeshrews" by Wiens et al. (2008) PNAS CreditsCover art by Abby ArmatoIntro and Outro music "In My Dreams" by Freebeats.io
This episode gives an overview of how social networks - the web of people we relate to directly and indirectly - are represented in the brain. It also explores our unique positions within our own social network and what that may mean for our brains.
Sources of content and inspiration"Neurobiological Bases of Social Networks" by Han et al. (2021) published in Frontiers in Psychology https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.626337"How the Brain Encodes Social Network Structure" by Society for Neuroscience at https://neurosciencenews.com/spatial-processing-social-encoding-18284/
"The neural representation of social networks" by Weaverdyck and Parkinson (2018) published in Current Opinion in Psychology https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29886253/ CreditsCover art by Abby Armato
Intro and outro music "In My Dreams" by Freebeats.io
This episode we cover Alzheimer's disease from the neurobiology to the deeply personal. I have with me not one, but two fabulous guests! Professor Cindy Weinstein and Dr. Bruce Miller co-wrote Finding the Right Words, a dual-perspective memoir of Professor Weinstein's experience with her late father's Alzheimer's Disease and Dr. Miller's experience as a neurologist studying and diagnosing neurodegenerative conditions. Warning: this episode deals with difficult topics, so listen accordingly.
Sources of content and inspirationFinding the Right Words by Cindy Weinstein with Bruce Miller
- https://bookshop.org/books/finding-the-right-words-a-story-of-literature-grief-and-the-brain/9781421441269
- https://jhupbooks.press.jhu.edu/title/finding-right-words
- https://www.amazon.com/Finding-Right-Words-Story-Literature/dp/1421441268
CreditsCover art by Abby Armato
Intro and outro music "In My Dreams" by Freebeats.io
This episode looks back at the top scientific discoveries over the past year. From ancient footprints in New Mexico to soil on Mars - research has covered a lot of ground in 2021! This episode covers everything from watching stress turn our hair grey to futuristic inventions like infection-detecting bandages.
Sources of inspiration and contentScience Daily (www.sciencedaily.com)
Science journal news section (https://www.science.org/news)
National Science Foundation news section (https://nsf.gov/news/)
Credits
Cover art by Abby Armato
Intro and Outro music "In My Dreams" by Freebeats.io
Contact with questions, comments, and topic ideas at: brainbreakroompod@gmail.com
This episode explores the various (im)possibilities of Santa’s present delivery system using various physics theories.
Sources of inspiration and content
“Quantum physics is Santa’s greatest helper” by Amy Kynman at https://theboar.org/2017/12/quantum-physics-santa/
“Is there a Santa Claus – a physicist view” originally published in SPY Magazine January 1990 found at https://www.physlink.com/fun/istheresanta.cfm
“The Physics of Santa Claus” by Phys Org at https://phys.org/news/2004-12-physics-santa-claus.html
“How does Santa deliver billions of gifts in one night? Quantum physics . . .” by Kevin O’Sullivan at https://www.irishtimes.com/news/science/how-does-santa-deliver-billions-of-gifts-in-one-night-quantum-physics-1.4444650
“Einstein's Theory of Special Relativity” by Vicky Stein at https://www.space.com/36273-theory-special-relativity.html
“Einstein's theory of general relativity” by Nola Taylor Tilman and Meghan Bartels at https://www.space.com/17661-theory-general-relativity.html
“Quantum Tunneling Is Not Instantaneous, Physicists Show” by Anil at https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/quantum-tunneling-is-not-instantaneous-physicists-show/
“Quantum Physics” by Richard Webb at https://www.newscientist.com/definition/quantum-physics/
Credits
Cover art by Abby Armato
Intro and Outro music "In My Dreams" by Freebeats.io
Contact with questions, comments, and topic ideas at: brainbreakroompod@gmail.com
This episode is about a feeling of being in awe of all the wonder that is around us...that is to sonder...and the science facts that got me there!
Sources of inspiration and content
Entangled Life by Merlin Sheldrake
the beloved Wikipedia
Credits
Cover art by Abby Armato
Intro and Outro music "In My Dreams" by Freebeats.io
Contact with questions, comments, and topic ideas at: brainbreakroompod@gmail.com
This very first Brain Break Room episode explores the living thing(s) that is lichen and its many contributions to the way we think about science!
Sources of inspiration and content for this episode:
Entangled Life by Merlin Sheldrake
"Lichens and People: Uses, Benefits, and Potential Dangers" by Linda Crampton at https://owlcation.com/stem/Lichens-and-People-Surprising-Interesting-and-Helpful-Uses
"Lichen Biology" by United States Department of Agriculture at https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/beauty/lichens/biology.shtml
"A Symbiotic View of Life: We Have Never Been Individuals" by Scott F. Gilbert, Jan Sapp and Alfred I. Tauber (2012) in The Quarterly Review of Biology Vol. 87, No. 4 pg. 325-341
"Queer Theory for Lichens" by David Griffiths (2015) in UnderCurrents, Vol.19, No. 1 pg.36-45
Credits:
Cover art by Abby Armato
Intro and Outro music "In My Dreams" by Freebeats.io
Contact with questions, comments, and topic ideas at: brainbreakroompod@gmail.com
Short and sweet introduction to The Brain Break Room podcast hosted by Sara Taylor, Ph.D.
Credits:
Cover art by Abby Armato
Intro and Outro music "In My Dreams" by Freebeats.io
Contact with questions, comments, and topic ideas at: brainbreakroompod@gmail.com