The Knowledge Archives

#69 Animal Imagination: a Stepping Stone to Ethics - David Peña-Guzmán | San Fransisco State University

Dr. David Peña-Guzmán is an Associate Professor of Humanities at San Fransisco State University in the US. He researches the hidden world of intellect in animals, especially exploring the ethical implications this brings. Today, he explains the latest discoveries in this field and their philosophical implications. To learn more about his work, see his book (https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691220093/when-animals-dream) or other podcasts (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IG3K5FX9v8c). Timeline 0:00 Introduction 3:44 Background Info 6:21 Animal Imagination 15:13 Research Limitations 20:33 Animal Rights 27:58 Future Research Areas

#68 Cyberbiosecurity: Novel Risks in a Connected World - Feras Batarseh | Virginia Tech

Dr. Feras Batarseh is an Associate Professor of Biological Systems Engineering at Virginia Tech. He researches the safety of AI applications, especially in fields like agricultural and drinking water production. Today, he explains the need to consider formerly different types of risks together.   To learn more about Dr. Batarseh's work, visit: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=oQiAulIAAAAJ&hl=en   P.S. Some fancy words Dr. Batareh used: - Ag and water societies: the decision-makers involved with the agricultural and water treatment sectors. - Cybersecurity: assuring that digital resources (from intangible data to tangible hardware) are able to serve their intended purpose with minimal losses - National security: assuring the wellbeing of the citizens' of a nation in the face of threats, including military, financial, and healthcare disruptions. - Cyber-physical security: preventing unauthorised entry or exit from secured physical facilities, including by protecting the digital equipment and data needed to assure this. - Adversary: a criminal trying to launch cyberattacks. - State vs. non-state adversaries: individual(s) sponsored by governments to launch cyberattacks vs. individual(s) doing so without government aid. - Phishing attacks: pretending to represent a legitimate cause to get confidential data from individual(s). Ex: Getting passwords by pretending to be technical support for a company. - Metaverse: a digitally simulated environment (like in Virtual reality) that lets users mimic the real world by having very diverse/extensive experiences available.

#67 - 'Viral' Vaccines for Bat Viruses - Megan Griffiths | University of Glasgow

Megan Griffiths is a PhD student at the University of Glasgow in Scotland. She researches an innovative tool for public health: self-spreading vaccines in wildlife. Today, she explains the history of vaccinating wildlife and how self-spreading vaccines work.   To learn more about Megan's work, visit: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Megan-Griffiths-13.  Timeline: 00:00 Introduction 02:38 Why We Vaccinate Animals 04:50 Risks from Wild Animals 05:52 Historical Case Studies 08:19 Edible Vaccines 10:59 Self-Spreading Vaccines 14:18 Harmless Viruses 16:03 Pros/Cons of Self-Spreading Vaccines   P.S. Some fancy words Megan used: - Clinical trials: carefully regulated tests to show taht a medicine is or isn't effective. - System: a group of organisms that interact - Antigen: a part of a virus that our immune system can recognise as dangerous. Like a 'red flag' marking danger. - Mutate: an organism changing its DNA, allowing it to have different capabilities. - Metabolism: the process of converting food to energy

#66 Ethnobotany: World's Coolest Job - Josh Kellogg | Pennsylvania State University

Dr. Josh Kellog is an assistant professor at the Department of Biomolecular Sciences at Pennsylvania State University in the US. He works as an ethnobotanist: working with indigenous cultures around the world to find drugs from nature. Today, he talks to us about his experiences on the ground and how the field has changed over the years.   To learn more about Dr. Kellogg's work, visit: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=ebu0_H8AAAAJ  Timeline: 00:00 Introduction 03:38 Selecting Plants to Study 06:03 Extracting Medicinal Compounds   09:03 Problem Solving with Pharmaceuticals 12:42 His lab's work   14:49 History of Ethnobotany   18:53 Favourite Field Lessons 23:23 Challenges for Indigenous Cultures 25:28 Innovations in Ethnobotany 29:13 Neglected Areas   P.S. Some fancy words Dr. Kellogg used: - Activity: how much a chemical can influence biological organisms - Bioassay guided fractionation: a process of repeatedly separating chemicals in a sample to isolate one desired chemical. Like a drug candidate. - Pathogenic: harmful to humans - US CDC: The US Centre for Disease Control. A government organisation to manage public health risks. - Penicillin: the first antibiotic drug to be produced at global scale. - Toxicology studies: Studies to test whether a certain substance is harmful to biological organisms and at what dose. - Clinical tries: a series of tests to prove that a drug is beneficial to patients. - Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Imaging: A tool that chemists use to identify molecules by the magnetic properties of their electrons. - Mass spectrometry: A tool that chemists use to identify molecules by their atomic mass.

#65 From Soldiers to Cells: EVERYTHING That Affects Your Health - Patricia Huston | University of Ottawa

Dr. Patricia Huston is an interdisciplinary scientist exploring public health, cellular biology, and our culture. She studies how all these influence healthy behaviours like being physically active. Today, we have an INCREDIBLY insightful conversation on the many layers of factors that affect your health!   To learn more about Dr. Huston's work, visit: https://scholar.google.ca/citations?user=KuQUs9MAAAAJ&hl=en. Also, you can read the paper of hers we discussed here: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4048238  Timeline: 00:00 Introduction 02:02 Physical Inactivity & Disease 04:44 Networks & Your Health 10:50 Disease & Your Body 18:55 Pros of Network Analysis 23:40 Future Innovations   P.S. Some fancy words Dr. Huston used: - Chronic Disease: A disease that's present over a long time. Ex: Diabetes - Chronic low-grade inflammation: A persistent, but non-extreme inflammation in the body. - Network analysis: studying how groups of things interact together. - Macroenvironmental influences: Global phenomena out of our control that influence our lives. Ex: A pandemic. - Sympathetic response: our body's 'alert mode'. It involves us being stressed. - Macrophages: cells in our immune system that destroy harmful substances. - Coagulate: When blood clots (ex: to form a scar that seals a cut) - Adrenaline: a chemical that is released into our blood when we prepare to deal with threats. - Rube Goldsberg Machine: an overly complex machine to perform a simple task. - Longevity/life span: In common terms, how long your life is. - Microenvironment: in the context of this podcast, factors happening inside your body compared to outside your body. - Heart rate variability: How much change there is in your heart rate over time. - Electronic medical health records: government documents that collect all your health information in one place online.