Ask Dr. Universe

Send us a text [https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/1338544/open_sms] Can Cosmo and I help a cool kid like you face their fear of bugs? Join us—and our friend Paul Strand, psychologist at Washington State University—as we dig into why things freak us out and how to beat-le those fears. Resources you can use: * See some beautiful bugs and relatives with All Bugs Go to Kevin [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-jOb-crg5r6ieN1JKWdUhA] * Learn about parts of the brain [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iomhlXlisKI] like the prefrontal cortex [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i47_jiCsBMs] * Feeling anxious about something? Let's make a plan [https://www.kidsmentalhealthfoundation.org/-/media/onoursleeves/documents/anxiety-game-plan-activity.pdf?forcedownload=0] * Try a relaxation trick like this color sorting app [https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.colorsorttherapy&hl=en_US] Sound effects courtesy Zapsplat [https://www.zapsplat.com/] and Pixabay [https://pixabay.com/] As always, submit burning questions at askdruniverse.wsu.edu [https://askdruniverse.wsu.edu/]. Who knows where your questions will take us next.

Send us a text [https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/1338544/open_sms] Today I'm talking with Von Walden, an atmospheric scientist at Washington State University. * Hear about Earth's bubble of gases AKA the atmosphere [https://climatekids.nasa.gov/menu/atmosphere/] * Learn why clouds can be weird in the polar regions * Find out what an expert thinks about climate change [https://archive.epa.gov/climatechange/kids/index.html]—and how optimistic he is about the future Resources You Can Use * Check out AMNH's climate change [https://www.amnh.org/explore/ology/climate-change] resources * Watch these polar bear cams [https://polarbearsinternational.org/education-center/polar-bear-cams/] * Learn more about the polar regions [https://climatekids.nasa.gov/polar-temperatures/] * Find out more about clouds [https://climatekids.nasa.gov/cloud-formation/] and make a cloud in a jar [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_mJd1d_S2Q] As always, submit burning questions at askdruniverse.wsu.edu [https://askdruniverse.wsu.edu/]. Who knows where your questions will take us next.

Send us a text [https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/1338544/open_sms] What up with the small intestine and the large intestine? Join Cosmo and me—and our friend Franck Carbonero [https://medicine.wsu.edu/directory/wsu-profile/franck.carbonero/], microbiologist at Washington State University—to break down how we break down food. You'll hear: * how the intestines [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pe73u9GWZj4] differ in size and function * all about your gut bacteria [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ybk7E7SLbWw] * the journey food takes through your digestive tract [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UvuBYUbFk0] Resources you can use: * American Museum of Natural History's microbiology resources [https://www.amnh.org/explore/ology/microbiology] * Frontiers for Young Minds' explainer on fermentation [https://kids.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frym.2021.568656] * National Geographic Kids' info on the human digestive system [https://www.natgeokids.com/uk/discover/science/general-science/your-digestive-system/] Sound effects courtesy Zapsplat [https://www.zapsplat.com/] As always, submit burning questions at askdruniverse.wsu.edu [https://askdruniverse.wsu.edu/]. Who knows where your questions will take us next.

Send us a text [https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/1338544/open_sms] Purr-haps you'd like a new way to get your claws on science questions sent in by kids like you. That's litter-ally my favorite thing. Today Cosmo and I tackle a question from William, 7, from the United Kingdom: Why is snot green? You'll hear: * What mucus [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvAsZsJlzL4] is * What protein makes mucus green sometimes * How immune cells trap [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eze6F5eI7Mc] irritants and stuff that can make you sick Resources you can use: * Check out Operation Ouch's Science of Snot [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUkMm_40B6w] * Learn about the nursing career [https://www.pbs.org/video/clinical-nurse-gdcl2q/] As always, submit burning questions at askdruniverse.wsu.edu [https://askdruniverse.wsu.edu/]. Who knows where your questions will take us next.

Send us a text [https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/1338544/open_sms] Purr-haps you'd like a new way to get your claws on science questions sent in by kids like you. That's litter-ally my favorite thing. Today Cosmo and I tackle a question from Hillary's 1st graders in Washington: What makes snow sparkle? You'll hear: * How snowflakes are hexagonal ice crystals [https://www.snowcrystals.com/photos/photos.html] * About white light and rainbow colors [https://www.natgeokids.com/uk/primary-resource/light-and-colour-primary-resource/] * What reflection and refraction [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q73VNpFA-0Q&t=6s] mean Resources you can use: * Check out Von Walden [https://ce.wsu.edu/faculty/walden/]'s research near the North Pole [https://icecapsmelt.org/] and South Pole [https://troll-observing-network.github.io/integrated-cloud-observatory/] * Learn about atmospheric science [https://mynasadata.larc.nasa.gov/stem-career-connections/science-atmospheric-scientist] As always, submit burning questions at askdruniverse.wsu.edu [https://askdruniverse.wsu.edu/]. Who knows where your questions will take us next.