Science Straight Up: Recent Episodes
Judy Muller and George Lewis
In conjunction with the Telluride Science Research Center, "Science Straight Up" delves into how science impacts our everyday lives. Your hosts, veteran broadcast journalists Judy Muller and George Lewis bring talk to some of the TSRC's leading scientists.
Dr. Lucy Hutyra admits she's "a total tree-hugger." She's the Chair of the Department of Earth and Environment at Boston University, and a MacArthur Genius Grant recipient. She and her BU colleagues study the impact of trees on urban environments, particularly their effects on carbon dioxide levels and heat. While trees can reduce heat and CO2 levels, complications arise because urban trees tend to live fast and die young. She shared her research at one of the "Town Talks" put on by Telluride Science and the session was moderated by veteran broadcast journalists Judy Muller and George Lewis
Proteins are the building blocks of life. Our bodies make about 25-thousand of them. Dr Ann McDermott, a biophysicist from Columbia University, studies the shapes of perteins as they clump into structures called amyloids. Sometimes these amyloids stick to one another, forming amyloid plaques that can lead to diseases like Alzheimer's. But Dr. McDermott and her colleagues are also looking at good amyloids that could lead science to develop new treatments for disease. She spoke at one of the "Town Talks" presented by Telluride Science. Veteran broadcast journalists George Lewis and Judy Muller moderated.
The revolution in artificial intelligence is sucking up a lot of electrical power, something that's growing at an alarming rate. Science may have a solution in a new generation of highly efficient computer chips that use materials other than silicon and depend on light, rather than electricity to process data, bringing down power demands. Dr. Milan Delor, a chemist from Columbia University, spoke about the groundbreaking work his lab is doing in a "Town Talk" sponsored by Telluride Science. His presentation was moderated by veteran broadcast journalists Judy Muller and George Lewis.
Quantum computing promises to supercharge scientific research with its ability to solve multiple problems all at once. It could lead to more rapid development of drugs and materials to improve the way we live. But first, there are some serious bugs that have to be overcome. Dr. Kade Head-Marsden, a chemist at the University of Minnesota, who uses quantum computers to study molecules, lays it all out for us; what is quantum computing, how will it help us, what are the promises and pitfalls. Her presentation, excerpted from a live talk sponsored by Telluride Science, was moderated by veteran broadcast journalists Judy Muller and George Lewis.
Scientists, intensly focused on their own areas of research, don't usually stray out of their own lanes. So, Dr. Rohit Pappu, of Washington University in St. Louis, whose field is cellular and molecular biophysics and bioengineering, was surprised when asked to review a scientific publication about improving heart transplants. But when he began to read the article, he saw that a team of doctors at the Mayo Clinic, led by surgeon Paul Tang, had drawn on the basic research of his lab and others to save lives. Dr Pappu and Dr. Tang join us to tell this heartwarming tale about how studying little molecular communities within cells can lead to advances in medicine. Veteran broadcast journalists Judy Muller and George Lewis are our guides for this podcast.
A revolution in fabricating DNA into useful objects is underway and Dr. Guillermo Acuña of the University of Fribourg in Switzerland is right in the middle of it. In a talk sponsored by Telluride Science, he laid out a world of possibilities; tiny drug delivery devices, nano sensors to detect disease, tiny traps to catch cancer cells. His presentation, in Mountain Village, Colorado, was moderated by veteran broadcast journalists Judy Muller and George Lewis. Our sponsors are Alpine Bank and the Telluride Mountain Village Owners' Association.
Dr. Josh Schaidle is the Laboratory Program Manager for Carbon Management at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, Colorado. According to Schaidle, there are all sorts of untapped opportunities in above-ground carbon, found in biomass such as plants and trees and also in carbon dioxide emissions from factory smokestacks or in the air. During his presentation, Schaidle plans to describe the different ways we can access these carbon sources and convert troublesome greenhouse gases into the fuels and products that we use in our everyday lives. Veteran broadcast journalists George Lewis and Judy Muller are the hosts for this series of podcasts.
Movies tell stories – whether it’s a gritty historical drama or a teen vampire romance – there are few better ways to absorb content than by watching events unfold on the silver screen (or in the comfort of your home). Similarly, Steve Corcelli's molecular movies welcome viewers into a new world with cutting-edge visualizations that capture the motion of molecules in real time, allowing researchers to observe chemical and biological processes at the atomic level. Dr. Corcelli spoke at one of the "Town Talks" presented by Telluride Science and the session was moderated by veteran broadcast journalists Judy Muller and George Lewis.
Dr. Natalia Shustova’s lab at the University of South Carolina works with metal-organic frameworks, or MOFs, molecules of metal ions and organic links. MOFs can be engineered with specific properties for a wide variety of applications – from building construction, clothing, and smartphone materials to pharmaceuticals and energy generation.
Part of Dr. Shustova's work centers on nuclear waste management and she and her colleagues are exploring ways MOFs could be used in detecting and storing radioactive materials.
But wait, there's more! And you'll hear all about it in this podcast moderated by veteran award-winning broadcast journalists George Lewis and Judy Muller.
Amid growing piles of plastic waste in our landfills and in our oceans, Dr. Michael McGuirk of the Colorado School of Mines and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is working on new methods to recycle plastics and turn them into useful products, from new plastics to fuels to polymers that can capture CO2 from the atmosphere and help ease global climate change.
His optimism about his research is tempered by the fact that he's worried by the current cutbacks in government research funds. His talk was recorded before a live audience at the Telluride Mountain Village Conference Center with veteran journalists Judy Muller and George Lewis moderating.
The double helix structure of DNA discovered in 1953 explained the basic mechanism for how our genetic information can be inherited through replication. But, we've since found that those genes have on/off switches. Understanding how our genes are turned on and off has been complicated partly due to the compacting of DNA with proteins (the histones) into chromatin. Dr. Song Tan has spent years studying chromatin using advanced imaging technology and he and his colleagues have made some big discoveries looking at molecular sized objects. He is joined by Mark Kozak, Executive Director of Telluride Science and by Dr. Richard Kriwacki of St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital. Podcast hosts: veteran broadcast journalists Judy Muller and George Lewis.
Mankind has long searched for the fountain of youth. Recent studies indicate that both immunological and global aging processes can be reversed in humans now using repurposed medicines that are known to be safe. The key is the thymus, the center of your adaptive immune system, which withers starting at puberty but can be fanned back to life even after the age of 60. It turns out that a side effect of restoring your immune system is the reversal of the most reliable indices of generalized aging. Dr. Greg Fahy says he has a recipe for restoring the thymus, although he has a critic or two. We discuss all that on this episode. Veteran broadcast journalists Judy Muller and George Lewis are the hosts.
As climate change worsens, the need for a transition from fossil fuels to clean energy sources gets more urgent. But clean energy often has its own environmental costs. The risks posed by nuclear reactors and mining lithium for batteries are well known, but our speaker, Dr. Peter Ladwig, a materials scientist, is working on another aspect of the problem: dirty magnets used in the electric motors that power green transportation. In a "Town Talk" sponsored by Telluride Science, he describes how his company, Niron Magnetics, is working on producing a clean magnet and scaling up production to meet future needs. Adam Chambers, Telluride Science Board Member, moderated this session. Podcast hosts: Judy Muller and George Lewis
Methane is a greenhouse gas that's 84 times more potent than carbon dioxide. And unvortunately, methane concentrations in our atmosphere are rapidly increasing. Yet, methane may also offer a potential climate solution. With a much shorter half-life than CO2, reductions in methane pack a punch. Dr. Jessica Swanson has a plan to use methane-eating bacteria called methanotrophs to do just that. A side benefit, she says, is that once the bacteria have gobbled up all the methane they can hold, they can be turned into useful products, like feed for animals or plastics. Dr. Swanson spoke at one of the "Town Talks" sponsored by Telluride Science. Moderator: Adam Chambers, Telluride Science Board Member; podcast hosts: Judy Muller and George Lewis
Life on Earth is fundamentally impacted by thunderstorms, from the life-sustaining fresh water they supply, to the life-threatening severe weather they produce. T In spite of the critical role of thunderstorms in our weather and climate system, we've fallen short in predicting how they'll behave. But Dr. Susan van den Heever's team and NASA plan to observe these storms from space, helping to construct better models for predicting severe weather, something that could save many lives. Dr van den Heever was joined by her teammate, Dr. Derek Posselt and by Mark Kozak, executive director of Telluride Science. Podcast hosts: Judy Muller and George Lewis. Images available at incus.colostate.edu
Before there was life on Earth, there was something called "the period of maximum bombardment" when comets, meteors and other space objects crashed into the planet. Some of those carried materials necessary for life to emerge. Dr. Nir Goldman of Lawrence Livermore has been using computer simulations to investigate the hypothesis that some of these collisions synthesized the building blocks of life. He spoke at a "town talk" sponsored by Telluride Science. Moderators: award-winning broadcast journalists Judy Muller and George Lewis.
Our planet has always been powered by sunlight. Plants use light and water and air to grow through the process of photosynthesis. Dr. Jenny Yang, Professor of Chemistry at the University of California, Irvine proposes that we imitate plants to produce fuel through artificial photosynthesis. That fuel would be carbon neutral because we would be pulling CO2 out ot the air to manufacture it. She says this would be part of a portfolio of green solutions to man-made climate change that threatens the future of our planet. Dr Yang spoke at a "town talk" sponsored by Telluride Science. Moderators: Judy Muller and George Lewis. Additional comments by Telluride Science Executive Director Mark Kozak.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are relatively new, powerful, and disruptive technologies that are rapidly entering practice in our daily lives and shaping our future in areas ranging from employment, health, politics, and what it means to be human. This talk, by Dr. Teresa Head-Gordon of the University of California, Berkeley considers the current status of AI and ML and the ethical considerations that can guide us to finding the best in this emerging technology while mitigating its potential abuse. Veteran broadcast journalists George Lewis and Judy Muller moderate this episode.
Our fifth season of "Science Straight Up" kicks off with Dr. Michael Wasielewski of Northwestern University talking about the basics of quantum theory and how it will change our lives. We can't beam people aboard the starship just yet, but teleportation of information using quantum techniques is happening right now. Many of us have heard about quantum computers and some of the amazing things that they will do, literally a “quantum leap” in performance. However, this is not the whole story. The quantum world and innovative technologies being developed from it will significantly enhance secure communications and be capable of sensing single atoms and molecules, even when they are within living cells. How does this work? Dr Wasielewski has some answers. Our session was moderated by veteran broadcast journalists Judy Muller and George Lewis.
Cancer biopsies are scary. The patient gets tissue removed from his or her body, the sample gets sent off to the lab and then there's the agonizing wait for the results. Dr. Stephen Boppart of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, both a physician and an engineer, is working on instant biopsies that will produce results in minutes. Using laser light and artificial intelligence, Dr. Boppart and his colleagues have been able to identify cancers early and accurately. Moreover, this technique promises to identify conditions in the body that might lead to future cancers by looking at tiny vesicles, liquid-filled sacs that act as messengers. His "Town Talk" sponsored by Telluride Science, was recorded at the Telluride Mountain Village Conference Center in Colorado. The program was moderated by veteran broadcast journalists Judy Muller and George Lewis.
Our experience with mRNA vaccines during the COVID pandemic showed us the possibility of designing other RNA-based drugs in a flexible and efficient manner. Dr. Athma Pai of the UMass Chan Medical School talks about how her research into RNA therapeutics and the immense promise it holds for conquering a wide range of diseases, from. cancer to sickle cell anemia, and more. Veteran broadcast journalists George Lewis and Judy Muller moderated the session with Dr. Pai, recorded at the Telluride Conference Center in Mountain Village, Colorado
Dr. Amy Mueller and her team are measuring the vital signs of cities, gathering data that will inform future additions and improvements to our urban areas. How do we build cities in a sensible, sustainable way? Key to this work is getting communities involved and arming them with the information they need to make strategic decisions about the future. Dr Mueller is an associate professor of marine and environmental science and civil and environmental engineering at Northeastern University in Boston. She spoke at a "Town Talk" sponsored by Telluride Science and the session was moderated by veteran broadcast journalists Judy Muller and George Lewis.
Quantum Dots are marvelous little crystalline structures that work as electrical semiconductors and emit light. But that's not all they do. Dr. Jennifer Hollingsworth of the Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, talked about the many potential applications of these tiny wonders. Veteran broadcast journalists Judy Muller and George Lewis moderated the talk with Dr. Hollingsworth.
American agriculture contributes about 10 percent of this country's greenhouse gas emissions, but done right, it can absorb rather than produce carbon and help overcome the problem of man-made climate change. This exciting possibility is the subject of a Telluride Science panel moderated by Adam Chambers of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Panelists include Tony and Barclay Daranyi, who practice regenerative agriculture at their farm 33 miles northwest of Telluride; Chris Hazen, from the San Miguel County Payment for Ecosystem Services Program and Cindy Lair, deputy director of the Colorado STAR (Saving Tomorrow's Agricultural Resources) program.
Our podcast is hosted by award-winning broadcast journalists Judy Muller and George Lewis.
Dr. Omar Farha of Northwestern University and NuMat Technologies talks about Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOF's) that he prefers to call "programmable sponges." Hailed as a potential defining material of the 21st century, these nano-sized structures can be used to neutralize toxic materials, pull water out of the moisture in the air and eventually, capture carbon emissions that threaten the planet. The Pentagon is investing in this technology to create military clothing that can be used on chemical warfare battlefields. "The sky's the limit," says Dr. Farha, in discussing the potential uses of programmable sponges. Dr Farha's personal story is a classic: the immigrant from a poor family in the West Bank of the Palestinian Territories who overcomes big obstacles and achieves great things that could change our world.
We've long thought that aging was just a part of life but now science is beginning to view aging as a disease that can be treated. This, as research on aging is exploding and some scientists speculate people could live 150 years or more. Our aging expert, Dr. Kristin Slade, Associate Professor of Chemistry at Hobart and William Smith Colleges in upstate New York says, "We already know what is going on with aging at the people level, but I was determined to get inside the cell and discover what was going on at the molecular level.” Indeed, that could be the key to slowing down the aging process. She spoke before an audience at the Conference Center in Mountain Village, Colorado and the discussion was moderated by noted journalists Judy Muller and George Lewis.
We talk about chirality, how some molecules have left-handed properties and others have right-handed properties. It turns out that electrons, carrying energy and information vital to life, spin in different directions when interacting with these two types of molecules and harnessing that effect could lead to big advances in energy production, agriculture and medicine. Our panelists are two of the leading researchers in the field: Dr. Ron Naaman of the Weizman Institute of Science and Dr. Moh El Naggar of the University of Southern California. In a “Town Talk” at the Transfer Warehouse in Telluride, they were interviewed by award-winning broadcast journalists Judy Muller and George Lewis.
We hear from three eminent researchers who take us into the nano universe where they study miniscule openings in the cells of our bodies…passageways called nuclear pore complexes.
These complexes are incredibly smart collections of proteins that direct traffic into and out of the nuclei of our cells…where our DNA is located.
Joining us are Cees Dekker, professor of molecular biophysics at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands and director of the Kavli Institute of Nanoscience; Michael Rout, professor of biochemistry and biophysics at Rockefeller University in New York; and Anton Zilman, professor of biological physics at the University of Toronto. They appeared during a Telluride Science “Town Talk” at the Transfer Warehouse in Telluride, a session moderated by award-winning broadcast journalists Judy Muller and George Lewis.
Dr. Jayajit Das of the Ohio State University and Nationwide Childrens Hospital talks about harnessing the power of immunity using powerful computer technology to orchestrate the body’s response to disease. He is interviewed by noted broadcast journalists Judy Muller and George Lewis during a “town talk” at the Telluride Conference Center in Mountain Village, CO.
A guy named Jon Snow came to Telluride to talk about ice and fire. No, not the Jon Snow from Game of Thrones, but rather Dr. Jonathan Snow, arctic explorer, professor and chair of geology and geophysics at Louisiana State University. He says there’s all sorts of fascinating stuff going on with the undersea volcanoes deep beneath the Arctic ice. Dr. Snow is joined by award-winning broadcast journalists Judy Muller and George Lewis.
"Hey, Siri, what's the lowdown on A.I.?" Every time we use an electronic assistant like Siri or Alexa, we're tapping into the burgeoning world of artificial intelligence. We've assembled a panel of three people with plenty of real intelligence to talk about how AI is helping scientists sift through data in a wide variety of fields.
Our panel this episode: Amy Mueller, Assistant Professor at Northeastern University's College of Engineering, Jon Tapson, Chief Technology Officer at Iona tech and a member of the Telluride Neuromorphic Cognition Engineering Workshop, and Mark Kozak, Executive Director of the Telluride Science Research Center.
This year, the summer months have brought record high temperatures, fires, floods and other climate extremes. A U.N. climate change report has sounded a "red alert" for humanity. We're joined by one of the contributors to that report, Kevin Gurney of Northern Arizona University's school of Informatics, Computing and Cyber Systems. Also joining us, Ron Cohen from the University of California, Berkeley, professor of chemistry who studies air quality and climate, and Amy Mueller from Northeastern University's College of engineering, who develops new instruments for studying the environment. Hosts Judy Muller and George Lewis lead our panel in a discussion of this unfortunately "hot" topic and the role that cities can play in solving the problem.
Scientists speak of those moments of discovery when all their hard work, all their experimenting, and all their trial and error yield sometimes surprising results. Hosts Judy Muller and George Lewis chat with three noted researchers about how creativity plays a big part in their science. Our guests are Philip Bevilacqua, Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Penn State, Scott Showalter, also from Penn State, Professor of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; and Kathleen Hall, Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics at Washington University in St. Louis. Our panel was part of a series of "Town Talks" in Telluride, recorded before a live audience at the Wilkinson Public Library.
The science of cryopreservation and cryogenics promises new life through fertility treatments, preserves plant and animal species and provides cell therapy for ailments ranging from cancer to spinal cord injuries. It can also help with organ transplants. Hosts Judy Muller and George Lewis discuss cryopreservation with three prominent scientists: Allison Hubel, Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Minnesota; Songi Han, Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of California, Santa Barbara; and Nancy Levinger, Professor of Chemistry at Colorado State University.
Science isn't just about white guys in white lab coats these days. Joining us are Rigoberto Hernandez from the Johns Hopkins University, Amber Krummel from Colorado State University and Stephen Bradforth from the University of Southern California. They talk about the importance of diversity on scientific teams with hosts Judy Muller and George Lewis.
Three scientists (Anna Marie Pyle from Yale, Yogesh Surendranath from MIT and Forest Rohwer from San Diego State University) join hosts Judy Muller and George Lewis to discuss the amazing advances in science that will soon upend our world. This was recorded during a live "Town Talk" at the Transfer Warehouse in Telluride, CO. The talks are sponsored by the Telluride Science Research Center (TSRC).
In a summer when the American West is on fire, where drought parches southwest Colorado and the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts are bracing for repeated hurricanes, the effects of climate change are everywhere. We talk to Telluride-based environmental entrepreneur and climate activist Christopher Arndt about his hopes for a greener future.
Dr. R. Stephen Berry, a renowned chemist and recipient of a MacArthur Foundation Genius grant, revolutionized the field of thermodynamics and went on to co-found the Telluride Science Research Center. He believed that scientists could refresh their creative impulses and share valuable information by gathering in his beloved Colorado mountains, where he could often be found fishing, skiing, hiking and urging his colleagues to keep up with him. This episode pays tribute to Steve Berry who passed away in July of 2020.
Scientists at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory are using the fastest supercomputer in the nation to sift through thousands of substances in search of a treatment for people who have COVID-19. We talk to the man in charge of the project, Dr. Jeremy Smith.
Imagine a high-tech device slightly larger than a breadbox that could detect the presence of the COVID virus in real time in classrooms or meeting halls or even homes. That's what Dr. Paul Cremer and his team at Penn State University are developing. Dr Cremer talks about his exciting research that could lead to such a device in the months to come.
"It's kind of like Silly String," says Dr. Anna Marie Pyle, a Yale biochemist, describing the appearance of COVID-19 RNA, the genetic roadmap that allows the virus to replicate and spread. But there's nothing silly about the vital research she and her colleagues are conducting as they look for a weapon that will hunt down the virus and destroy it.
In conjunction with the Telluride Science Research Center, veteran broadcast journalists Judy Muller and George Lewis talk to leading scientists about how their work impacts our everyday lives. This premiere episode, "The Air We Breathe," talks about something we can no longer take for granted in the age of COVID-19. This week's guest is chemical engineer Faye McNeill who takes her research on the air around us personally. She explains why.