Serious Inquiries Only

Thomas is joined by Dr. Eric Jaffe, biologist, dinosaur enthusiast, and high school biology teacher, for a conversation that starts with a deceptively simple question: what are biological definitions actually doing? It turns out that biology is far more like history than math, and that difference has enormous consequences for anyone trying to weaponize phrases like "the biological definition of sex." Dr. Jaffe walks through why definitions in inductive sciences are descriptive, not prescriptive, and what that means for species, chromosomes, fungi, LeBron James, and trans people. "Exceptions aren't the exceptions in biology. They are built into what we call biological systems." Plus: Patreon Q&A questions on alien DNA, how new chromosomes evolve, the 97% chimp figure, CRISPR vs. what came before, and Trump's research budget cuts. Cells at Work (anime recommended by Dr. Jaffe) Project Hail Mary (film referenced) Are you an expert in something and want to be on the show? Apply here! Please support the show on Patreon! You get ad-free episodes, early episodes, and other bonus content! https://www.patreon.com/seriouspod

Brain pics, or they didn't happen? There's a recent study that demonstrates that some brain region activity might interact differently with oxygen than previously assumed. This could upend significant neuroscience research spanning decades. Thankfully SIO has Dr. Jenessa Seymour to come in and break it all down for us! We start with a primer on the science of neuroimaging tools and the images they produce. How in the WORLD can we get a picture of a brain while a person is still alive? What are the things we need to know when evaluating scholarly articles or popular media coverage about the brain that uses these brain "scans" in discussing their results? And what do we need to see next to support the findings of this study that could have incredible ramifications across our understanding of the brain? Epp, S.M., Castrillón, G., Yuan, B. et al. BOLD signal changes can oppose oxygen metabolism across the human cortex. Nat Neurosci (2025). Example structural MRI (sMRI) of a human brain Güttler, F.V., Heinrich, A., Rump, J., de Bucourt, M., Schnackenburg, B., … Teichgräber, U.K. (2012). Magnetic resonance imaging of the active second stage of labour: Proof of principle. European Radiology, 22, 2020–2026 Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) example image Example functional MRI (fMRI) Example fMRI with a more-appropriately blurry sMRI underneath After Warping Options, Configurable Pipeline for the Analysis of Connectomes (0, 4, and 8mm filter images) Jenessa's Brain: Jenessa's brain sMRI Are you an expert in something and want to be on the show? Apply here! Please support the show on patreon! You get ad free episodes, early episodes, and other bonus content!

Dr. Jenessa Seymour is on to teach us more about the brain! What do hallucinations, ear-worms, and phantom limbs have in common? And is "hallucinating" really a good term for what AI does when it makes something up?

Part 1. This is big, folks. Think Watergate combined with Deflate-gate combined with Christina Applegate combined with the Bowling Green Massacre. THAT's how big of a scandal this is. You thought Zohran Mamdani was just an innocent 34 year old assemblyman who rose to stardom by being an incredibly good candidate and relentless campaigning an economic message in a positive way. But you were an idiot. Dummy. Asra Nomani broke it here, but let Jenessa and I explain it to you because clearly your feeble, gullible brain can't process. information properly.