Phdrinking

Imagine if you got to spend your summers heading down to the Antarctic continent on a boat to release small robots. That's exactly what Giuliana does as part of her PhD, studying climate change in the currents of the ocean. In today's episode, I chat with Giuliana about her research and what got her interested in it to begin with. Suggested Reading: Here’s a really nice video of ocean currents: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-TSwthjPYE The ocean's carbon balance: https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/OceanCarbon NOAA's short explainer on ocean currents: https://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/facts/currents.html Follow Giuliana Viglione: www.giulianaviglione.com, @GAViglione, https://caltechletters.org, @caltechletters Follow me: PhDrinking@gmail.com, @PhDrinking, @SadieWit, www.facebook.com/PhDrinking/ Thanks to www.bensound.com/ for the intro/outro Thanks to @TylerDamme for audio editing

Guys, I was just too excited to talk with Breanna about her chickadee research and wasn't paying enough attention to the audio quality when I started recording. Can you blame me? I was excited to learn about animal behavior and personality a la behavioral ecology! Suggested Reading: Research article on animal personality: https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(10)01137-1?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS0960982210011371%3Fshowall%3Dtrue Curry Lab: http://robertcurrylab.com/ Breanna's personal website: https://thetinybirdgirl.wordpress.com/ Follow me: PhDrinking@gmail.com, @PhDrinking, @SadieWit, www.facebook.com/PhDrinking/ Follow Breanna Bennett: @TheTinyBirdGirl Thanks to www.bensound.com/ for the intro/outro Thanks to @TylerDamme for audio editing

Did you know that sunflowers aren't just pretty, they're also a model organism! Rishi uses sunflowers to study how different drought conditions affect agricultural out put. Scientific overview of how droughts affect different groups: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=http://scholar.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1019&context=droughtfacpub United Nations Water Report: http://www.unwater.org/publication_categories/world-water-development-report/ Follow me:PhDrinking@gmail.com, @PhDrinking, @SadieWit, www.facebook.com/PhDrinking/ Follow Rishi Masalia: @RishiMasalia, www.rishimasalia.com, www.athenssciencecafe.com, & www.athensscienceobserver.com Thanks to www.bensound.com/ for the intro/outro Thanks to @TylerDamme for audio editing

Did you know not all bees live in hives or create honey? In fact, most species of bees native to the US are of the solitary variety. This week, Meghan Barrett tells us about a few of those species and what makes them so unique. Suggested Reading: The Bees in your Backyard by Wilson and Carril: http://beesinyourbackyard.blogspot.com/p/poster.html (Poster and Book); highly recommend this book, inexpensive with BEAUTIFUL pictures and tons of fun information about the bees around us Bee lab: https://www.beelab.umn.edu/bees/bee-diversity Article on bee intelligence: https://phys.org/news/2013-10-bee-brains-view-larger-superior.html Lay-person-friendly summary of Meghan's first published paper: http://meghan-barrett.com/blog/2017/10/01/caste-differences-in-wasp-brains/ Follow me:PhDrinking@gmail.com, @PhDrinking, @SadieWit, www.facebook.com/PhDrinking/ Follow Meghan Barrett: meghan-barrett.com, @Bee_Bytes (Twitter) Thanks to www.bensound.com/ for the intro/outro Thanks to @TylerDamme for audio editing

Fellow ComSciCon- Chicago attendee Gourav Khullar joined me to chat about galaxy clusters. He explained how he models galaxies, infrared telescopes, and gravitational lensing. Suggested Reading: What is a galaxy cluster? http://chandra.harvard.edu/learn_galaxyCluster.html How galaxy clusters tell us a story about the universe: https://astrobites.org/2016/03/17/galaxy-clusters-cosmology-and-beethovens-no-6/ Spectroscopy of Galaxy Clusters: https://www.sdss.org/dr14/algorithms/ancillary/boss/massiveclusters/ Gravitational Lensing employed in Galaxy Clusters (super specific): https://arxiv.org/abs/1303.3274 Follow me: PhDrinking@gmail.com, @PhDrinking, @SadieWit, www.facebook.com/PhDrinking/ Follow Gourav Khullar: @isskywalker, gkhullar@uchicago.edu, http://astro.uchicago.edu/people/gourav-khullar.php Thanks to www.bensound.com/ for the intro/outro Thanks to @TylerDamme for audio editing

Have you ever visited a museum and wondered where all the artifacts come from? Well Heather studies collections of objects from WW2 (yes, like those you sometimes see at your favorite history museum) and where those objects originally came from. It can range from the usual battleground trophies to the truly bizarre... PS- sorry for the wonky sound recording, turns out recording in a new location threw everything off for me.... Suggested Reading: Organization that returns WW2 heirlooms to original families: obonsociety.org WW2 European theatre art & history preservation: monumentsmenfoundation.org Follow me: PhDrinking@gmail.com, @PhDrinking, @SadieWit, www.facebook.com/PhDrinking/ Follow Heather Scheurer: @hmcbee87 Thanks to www.bensound.com/ for the intro/outro Thanks to @TylerDamme for audio editing

How are emotional memories stored and retrieved? And what if we could use brain stimulation to learn more about emotional memory? Well today's guest tells us all about his work with stimulating live human brains! Suggested Reading: A quick primer on amygdala-mediated memory enhancement: http://www.dana.org/News/Understanding_the_Amygdalas_Role_in_Memory/ Video of the rare subjective responses to higher doses of amygdala stimulation: https://t.co/DR18WCf8Hz Cory's lab website: http://neurosurgery.emory.edu/research/behavioral-neuromodulation/lab-members.html Follow me: PhDrinking@gmail.com, @PhDrinking, @SadieWit, www.facebook.com/PhDrinking/ Follow Cory Inman: @IM_Inman Thanks to www.bensound.com/ for the intro/outro Thanks to @TylerDamme for audio editing

What can a common flower teach us about evolutionary biology? Well it turns out the incredibly diverse columbine flower is a great model organism and youtuber/grad student Molly takes us on a journey to learn more. Suggested Reading: Paper about developing Aquilegia (columbine flowers) as a model for evo-devo: https://dash.harvard.edu/handle/1/8519267 Youtube episode of Science IRL that covers columbine flowers and plant evo-devo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-e8pxOJ8RlI Youtube episode of Science IRL about GMOs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-b_Un-lGSWo Follow me: PhDrinking@gmail.com, @PhDrinking, @SadieWit, www.facebook.com/PhDrinking/ Follow Molly Edwards: @science_irl Thanks to www.bensound.com/ for the intro/outro Thanks to @TylerDamme for audio editing

Machine learning is quite a hot-topic of research right now, with many different offshoots linking it to other fields of research. Scott Cambo, today's guest, studies the intersection of machine learning and human-computer interaction. In particular, he's interested in how mobile self-tracking (think FitBit) user design can increase healthy behaviors and how those apps can use better machine learning algorithms to provide more useful feedback. Suggested Reading: Course Scott is putting together on Human-Centered Machine Learning: https://scottofthescience.github.io/hcml_course/ The website for Northwestern's AI Journal Club: https://aijcnu.github.io/ Scott's lab (CollabLab): http://collablab.northwestern.edu/ Follow me: PhDrinking@gmail.com, @PhDrinking, @SadieWit, www.facebook.com/PhDrinking/ Follow Scott Cambo: @scottOfTheSci , www.ScottAllenCambo.com Thanks to www.bensound.com/ for the intro/outro Thanks to @TylerDamme for audio editing

Moving from our more typical science topics towards more applied research, I talked with Lindsey about her research in public history. She focuses on the representation of women in historic house museums and examining the disconnect between academic research about early American women and their portrayal in spaces that are stereotypically feminine. We also got a bit into the confederate monument controversy and how history is represented and remembered. Suggested Reading: Defining public history & general FAQ: ncph.org/what-is-public-history/about-the-field/ Statement by the American Historical Association regarding confederate monument removal: https://www.historians.org/news-and-advocacy/statements-and-resolutions-of-support-and-protest/aha-statement-on-confederate-monuments Anarchist’s Guide to Historic House Museums: https://twistedpreservation.com/book/ Follow me: PhDrinking@gmail.com, @PhDrinking, @SadieWit, www.facebook.com/PhDrinking/ Follow Lindsey Fisher: @lindsey13_marie on twitter and @lizi

Have you ever wondered how the variety of tea types could all come from a single plant? It turns out, single species is responsible for all your favorite teas (not including chai)! But like all plants, tea plants are under threat by our changing climate. Eric Scott studies how climate change in China is affecting a bug-bitten wulong tea called Oriental Beauty. Suggested Reading: Eric's Personal Website: www.ericrscott.com Eric's blogpost on his research: https://worldoftea.org/oriental-beauty-bug-bitten-teas/ Tea & climate change: https://www.eater.com/drinks/2016/7/8/12111038/climate-change-tea-leaves-flavor Follow me: PhDrinking@gmail.com, @PhDrinking, @SadieWit, www.facebook.com/PhDrinking/ Follow Eric Scott: @LeafyEricScott Thanks to www.bensound.com/ for the intro/outro Thanks to @TylerDamme for audio editing

Alanna's research is at the intersection of biology, chemistry, and medical research. In particular, she studies the chemical signals sent between bacteria that help them communicate. In particular, she's interested in how bacteria form biofilms (think that gross stuff that grows in your shower if you haven't cleaned it in a while)and how we can apply this research to medical interventions. Suggested Reading: Alanna's Lab Website: https://www.sanchezlab.science/ University of Illinois Chicago Department Website: https://pharmacy.uic.edu/departments/medicinal-chemistry-pharmcognosy Follow me: PhDrinking@gmail.com, @PhDrinking, @SadieWit, www.facebook.com/PhDrinking/ Follow Alanna Condren: acondr2@uic.edu Thanks to www.bensound.com/ for the intro/outro Thanks to @TylerDamme for audio editing

Does our knowledge of a person change the way that we see them? Chris' research says yes! Chris studies the intersection of sexual orientation and perceived racial appearance, focusing on how learning a person is gay affects how they are viewed. Suggested Reading: Stanford sociologist Aliya Saperstein briefly describing about how we study race as a social construction: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jiwieME2tis Article showing that perceiving a person's status can bias they way you perceive that person's race: http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0025107&type=printable Chris' research on how people discriminate against men at the intersections of race and sexual orientation: https://www.academia.edu/34859780/Race_Crime_Congruency_Effects_Revisited_Do_We_Take_Defendants_Sexual_Orientation_Into_Account Follow me: PhDrinking@gmail.com, @PhDrinking, @SadieWit, www.facebook.com/PhDrinking/ Follow Chris Petsko: @chris_petsko Thanks to www.bensound.com/ for the intro/outro Tha

Have you ever wondered why identical twins can share exactly the same DNA, but still seem to have differences? Well part of that may be due to epigenetics, or how DNA is coiled up within a cell such that some parts are easier to access and use than others. Today's guest Tess Korthout studies the epigenetics of yeast cells to answer questions about gene regulation and cancer. Suggested Reading: Tess' chromatin proteome research paper: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/early/2017/12/09/229955 Tess' lab website: https://www.nki.nl/divisions/gene-regulation/van-leeuwen-fr-group/ Pioneering article in Discover Magazine: http://discovermagazine.com/2006/nov/cover Finally a great TED talk about epigenetics: https://www.ted.com/talks/moshe_szyf_how_early_life_experience_is_written_into_dna Follow me: PhDrinking@gmail.com, @PhDrinking, @SadieWit, www.facebook.com/PhDrinking/ Follow Tess Korthout: @tesskorthout Thanks to www.bensound.com/ for the intro/outro Thanks to @TylerDamme for audio editing

Classic game theory asks the question of whether rational decision-makers choose between conflict or cooperation and how that impacts their outcomes. Alex takes this idea to a new level by applying game theory to economics where the players are really world powers. In particular, he's interested in how international policy can be reflected through game theory. Suggested Reading: John Oliver's piece on hard & soft power: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCjk_NPsIqU&feature=youtu.be A fun blog of digressions on game theory, politics, and economics: https://cheaptalk.org/ A paper Alex mentioned about Bayesian statistics: http://faculty.chicagobooth.edu/emir.kamenica/documents/bayesianPersuasion.pdf In depth blog on Econ research from a Northwestern grad: https://afinetheorem.wordpress.com/ Follow me: PhDrinking@gmail.com, @PhDrinking, @SadieWit, www.facebook.com/PhDrinking/ Follow Alex Theisen: @alex-theisen Thanks to www.bensound.com/ for the intro/outro Thanks to @TylerDamme for audio editing

Just like Star Trek, Jessica's research has been to 'Boldly Go' and study one of the most exciting moons of Jupiter. Europa, one of the Galilean moons, is an interesting planetary body to study both because of it's icy crust with the potential for liquid water and it's fascinating surface features and what they can tell us about the moon's history. In this conversation, we cover the history of the Galilean moons, NASA's space programs, and how Jessica uses images of Europa to study what's happening on the surface. Suggested Reading: NASA's choice for instruments to study Europa: https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-s-europa-mission-begins-with-selection-of-science-instruments About the Europa mission in general: http://www.planetary.org/blogs/jason-davis/2017/nasas-audacious-europa.html Jessica's conference paper about her research: https://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2018/pdf/2707.pdf Follow me: PhDrinking@gmail.com, @PhDrinking, @SadieWit, www.facebook.com/PhDrinking/ Follow Jessica Noviello: @je

Most people know that everything from cancer types to nose shapes 'run in the family,' but what if it's not just our own genetic code? Ryan Mork studies how staph could run in families - i.e. we might be able to inherit traits of the skin microbiome. It's not just the gut that has it's own ecosystem, in this episode we talk about how our skin is the playground of many microorganisms that can either keep us healthy or make it easier for us to get sick. Suggested Reading: Broad overview of the human microbiome: https://www.nature.com/articles/nrg3182 As referenced in the podcast:(publicly-available data may give us more information than previously expected) http://science.sciencemag.org/content/339/6117/321 Description of major study by NIH to examine the human microbiome across 5 body sites in hundreds of people: https://hmpdacc.org/hmp/ Follow me: PhDrinking@gmail.com, @PhDrinking, @SadieWit, www.facebook.com/PhDrinking/ Follow Ryan Mork: https://biophysics.uchicago.edu/the-students/ryan_mork/ Thanks to

Did you know our bodies are basically just a bunch of tubes? That's how today's guest sees it anyways. It may seem like a strange idea, but our brains, hearts, and airways are basically all just fancy tubes made up of lots of our cells. Saoirse researches the fly trachea as a model organism for how these tubes develop. Suggested Reading: Short video by Saoirse on her research: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hU-bMomr9jE&feature=youtu.be Cancer Research UK describing the etiology of cancer: http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/what-is-cancer/how-cancer-starts Academic article about the fly trachea as a model organism: http://dev.biologists.org/content/127/15/3271.long Academic article about size control: http://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.0000086 Follow me: PhDrinking@gmail.com, @PhDrinking, @SadieWit, www.facebook.com/PhDrinking/ Follow Saoirse McSharry: @Taako_Belle Thanks to www.bensound.com/ for the intro/outro Thanks to @TylerDamme for audio editing

What is the brain doing when it seems to be not doing anything? That confusing question is at the core of Anzar's work on what researchers call the default mode network. We talk imaging brains, what this data can tell us, and why you should care. Suggested Reading: What a 'resting brain' means: https://www.wired.com/2016/12/watch-brain-flicker-activity-rests/ New boundaries of the brain: https://www.wired.com/2016/07/new-map-brain-redraws-boundaries-neuroscience/ Follow me: PhDrinking@gmail.com, @PhDrinking, @SadieWit, www.facebook.com/PhDrinking/ Follow Anzar Abbas: @anzabbas Thanks to www.bensound.com/ for the intro/outro Thanks to @TylerDamme for audio editing

Hey guys, happy new year! I decided not to put out a full episode today since I'm taking the holiday off. I did, however, want to give a heartfelt thank you to everyone who has helped support me with this project. Don't worry, your regular episodes will return with the new year! Welcome to 2018! Follow me: PhDrinking@gmail.com, @PhDrinking, @SadieWit, www.facebook.com/PhDrinking/ Thanks to www.bensound.com/ for the intro/outro