Sleeping without a brain, tracking alien invasions, and algorithms of oppression

Simple animals like jellyfish and hydra, even roundworms, sleep. Without brains. Why do they sleep? How can we tell a jellyfish is sleeping? Staff Writer Liz Pennisi joins host Sarah Crespi to talk about what can be learned about sleep from these simple sleepers. The feature is part of a special issue on sleep this week in Science.
Next is a look at centuries of alien invasions—or rather, invasive insects moving from place to place as humans trade across continents. Sarah talks with Matthew MacLachlan, a research economist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service, about his Science Advances paper on why insect invasions don’t always increase when trade does.
Finally, a book on racism and the search algorithms. Books host Angela Saini for our series of interviews on race and science talks with Safiya Umoja Noble, a professor in the African American Studies and Information Studies departments at the University of California, Los Angeles, about her book: Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism. 
This week’s episode was produced with help from Podigy.
[Image:  marcouliana/iStock; Music: Jeffrey Cook]
[Alt text: brown marmorated stink bug pattern]
Authors: Sarah Crespi; Liz Pennisi, Angela SainiSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Source: Science Magazine Podcast - October 28, 2021 Category: Science Authors: Science Magazine Source Type: podcasts