Science Night

Stranded in Space

August 30th, 2024  |  Season 3  |  41 mins 32 secs

bees, boeing, cancer, climate change, iss, lung cancer, nasa, robotics, space, space travel, space x, starliner, synthetic skin

We are back with an episode from the past, that is also relevant in the present, and will remain topical into the future...confused? You'll have to listen to the episode! We're talking about startling synthetic skin, cancer-detecting bees, and a cosmic crisis.

Don't Call It A Comeback: The Season 4 Premier

September 27th, 2023  |  Season 3  |  32 mins 34 secs

biology, engineering, physics, robotics, scicomm, science, soft robotics, space, space travel

Science Night returns with a new season, a new logo, but the same great scicomm!!! This week, we have three stories that don't appear to have an obvious application to our lives, but who knows what the future will bring. We're talking about projects that are created and funded for the sake of discovering something about our world...its science for science's sake. So join us as we talk about soft robots that get even softer as they melt into a puddle of toxic goo, a nano bead that can write on water, and why our squishy human bodies aren't quite ready to explore the stars.

The End...For Now

May 31st, 2023  |  Season 3  |  38 mins 45 secs

ai, alpha fold, artificial intelligence, astrophysics, biochemistry, biomedical engineering, biomedicine, communication, democracy, engineering, neurology, physics, plasma, politics, protein synthesis, robotics, scicomm, science, soft robotics

It's time to say goodbye to season 3, but not before we bring you a little more scicomm. This week we're revisiting our first story from the relaunch era, but this time there's a wrinkle in the AlphaFold. It wouldn't be Science Night without something to make you simultaneously horrified and fascinate, this time it's a soft robot that can wrap your brain in its tentacles. Plasma remains a hot topic, and we couldn't pass up one last opportunity to talk about it with a solar selfie. Finally, we're riding out on a bit of a light-hearted topic...the downfall of democracy.

This may be the end of season 3, but there's still plenty of Science Night coming your way including some fun summer scicomm before the premiere of season 4 in the fall of '23. Make sure you're following us everywhere and subscribe to the show so you don't miss a thing!

Its the End of the World (As We Know It)

February 1st, 2023  |  Season 3  |  36 mins 43 secs

engineering, geology, liquid metal, naturalist, robotics, scicomm, science, soft robotics

This week Kirk Mona from the Strange by Nature podcast joins us to talk about podcasting, science communication, and what it takes to be a modern naturalist. In the news, we're talking about twisted metal, a core issue, and whether or not either of these stories will cause the downfall of civilization.

Open Heart Listening with Dr. Jen Ma

July 6th, 2022  |  Season 3  |  51 mins 40 secs

bioengineering, communication, computing, empathy, engineering, listening, physics, quantum computing, quantum physics, robotics, scicomm, science

Tonight, we welcome back Dr. Jen Ma to talk about her recent event where she brought together people with different viewpoints and have them actually listen to each other. It’s a great conversation about communication, empathy, and re-building our listening skills. We even got Jen to join us in the news segment to talk about synthetic skin and a return to the land of time crystals.

Talking Bodies with Adam Taylor

January 14th, 2022  |  Season 3  |  44 mins 10 secs

alkaptonuria, anatomy, biology, boaty mcboatface, climate change, fish, goldfish, physiology, robotics, scicomm, science, sea level, technology, thwaites glacier

This week Prof. Adam Taylor of Lancaster Univ. is talking to us about his attempts to teach the people of Britain more about their bodies, and his work on a very rare disease. In the news, we’re talking about fish cars and a check-in with our favorite autonomous submarine.

Let's Talk About Stress Baby

December 3rd, 2021  |  Season 3  |  48 mins 50 secs

ai, anthro, anthropology, anxiety, arc reactor, artificial intelligence, bees, bioanthro, biological anthropology, biology, birth, carion, childbirth, dartmouth, entomology, epigenetics, evolution, fusion energy, genetics, harvard, honey, inequality, racism, robot apocalypse, robotics, scavenger, spark, stress, university of vermont, uvm, vulture, vulture bees

STRESS! Everyone experiences it, and most of us aren't the greatest at dealing with it. The question our guest, Dr. Zane Thayer from Dartmouth College, is trying to learn more about stress. Mainly how a history of stress can lead to long-term health effects. You'll also learn a few tips for dealing with stress in a healthy way. The news segment will definitely build those stress levels as we talk about bees that will make you think twice about where your honey comes from and a new biological robot that will probably not herald the end to civilization as we know it.

Fusion: Some Like It Hot

September 10th, 2021  |  Season 3  |  53 mins 32 secs

climate change, comparative anatomy, dog training, engineering, fish, fusion, fusion energy, grad school, green energy, nuclear engineering, pegasus iii, pegasus3, physics, renewable energy, robotics, scicomm, science, soft robotics

Science news has been hot over the last couple of weeks, with announcements of major advances in fusion energy, a green alternative to fossil fuel energy. In this episode we sit down with Dr. Steffi Diem, a plasma physicist from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and director of the Pegasus III a fusion energy and plasma science experiment, to learn about the latest in fusion energy research and how she forged her own path in science. She’s also a dog agility trainer… you don’t want to miss this!