Stanford grad students tell stories from the world of biology, highlighting the scientific method and the major discoveries that made the field what it is today.
Ray and Nikki talk about Operation Sea-Spray, a 1950's navy experiment that set out to probe the potential spread of a bacterial agent of bioterrorism - all using the strange pink slime you find in your tub.
In the second episode, Ray Futia, Francis Aguisanda, and Paul bump talk about the development of Gleevec: a successful, effective cancer drug born out of decades of basic scientific research and global collaboration.
Michelle Pang and Nikki Teran take a look at the world of optogenetics, where light is used to activate and manipulate neurons. We talk about how this works, what it has to do with a tiny green algae, and the crazy things people can do with it. You can read the source material here for more on optogenetics: https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-neuro-061010-113817 https://doi.org/10.3410/B3-11 https://doi.org/10.1038/nn.4091 -- Music by Ryan Little, Nctrnm, and Podington Bear.