Nice to Know - Conversations with Everyday Scientists

Turns out, pigeons are way more interesting than your average street critter. Their ability to navigate has been known and used by people for centuries, but we still don't know how they are able to sense the earth's magnetic fields.Greg Nordmann (@GregNordmann) is a PhD student in the lab of David Keays (@keays_lab) at the IMP in Vienna (@IMPvienna), where he is trying to answer this question, by studying the pigeon brain's response to magnetic stimuli.Check out keayslab.org for more about Greg's (and the rest of the Keays lab's) research!For all the latest updates about Nice to Know, follow me on Twitter @RobynSciences or Instagram @nicetoknowapodcast. Got a question? Email me at nicetoknowthepodcast@gmail.com.

Dr Nadine Gloss is an anthropologist/sociologist studying the sociology of sex work and sex work activism. Despite sex work being the "oldest job", there are many barriers in place that treat sex workers unfairly compared to other industries. Nadine shares her experience in observing and participating in sex work activism, debunking common tales about who does sex work and why, and why, at the end of the day, they deserve the same working rights as any other job.For more information about sex work activism, see the Network of Sex Work Projects: https://www.nswp.org/For more information on Nice To Know, follow me on Twitter @RobynSciences, Instagram @niceotknowapodcast or email me at nicetoknowthepodcast@gmail.com

Dr Iromi Wanigasuriya is a molecular biologist studying epigenetics, or how our genes are regulated, in embryos. We talk about sex differences in gene expression, but also in medical research and for being an international student.For more info on the gender gap in medical studies, I encourage you to check out this article, by Kelly Burrowes in The Conversation > https://theconversation.com/gender-bias-in-medicine-and-medical-research-is-still-putting-womens-health-at-risk-156495

Prof Sommer Gentry is a mathematician working in the area of Operations Research, and her husband, Prof Dorry Segev, is a transplant surgeon and epidemiologist. Together, they use their research to improve organ transplant policies in the USA, with the goal of improving the health and equity of healthcare for people requiring organ transplantation.Sommer (@shelikesmath) is a Professor of Mathematics at the US Naval Academy, and Dorry (@Dorry_Segev) is Professor of Surgery and Associate Vice Chair for Research at John Hopkins Medicine. If you liked this episode, you'll love their YouTube Documentary, 'The Right Match' > check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttMQECKQ3DQ&t=75sFor more information about Nice to Know, follow me on Twitter @RobynSciences, instagram @nicetoknowapodcast or email nicetoknowthepodcast@gmail.com

A brief monologue / verbal essay on some interesting things I learned while reading about the evolution of human ageing.See https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00239-019-09896-2For more information about Nice to Know, follow me on Twitter @RobynSciences, instagram @nicetoknowapodcast or email nicetoknowthepodcast@gmail.com

Michael Borg (@dr_borg) is a developmental biologist and expert in the molecular workings of plant reproduction. In this episode, he tells me how different organisms reset their DNA in order to start again with the next generation. We also talk more broadly about why we should care about plants and study biology in general. For more information about Nice to Know, follow me on Twitter @RobynSciences or Instagram @nicetoknowapodcast. You can also get in touch via nicetoknowthepodcast@gmail.com

Dan Quintana (@dsquintana) combines biology, neuroscience and endocrinology (the study of hormones) to study how the so-called "cuddle hormone" oxytocin influences behaviour. Turns out, it's more than just cuddling!!Dan is also co-host of the podcast Everything Hertz: https://everythinghertz.com/aboutYou can also check out his blog (https://www.dsquintana.blog/) and his free book on how to Twitter for scientists: https://t4scientists.com/For more information on future episodes of Nice to Know, follow me on Twitter @RobynSciences or Instagram @nicetoknowapodcast

A selection of my favourite Nice to Know moments from Season 1, covering episodes 10 - 18.Timestamps:01:26 Ep. 10: Proteins & PhD Life with Dr Rhiannon Morris02:51 Ep.11: Cancer, COVID, and Childcare with Dr Margs Brennan04:34 Ep. 12: Doing Tai Chi with Drones with Design Researcher Joseph La Delfa06:35 Ep. 13: Negative Results to Positive Interactions with Dr Bernhard Hochreiter07:48 Ep. 14: TEAbacco, and use of other illicit drugs, with Dr Cheneal Puljevic09:16 Ep. 15: Ancient Mesopotam-a-what? with Céline Debourse11:09 Ep. 17: 40g of Fibre with Hamdi Jama13:10 Xmas Special 2020: Studying Climate Change at the North Pole with Bruce VaughnSeason 2 starts soon! For more information on Nice to Know, follow me on Twitter @RobynSciences or Instagram @nicetoknowapodcast. You can also email me at nicetoknowthepodcast@gmail.com

A selection of my favourite Nice to Know moments from Season 1, covering episodes 1 - 9.Timestamps:01:33: Ep. 1: Fat, immunity, and winning the Nobel Prize with Dr Hatoon Baazim03:45: Ep. 2: From cocktails to chemistry with Giovanni Di Mauro05:09: Ep. 3: Empathising with neuropsychologist Kate Bray06:10: Ep. 4: Bone-eating cells and Blue Monday with Dr Julia Brunner07:57: Ep. 5: 23 and me and Dr André Rendeiro09:41: Ep. 6: Squids dealing with climate change with Dr Casey Zakroff11:43: Ep. 7: Seeing the light - nanophotonics & social change with Dr Idris Ajia13:32: Ep. 8: Into the Unknown Gut Stuff with Dr Amy Shepherd15:10: Ep. 9: Philosophy? Technology? Quantum Physics with Philip TarantoEpisodes 10-17 coming next week, followed by Season 2!For more information on Nice to Know, follow me on Twitter @RobynSciences or Instagram @nicetoknowapodcast. You can also email me at nicetoknowthepodcast@gmail.com

Climate change - we all know that it's happening, but how do we actually know this scientifically? Bruce Vaughn studies glaciers up at the North Pole, looking at ice cores to study how our climate has changed over the Earth's history. We talk about how this is done, and also how we are now entering uncharted territory of atmospheric CO2, warming, and what we as a species can do about it. Bruce Vaughn runs the stable isotope lab at the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR) at the University of Colorado. Find out more about climate change and what you can do as an individual via the Arctic Arts Project: https://www.arcticartsproject.com/about/

Hamdi Jama (@HamdiAJama) is here to tell you why you should be eating 40g* of fibre a day!! Hamdi is a PhD student in the Marques Lab (@FZMarques), a lab specializing in hypertension research. How does eating fibre relate to blood pressure?? Listen to find out! *subsequent to recording, Hamdi informed me it should have been 30g. But since most people only get 15g, the message is still the sameFor more information on Nice To Know, follow me on Twitter @RobynSciences or email nicetoknowthepodcast@gmail.comThis is the last episode of Season 1 - stay tuned for more in January 2021!This series was made with the support of the Marie Curie Alumni Association.

This year's Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna for their major discovery of CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing technology. Listen to find out how they discovered it, how this technology works, and the huge potential it has for the future!!This series was made with the support of the Marie Curie Alumni Association.

Céline Debourse is an Assyriologist - which means she's an expert on Ancient Mesopotamia! What happened in this ancient place and time, and what can it tell us about humanity today? If you want to find out more about Ancient Mesopotamia, check out Céline's fantastic blog: https://tuppublog.wordpress.com/For more information on Nice To Know, follow me on Twitter @RobynSciences or email me at nicetoknowthepodcast@gmail.comThis series was made with the support of the Marie Curie Alumni Association.

Dr Cheneal Puljevic (@ChenealPuljevic) is a public health researcher at the University of Queensland, in Brisbane Australia, studying substance use and mental health amongst disadvantaged populations, such as people who have been to prison.We talk about why people smoke cigarettes, the crafty ways in which prisoners managed to turn nicotine patches into smokable cigarettes, and the decriminalization of other substances.For more information on Nice To Know, follow me on Twitter @RobynSciences or email me at nicetoknowthepodcast@gmail.com This series was made with the support of the Marie Curie Alumni Association.

Dr Bernhard Hochreiter combines biology and physics to study how the proteins in our cells behave and interact with each other. In this episode, we talk about what it's like to be straddling multiple disciplines, and discuss the issue of how negative results are rarely published.Bernhard recently completed his PhD in the lab of Johannes Schmid, at the Institute of Vascular Biology and Thrombosis Research, which is part of the Medical University of Vienna (@MedUni_Wien).For more information about Nice To Know, follow me on Twitter @RobynSciences or email nicetoknowthepodcast@gmail.com. I'm always on the lookout for new scientists to talk to! This series was made with the support of the Marie Curie Alumni Association.

Joseph La Delfa is an industrial designer doing his PhD in design research, where he has developed a drone that responds to bodily movements, to be used as a meditation tool for the practice of Tai Chi. Although he's not a scientist, I find out what design research is, and the similarities and differences to scientific research.See for yourself what DroneChi looks like here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMjaTtLwhwY&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR2ndjBNtADervJkcDJR9TKMo71e7wkx8a0qpYaO1iIgnE1e6T9186XXXu8Connect with Joe: https://www.cafeciaojoe.com/For more info about Nice to Know, follow me on Twitter @RobynSciences or you can email nicetoknowthepodcast@gmail.comThis series was made with the support of the Marie Curie Alumni Association.

Dr Margs Brennan is a cancer researcher, studying how blood cancers develop and how cells avoid dying. She's also currently living in Melbourne during the second COVID-caused lockdown, balancing research and care for an 8 month old baby. Margs and I did our PhD in the same lab (the Herold lab at the Walter & Eliza Hall Institute. You can find out more about that here: https://www.wehi.edu.au/people/marco-herold/322/dr-marco-herold-lab-team or via Twitter @WEHI_research @MarcoHerold_JFor more information about Nice to Know, follow me on Twitter @RobynSciences or email nicetoknowthepodcast@gmail.comThis series was made with the support of the Marie Curie Alumni Association.

The now Dr Rhiannon Morris (@Scientist_Rhi) is a biochemist, using "structural biology" to search for new cures for blood cancers. Rhiannon explains what structural biology is, and we talk about what she's learned during her PhD beyond the proteins.Rhiannon did her PhD in the Babon lab at the Walter & Eliza Hall Institute (@WEHI_research), but she's also a science communicator herself! Check out her blog here: www.rhiannonmorris.net.If you want to know more about Nice To Know, follow me on Twitter @RobynSciences or email nicetoknowthepodcast@gmail.comThis series was made with the support of the Marie Curie Alumni Association.

Quantum Physics - sounds like it's straight out of a sci-fi movie, right? And, honestly... maybe it is! Or maybe it isn't... or maybe it's both! Philip Taranto (@tarantophilip) explains to me what this weird word "Quantum" actually means, how quantum physics and philosophical questions overlap, and how exciting new technologies are being developed based on this physical theory.Phil is a PhD student in the group of Marcus Huber at the Institute of Quantum Optics and Quantum Information (IQOQI) in Vienna. For more information about Nice to Know, follow me on Twitter @RobynSciences or email nicetoknowthepodcast@gmail.com.This series was made with the support of the Marie Curie Alumni Association.

Dr Amy Shepherd (@amylasenz) is a triple threat - her background in neuroscience, immunology, and working with the gut is being combined for her postdoc to learn about the enteric nervous system, or the brain in your gut (into the unknoooown!!!).Amy did her PhD at the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health (@TheFlorey) and is now working in the Rao lab at Boston Children's Hospital (@BostonChildrens).For more information about Nice to Know, follow me on Twitter @RobynSciences or email nicetoknowthepodcast@gmail.com.This series was made with the support of the Marie Curie Alumni Association.

Dr Idris Ajia is a postdoctoral research fellow in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Southampton. He works on nanophotonics and metamaterials or, in my words, laser beams and new materials that can do cool things in response to the laser's light. Idris is also from Nigeria, and so is one of a regrettably small number of black scientists in academia. We talk about his experience as a minority and the issues of diversity and representation in academia.For more information about Nice to Know, follow me on Twitter @RobynSciences or email me at nicetoknowthepodcast@gmail.com. New episodes will be released every second Tuesday!For more information on Idris' research, check him out here: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Idris_Ajia This series was made with the support of the Marie Curie Alumni Association.

Dr Casey Zakroff (@CaseyZakroff) is a marine biologist with a love for cephalopods - otherwise known as squids and other weird and wonderful ocean-dwelling creatures. In this episode, we talk about his research on squids facing the challenges of climate change, and also the challenges of science communication. Check out video footage of the adorable squids he worked with here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCOY1qnkNLcCasey did his PhD in the Mooney lab at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute (https://www.whoi.edu/profile/amooney/) and is now in between jobs, but in the meantime is producing a great podcast where comedy improv meets science, called Thunk Tink (give it a listen here: https://curiopoda.com/), as well as working on a graphic novel.For more info on Nice to Know, follow me on Twitter @RobynSciences or email nicetoknowthepodcast@gmail.com. This series was made with the support of the Marie Curie Alumni Association.

Dr André Rendeiro (@afrendeiro) is a computational biologist - using the power of statistics to answer questions about the genetics of human disease, and how different people respond to disease treatments. As well as talking about his own research, we also talk about 23 and Me, and his take on analysing your own genetic information.At the time of recording, André had just completed his PhD in the Bock lab at the Centre for Molecular Medicine (CeMM) in Vienna, Austria, and he is now a postdoctoral researcher in the Elemento lab (@ElementoLab) at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York.For more info on Nice to Know, follow me on Twitter @RobynSciences or email nicetoknowthepodcast@gmail.comThis series was made with the support of the Marie Curie Alumni Association.

Dr Julia Brunner (@jules_stef) is an immunologist and an expert in these special immune cells called macrophages, whose main job is to eat things (what a dream!). Osteoclasts are a special kind of macrophage that eat your bones (Whaaaat??!! Don't worry, it's totally fine). Julia tells us what she's discovered about these weird and wonderful cells. Also, we digress into a big chat about trying to stay happy as a scientist, despite the blues that come with trying to get your scientific work published. Julia is currently a member of the Schabbauer lab (@SchabbauerL), which is part of the Medical University of Vienna (@MedUni_Wien).For more info on Nice to Know, follow me on Twitter @RobynSciences or email nicetoknowthepodcast@gmail.comThis series was made with the support of the Marie Curie Alumni Association.

Kate Bray (@kbkatebray) is a neuropsychologist in training and PhD student - but don't feel sorry for her because she studies empathy!! Specifically, she studies whether your ability to empathise as a child could influence your mental health as a teenager. Also, her lab is currently also running a study on families and children and how they are affected by the COVID-19 crisis - please participate if you can here: https://melbourneuni.au1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_1KXvyPE0OT7WpCdKate is part of the Social Affective Neurodevelopment (SAND) research stream at the Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre (part of the University of Melbourne).For more info on Nice to Know, follow me on Twitter @RobynSciences or email nicetoknowthepodcast@gmail.comThis series was made with the support of the Marie Curie Alumni Association.

Giovanni Di Mauro (@Giovannidm91) is an organic chemist, but would you believe that he went from being an acrobatic bartender to now making molecules in the lab that could end up being new medicines!? In a nutshell, Giovanni is basically a wizard and I'm definitely booking in a happy hour with him soon.Giovanni is currently doing his PhD in the Maulide Lab (@maulidelab), which is part of the Centre for Molecular Medicine (CeMM) in Vienna, Austria. For more info on Nice to Know, follow me on Twitter @RobynSciences or email nicetoknowthepodcast@gmail.comThis series was made with the support of the Marie Curie Alumni Association.

Dr Hatoon Baazim (@Hatoon_Bkeerah) tells us about her PhD research into viral infection (sorry, not COVID-19) and immunometabolism. Favourite thing that I got to know in this episode: fat is so much more than just cushioning. Hatoon recently completed her PhD in the lab of Andreas Bergthaler at the Center for Molecular Medicine (CeMM), in Vienna, Austria. She's also a hella talented artist - follow her on Twitter @Hatoon_Bkeerah or on Instagram @Hatoon_art.photography to see more!For more info on Nice to Know, follow me on Twitter @RobynSciences or email nicetoknowthepodcast@gmail.comThis series was made with the support of the Marie Curie Alumni Association.

So what is this podcast?? Nice to Know is the podcast where I interview everyday scientists and find out about what they're researching and what it's like to be a scientist. I'm a scientist myself, so in this episode you find out what I work on and why I find it interesting! It's a little taster for what's to come in this podcast.For more info on Nice to Know, follow me on Twitter @RobynSciences or email nicetoknowthepodcast@gmail.comThis series was made with the support of the Marie Curie Alumni Association.