The hunt for a quantum phantom, and making bitcoin legal tender
Seeking the Majorana fermion particle, and a look at El Salvador’s adoption of cryptocurrency First up on the show this week, freelance science journalist Zack Savitsky and host Sarah Crespi discuss the hunt for the elusive Majorana fermion particle, and why so many think it might be the best bet for a functional quantum computer. We also hear the mysterious tale of the disappearance of the particle’s namesake, Italian physicist Ettore Majorana. Next in the episode, what happens when you make a cryptocurrency legal tender? Diana Van Patten, professor of economics in the Yale University School of Management, discusses...
Source: Science Magazine Podcast - December 22, 2023 Category: Science Authors: Science Magazine Source Type: podcasts
Kevin Mitchell argues for FREE WILL in BS 213
Kevin mitchell (click to play audio, r click to download mp3)
In the this episode of Brain Science we talk with neuroscientist Kevin Mitchell about his new book Free Agents: How Evolution Gave Us Free Will. While many neuroscientists and philosophers argue that free will is an illusion, Mitchell argues that the ability to make meaningful choices is part of our evolutionary heritage. He also addresses the important issue of determinism, siding with those physicists who argue that the fundamental nature of our universe is NOT deterministic. These issues are crucial to how we see oursel...
Source: the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell - October 27, 2023 Category: Neuroscience Authors: Ginger Campbell, MD Tags: Books Brain Evolution Decision Making Interviews Neuroscience Podcast Show Notes Source Type: podcasts
Astronomers are worried by a satellite brighter than most stars
In this episode:00:45 A bright satellite is concerning researchersSatellites reflect sunlight down to Earth, and some do so with such intensity it risks obscuring astronomers' observations from ground-based telescopes. A paper in Nature suggests that the telecommunications satellite called BlueWalker 3 at times outshines most stars visible from Earth. Astronomers worry about the increasing number of such bright satellites making astronomy more difficult, and so the team suggest that future launches should undergo impact assessments.Research article: Nandakumar et al.Nature News: Huge new satellite outshines nearly every st...
Source: Nature Podcast - October 4, 2023 Category: Science Authors: Springer Nature Limited Source Type: podcasts
Reducing calculus trauma, and teaching AI to smell
How active learning improves calculus teaching, and using machine learning to map odors in the smell space
First up on this week’s show, Laird Kramer, a professor of physics and faculty in the STEM Transformation Institute at Florida International University (FIU), talks with host Sarah Crespi about students leaving STEM fields because of calculus and his research into improving instruction.
We also hear from some Science staffers about their own calculus trauma, from fear of spinning shapes to thinking twice about majoring in physics (featuring Kevin McLean, Paul Voosen, Lizzie Wade, Meagan Cantwell, and FIU s...
Source: Science Magazine Podcast - August 31, 2023 Category: Science Authors: Science Magazine Source Type: podcasts
Reducing calculus trauma, and teaching AI to smell
How active learning improves calculus teaching, and using machine learning to map odors in the smell space
First up on this week’s show, Laird Kramer, a professor of physics and faculty in the STEM Transformation Institute at Florida International University (FIU), talks with host Sarah Crespi about students leaving STEM fields because of calculus and his research into improving instruction.
We also hear from some Science staffers about their own calculus trauma, from fear of spinning shapes to thinking twice about majoring in physics (featuring Kevin McLean, Paul Voosen, Lizzie Wade, Meagan Cantwell, and FIU s...
Source: Science Magazine Podcast - August 31, 2023 Category: Science Authors: Science Magazine Source Type: podcasts
Physicists finally observe strange isotope Oxygen 28 – raising fundamental questions
In this episode:00:47 First observation of oxygen 28Oxygen 28 is an isotope of oxygen with 20 neutrons and eight protons. This strange isotope has long been sought after by physicists, as its proposed unusual properties would allow them to put their theories of how atomic nuclei work to the test. Now, after decades of experiments physicists believe they have observed oxygen 28. The observations are at odds with theory predictions, so they imply that there’s a lot more physicists don’t know about the forces that hold atomic nuclei together.Research article: Kondo et al.News and Views: Heaviest oxygen isotope is found to...
Source: Nature Podcast - August 30, 2023 Category: Science Authors: Springer Nature Limited Source Type: podcasts
Brain-reading implants turn thoughts into speech
In this episode:00:47 The brain-computer interfaces that help restore communicationPeople with certain neurological conditions can lose the ability to speak as a result of facial paralysis. This week, two teams demonstrate the potential of devices called brain-computer interfaces to help people in these situations communicate. These interfaces work by identifying the brain activity associated with the intent to say words, and converting this activity into speech-related outputs, such as text or audio. Both devices show marked improvements compared with previous interfaces, and show that the technology could represent a way...
Source: Nature Podcast - August 23, 2023 Category: Science Authors: Springer Nature Limited Source Type: podcasts
Fruit flies' ability to sense magnetic fields thrown into doubt
In this episode:00:49 The search for animals’ magnetic sense sufferers a potential setbackExactly how animals sense Earth’s magnetic field has long eluded researchers. To understand it, many have turned to the fly model Drosophila melanogaster, long thought to be able to detect magnetic fields. However, a recent Nature paper has raised questions about this ability, a finding that could have repercussions for scientists’ efforts to understand the mechanism behind magnetic sensing, one of the biggest questions in sensory biology.Research article: Bassetto et al.News & Views: Replication study casts doubt on magneti...
Source: Nature Podcast - August 16, 2023 Category: Science Authors: Springer Nature Limited Source Type: podcasts
How welcome are refugees in Europe? A giant study has some answers
In this episode:00:46 A measure of refugees’ welcome in EuropeWith repeated humanitarian crises displacing millions of people, researchers have been considering how this might affect acceptance of refugees. Will some refugees be more welcome than others? Will continued movements erode support for refugees overall? To answer these questions, a huge study looks at the attitudes of 33,000 people from 15 European countries towards refugees. They find that overall support for refugees has slightly increased, although some characteristics, such as ability to speak the language of the country they’re settling in, are preferre...
Source: Nature Podcast - August 9, 2023 Category: Science Authors: Springer Nature Limited Source Type: podcasts
How to get more women in science, with Athene Donald
In the latest episode of Nature hits the books, physicist Athene Donald joins us to discuss her book Not just for the boys, why we need more women in science. We discuss how science has historically excluded women, the barriers to entry and retention that remain prevalent, and what could be done to improve the situation for female scientists today.Not Just for the Boys: Why We Need More Women in Science, Athene Donald, Oxford University Press (2023)Music supplied by Airae/Epidemic Sound/Getty images. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. (Source: Nature Podcast)
Source: Nature Podcast - August 2, 2023 Category: Science Authors: Springer Nature Limited Source Type: podcasts
Putting the man-hunter and woman-gatherer myth to the sword, and the electron's dipole moment gets closer to zero
Worldwide survey kills the myth of “Man the Hunter,” and tightly constraining the electric dipole moment of the electron
First up this week on the show, freelance science writer Bridget Alex joins host Sarah Crespi to discuss busting the long-standing myth that in our deep past, virtually all hunters were men and women tended to be gatherers. It turns out women hunt in the vast majority of foraging societies, upending old stereotypes.
After that, we learn about a hunt for zero. Tanya Roussy, a recent Ph.D. graduate in quantum physics from the University of Colorado, Boulder, discusses her work trying to const...
Source: Science Magazine Podcast - July 6, 2023 Category: Science Authors: Science Magazine Source Type: podcasts
Putting the man-hunter and woman-gatherer myth to the sword, and the electron's dipole moment gets closer to zero
Worldwide survey kills the myth of “Man the Hunter,” and tightly constraining the electric dipole moment of the electron
First up this week on the show, freelance science writer Bridget Alex joins host Sarah Crespi to discuss busting the long-standing myth that in our deep past, virtually all hunters were men and women tended to be gatherers. It turns out women hunt in the vast majority of foraging societies, upending old stereotypes.
After that, we learn about a hunt for zero. Tanya Roussy, a recent Ph.D. graduate in quantum physics from the University of Colorado, Boulder, discusses her work trying to const...
Source: Science Magazine Podcast - July 6, 2023 Category: Science Authors: Science Magazine Source Type: podcasts
What IBM's result means for quantum computing
In this episode:00:47 How to make quantum computers ready for real world applicationsQuantum computers have long held the promise of being able to perform tasks that classical computers can’t. However, despite this promise, there have been few applications that can only be accomplished by a quantum computer. Now though, researchers show that a quantum computer can resolve a physics problem concerning the orientation of quantum particles in a 2D material, which is difficult to accomplish with a ‘regular’ machine. They hope that this shows how quantum computers could be applied in real world research applications in th...
Source: Nature Podcast - June 14, 2023 Category: Science Authors: Springer Nature Limited Source Type: podcasts
A smarter way to melt down plastics?
In this episode:00:45 A new method to break down plastic polymersPlastic waste is an enormous problem, with much of it being incinerated or ending up in landfill. One way to give plastics another life is to break them down into their individual components using heat, but this method yields low amounts of usable product. Now, a team demonstrates a proof-of-concept method of heating that wicks the plastic like a candle through a layer of carbon material. They show that this method is more efficient and could be an additional way of breaking down waste plastics.Research article: Dong et al.08:48 Research HighlightsPhysicists ...
Source: Nature Podcast - April 19, 2023 Category: Science Authors: Springer Nature Limited Source Type: podcasts
Shrinking MRI machines, and the smell of tsetse fly love
On this week’s show: Portable MRI scanners could revolutionize medical imaging, and pheromones offer a way to control flies that spread disease
First up this week: shrinking MRI machines. Staff Writer Adrian Cho talks with host Sarah Crespi about how engineers and physicists are teaming up to make MRI machines smaller and cheaper.
Next up on the show, the smell of tsetse fly love. Producer Kevin McLean talks with Shimaa Ebrahim, a postdoctoral researcher in the department of molecular, cellular, and developmental biology at Yale University, about understanding how tsetse flies use odors to attract one another and how t...
Source: Science Magazine Podcast - February 23, 2023 Category: Science Authors: Science Magazine Source Type: podcasts
