Science Magazine Podcast

Did meat or fruit give people big brains, and protecting bison diversity using ancient DNA

First up on the podcast, Deputy News Editor Michael Price discusses the history of the North American bison population [https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.zyyrlyn%20], its decline, and resurrection—and links to Indigenous cultures. He’s joined by University of California, Santa Cruz evolutionary molecular biologist Beth Shapiro [https://campusdirectory.ucsc.edu/cd_detail?uid=bashapir] and Greg Wilson [https://www.bigproject.ca/team], a wildlife ecologist with Parks Canada. They talk about their Science paper on the genetic diversity of modern bison [https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aee4205] after near extermination during European colonization. Shapiro and Wilson also explain how these findings can be used to inform conservation efforts. Next on the show, Jennie Brand-Miller [https://profiles.sydney.edu.au/jennie.brandmiller], professor emeritus in the School of Life and Environmental Sciences and Charles Perkins Centre at the University of Sydney, joins host Sarah Crespi to talk about what our ancient ancestors were eating and a big question—was hunting key to evolving big brains? Brand-Miller argues instead that fruit was the key factor [https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aed8437%20] in the expansion of hominin brains. She points to the high sugar demands of large brains, about 100 to 120 grams per day, and how this level of sugar intake was likely only achievable by consuming things such as fruit and honey before our ancestors’ mastery of cooking and fire. This week’s episode was produced with help from Podigy [https://podigy.co/]. About the [/content/page/about-science-podcast]Science [/content/page/about-science-podcast] Podcast [/content/page/about-science-podcast] Image credit: Mike Price Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

AI’s influence on society, measuring muscles, and a Crick biography

First up on the podcast, we catch up with Celina Zhao, a staff reporter for Science’s AI In Science reporting initiative [https://www.science.org/topic/tags/ai-in-science-reporting%20]. She talks with host Sarah Crespi about artificial intelligence’s knack for finding legal loopholes and how philosophers are navigating conflicts of interest around advising companies on AI. Next on the show, it’s hard to figure out how much force a muscle is exerting without sticking invasive probes into the body. Christopher Bird [https://biomedical-sciences.uq.edu.au/profile/17724/chris-bird], a Ph.D. candidate in the School of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Queensland, discusses a new way to use ultrawideband radar to measure muscle forces [https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/scirobotics.aed5865] that could prove useful for assistive devices and rehabilitation. Finally, the third in our limited six-part series on scientific biographies [https://www.science.org/content/blog-post/biographies-take-center-stage-new-limited-podcast-series%20]. This month, host Angela Saini talks with zoologist Matthew Cobb [https://research.manchester.ac.uk/en/persons/cobb/] about his new book on the life of Francis Crick, Crick: A Mind in Motion [https://bookshop.org/p/books/crick-a-mind-in-motion-matthew-cobb/2f844055d8445956]. This week’s episode was produced with help from Podigy [https://podigy.co/].     Image credit: Chiara Vercesi Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Death in a gene-editing trial, and insect larvae surviving in deep waters

First up on the podcast, freelance science journalist Brendan Borrell [https://www.brendanborrell.com/] talks about his work reporting on the previously undisclosed death of a 6-year-old girl in a gene-editing clinical trial in China [https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.zbr2v4d%20] and the reasons her parents came forward. This story was produced in collaboration with Retraction Watch [https://retractionwatch.com/] and supported by the Science Fund for Investigative Reporting [https://www.science.org/content/page/science-fund-investigative-reporting]. Next on the show, Producer Meagan Cantwell talks with Evan McKenzie [https://zoology.ubc.ca/person/evan-mckenzie], a researcher at the University of British Columbia, about an insect that evolved to avoid predators by modifying its respiratory system to withstand high pressure at depth [https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aed0667%20]. This week’s episode was produced with help from Podigy [https://podigy.co/]. Image credit: Daria Lada Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Health care in Malawi after USAID’s end, and a rocky exoplanet with an atmosphere

First up on the podcast, we continue our coverage of the fallout from cuts to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), this time focusing on how one of the largest recipients of aid is coping 18 months later. Contributing Correspondent Catherine Offord talks about her trip to Malawi and the efforts to strengthen their health infrastructure [https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.z3fxuup%20] in the wake of funding shocks. Next on the show, Collin Cherubim [https://www.etaearth.org/about-me], Ph.D. candidate in the Earth and Planetary Sciences Department at Harvard University, discusses what it means to find helium escaping from the atmosphere of a rocky planet [https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aea9708%20] in the habitable zone of a nearby red dwarf. This week’s episode was produced with help from Podigy [https://podigy.co/]. About the [/content/page/about-science-podcast]Science [/content/page/about-science-podcast] Podcast [/content/page/about-science-podcast] Image credit: Thoko Chikondi Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Owl wars and the immune system’s memory

First up on the podcast, Contributing Correspondent Warren Cornwall goes on an owl hunt in the woods of Northern California. After surviving logging and habitat destruction in the 1990s, the endangered Northern spotted owl has put conservationists in a bind: In order to protect the spotted owl, the only solution may be shooting barred owls [https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.zjuik7j]. Next on the show, looking back at the first 10 years of the journal Science Immunology [https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciimmunol.aej2527]. Editor Seth Thomas Scanlon explores how the field has changed since the inception of the journal and talks about a special series of reviews on immune memory. Check out the special issue cover here [https://www.science.org/toc/sciimmunol/11/121]. This week’s episode was produced with help from Podigy [https://podigy.co/]. Image credit: Danny Hofstadter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]