Episodes

  • Three Blind Mice

    Three Blind Mice
    Apr 9 2024

    How Mice and CRISPR are Reversing Blindness


    One small step for science, one furry leap for mousekind. Scientists have found a way to reverse a common mutation that causes blindness in both people and mice using gene editing technology.


    References:

    In Mouse Study, Scientists Use Gene Editing to Reverse a Major Cause of Blindness | US News


    Credits:

    Children's Songs by Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians | Internet Archive

    Three Blind Mice - Beidernecke, Bix | Internet Archive
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    7 mins
  • Are You Smarter Than a Chimp?

    Are You Smarter Than a Chimp?
    Mar 5 2024

    How Deleted DNA Reveals the Origins of Humanity


    In 2007, researchers pitted humans against chimpanzees in a memory test competition. Who was the victor of this mental jungle gym? Phoebe Melvin and Dr. Kaylee Byers delve into Yale University research that reveals what DNA humans share with our primate relatives but, more intriguingly, what sets us apart.


    References:

    Mankind’s Missing Puzzle Pieces: The “Deleted” Genes That Made Us Human | Yale University

    Chimps Beat Humans on Memory Tasks | ABC News


    Credits:

    ABC News, Chimps vs Humans | ABC News & laffsteve
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    6 mins
  • Jackalopes, Mythical Critters and the Cure for Cancer

    Jackalopes, Mythical Critters and the Cure for Cancer
    Feb 6 2024

    How an Oddball Bunny Saved Millions of Lives


    Can a make-believe tale have real-life consequences? Perhaps a 1930s legend from a snowy town in Wyoming illustrates signals just how the strange things found in nature can become life-saving treatments.


    References:

    Are jackalopes real? | Live Science

    New Research Shows the HPV Cancer Vaccine Saves Lives | Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center


    Credits:

    The Legend Of Bigfoot | Internet Archive (CC)

    Somewhere In Wyoming 1930 Joe Green Orchestra | Internet Archive (CC)
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    7 mins
  • All the Colours of the Rainbow

    All the Colours of the Rainbow
    Jan 9 2024

    Meet the Magic of Mushrooms on Colour Blindness


    Roughly 300 million people have a colour vision deficiency. But with a few mushrooms and some magic, those who experience colourblindness might be able to see a whole range of colors for the first time.


    References:

    Magic Mushrooms seem to have a strange effect on color blindness | Science Alert

    Ishihara test: Color Blind Test | Colormax

    What is LSD | Science Alert

    Case report: Prolonged amelioration of mild red-green color vision deficiency following psilocybin mushroom use | Drug Science, Policy and Law

    Improved colour blindness symptoms associated with recreational psychedelic use: Results from the Global Drug Survey 2017 | Drug Science, Policy and Law
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    7 mins
  • Reconciling the Truth

    Reconciling the Truth
    Dec 12 2023
    Indigenous Environmental StewardshipDescription:The Indigenous peoples of what’s now known as Western Canada had a relationship of reciprocity with the land. But when explorers from Europe arrived eager to tame the land and absorb its vast natural resources these two world views came to a head. And caught in between an iconic species of the Pacific Northwest—the Gary Oak—has become threatened. So how can we reconcile the harmful assumptions of the past that overlooked other ways of managing ecosystems?Dr. Kaylee Byers and Co-Host Dr. Lyana Patrick, look to the forests, rivers, and oceans of Turtle Island to uncover the various food systems and traditional stewardship practices that existed before colonization. Ethnobotonist, John Bradley Williams shares the traditional use of Garry Oaks and how they became systematically destroyed. Dr. Tabitha Robin from the University of British Columbia shares her experience working with and studying Indigenous Food Sovereignty. Lastly, Canadian Anthropologist and National Geographic explorer Dr. Wade Davis, through insights from his career visiting communities around the world shares how we can dismantle the prevailing biases that continue to threaten the health of our planet.—Highlights:(3:53 - 8:55) An icon on the brink, J.B. Williams shares the origins and challenges of Garry Oak meadows(11:24 - 14:50) Moving forward, Dr. Tabitha Robin shares the overlooked history of Indigenous food sovereignty(18:45 - 23:20) How an academic divide threatens our planet, anthropology lessons from National Geographic's Dr. Wade Davis—Learn-A-Long: https://bit.ly/3GPwxnf—Resources:Indians and Europeans on the Northwest Coast: Historical Context | Center for the Study of Pacific NorthwestThe Strait of Juan de Fuca is mentioned for the first time in April 1596 | History LinkPurchas His Pilgrimes: Contayning a History of the World in Sea Voyages and Lande Travells by Englishmen and others | Center for the Study of Pacific NorthwestThe Garry Oak Learning Meadow | Parks CanadaHarvesting strategies as evidence for 4000 years of camas (Camassia quamash) management in the North American Columbia Plateau | The Royal SocietyConservation status of native tree species in British Columbia | Global Ecology and ConservationSeeing the garden through the trees: The Indigenous forest gardens of coastal B.C. | Canadian GeographicBison Bellows: Indigenous Hunting Practices | National Parks ServiceWeir Fishing | Heritage Lower Saint LawrenceCombining Genomic Insights and Traditional Indigenous Knowledge for the Conservation of Pacific Salmon | Genome British ColumbiaPuyallup Tribe hosts c’abid (camas) harvest at PLU | Pacific Luthern UniversitySaving the planet means listening to Indigenous peoples: Wade Davis | CBCSpatial and temporal assessments of genetic structure in an endangered Garry oak ecosystem on Vancouver Island | Canadian Science Publishing—Credit:Interview with Tibet's 14th Dalai Lama by Robert AF Thurman, Harvard 1981 | Tibet House US Menla Online
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    31 mins
  • Probing Pain

    Probing Pain
    Nov 28 2023

    Challenging our assumptions about pain


    When Jackie Gonzalez was just young, doctors assumed that she was pining for attention when she restlessly tried to rub her feet and describing that she was in constant pain. It wasn’t until she was a teenager that doctors and scientists diagnosed her with Erythromelalgia, also known as ‘Man on Fire Syndrome’. It's a rare condition, and even rarer for people to be born with it, like Jackie was. But what if this uncommon ailment could be cured with the help of an even less common animal?


    Dr. Kaylee Byers sits down with Adele Gonzalvez from the University of Sydney on her work to understand the genetic properties of platypus venom. Researchers indicate that their peculiar toxin could put a halt to chronic pain. Meanwhile, producer Sean Holden, puts on rubber waders and sloshes into the boggy waters of Southern Australia to find the notoriously elusive platypus and its venom.


    —

    Highlights:

    (6:28) A lifetime of pain, Jackie Gonzalez on having Erythromelalgia

    (13:51) A weird and wonderful platypus with Adele Gonzalvez

    (21:30) On the platypus prowl, Josh Griffith and his team search for platypus and their venom


    —

    Learn-A-Long: https://bit.ly/3Nv5X6v


    —

    Resources:

    Next-gen painkillers from nature’s deadliest life forms | The University of Queensland

    Chronic Pain Among Adults — United States, 2019–2021 | MMWR and Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report

    You Won’t Think the Platypus Is So Cute if You Feel the Excruciating Pain of Its Venom | Slate

    The Science of Pain | GI Society

    The mysterious science of pain - Joshua W. Pate | TED-Ed

    Human pain and genetics: some basics | British Journal of Pain

    Genetic contributions to pain: a review of findings in humans | Oral Dis. 2008 Nov;14(8):673-82

    Why Do I Have Pain? | KidsHealth Medical Experts

    Channelopathy-associated congenital insensitivity to pain | Medline Plus

    Erythromelalgia | StatPearls Publishing

    SCN9A gene sodium voltage-gated channel alpha subunit 9 | Medline Plus


    —

    Credit:

    Special thanks to Jackie Gonzalez from the Erythromelalgia Association for providing field recordings of her daily experience living with EM.
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    30 mins
  • The Circadian Rhythm

    The Circadian Rhythm
    Nov 14 2023
    Challenging our assumptions about sleepSleep is essential to our lives, but our perception of how it functions in our non-waking life is not always well understood. So in the mires of our busy daily lives do we overlook sleep by seeing it as a means of refilling our energy for a productive day? By questioning this assumption, one term rolls from out of the haze: The ‘Circadian Rhythm’.Dr. Kaylee Byers speaks with Dr. Hiroki Ueda from the University of Tokyo in the Faculty of Medicine on demystifying the links between our sleep and genomics. Then neuroscientist Dr. Andrew Coogan shares the connection between sleep and ADHD. Finally, we hear from Dr. Ueda and Dr. Hiroshi Ono, from Hitotsubashi University Business School, on how their homeland of Japan is reckoning with an off-balance relationship with sleep and work.—Highlights:(06:37) - Clocks in our bodies, understanding Circadian Rythms(10:17) - Attention Hyperactivity Deficit Disorder and later sleep, a chicken or egg dilemma(15:19) - Challenging overwork in Japan and the importance of sleep—Learn-A-Long: https://bit.ly/47PXwuv—Resources:Molecular Mechanisms of REM Sleep | NeurosciThe ability to dream may be genetic | Canadian Broadcast Corporation (CBC)Next-Generation Mice Genetics for Circadian Studies | NeuromethodsEvolution of temporal order in living organisms | Journal of Circadian RhythmsLearn about the bunker experiment to understand the human biological clock | BritannicaGenetic sleep deprivation: using sleep mutants to study sleep functions | EMBO reportsCircadian rhythms and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: The what, the when and the why | Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol PsychiatryInsomnia: Definition, Prevalence, Etiology, and Consequences | Journal of Clinical Sleep MedicineNo Sleep for Japan? Survey Reveals Half of Population May Have Insomnia | Nippon.comWhy Sleep Matters: Quantifying the Economic Costs of Insufficient Sleep | Rand CorporationJapan has some of the longest working hours in the world. It’s trying to change | CNBCAnnouncement of the establishment of the nonpartisan "Parliamentary League to Promote Initiatives for People's Quality Sleep" | Sleeping Council FederationFounder/Director CTO Yasumi Ueda gave a speech at the inaugural general meeting of the nonpartisan "Parliamentary League to Promote Initiatives for People's Quality Sleep" | ACCELStarsFree-running circadian activity rhythms in free-living beaver (Castor canadensis) | Journal of Comparative PhysiologyCredits:Dr. Rackeb TesfayeCurbing death by overwork | Financial TimesWhy does Japan Work So Hard? | CNBC ExplainsWorked to Death: Japan questions high-pressure corporate culture | France 24 EnglishInside Japan’s growing ‘lonely death’ clean-up service | CNN InternationalHow can governments help stop overwork? | The Question | CBC News: The National
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    28 mins
  • The Dose Makes the Poison

    The Dose Makes the Poison
    Oct 31 2023
    Challenging our assumptions on toxinsWhat’s more terrifying than the true life tales of bloodcurdling and breathstopping toxins? This Hallows' Eve we're taking a page from the history books to make sense of puzzling poisons of our past and present.Dr. Kaylee Byers speaks with Toxicologist Dr. Kimberly Garrett as they connect the dots across the globe of some of the most notorious and subtle poisonings in history. From investigating the final words of a disgraced emperor, tragic fates of conquesting explorers, wisdom from whimsical alchemists and desperate Victorian candy maker ploys, they demystify the distinction between necessary warning labels to lifelines concocted with a drop of poison.In these ghoulish stories, a healthy dose of information could be a lifesaver.—Highlights:(08:46) - Origins of 'the dose Makes the poison', a sometimes right alchemist(20:30) - A deathly candy maker on hallows eve(23:28) - Toxins in the water, understanding PFAS—Learn-A-Long:  https://bit.ly/47ub5Qo—Resources:Was Napolean Poisoned? | American Museum of Natural HistoryA Visit to Longwood | Napoleon.orgPick Your Poison - 12 Toxic Tales | National GeographicParalytic Shellfish Poisoning Safe Shellfish | Fisheries Research Board of CanadaUnprecedented toxic algal blooms impact on Tasmanian seafood industryParacelsus, the Alchemist Who Wed Medicine to Magic | Science History Institute“The Dose Makes the Poison” | Chemical Safety FactsEveryday Toxicology – The dose makes the poison & the cure | Michigan State UniversityBox Jellyfish | National GeographicPhylogenetic and Selection Analysis of an Expanded Family of Putatively Pore-Forming Jellyfish Toxins (Cnidaria: Medusozoa) | Genome Biology and EvolutionFollowing Lewis and Clark’s Trail of Mercurial Laxatives | DiscoverHow Tainted Treats Led to a Halloween Tragedy in 1858 | Atlas ObscuraMulti- and Transgenerational Effects of Developmental Exposure to Environmental Levels of PFAS and PFAS Mixture in Zebrafish (Danio rerio) | ToxicsPFAS Resources | PFAS ExchangePFAS Free Producsts| PFAS CentralThe US National Institutes of Health's searchable chemical database | PubChemImproving governance of “forever chemicals” in the US and beyond | One EarthArsenic Exposure and Toxicology: A Historical Perspective | Society of ToxicologyThe gastric disease of Napoleon Bonaparte: brief report for the bicentenary of Napoleon’s death on St. Helena in 1821 | Virchows Archiv—Credit:Bonapartes Retreat - Kay Starr - Pee Wee King | CapitolRule, Britannia - Royal Choral Society - The Philharmonia Orchestra | His Master’s Voice
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    35 mins