Science Magazine Podcast

Using robots to study evolution, the last installment of our series of books on a future to look forward to, and did reintroducing wolves really restore an ecosystem? First up this week, a new study of an iconic ecosystem doesn’t support the “landscape of fear” concept. This is the idea that bringing back apex predators has a huge impact on the behavior of their prey, eventually altering the rest of the ecosystem. Host Sarah Crespi talks with Contributing Correspondent Virginia Morell about the findings.   Next, using bioinspired robotics to explore deep time. Michael Ishida [https://www.michaelishida.com/], a postdoctoral researcher in the Bio-Inspired Robotics Lab at the University of Cambridge, talks about studying key moments in evolutionary history, such as the transition from water to land by creating robotic versions of extinct creatures [https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/scirobotics.adn1125].   Finally in the last in our series of books on an optimistic future, books host Angela Saini talks with Ruha Benjamin [https://www.ruhabenjamin.com/], a professor of African American studies at Princeton University and recently named MacArthur Fellow. The two discuss Benjamin’s latest book, Imagination: A Manifesto [https://bookshop.org/p/books/imagination-a-manifesto-ruha-benjamin/20074537], which explores the part that imagination plays in creating new and radical futures.   This week’s episode was produced with help from Podigy [https://podigy.co/].   About the Science Podcast [https://www.science.org/content/page/about-science-podcast] Episode page: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.zu8ch5j  [https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.zu8ch5j%20] Authors: Sarah Crespi; Angela Saini; Virginia Morell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

First up this week, host Sarah Crespi talks to Jon Chu [https://www.jonathanchu.org/], a presidential young professor in international affairs at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore, about how people around the world define democracy [https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adp1274]. Does democracy mean elections, freedom of the press, social mobility, or something else? Chu’s team found there was common ground across six countries. In many places with backsliding democracies, leaders may be tempted to change the definition of democracy to their own ends—this study suggests the people they rule won’t be fooled.   Next, when staying at home meant choosing between chemistry and basketball, Lena Svanholm sought an opportunity in the U.S. to pursue both. She joins producer Kevin McLean to discuss her next steps in balancing dual careers in science and professional sports.   In a sponsored segment from the Science/AAAS Custom Publishing Office, Erika Berg, director and senior editor of Custom Publishing, interviews Michal Elovitz [https://profiles.mountsinai.org/michal-elovitz] about gaps in women’s health research. This segment is sponsored by the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai [https://icahn.mssm.edu/].   This week’s episode was produced with help from Podigy [https://podigy.co/].   About the Science Podcast [https://www.science.org/content/page/about-science-podcast]   Authors: Sarah Crespi; Kevin McLean; Lena E. H. Svanholm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

First up this week, we celebrate 20 years of graphene [https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.zrygdla]—from discovery, to hype, and now reality as it finally finds its place in technology and science. Science journalist Mark Peplow [https://www.markpeplow.com/] joins host Sarah Crespi to discuss graphene’s bumpy journey.   Next, producer Meagan Cantwell talks with Seth Darling [https://www.anl.gov/profile/seth-b-darling], chief science and technology officer for the Advanced Energy Technologies Directorate at Argonne National Laboratory, about two new ways to harvest lithium from water [https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ads3699]. One approach harnesses sunlight to pull water up through a membrane and collect lithium, whereas the other uses an electrochemical cell to selectively suck lithium up. Finding efficient ways to extract lithium from sources where it’s lower in concentration, such as the ocean, will be crucial as demand increases.   This week’s episode was produced with help from Podigy [https://podigy.co/].   About the Science Podcast [https://www.science.org/content/page/about-science-podcast]   Authors: Sarah Crespi; Meagan Cantwell; Mark Peplow   Episode page: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.zn17zjt [https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.zn17zjt] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

First up this week, online editor David Grimm joins host Sarah Crespi to talk about how cats think about their own bodies [https://www.science.org/content/article/yes-cats-are-liquids-only-one-dimension]. Do cats think of themselves as a liquid, as much the internet appears to believe? New experiments suggest they may—but only in one dimension.   Next, freelance producer Ariana Remmel [https://arianaremmel.com/] is joined by Ted Schultz, a research entomologist at the Smithsonian Institution, to discuss the evolution of ant-fungus farming [https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adn7179]. It turns out, ants and fungus got together when the earth was going through some really tough times around 66 million years ago.   This week’s episode was produced with help from Podigy [https://podigy.co/].   About the Science Podcast [https://www.science.org/content/page/about-science-podcast]   Authors: Sarah Crespi; Ariana Remmel; David Grimm Episode page: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.zlav1o2 [https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.zlav1o2] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

The gene variant APOE4 is finally giving up some of its secrets, how putting dead trees underground could make carbon sequestration cheap and scalable, and the latest in our series of books on an optimistic future   First up this week, Staff Writer and Editor Jocelyn Kaiser joins host Sarah Crespi to discuss APOE4, a gene linked with a higher risk of Alzheimer’s disease. They talk about new research into why APOE4 might be a good target [https://www.science.org/content/article/insights-notorious-alzheimer-s-gene-fuel-hope-staving-dementia] for preventing or treating this dreaded neurodegenerative disease.   Next, Ning Zeng [https://aosc.umd.edu/people/zeng-ning], a professor in the Department of Atmospheric & Oceanic Science and at the Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center at the University of Maryland, joins the show to discuss an unusual approach to carbon sequestration and a very old piece of wood. He talks about how an unearthed 3000-year-old log that has held on to most of its carbon is pretty good proof that we can efficiently put carbon underground at low cost by burying trees [https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adm8133].   Finally, we have the latest in our series of books on a future to look forward to. Books host Angela Saini talks with Peter Coveney [https://www.ucl.ac.uk/chemistry/people/peter-coveney] and Roger Highfield [https://www.rogerhighfield.com/], the two authors of the book Virtual You: How Building Your Digital Twin Will Revolutionize Medicine and Change Your Life [https://bookshop.org/p/books/virtual-you-how-building-your-digital-twin-will-revolutionize-medicine-and-change-your-life-roger-highfield/18564333].   This week’s episode was produced with help from Podigy [https://podigy.co/].   About the Science Podcast [https://www.science.org/content/page/about-science-podcast] Episode page: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.z8oerdq [https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.z8oerdq]   Authors: Sarah Crespi; Jocelyn Kaiser; Angela Saini Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]