Shots of Science Vs

We're hearing that weight loss drugs comes with worrisome loss of muscle. Is that true?? We talk to endocrinologist Dr. Vibha Singhal. Shots of Science Vs will be going on pause, but come find us over at Science Vs - where you can listen to our brand new episodes! Just search for Science Vs in Spotify. See you over there! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today we look at an anti-aging hack that's been buzzing around the internet: the potential powers of young blood. We talk to researcher Dr. Jim White. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

MDMA is a party drug that some say should be seen as a legitimate medicine. But at the same time – there are stories of people taking this drug… and dying. So what's going on here? We talk to former DEA special agent James Hunt and public health researcher Prof. Joseph Palamar. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today on the show –  what can science actually tell us about our personalities? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today on the show we find out – Will your cappuccino leave you needing more and more? How addictive is caffeine? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

There's new research suggesting that this party drug could be a promising treatment for things like PTSD… but some people say MDMA has a dark side… So let's find out – how dangerous is MDMA? We talk to neuroscientist Prof. Harriet de Witt. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

DMT might be the weirdest drug in the already weird world of psychedelics. It's the active ingredient in ayahuasca, but on its own, DMT can give you what's nicknamed “the businessman's trip” — a psychedelic journey that can be done and dusted inside 15 minutes. So what is this drug doing to our brains? And could it help people with depression? We catch up with Dr Graham Campbell, Michelle Baker Jones and Dr David Olson to find out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Personality tests like the MBTI are all over the internet, the workplace, and dating apps — but some say it's all a bunch of baloney. So are any of these personality tests legit? We talk to psychologists Dr. Alexander Swan and Dr. Emorie Beck. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Caffeine is a drug that tons of us take every day. How badly does that cup of coffee affect your sleep? We talk to Prof. Gregory Marcus. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Molly, ecstasy, MDMA: whatever you call it, this drug is blowing up. Some say MDMA can be a legitimate medicine to treat conditions like PTSD. But what's it actually doing inside our brains? We talk to public health researcher Prof. Joseph Palamar and neuroscientist Prof. Harriet de Witt. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We all know gossip can be bad — but some of us still can't seem to get enough of it. So what's happening in our brains when someone spills the tea? We talk to neuroscientist Professor Josep Marco-Pallarés. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today on the show – we're talking about when our eyes see lies – about how when we want to believe something... we can be so easily deceived… And this tale involves a creature who has a tail! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

DMT might be the weirdest drug in the already weird world of psychedelics. It's the active ingredient in ayahuasca, but on its own, DMT can give you what's nicknamed “the businessman's trip” — a psychedelic journey that can be done and dusted inside 15 minutes. So what is this drug doing to our brains? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A terrifying syndrome where everything around you appears in miniature ... Joel tells a story about when you really can't believe your own eyes, recorded live at the Beaker Street Festival in Tasmania. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Caffeine is a drug that tons of us take every day. How does it work? What's it actually doing inside our brains and bodies? We talk to Dr. Astrid Nehlig. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Molly, ecstasy, MDMA: whatever you call it, this drug is blowing up. Some say MDMA can be a legitimate medicine to treat conditions like PTSD. But where did it come from? We talk to psychiatrist George Greer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We all know gossip can be bad — but some of us still can't seem to get enough of it. So today we're digging into the science of gossip to answer questions like: who really gossips? And why do we love it so much? We spill the tea with sociologist Dr. Stacy Torres. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The story of a dead man with a bitten penis and perplexing DNA... recorded live at the Beaker Street Festival in Tasmania! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A whistleblower claims that the U.S. government is covering up what it knows about aliens on Earth, and several military pilots recently testified to seeing strange objects in the sky. It kinda feels like the tide is turning on UFOs — even NASA is taking these sightings seriously. So what's going on here? Have aliens visited? And will we ever find alien life somewhere … out there? We speak to astrophysicists Prof. Kevin Knuth and Dr. Sara Webb. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We've been told that foods like butter and bacon are bad for us — because they're packed with saturated fats. And top dogs in nutrition say that a better option is vegetable oil, like canola oil. But there's a trend popping off claiming that these top dogs are barking up the wrong tree. They say that butter is better and that those vegetable oils, aka “seed oils,” are incredibly dangerous. So — who's right? Is canola oil really killing us? Or is butter the bad boy? To find out, we speak to author and physician Dr Cate Shanahan and Dr David Iggman. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The smash hit Netflix documentary “Unknown: Cave of Bones” has kicked off an all-out science brawl. The film makes extraordinary claims about a strange ape-like creature that lived hundreds of thousands of years ago — claims that rewrite what it means to be human. But some scientists are pushing back, saying that at this point, these extraordinary claims aren't backed up by extraordinary evidence. So, what's going on? Is “Cave of Bones” a Cave of Lies? We chat to the man at the center of the controversy, National Geographic Explorer In Residence Lee Berger, as well as a couple of the scientists pushing back against his work: Professor Andy Herries and Associate Professor Jamie Hodgkins. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Andrew Huberman is a skate punk turned neuroscientist, and he hosts one of the most popular podcasts in the U.S.: The Huberman Lab. Today, we talk to him about his unlikely path to becoming a scientist and his fascinating research into regrowing neurons. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Can plunging into an ice bath make us feel happier? We're digging into some of the quirkiest self-care hacks around the internet to find out what the science says — and whether you should add them to your routine. We talk to environmental physiologist Dr. Heather Massey. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Plants aren't just sitting around looking cute; they're doing all sorts of stuff, like defending themselves, and even warning other plants about danger. Today, we're talking all about the weird and wily world of plants with Professor Beronda Montgomery from Michigan State University. She has a new book out called “Lessons From Plants.”  Transcript: https://bit.ly/3kQ2bHg  This episode was produced by Taylor White, with help from Wendy Zukerman, Nick DelRose, Rose Rimler, Meryl Horn and Michelle Dang. Fact checking by Taylor White and Nick DelRose. Mix and sound design by Catherine Anderson and Bumi Hidaka. Music written by Bumi Hidaka and Peter Leonard. Special thanks to the Zukerman family and Joseph Lavelle Wilson. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

More and more people are puffing on vapes — but some governments are making moves to ban them. So how dangerous is vaping, really? To find out what vapes might be doing to our lungs, we talk with tobacco researcher Dr. Michael Chaiton. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The latest hot new trend is: breathing. Yeah, that's right — there are claims that so-called breathwork can cure depression and supercharge your brain. Breathfluencers reckon that we're breathing all wrong but that with the right kind of breathing, you could be living a happier, healthier life. So what's the deal here? To find out, we talk to psychiatrists Professor David Spiegel and Dr. Patricia Gerbarg. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Our mental health has taken a turn for the worse the past couple of years, and we keep hearing that therapy can help— but how does it work? We explore the origins of therapy with psychologist Dr. Jonathan Shedler. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Internet influencers have been pushing “immune boosters” during the pandemic — especially plants like echinacea and elderberry. But can these herbal supplements truly work as a shield against colds and viruses? We speak to immunologist Shiv Pillai. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

All stars are destined to die... but there's a special kind of star that can come back from the dead! We talk to astrophysicist Dr. Moiya McTier about this cosmic phenomenon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Not sleeping enough turning you into a monster? Can taking melatonin help? We speak with circadian scientist Prof. Russell Foster.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For centuries, people have been looking to the stars to tell us all kinds of things — what our future holds, who we should date. So... can astrology help find you true love? We speak to Prof. Dave Henningsen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Is it true that exercise can boost our immune system? We speak to immune aging researcher Niharika Duggal.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today we're going behind the scenes of Christopher Nolan's blockbuster film “Oppenheimer.” Professor David Saltzberg, one of the scientists who consulted on the movie (also “The Big Bang Theory”), joins us to chat about the science behind the movie.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Many bats can live a bizarrely long time, and brush off viruses that kill people. How do they do it and what can we learn from them? Zoology Professor Emma Teeling and bat researcher and clinician Matae Ahn fly through the science.  Find our transcript here: https://bit.ly/ScienceVsBats  This episode was produced by Flora Lichtman with help from Wendy Zukerman, Joel Werner, R.E. Natowicz, and Michelle Dang, Rose Rimler. Editing by Jorge Just, Annette Heist and Blythe Terrell. Fact checking by Carmen Drahl. Mix and sound design by Bumi Hidaka. Music written by Billy Libby, Emma Munger, Darah Hirsch, So Wylie and Bobby Lord. Thanks to everyone we reached out to for this episode including Dr. Vera Gorbunova, Dr. Sharon Swartz, Dr. Gerry Wilkinson, and Dr. Lisa Cooper.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today we're diving into the mysteries of the immortal jellyfish. We speak to Prof. Ferdinando Boero and Prof. Shin Kubota. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Probiotic-crammed foods and pills are marketed as charmers of the human microbiome — and the key to immune, gut and brain health. But can they really boost your mood and help with things like depression? We talk to psychiatry professor Ted Dinan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tons of people struggle to get revved up about sex. It can mess with their relationships and how they feel about themselves. So enter the multimillion-dollar supplement industry with miracle solutions. Even Big Pharma has joined the battle for our libido, with drugs that claim to work wonders. But what if our ideas about sex drive are completely wrong? What if a pill (or testosterone injection) isn't the answer? We dive into the groundbreaking science on libido — and what you can do if you can't get no satisfaction. With sex therapist Professor Heather Goltz and sexual health researcher Professor Caroline Pukall. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Many people point their finger at AirBnB for contributing to the affordable housing crisis. They say that short-term rentals like AirBnB take housing off the market and cause rents and house prices to go up. Is that true? We talk to University of Sydney prof. Nicole Gurran. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Going gluten-free is all the rage — we hear it's the secret hack to weight loss.  Is it true? We talk to nutrition epidemiologist Dr. Natalie Riediger. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We dig into one of the biggest problems that scientists are worried about: The ability of AI to trick us. We talk to Dr. Professor Seth Lazar about the science. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We join forces with Sarah Marshall from You're Wrong About to dive into a question for the ages: Blue balls — are they real? And we've got some BIG blue balls news in this episode! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The dentist tells us to floss, brush, avoid certain food and drinks ... but what actually matters when it comes to having healthy teeth? We talk to epidemiologist and dentist Professor Philippe Hujoel. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices