Beer Science! Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Episode 42 by Ben Paylor (Click here to directly access the MP3)

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With St. Patty’s Day just around the corner, thoughts of beer are on the minds of many. But have you ever wondered about the science behind the bubbly beverage that dates back to ancient Egypt?

Listen to the podcast to learn more…

For more information:

Ambler Lawsuit About Watered-Down Budweiser Goes National

Discovery of beer gene could improve ‘foam character’

Beer’s bitter compounds could help brew new medicines

Ben Paylor is a PhD candidate studying cardiac stem cell biology at the University of British Columbia, a 2011 alumni of the Banff Science Communication program, and a 2012 Action Canada fellow. He strongly believes in the humorous aspects of life and insists they can be found almost everywhere. Follow him on twitter: @benpaylor, his blog or on LinkedIn.

Dancing Birds - Starling Murmurations are an Aerial Ballet

REPLAY Episode 8 - by Scott Unger (Click here to directly access the MP3)

The amazing choreography of thousands and thousands of starlings flying in formation is spectacular to behold.  But even more amazing is how science is trying to explain how these aerial displays are possible.

Check out this video of a Starling Murmuration:

And here’s super cooled water rapidly crystalizing:

Scott Unger is the producer / director of Experimental. He’s also a career science communicator with a background in Microbiology, and spent seven years working in a series of laboratories before moving into science writing. Scott is an alumni of the Banff Science Communications Program. Learn more about Scott from his LinkedIn résumé.

Lab Notes 2 - Six Awesome Science Stories You Gotta Hear

Episode 41 by Scott Unger (Click here to directly access the MP3)

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In this edition of Lab Notes, six wonderful science stories for you: A real, working tractor beam, a dark energy telescope, SUPER-Rat, an Orbital satellite refueling station, two comets to watch out for and a building being 3D printed!

Listen to the Podcast to learn more!

Check out the sources:

1. SUPER-RAT!  Night-vision rat becomes first animal with sixth sense

2. Dark Energy Telescope: Canadian scientists try to shed light on dark energy.

3. Real Life Tractor Beam: Researchers build a working tractor beam, on a very small scale.

4. Satellite Gas Station: Satellite refueling testbed completes demo in orbit

5. Comet Watch 2013: Year of the Comets: 2 Dazzling Comets Heading Our Way

6. 3D Printer … of Buildings: The World’s First 3D-Printed Building Will Arrive In 2014 (And It Looks Awesome)

Scott Unger is the producer / director of Experimental. He’s also a career science communicator with a background in Microbiology, and spent seven years working in a series of laboratories before moving into science writing. Scott is an alumni of the Banff Science Communications Program. Learn more about Scott from his LinkedIn résumé.

Raising the dead – one protein at a time

Episode 40 by Stefanie Vogt (Click here to directly access the MP3)

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Although Ice Age animals like Neanderthals and woolly mammoths are long extinct, their DNA lingers on.  Scientists are now using DNA sequences from these creatures to recreate their proteins, shedding new light on the inner functioning of their bodies.

Listen to the podcast to learn more…

Sources and further reading:

K.L. Campbell and M. Hofreiter. (2012) New life for ancient DNA. Scientific American August 2012: 46-51.

C. Lalueza-Fox et al. (2007) A melanocortin 1 receptor allele suggests varying pigmentation among Neanderthals. Science 318:1453-1455.

K.L. Campbell et al. (2010) Substitutions in woolly mammoth hemoglobin confer biochemical properties adaptive for cold tolerance. Nature Genetics 42:536-540.

Will we ever clone a mammoth? By Ed Yong

Stefanie Vogt is a PhD student studying microbiology at the University of Alberta and an alumna of the 2012 Banff Science Communications Program.  She has shared her love of science with thousands of kids by organizing science competitions, science activities in rural Alberta, and a science-themed Harry Potter Day.  Follow her on Twitter: @StefanieVogt.

The New Tornado Alley

Episode 39 by Mark A. Ferguson (Click here to directly access the MP3)

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The number of tornado sightings on the Canadian prairies in 2012 was the highest it has ever been. For Storm Chasers, this has become a neat opportunity to explore the new Tornado Alley on the Canadian Prairies. But the implications of this drastically changing hydrology go far beyond tornadoes, and some experts are worried the climate is spiraling out of control.

Listen to the podcast to learn more…

Mark A. Ferguson is a science journalist and communications professional currently working at the Canadian Light Source synchrotron in sunny Saskatoon, SK. He is an alumnus of the University of Saskatchewan, the University of King’s College, and the Banff Science Communications Program.

Follow him on Twitter @markaferg

Black Hole Powered Spacecraft

Episode 38 by Scott Unger (Click here to directly access the MP3)

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It might be a better, more easily maintained power source than the science fiction go-to of antimatter for powering warp drives… and scientists at Kansas State University have theorized how mankind could make a black hole. And as we go forward searching for extraterrestrials, perhaps we’ll find them because of the black holes in their spaceships.

Listen to the Podcast to learn more…

Check out my sources:

Black Hole Driven Starships Might Ply the Galaxy

Are Black Hole Starships Possible?

Scott Unger is the producer / director of Experimental. He’s also a career science communicator with a background in Microbiology, and spent seven years working in a series of laboratories before moving into science writing. Scott is an alumni of the Banff Science Communications Program. Learn more about Scott from his LinkedIn résumé.

Get Your Light Right: Set Your Internal Clock to Avoid Health Hazards

Episode 37 by Niki Wilson (Click here to directly access the MP3)

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For most of our evolution as a species, humans wandered the earth in sync with the light/dark cycles created by the sun and the moon. This relationship has shaped the formation of our body chemistry and physical make up. Our bodies adjust to daily and seasonal changes in light through physiological adaptations. Awareness of light (and dark) and the time of day when we are exposed to light (and specific wavelengths of light) can have a dramatic effect on our well being and directly impact our internal clock.

Listen to the Podcast to learn more…

For more information:

Holzman, David. C. What’s in a Color? The Unique Human Health Effects of Blue Light. Environ Health Perspect. 2010. January; 118(1): A22–A27.

Lam RW, Levitt AJ,  Levitan RD et al. The Can-SAD study: a randomized controlled trial of the effectiveness of light therapy and fluoxetine in patients with winter seasonal affective disorder. 2006. Am J Psychiatry, 163, 805-812.

Reeves, Gloria M. MD  et al. Improvement in Depression Scores After 1 Hour of Light Therapy Treatment in Patients With Seasonal Affective Disorder. Journal of Nervous & Mental Disease: January 2012 - Volume 200 - Issue 1 - p 51. 

Partonen, T. (ed) and S.R. Pandi-perumal (ed). Seasonal Affective Disorder: Practice and Research. Second Edition. 2010. Oxford University Press. 352 pp.

Niki Wilson is a science writer living in Jasper. She hails from an environmental science and biology background, but traded the field for the computer screen. She writes a regular column, On Science, for the Jasper Fitzhugh, and podcasts for Parks Canada and Experimental. She has freelanced for the Canadian Science Media Center, and is an affiliate of the Banff Centre Science Communications Program. See more of her writing at www.nikiwilson.com.

Does this building make me look green?

Episode 36 by Lisa Willemse (Click here to directly access the MP3)

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Find something warm to hold on to before you listen to this. 

If you’re scratching your head in confusion, research has an answer. Embodied cognition is the term generally used to describe the impact your immediate environment has on your choices and perceptions, from how you perceive strangers and events to where you decide to throw your trash. Integrated into design, it might even help us adopt better behaviours.

Listen to the podcast to learn more…

For more information:

Williams LE and Bargh JA (2008) Experiencing Physical Warmth Promotes Interpersonal WarmthScience 322(5901):606-7.

 Wu DW, DiGiacomo A, and Kingstone A. (2013) A Sustainable Building Promotes Pro-Environmental Behavior: An Observational Study on Food Disposal. PLoS One 8(1): e53856. 

 Eskine KJ, Kacinik NA, and Webster GD. (2012) The bitter truth about morality: virtue, not vice, makes a bland beverage taste nice. PLoS One 7 (7): e41159.

Lisa Willemse is a science communicator with an interest in the science found in our everyday lives. She has worked as a journalist, photographer and was once encouraged to take a job in sales (she lasted one day). She is an alumni of the Banff Science Communications Program and currently works for the Stem Cell Network in Ottawa.

Skydiving Ants

REPLAY Episode 7 - by Lesley Evans Ogden (Click here to directly access the MP3)

Ants have recently been added to the list of organisms known to be able to steer while skydiving, without using wings, webs, or parachutes. They just use their limbs and body to direct their fall. Find out how ants fall from the tree tops with style.

More information about Directed Aerial Descent in insects:

Click here to see videos of skydiving ants.

Yanoviak, S.P., Y. Munk, and R. Dudley. 2011. Evolution and Ecology of Directed Aerial Descent in Arboreal Ants. Integr. Comp. Biol. pp 1-13 doi: 10.1093/icb/icr006

Yanoviak, S.P., M. Kaspari, and R. Dudley. 2009. Gliding hexapods and the origins of insect aerial behavior. Biol. Lett. 5:510–2.

Yanoviak, S.P., Y. Munk, M. Kaspari, and R. Dudley. 2010. Aerial manoeuverability in wingless gliding ants (Cephalotes atra- tus). Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B. 277:2199–204.

Dr. Steven Yanoviak’s research focuses on tropical arthropods, including gliding ants.

Lesley Evans Ogden, PhD is a freelance science journalist based in Vancouver, BC. Trained as a wildlife ecologist researching the ecology and conservation of migratory birds, she now writes about animal behaviour, ecology, wildlife conservation, green innovation, sustainability, health and fitness. Lesley is an alumna of the 2011 Banff Science Communications Program. More of her writing can be found at lesleyevansogden.com. Follow her on Twitter at @ljevanso.

A Particle Accelerator for Peace in the Middle East

Episode 35 by Mark A. Ferguson (Click here to directly access the MP3)

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In one of the world’s most volatile regions, an ambitious science project - a particle accelerator synchrotron - could help bring diplomacy, even peace, to the Middle East.

Listen to the Podcast to learn more…

Check these links out for more info:

The Sesame website

BBC: Inside the world’s most ‘impossible’ science project

Mark A. Ferguson is a science journalist and communications professional currently working at the Canadian Light Source synchrotron in sunny Saskatoon, SK. He is an alumnus of the University of Saskatchewan, the University of King’s College, and the Banff Science Communications Program.

Follow him on Twitter @markaferg