Speaking Science

This week we're continuing our exploration of food and nutrition by talking with Neal Fortin, professor and director of the Institute for Food Laws & Regulations at Michigan State University. We wanted to know about food supplements- what they are, why we add them, and what are the regulations that govern them.

We're back! After taking some time to regroup with all of the changes in our world, we're diving back in to investigate the food we eat. With stay-at-home orders in place and recommendations for social distancing and small groups, many of us have been spending more time in our kitchen. While it is an opportunity to learn to cook more meals at home, it might also be an opportunity for greater snacking. We talked with Deanne Kelleher about diets and how we think about what we eat. We asked her about if diets even work and how we think about healthy eating.

This week is the final episode looking at global diseases. In the fall every year, you probably see signs for flu shots. It's a disease that we deal with every year, but there's still a lot of questions that we had about it. What sickness actually is the flu? What does the flu shot do? How contagious is it? Why do we always get sick every winter? This week we talk with Dr. Mason Meyer, Michigan State's pharmacist, to answer all our questions!

While COVID-19 might be making current headlines, not too long ago, another disease was making the news. African Swine Fever recently broke out (again) in 2019 and was devastating pig populations, especially in China. We talked with Dr. Rachel Rheams from Michigan State's Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory. We learned about sad purple-earred pigs, and (more importantly) what African Swine Fever is, why it is important to learn about, and how it impacts our daily lives.

We actually started planning this series a while ago and couldn't have foreseen how current events have played out. Today's episode is actually the second episode in this series, but we felt that it was important to address the current epidemic. There's a lot of information out there and we wanted to give you an opportunity to hear our conversation with an expert, Dr. Stuart Weston. We ask questions like "What is coronavirus?," "Where did it come from?," "How contagious is it?". We hope this helps you understand what is going on in the world around us and gives you tools to help those around you.

Today we're wrapping up our series looking at different parts of forensic science by investigating forensic anthropology. You might have seen the show "Bones" where Dr. Temperance Brennan uses forensic anthropology to solve crimes with Seeley Booth. We talked with Dr. Todd Fenton to see how similar reality is to fiction and what the work of a forensic anthropologist looks like.

This week we move onto another part of forensic science- chemistry. This discipline looks at most of the non-DNA analysis that goes on at crime scenes. This week we're talking to Dr. Ruth Smith from Michigan State University to learn about what a forensic chemist does, how they identify difference samples, and the research that Dr. Ruth is doing to help make this process even better.

For the next three episodes, we're going to look at what goes into forensic science. Many of us have watched Bones, CSI, or NCIS. The high-tech labs, the lightning-fast diagnostics, and the autopsy pros are what help the police catch the bad guy. But, is this what's it's like in real life? We talked to Ken Jones, Deputy Director of Analytical Science for the Baltimore Police Department, about how DNA plays a role in criminal investigations.

We're back at it this week with another one of our favorite beverages- coffee! We wanted to know how we get the perfect cup, so grab your favorite blend, sit back, and enjoy as we talk to Kelsie Gibbs to find out more.

We grab a drink all the time- water, pop, juice. So, what goes into making them? This week we're starting to explore some of the most popular beverages and the science behind them. We're kicking off by looking at beer with Dr. Jim Bruckner, a microbiologist who works in breweries on quality control and beer science. We got to hear about what goes into brewing beer, what choices you need to make to get to different tastes, and some of the more creative types of beer that use some unique science!

Did you ever read Magic School Bus at the Waterworks? In this episode we got our own tour through the water works and how water is cleaned up from Dr. Dan Zitomar. We talked about how safe water gets to our faucets, how we treat it, and how we manage it. Rachel especially loved this episode!

Last week we talked about how important clean and accessible water is. This week, we talk to an expert who thinks about how do we keep water clean. Dr. Anne Schauer-Gimenez works with Mango Materials to produce materials that are biodegradable. These products come from waste products of cleaning water and, when broken down, help keep the environment more clean that other alternatives. She tells us about her work and what else we can do to help protect our water.

Right now both Rachel and Alyssa live in Michigan, a state surround by thousands of miles of shoreline and four of the five Great Lakes. Our state was also recently affected by the Flint water crisis. Being in an area where water is thought about frequently, we wanted to learn more about how our water gets to us, how its treated, and how we can care for it better. This week we talk to Joan Rose to learn about all the aspects that go into the quality of our water and where it comes from.

We made it one year with Speaking Science! To commemorate, we recorded a special episode with just the two of us talking about our favorite episodes, what we hope for this next year, and what exciting episodes might be coming up.

We're familiar with cars- whether we are driving them, riding them, or dodging them in the crosswalks. But what happens when you take the driver out of the car? This week we got to take a field trip to May Mobility in Grand Rapids, MI to learn about self-driving cars. We wanted to know how they work, how safe they are, and why they're so important.

Video games are a part of daily life for many of us. From Mario Kart with friends to Legend of Zelda to old-school Snake. We've been innovating and challenging ourselves with different scenarios, worlds, and game type over the years. So what's the next big leap in gaming? We talked with Dr. Arend Hintz from MSU who works on applying artificial intelligence to video games. He explains how the artificial intelligence he works on is different from what we discussed last week, some of the fun applications of it, and some of the questions we need to bear in mind as we move into the future. Sci-fi fans- you'll love this week's episode!

Many of us have heard of Tony Stark's JARVIS in the Iron Man movies or have used Siri or Alexa to look up information. But what else can we use artificial intelligence for? Over the next three episodes, we're taking a look at how we interact with A.I. on a daily basis and how that might be changing in the future. We're starting off by looking at its use in medicine. David Hollinger, from MSU, explained how A.I. can be used to make more accurate diagnosis, make doctors more available for time with patients, and help make bedside care more efficient.

For one week we're taking a break from posting our usual series to focus on a topic that's made headlines in the news over the last few years. From battles in the court of law to "gene-edited babies", CRISPR is an emerging technology that has made a lot of waves. We wanted to talk to an expert, Dr. Doxen, and we asked him about what CRISPR is, what ethics we have to consider when using this technology, and how can we use this in a safe way in the future.

This week we finish our Faking It series. To conclude, we talked with Robert Freeborn, a graduate student at Michigan State University in the Rockwell Lab. He's looked at how the presence of a food additive effects the efficacy of flu vaccines. While we were talking about his research, we also asked a few other questions about food additives: why are they there, are they all bad, and what can we do to learn more?

We're returning to a series that we began a few weeks ago: Faking It. We're looking at how artificial colors, flavors, and additives affect our foods. This week we're talking to Dr. Gary Reineccius about the artificial flavors that get added to our food. How do we discover artificial flavors? Why do we add them? Are they safe? We talked about all these and more and are excited to share our conversation with you!

This week we're wrapping up our series that have looked at the people and groups who are working hard to protect our public health- from newborn screening to blood banks to microbio labs. We're excited to talk with Dr. Brandy Gunsolus- the first doctor of clinical laboratory science in the U.S. She's blazed a trail that connects the lab teams to the doctors to make sure diagnoses are given efficiently and correctly. It was great to hear her story and we're excited to share it with you!

We've all seen flyers for blood drives posted at our works, schools or communities. But, why are these events so important and why are there so many of them? This week we talked with Alisa Oslin to find out what goes into collecting, testing, and using donated blood.

In this episode we talked with Dr. Frances Pouch-Downes. Dr. Pouch-Downes has worked in public health here in Michigan and around the world, and we were excited to get her perspective on global public health issues and successes.

We're continuing our series on those who are on the front line of depending our public health. This week we talk to Jason Wholehan who works in the microbiology department of the Michigan Public Health Lab. Rachel loves talked about the microbiome and was particularly excited for this week! Jason told us about how their lab works on identifying bacterial diseases that pose public health challenges.

This week is Medical Laboratory Professionals Week, so we wanted to take a bit of extra time to appreciate those who work on our diagnoses and testing to keep us healthy. They work hard behind the scenes to figure out the puzzles they're presented and we owe much of our medical treatment to them. Thank you for all your work!

April 21-27 is medical laboratory professionals week, so for the next few episodes we're going to be featuring scientists trained in Medical Laboratory Science. Rachel, our co-host also works in this field training undergraduates who are planning to work in the medical lab. This week we spoke with Shawn Moloney who is the Newborn Screening Operations Coordinator at Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. We're talking to her about why newborn screening is so important and what it can tell us.

This week we start a series looking at what products in our food that are usually labeled "artificial", "additive", or "synthetic". We're starting off looking at something that you can find in almost every restaurant, coffee shop, and in most of your cupboards- artificial sweeteners. We talked to Dr. Richard Mattes, a scientist in the Department of Nutrition Science at Purdue University to find out why we use these sweeteners, what they do to our body, and are they hurting us?

A few weeks ago in Michigan, we got hit with a blast of icy weather, called a polar vortex, that shut down almost anything going on for a few days. Our university closed down due to sustained windchills below -20˚F and at times the wind chill got below -30˚F. Even though this weather may be more routine than earthquakes and forest fires, there was still severe damage and health concerns that arose because of the sudden and intense cold. Since this hit a bit closer to home for Rachel and I, we wanted to know what is a polar vortex, what causes it, and can we expect more of this crazy weather in years to come. We talked to Dr. Julie Winkler to find out!

Earthquakes have made recent news in the United States with large earthquakes happening in Alaska. So, this week, we're shaking things up this week and talking with Dr. Shawn Wei and Dr. Jeffery Freymueller about earthquakes. We wanted to know what they are, what causes them, what the consequences of an earthquake are, what does the Richter scale even mean?

Today we kick off our new series on natural disasters- earthquakes, forest fires, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, and other natural forces shape the world around us and impact many lives. In this episode, we talk with Gib King, about why forest fires start, how they are controlled, and what are potential solutions to prevent massive and damaging fires.

This week we finish our human genome series. So far we've discussed how advancing our understanding of our genomic code can provide medical insights and how to protect that personal, sensitive information. This episode, we talked to Dr. Miguel Vilar, Science Manager of National Geographic's Genographic Project, to find out what else can our genome can tell us. In particular, we wanted better understand the story written into our cells that can unfold the history of humanity.

There's enormous potential using our genomes to solve medical problems. However, in order to get to that point, we need to collect our genomic data. There's a lot of opportunity, but with that comes a lot of new challenges. This time we're talking with Dan Lohrmann, an expect in cyber security. We wanted to know how our DNA data is protected, what potential threats there are if people get ahold of this data, and how we can protect and use it appropriately.

We've heard of DNA plenty of times on TV- it's in crime dramas and courtroom scenes, providing (usually) undeniable evidence of who is the guilty party. But, what is our DNA and how did we figure out how to use all the information that's stored there? This week we talk with Dr. Eric Green and Dr. Mark Kiel to learn about how we cracked DNA's code and what we can do with the huge amount of information we have access to- especially in the medical field.

Science and art are often pitted against each other: left-brained or right-brained? Feeling or thinking? Creative or logical? But, is this always the case? We talked to Dr. Megan Halpern from MSU who specializes in studying the "intersection of art and science" and looks at how experts and the public interact. Dr. Halpern tells us about her science theater shows, "human powerpoints," and other ways she has seen art and science support, shape, and enhance each other.

How often do we actually hear about science in the news? Are these stories accurate? And who is telling these stories? Sheril Kirshenbaum talks with us about how science gets from the lab to the newspaper or the TV screen and how, as viewers, we can keep the stories we read in perspective. 

This episode we talked with Sheril Kirshenbaum, the executive director of Science Debate, a non-profit, nonpartisan organization that asks political candidates to think about questions regarding science policy. We asked her about who in government needs science, how to address science issues from both sides of the aisle, who do we listen to to inform our ideas about science policy, and how we can get involved in science policy?

Today we are wrapping up our human and bacteria series by spending the next few minutes when these interactions take a turn for the worse. We know that there are bacteria that can make us very sick and we use anti-biotics to fight these infections. But will these weapons we use always be effective? And how can we better steward them? Turn in to find out these answers and more!

Today we talk to Dr. Robert Britton, a scientist who works at the Baylor College of Medicine. He studies the role of microbes in our health, so we had a few questions to ask him. This week we dive into questions like, What are probiotics?  What do they do? What's the difference between prebiotics and probiotics? And are there supplements we should be taking to encourage our microbial communities?

Everyday we live with a community of bacteria that outnumber the cells in our bodies! In this episode, we're looking at the good, the bad, and the ugly of bacteria. Bacteria holds a pretty steady "it's complicated" relationship with humans and Rachel's going to tell about ways that we live with bacteria in a helpful way (our microbiome) and how we can be hurt by them (pathogens).

In this episode, we're bringing the story full circle by looking at what happens when we have a genetically engineered plant on our plate. We walk through how our bodies digest and interact with things we eat, like proteins and DNA. We also discuss major concerns, like allergies and toxicity.

We're in episode 2 of our first series. In this episode we talked to people at both ends of how a GMO seed gets from development to field- from a scientist at a company that researches how to make improved plants to a farmer's daughter who interacts with genetically engineered plants on a daily basis. This week we listened to their stories to understand how this little (GE) seed gets from idea to market.

"GMO" has become a word that's used all the time. We see "non-GMO" products on boxes in the store and labels above our vegetables and pictures of a mysterious gloved hand poking a needle into a tomato, adding mysterious substances to our food. But do we really understand what this all means, both the term "GMO" itself and what it means for us?

This is our introduction to Speaking Science. We want to tell you about who we are, how this project got started, and what you can expect from us.