Hey everyone! On this week's episode of Petri Dish, Sean and Nathan start their two-part conversation on Afforestation and Reforestation! There's a lot of talk about how trees can help save the planet from climate change and make all kinds of f

Ep. 94 Spicy Hotness Pt. 1 - Feel the Burn

Apr 26th, 2021 42m 15s

Advertising Link: https://baxterblueglasses.pxf.io/c/2544961/1031264/11471If you're like me, you love that burning sensation from a nice dose of capsaicin, maybe in a salsa or a tasty Thai dish. But what exactly is capsaicin, where does it com

Ep. 85 The Chemical Accomplishments of Dr. Percy Lavon Julian

Feb 22nd, 2021 44m 20s

We have a special kind of episode for y'all this week! Nathan and Sean dive into the scientific work of the first Black chemist inducted into the National Academy of Science in the United States, Dr. Percy Lavon Julian! A true chemistry powerho

Ep. 52 What Even Are Clinical Trials?

1 Jul 13th, 2020 1h 7m

Hi Everyone, it is still pandemic and you should still stay safe out there. This week Sean and Nathan discuss clinical trials! You might be hearing a lot about clinical trials in the news (especially because of the pandemic), but not all clinic

Ep. 47 Science of Trippin' Balls

Jun 8th, 2020 49m 41s

This week Nathan and Sean talk about psychedelic drugs, specifically classical psychedelics like psilocybin and LSD. How do they work? What do they actually do to your brain? Can they be repurposed for more than making you see crazy stuff? List

Ep. 40 Cellulite and Skincare

1 Apr 27th, 2020 1h

Hey! New episode! Part 3 of our series on skin, we welcome back Scientist Matilde Miranda to discuss cellulite and skincare -- a topic she is very passionate about! Learn about all her fancy skincare tips, and don't forget you can tweet us (@di

Mind-Machine Interfaces

1 Oct 28th, 2019 47m 5s

This weeks episode is a spooky sci-fi romp about how we're hooking up brains to computers and minds to machines back to minds again! Except it is all real science! Tune in to hear Nathan and Andrei tell Sean he's crazy, learn what Elon Musk is

Ep. 185 How to Make a Drug Pt 2: Libraries and Design

Aug 21st, 2023 58m 55s

On this second episode about drug discovery, we discuss small molecule drug libraries and the challenges behind rational design! Don't know what that means? Tune in to find out!References:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcell.201

Ep. 184 How to Make a Drug Pt 1: A Target

Aug 14th, 2023 54m 36s

Hey everyone! Today's episode is about getting into the nitty gritty of drug discovery. We often benefit from the research and development that goes into the creation of drugs we use to treat illnesses without really understanding what goes int

Ep. 183 Influenza Pt 4: Vaccines and Pandemics

Aug 7th, 2023 48m 33s

Sorry for the COVID-related break in episodes everyone! In our return, we complete our series on influenza by discussing past epidemics and pandemics to understand how influenza has repeatedly led to large scale medical events. Then we will fi

Ep. 182 Influenza Pt 3: Whaddya Gonna Do About It?

May 29th, 2023 36m 5s

You've had the flu. You've had a cold. Maybe you've even had allergies! But how can you tell them apart? And if you even figure out that you do have influenza, are there any treatments you can take that can help?References:https://www.health.

Ep. 181 Influenza Pt 2: The Piggies

May 22nd, 2023 44m 6s

Last episode we discussed the current H5N1 flu that is hitting birds pretty hard. But is bird flu different from swine flu? Is there just a 'human flu', or do we only catch influenza from other animals? Let's get into the evolutionary history o

Ep. 180 Influenza Pt 1: Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza

May 15th, 2023 41m 43s

Today's episode is the first in a four-part series on influenza! This time we are covering just enough background information to discuss the recent H5N1 pandemic in birds, which was responsible for the egg shortage and has been killing a lot of

Ep. 179 The Silence of the Plants

May 1st, 2023 33m 2s

Sure, plants can sometimes smell good and they do cool stuff like make carbs for us to eat and oxygen for us to breathe. But they sort of look like they're just passively sitting there, right? Just chilling. If only we could hear just a slightl

Ep. 178 A Baby Born of Two Daddies

Apr 24th, 2023 52m 45s

Hi everyone! This week's episode is about recent work trying to figure out a way to make a baby mouse that has two genetic dads. We also dive into why mammals don't seem to have virgin births!References:https://www.nature.com/articles/cr201

Ep. 177 Black Holes Pt 2: Quasi-Stars and Quasars

Apr 10th, 2023 1h 17m

Today's episode is our second and final episode on Black Holes! We cover some exotic black hole concepts, like whether they are a source of dark energy, what a white hole is, and whether black holes are fuzzy or not!References:https://www.

Ep. 176 Black Holes Pt 1: Curvy Thicc Spacetime Stuff

Apr 3rd, 2023 1h

Here in our first episode on our 2-parter on Black Holes, we explain what a black hole is in theory and what it probably actually is in practice. We dive into why it is still hard for us to really know what the true nature of black holes are an

Ep. 175 The Norfolk Southern Environmental Trainwreck

Mar 27th, 2023 43m 10s

In February, a train was partially derailed while carrying a number of chemicals. The subsequent attempt at containment resulted in the release of many thousands of gallons of these chemicals. What were those chemicals? What are the risks invo

Ep. 174 Desalination Pt 2: A Not-So-Salty Future?

Mar 20th, 2023 50m 47s

On this week's episode, we complete our series on desalination by discussing the near future technologies that are coming to either improve or attempt to supplant the current front runners that we discussed last week. We will also discuss the d

Last of Us Rerelease! Fungus Pt 2: Cordyceps and More!

Mar 13th, 2023 57m 36s

Hi Everyone!We're interrupting our series on desalination to put out a quick rerelease of one of our episodes on Fungi! We're doing this in honor of the season 1 finale of The Last of Us, which heavily features a fungus called Cordyceps, which

Ep. 173 Desalination Pt 1: So Salty

Feb 27th, 2023 45m 16s

Climate change is happening, two billion people don't have a reliable and safe supply of fresh water, and the problem isn't likely to get a whole lot better on its own!Desalination is the process of making fresh water from salt water, but what

Ep. 172 VEXAS: A Mystery Syndrome

Feb 22nd, 2023 43m 52s

While science and medicine have come a long way over the centuries, there are still illnesses that cannot be explained -- and many of them are autoinflammatory disorders. Many people all over the world have been inflicted with these disorders w

Ep. 171 Side Quests 2: Cancer and Concrete

Feb 6th, 2023 30m 26s

Occasionally we do episodes where we speak about a couple different topics that don't have a specific underlying theme -- they're just fun science papers that have cropped up recently! This time we discuss the confluence of two different hot te

Ep. 170 Death Pt 2: A Twitching Heart

Jan 30th, 2023 58m

We return with our second episode on Death, the final frontier! What is it? Actually though, like what determines the moment when someone dies? This question has actually had a different answer through the years, and we dive into the definition

Ep 169 Death Pt.1: Disembodied Pig Brains

Jan 23rd, 2023 39m 34s

On our first episode about Death, we look into a paper published a few years that described the reanimation of a pig brain! Spooky! Let’s get into the science behind it and some of its implications for humans!