They Blinded Me with Science

Hear UT postdoc Hazel O'Connor talk about her transition from bacterial genetics in Ireland to human molecular biology at UT Austin! After almost 6 years as a postdoc in Austin, she is preparing to leave academic research, so she talks to us about non-academic careers in science (yes, not all scientists are professors!) and talking about where she's off to next!

Mutations in DNA, the genetic blueprints for every living organism, are the basis for evolution and adaptation. However, the vast majority of mutations are harmful, and organisms across the tree of life use error-checking mechanisms to minimize the number of DNA mutations that occur. Unfortunately, errors in transcription, the mechanism used to read the DNA encoded in genes and thereby express them, occur at rates that are thousands of times higher than the DNA mutation rate. This means that the genes that the cell works so hard to preserve from mutations will not be correctly read much of the time. Just how frequent do these transcription errors occur? Chuck Traverse tells us about his work, which uses a recently developed DNA-sequencing technique to measure the error rate of transcription in multiple bacterial species.

From vaccine safety to climate change to GMO foods, scientific "controversies" are becoming more and more prevalent in modern society. Our guest this week, Kolina Koltai, studies how people decide which side they stand on when it comes to these issues, and the factors that can either change or reinforce their positions. In particular, she uses the anti-vaccine movement as a case study in exploring what we know about how people make decisions about these public topics. The explanation that people are "idiots" or "misinformed" is not an effective way of understanding why parents choose to not vaccinate their children, so she's developing and exploring new theories to answer explain the phenomenon of this movement and its continued rise.

Did you know that allthough Saccharomyces cerevisiae (Baker’s yeast) and Homo sapiens (humans, us) are separated by a billion years in evolutionary time, nearly half (~47%) of the essential yeast genes can be substituted for by their corresponding human counterparts and the yeast are just fine?! On this episode, Riddhiman Kannan talks to us about how putting human genes into yeast can be used as a tool to more easily study human evolution and disease, and even help discover new therapies! *NOTE* The recording of the interview comes in a few minutes after we actually started; sorry for the missing time!

What is aging? How old you are, or maybe instead how well you maintain your health? Where does aging occur? In our organs, tissues, or even individual cells? These answers to these seemingly simple questions, are anything but. In this episode, Stephen Jones tells us how his study of individual cells using a "microfluidic" machine allows him to capture about a thousand individual cells at a time and watch them over their entire lives through each (division) replication, conflict, and catastrophe, thereby directly observing the cellular aging process. Using this work has allowed him to also shed light on the processes of cellular quiescence (taking a "break" from division) and silencing (how cells keep some parts of their DNA shut off), so we can understand how these vital cellular functions contribute to the aging process!

While you are proabably familiar with Alzheimer's disease (AD), the microscopic creatures named nematodes/roundworms may be a bit more foreign. Believe it or not, these tiny worms have much more in common with humans than it seems, having already helped us unravel important cellular processes like programmed cell death and RNA interference that occur in humans as well as these worms. Futhermore, they may yet hold the key to unlocking a cure for AD! Listen in to hear Momo Wisath Sae-Lee tell us about how nematodes are helping to answer important questions like what makes certain types of neurons more vulnerable to degredation than others, what genetic risk factors can lead to neural degeneration, and how nematodes can help us screen future drugs to eradticate this debilitating disease.

What are invasive species? How do they get there? Why should we care? What can we do about them? Ashley Green talks us through these questions and more!

This week, Azat Akhmetov tells us how silicon-based data storage may become a thing of the past thanks to a familiar but unlikely new way to store data: in DNA! While current storage methods are limited by natural resources, stability, and physical constraints, DNA serves as a way to surpass these limits and revolutionize the way data is stored and accessed. His research focuses on tackling the challenges left standing to make this intersting idea a reality; tune in to find out more!

Come follow us down the rabbit hole this week! Jason Ikpatt, PhD student in the institute of cellular and molecular biology, discusses monogamy, brains, and epigenetics!

Caleb Swaim talks with us tonight about viruses and the protein ISG15 that is involved in combating viruses! We will also delve into the debate "Are viruses alive?", discuss how ISG15 may be used in the future to manipulate the immune system, and talk about resurrecting ancient viruses!!! Tune in!!!   Warning: Some minor cursing in this episode. 

Primatologist Dr. Rebecca Lewis is an associate professor of Anthropology at The University of Texas at Austin and the director of Ankoatsifaka Research Station in Kirindy Mitea National Park, Madagascar. We discuss her research on the evolution of power in primates, how she became interested in studying Verreaux's sifaka, and her experiences establishing and maintaining a biological field site in Madagascar.

Porcia Vaughn talks about how to get the most out of UT biology library services, where to get free donuts, and best practices for studying, research, and data management. 

Do you know that most of the corn you eat are hybrids? Do you know that Ligers are generally bigger than both tigers and lions? Why? This is because of something called hybrid vigor. Viviana June talks about hybrid vigor and her work studying the circadian rhythm in Arabidopsis plant hybrids. There is also lots of Kale love.    Fact clarification: Arabidopsis species have a genome size of roughly 135 Mbp

Corals! Calcium carbonate! Climate change! Allison Lawman walks the gang through her research on corals as a model for studying global climate changes on this episode.

Erin Giglio talks about epigenetics and the nature vs nurture debate.  Think mutations in the DNA is the only way to pass on genetic changes to your offspring??? Think again! 

Elephant poaching has been ongoing for decades. In 1945, there were over 45 million wild elephant compared with about 450,000 today. Mike Jankowski joined the army in 1992 and was on anti-poaching assignment in 1996. He joined us and talked about the multi-faceted problem of poaching as well as his own stories while involved in anti-poaching efforts.

What is quantum field theory? What is string theory?What is a neutrino? This week Dr. Tom Maineiro will explain all this and more to you, so that you will be ready to impress people at a fancy dinner party. 

Ever wonder how scientists learn about other planets?  Tune in this week as Dr. Krista Soderland, from the Institute of Geophysics here at UT, joins us to talk about her work exploring the solar system.  Krista works specifically with modelling how other nearby planets generate their magnetic fields, which might surprise you with their diversity!  She also shares her experience travelling to Antarctica and how that relates to possibly finding extraterrestrial life on one of Jupiter’s moons, Europa.    

The Daily Texan, the University of Texas’s student daily, hosts a weekly science news column, Science Scene.  With contributors from both graduate and undergraduate over a range of scientific disciplines, Science Scene provides a unique and perspective on science news pertinent to the local community but also the rest of the country.  Robert Starr, Paepin Goff, and Hellen Airhart sit down with us in the booth to talk about the writing process, finding stories, while the Albino Squirel isn’t really albino, and other tidbits of science communication.  

Max Parks joins the weekly Monday night science party to share his experience working at Moon Express, one of many companies around the world competing for the Google Lunar X Prize.  The Lunar X Prize is a 30 million dollar award for the first private company to land a rover on the Moon, have it travel 500 yards, all while live streaming the journey back to viewers on Earth.  Tune in to learn about what the future of space travel will look like, what minerals we will find on the Moon, and the possible future decline of the need of science communicators.  (Hopefully not too soon!)      

‘They Blinded Me with Science’ is joined this evening by Behavioral Ecology doctorial student Tracy Burkhard.  Tracy studies vocal communication in mammals, but her favorite subjects are singing mice.  Tracy’s research has taken her from the laboratories of UT to the mountains of Costa Rica in search of these crooning mammals.  Join us as we discuss how mice not only claim territory but also flirt with their potential mates through song, Tracy describes some of her more interesting mice hunting adventures, and the crew practices singing some of their favorite mouse songs!  

On this episode we're joined by University of Texas at Austin computer science PhD student, Siavash Mirarab, whose research focuses on large-scale phylogenetics. Siavash and his advisor Tandy Warnow developed a new technique for estimating evolutionary relationships ("statistical binning") that enabled an international consortium of researchers to redraw the bird family tree. He talks about this part of his PhD work which was recently published in Science magazine.  Join us to learn about the computational side of biology, where complex models and methodologies are used to understand evolution from Slavish Mirarab. 

Shalene Jha’s research group at UT-Austin conducts research on plant and pollinator landscape ecology, plant and pollinator population genetics and disease ecology, and how land use impacts critical ecological processes for native plants and their pollinators. Postdoctoral researcher Hollis Woodard and PhD students Nate Pope, Sarah Cusser, and Kim Ballare joined us to talk about native bee natural history, the evolution of sociality in bees, pollination ecology, and how agricultural development and urban landscapes affect native bee populations. Tune in to learn about how important and amazing native bees are!    

Rebecca Tarvin’s doctoral research focuses on the evolution of chemical defense and resistance to self-intoxication in poison frogs (Dendrobatidae), which are native to Central and South America. Chemically defended poison frogs sequester distasteful alkaloids from insects in their diet and secrete these chemicals from dermal glands for defense. Dendrobatids are often brightly colored to warn potential predators, and the levels of toxicity vary considerably from one species to the next and from one population to another. Rebecca discusses her work on how the genetic and physiological basis of alkaloid resistance relate to phylogenetic and ecological patterns across Dendrobatidae. Tune in to learn about how poison frogs evolved the ability to resist their own toxins!  

PhD candidate Kristina Serrato from the High Intensity Laser Science Group at UT Austin talks to us about her research on lasers, light, optics, plasma and the associated instruments used to measure these phenomena. She detailed the difference between laser plasma research and how this differs from traditional plasma research used to investigate conditions on stars. Her PhD work focuses on the interaction between lasers that have wavelengths of one micron and their interaction with single objects that are comparable in size to that wavelength. Listen to this episode to gain insight on instrumentation, logistics, and the research output associated with experimental physicist, Kristina Serrato.