Addiction and attachment in monogamous mammals

Part III of our Stanford Special.

Dr. Natalie Nevárez is first generation Mexican, the first in her family to go to college, but only the second to receive a scholarship from Pornhub (yes you read that right), and she’s proud of all of these things! She talked to us about her past and present research looking at how animals form attachments, and the importance of social networks in tackling problems like addiction. Natalie also talked to us about struggling through grad school, getting therapy and her love for community colleges. You can follow her fighting the good fight on twitter.

Season 6ScientistsIncFebruary 22, 2019Stanford universityscience, scicomm, #2scis, biology, podcast, neuroscience, brain, addiction, attachment, monogamy, relationshipsComment

When brain meets machine

Part II of our Stanford Special.

No one wants someone poking around in their head and neither does your brain. This is a puzzle for scientists like Dr. Marc Ferro, who are interested in bioelectronics. He’s trying to develop brain implants to help in conditions like Parkinson’s disease, but how to do that when the brain wants to reject them?

Season 6ScientistsIncFebruary 21, 2019Stanford universityscience, scicomm, #2scis, biology, podcast, neuroscience, brain, electronics, bioelectronicsComment

The protein folding biologist: Marie Kondo of the cell

Part I of our Stanford Special.

Dr. João Rodrigues decided early on that as much as he loved biology, he didn’t want to get his hands too dirty, so now he studies the shapes that proteins make by using computer models. He works with biologists and chemists to look at the way the proteins in our cells go from being like beaded necklaces to more complex structures to help them do what they need to do.

The queen of oxytocin

Oxytocin is often touted as the “love hormone”, but it’s also the focus of neuroscientist Dr. Bianca Jones Marlin. Bianca sat down to tell us about her work on how trauma can be inherited, and how oxytocin helps the brain to adapt to caring for a newborn. Join us to hear about her experiences growing up in a unique family, how they inspired her research career and her own personal love story.

Now she’s a scientist, educator and communicator, and she’s shared her work in many venues, including taste of science in NYC. You can keep up with her appearances on twitter.

Season 6ScientistsIncFebruary 13, 2019Le mondescience, scicomm, podcast, #2scis, epigenetics, oxytocin, love, relationships, trauma, behavior, neuroscienceComment

The storytelling geneticist

Dr. Kat Arney has studied genetics, written many books, recorded podcasts and now is helping other people to tell their stories through her organization First Create the Media. We chatted to her about epigenetics, our personal genomes and sharing that information with others. We talk about genetic manipulation through CRISPR, a subject Kat discussed as part of her tenure with the Naked Scientists. Just listen out for our “Uh oh” moment as we’re talking about it towards the end of this episode!

Season 6ScientistsIncFebruary 6, 2019The Bricksscience, scicomm, podcast, #2scis, genetics, DNA, epigenetics, storytellingComment

Wait wait...Earth isn't doomed!

Howdy friends! We’re back with Season 6 of our podcast, but this episode is a little bit different. taste of science DC partnered with the wonderful Kasha Patel of DC Science Comedy to cover the serious subject of our planetary demise…or not! Join Kasha and her special guests Haywood Turnipseed Jr., Jessie Deichmann, Tom Di Liberto and Julie Speers as they quiz and laugh their way through all manner of questions earthy.

#EarthOptimism

Season 6ScientistsIncJanuary 30, 2019Drafthouse DCscience, scicomm, podcast, climate change, #2scis, #WashingtonDC, DC, comedy, improv, EarthComment