Afleveringen
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In today’s episode, Nitara chats with Dr. Ornella Bertrand about the evolution of the mammalian brain and inner ear, and how fossil evidence helps piece together this deep evolutionary history. Please respond to our survey so we can find out more about you and what you want to listen to! https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScqoV4JoROJCfcMtvk4-Wer0uJGpvQfzUj3M4Mz8vx_9ScjKA/viewform?usp=header
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Ever wondered about the intersection of policy and science? Tune in as Markella chats with Professor Andrew Millar about his career and work as the Chief Scientific Advisor on the environment, natural resources, and agriculture for the Scottish Government.
Interview and editing by Markella, art by Keiran, and production by Manushri.
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Zijn er afleveringen die ontbreken?
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Ever wondered what it’s really like to become an independent researcher—calling the shots on what to study and navigating the highs and lows of doing science on your own terms? In this episode, Matthew Swaffer chats with Liz about starting his own lab, diving into all things cell-size related, and what the transition to leading your own research really feels like.
Please fill out our survey so we can hear from you about where to take BioPOD in the future! SURVEY LINK: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScqoV4JoROJCfcMtvk4-Wer0uJGpvQfzUj3M4Mz8vx_9ScjKA/viewform
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In this episode of Biopod's entrepreneurship series, Keshav and Nitara sit down with Dr. Riam Kanso to discuss the journey behind ConceptionX, a deep-tech venture programme to help PhD students fund their entrepreneurial pursuits. Please respond to our survey so we can find out more about you and what you want to listen to! https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScqoV4JoROJCfcMtvk4-Wer0uJGpvQfzUj3M4Mz8vx_9ScjKA/viewform?usp=header
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Every person interested in biology knows that population diversity is important for ecosystems. But do we understand what diversity means? In this episode Markella interviews Dr. Alex Ball from The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland about his work on conservation genetics, which is one of the pillars of conservation biology. He goes in depth about different species conservation in Scotland and elswhere around the world.
Interview by Markella. Editing by Manushri and Markella. Artwork by Anna. Produced by Severina
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In a world where the human population is predicted to reach 10 billion by 2050, we urgently need to find ways to increase crop production. However, it is made more difficult by some species of crop-pathogenic fungi, which can decimate crop yields, and also develop mutations that make them resistant to antifungal compounds. Dr Robin Allshire's group is trying to understand a not-so-well-known form of this resistance which could help farmers and governments tackle the current global food production challenge.
Recorded & produced by Anna Motýľová.
Edited by Haomiao Cheng.
Cover art by Manushri.
Follow us:
X: @BioPodEdinburgh
LinkedIn: BioPOD Podcast
Instagram: @biopodedinburgh -
Video version: https://youtu.be/weaFSVsvyBY
Anna Motýľová talks with Dr Keira Tucker, manager of ASCUS Art & Science, the first open access lab space in Scotland. They host science workshops for the general public and art exhibitions inspired by science. You will learn about Keira's personal journey as an artist/scientist, as well as 3 weird and wonderful creative projects she has facilitated between artists and scientists from the University of Edinburgh.
By the end of this episode, you will have thought about things you never have before. What happens to cancerous organs once they leave the body? Should noise in scientific data always be discarded? When medical practicioners don't hear the voices of suffering patients, can an artistic approach help?
Interview recorded, edited and produced for BioPOD by Anna Motýľová.
Camera by Ainslie Rönsdorf.
Intro and outro recorded by Felix Selasi Dewornu.
Episode cover art by Amandine Hong-Minh.
Check out the featured artists:
ASCUS Art & Science [www.ascus.org.uk]
G-lands by Emily Fong [https://emilyfongstudio.squarespace.com/]
Fluorescent images & video of salivary glands by Dr Elaine Emmerson and Dr Sara Knox, Centre for Regenerative Medicine [https://regenerative-medicine.ed.ac.uk/research/elaine-emmerson]
Oculations by Victoria Evans [www.victoriaevans.space]
Blackford Eye video by Dr Richard Essery [https://www.research.ed.ac.uk/en/persons/richard-essery/]
Hemispherical Mosquito by Dr Cecile Menard [https://www.research.ed.ac.uk/en/persons/cecile-menard]
Chapters:
01:26 What is ASCUS Art & Science?
03:46 Keira's background
05:14 ASCUS as a lab space
06:39 Keira's artistic journey
08:55 Keira's work in ASCUS
09:56 Project 1: The Egyptian god in salivary glands
11:27 Why salivary glands?
14:22 Why bring artists into scientific teams?
18:24 The artwork: From drawings to cabbages
29:29 The workshops: Scientist-artist-sufferer discussion
33:46 Project 2: Noise in snow science
39:04 Scientific vs. artistic research
40:30 Changing mindsets
41:59 Project 3: Surface echoes
47:05 The eczema experience(s)
49:04 Communicating science through performance
53:07 Training GPs through art
54:15 Future projects
56:11 Final lessons -
In this episode of BioPod’s entrepreneurship series, Keshav talks with Dr. Alex Speakman about his entrepreneurial journey of starting E.V.A Biosystems. Alex talks about the help and resources available to aspiring entrepreneurs to turn their ideas into successful startups. He also provides helpful information on navigating through the various stages of a startup including ideation, validation and patenting.
Interviewed by Keshav, edited by Evangelia, art by Amandine and produced by Keshav. -
Aging, or senescence has been a topic of scientific fascination for a long time. Natural populations like the Soay Sheep in St Kilda, a remote scottish island, are ideal to study aging theories in the wild.
In this summer episode, Professor Dan Nussey speaks to us about the long running Soay Sheep project and the insights they provide on the study of senescence.Interview by Markella Moraitou. Edited by Flora Caldwell, Art by Severina Marija Pociunaite, Produced by Nitara Wijayatilake.
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We have all heard about the importance of the gut microbiome. But how much do you know about the oral microbiome in our mouths? In the second interview with Dr Katerina Guschanski, Alastair Scott finds out all about how you can use the oral microbiome to study how antimicrobial resistance evolved through time.
Dr Katerina Guschanski and her team extract ancient DNA from calcified dental calculus, to study their bacterial composition from before the existence of mass-produced antibiotics.
Art by Amandine Hong-Minh, editing by Elena Hartmann, produced by Liz Gaberdiel.
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In this first episode of a two-parter with Dr Katerina Guschanski, Neelakshi Varma finds out about the intricacies and quirks of primate evolution, specifically around guenon monkeys. We also learn about how Katerina accidentally found her way to working with primates, the difficulties and exciting aspects of field work in Madagascar and why you can’t really define a species.
Edited by Frankie Swift, artwork by Liz Gaberdiel, produced by Liz Gaberdiel.
Check out some more research by the Guschanski lab here: https://www.ieg.uu.se/animal-ecology/Research+groups/guschanski-lab -
In this episode of BioPod's publishing series, Severina and Dr Seema Grewal discuss the world of editing for scientific journals. Seema is the Executive Editor for the Journal of Cell Science, and talks through her journey entering publishing, advice for PhD students wanting to enter the industry, and gives helpful tips for those wanting to publish their own papers.
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In this episode of BioPod’s entrepreneurship series, Keshav and Dr. Wu Huang discuss the journey behind NucBarcoder, a species identification tool hoping to tackle the biodiversity crisis. Wu talks through some of the challenges and rewards of growing a start-up idea and how Edinburgh Innovations from the University of Edinburgh advised and helped throughout the process.
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In this episode Anna and Andrea Paterlini talks about the approach to education of genetics and his experience developing a course for 2nd year bachelor students. They discuss diversity and inclusion in science and what remains to be done to be scientifically accurate when it comes to these sensitive topics in education as well as everyday life. Andrea also mentions what he and other scientists did to address the statements of the secretary of state for science (which you can find here ). And if anyone is interested, here is the author that Andrea mentioned https://www.adamrutherford.com/allbooks
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With many PhD students interested in alternative career pathways in science, we are keen to explore and demystify the world of scientific publishing. In this episode, Severina Marija Pociunaite talks to Dr Manuel Breuer, a deputy editor at Springer Nature, about his journey into scientific publishing. In particular, they explore the diversity of the role, how scientific publishing has changed in recent years, and advice for scientists preparing and submitting their manuscripts to improve their chances of acceptance.
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In this episode, Haomiao chats with Professor Thorunn Helgason, the head of the School of Biological sciences at Edinburgh University. It’s been a year since Thorunn started her post here in August 2022, let’s meet her and hear how she sees the past academic year in the school, and how she expects the future to happen. And, have you also wondered how was Edinburgh Uni like years ago? Well, Thorunn doesn’t just see the university thriving today, she also witnessed the changes happened since she firstly stepped into Edinburgh Uni as a student.
We also asked her advice for students and young professionals. So why not grab a tea and sit down with us to talk about the past, present and future about our school and yourself?
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In this episode Neelakshi talks to Dr. Sandy Hetherington about the work in plant paleobotany and evolution. They discuss what are plant fossils, how and where they are formed and what they can tell us about plant history today. Sandy focuses on plant root evolution as part of his research and introduces one of the best-preserved plant fossil deposits here in Scotland, called Rhynie chert
Find out more about Dr. Hetheringtons research here: https://www.ed.ac.uk/biology/groups/hetherington -
With the advancements of RNA synthesis techniques due to the success of the Covid-19 vaccine we are asking what other therapeutic purposes RNA could have. In this episode, Alastair Scott talks to Prof Amy Buck about her somewhat accidental journey to becoming a RNA biologist, her labs current research and her outlook on the field. In particular, they chat about the curious role of RNA as a communicator and signalling molecule.
Find out more about Prof Bucks research here: https://www.bucklab.org/ -
In this episode, Severina Pociunaite chats to Dr Jo Sadler about how to view plastic as a resource, that can be turned into useful chemicals. Plastic can not only be recycled, but also upcycled: by breaking it down using biotechnology and reusing the carbon to make secondary products. What kind of plastic do microbes like best? And how can the products of digestion be manufactured into something new?
They also discuss how Dr Sadler went about setting up her own lab, including the unique challenges she faced during the start-up process.
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How did this Edinburgh Professor move from studying physics to starting a Biotechnology spin-out company? In our new episode, we hear from Professor Teuta Pilizota all about how her past research experiences led her to where she is today, how her research keeps leading her to new technological developments and how this culminated in her starting a biotech spin-out company.
Many researchers spent a significant amount of time cultivating microorganisms, so they reach the desired growth phase and density. But what if that whole process could be automated, monitored and measured? This is where the OGI Bio Bioreactor comes in, to save time and allow specifications of culture conditions.
Find out more about OGI Bio here: https://ogibio.co.uk/
Interview & artwork by Liz Gaberdiel, intro & editing by Ruby White. - Laat meer zien