Two Brad For You

'll be honest with you — when I first stumbled across Rachel Armstrong's papers, I genuinely thought I had the wrong person. The work was filed under architecture, but it was talking about chemistry, microbes, the origins of life, and the philosophy of matter.Rachel Armstrong is a professor at KU Leuven's Faculty of Architecture, but she trained as a medical doctor at Oxford and Cambridge, spent time working in a leprosy colony in India, accidentally ended up in an artist's kitchen in London looking at sculptures made from frozen urine in the snow, and somehow arrived at one of the most fascinating and urgent ideas I've come across in a long time: that the way we build our cities and homes is based on a fundamentally broken relationship with matter itself. We get into what it would look like to build homes that behave more like coral reefs than concrete boxes, microbial fuel cells, living bricks, why a project to save Venice using self-mineralising chemical droplets might be the most poetic engineering proposal I've ever heard, and why Rachel is taking these ideas to communities in Uganda rather than waiting for Silicon Valley to catch up.This one genuinely shifted something in the way I think about buildings, biology, and what science is even supposed to be doing right now. I hope it does the same for youTakeaways:The episode features Dr. Rachel Armstrong, an architect with a medical background, who discusses her unique journey.Dr. Armstrong emphasizes the importance of questioning established norms with the phrase 'What if?' to inspire innovation.She explores the idea that matter is not inert but rather dynamic and responsive to its environment.The conversation highlights the potential for architecture to evolve by integrating biological principles into design.Life, Mind and Matter: Chemistry for an Ecological EraMonstrous Matter: The Microbial Foundations for a Living Planet Biodesign for a culture of life: Of microbes, ethics, and designHow do the origins of life sciences influence 21st century design thinking? Rachel Armstrong — Faculty of ArchitectureThis is the only link you need to subscirbe and never miss an episode of Two Brad For You. Please do rate and review it really helps us out.If you'd like to support the show with currency click here. We are grateful for that too. Finally, you can check out the website here.Many thanks to Freak Motif for the music and Sebastian Abboud for the logo.

The great science broadcaster and author Jay Ingram joins me once again to talk about science that goes mainstream. Why does do some topics jump out of dedicated science news channels and how should critics respond? Is there any good way to present the process behind science and why is that crucial for critiques of misleading stories. These are some of the topics we explore and Jay provides some positive examples of efforts to communicate the changing nature and long term vision of scientific research. We pose many questions about how best to tell science stories and not all were answered but just like research, communication is an ever evolving thing as well. Let me know what you think about science media and where you'd like to see change. This is the only link you need to subscribe to Two Brad For You. Please do rate and review it really helps us out.If you'd like to support the show with currency click here. We are grateful for that too. Finally, you can check out the website here.Many thanks to Freak Motif for the music and Sebastian Abboud for the logo. Dementia prevention, intervention, and care: 2024 report of the Lancet standing CommissionYes, Social Media Really Is a Cause of the Epidemic of Teenage Mental Illness - Jonathan HaidtThe great rewiring: is social media really behind an epidemic of teenage mental illness?Unsettled science on social media - ScienceDefy Dementia Podcast

In this episode we have two interesting news stories from the unrelated worlds of infectious disease and psychedelic research. What's all the fuss with H5N1 moving into cows and is my milk safe? Plus a breakdown of a fascinating set of experiments aimed at answering whether MDMA increases empathy and why this could influence how doctors prescribe the drug in the future.This is the only link you need to subscirbe and never miss an episode of Two Brad For You. Please do rate and review it really helps us out.If you'd like to support the show with currency click here. We are grateful for that too. Finally, you can check out the website here.Many thanks to Freak Motif for the music and Sebastian Abboud for the logo. Listen to Two Brad For You Podcast: 'Mainstreaming' Psychedelic Drugs to Treat Mental Health - Brad van Paridon for Undark MagazineMDMA enhances empathy-like behaviors in mice via 5-HT release in the nucleus accumbensThe H5N1 Outbreak Is Not a Test Run, It's a Warning ShotUS to test ground beef in states with bird-flu outbreaks in dairy cowsU.S. dairy farm worker infected as bird flu spreads to cows in five statesScientists call new measures to control bird flu in cows ‘a drop in the bucket’

Ants and other eusocial insects have taken group living to the extreme and while we may not think of these animals as representative of human societies studying the fundementals of the evolution of and consequences of social living using ants makes a lot of sense. My guest Yuko Ulrich is a behavioral ecologist and group leader at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Jena, Germany. She joined me to discuss how she uses a unique ant species, commonly known as the clonal raider ant, to ask basic questions regarding evolution and behavior. She explains why the clonal raider ants are such a useful model system and discusses the results from two studies that look at the evolution of group living itself and how an individuals behavior within a group affects their risk for disease. This conversation really highlights the importance of experimental biology for asking and answering questions that may seem obvious but that must answered before we can discover exactly why group living is so succesful or understand how groups evolved to defend against disease. It was also a nice reminder that working together in the face of an outbreak offers unique defenses solitary individuals don't have. Finally, we touch on what happens when the parasite takes things to the extreme and manipulates host behavior. That's right, zombie parasites. Links to both of the studies discussed can be found below.Fitness benefits and emergent division of labour at the onset of group living | NatureBehavioural individuality determines infection risk in clonal ant colonies | Nature CommunicationsThis is the only link you need to subscirbe and never miss an episode of Two Brad For You. Please do rate and review it really helps us out.If you'd like to support the show with currency click here. We are grateful for that too. Finally, you can check out the website here.Many thanks to Freak Motif for the music and Sebastian Abboud for the logo. Listen to Two Brad For You Support this Podcast

Two major breakthroughs in gene editing recently occurred and show how our ability to edit the human genome is rapidly increasing. This episode we dive into how these technologies work and how they were able to treat two diseases. One a rather mundane sounding cholesterol problem and the other an exteremely painful and potentially deadly condition known as sickle cell disease. Both stories invovle a combination of new technologies, mRNA techniques and gene editing either using or inspired by CRISPER. These stories highlight how all of these technologies are combining to open new possibilities, that gene editing may become just a regular treatment as we age, and the less talked about downsides or hidden trade-offs that come with these treatments. Sources Base editing, a new form of gene therapy, sharply lowers bad cholesterol in a clincal trial - Science A Closer Look at the Approval of CRISPR/Cas9 Gene Therapy for Sickle Cell Disease - MedPage TodayNew gene therapies confront many sickle cell patients with an impossible choice: a cure or fertility - STAT WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! Head to www.twobradforyou.wordpress.com to subscribe to, donate to and follow the show on social media. You can also leave a comment, send an email or voice message. We read/listen to them all and will put them on air. This is your show too so get involved and don't let Brad have all the fun.

Responsible members of society should have some understanding of science. Hot take? I don’t think so. Decisions on personal and public health require some knowledge and look no further than debates surrounding the application and use of things like AI and gene editing technology. Citizens should have and use their voice to speak on these topics. And this is why science communication exists as a volunteer activity for many academics and as a career for people like me. Unfortunately, the very people who have the scientific expertise for this work, scientists etc., don’t have the training or data needed to improve their communication efforts. Social sciences and communications research has established tools to ask questions about effective communication strategies and how audiences are reacting. What are their beliefs, motivations, ideas and morals when it comes to science and controversial science topics like gene editing and genetically modified organisms (GMOs). I would argue, and I’m sure my guests today would agree, that science communicators need to use these tools more to investigate the science of science communication. On this episode I speak with professional science communicator Cristina Fonseca and genetics professor Jonathan Pettitt. Both were members of a team that published two papers that surveyed British audiences about their attitudes and trust toward science pre and post pandemic and explored the relationships between people’s knowledge of science, their confidence in their knowledge and their views on controversial science topics. This is a fascinating look at how researchers can apply the scientific method to their communication efforts and the results of the two papers raised excellent questions about who needs and wants to hear from scientists and what sorts of things influence their views on science. SourcesPeople with more extreme attitudes towards science have self-confidence in their understanding of science, even if this is not justifiedBoth trust in, and polarization of trust in, relevant sciences have increased through the COVID-19 pandemicThe Genetics SocietyWhy Peter Hotez Should Not Debate RFK Jr. On The Joe Rogan ExperienceWE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! Head to www.twobradforyou.wordpress.com to subscribe to, donate to and follow the show on social media. You can also leave a comment, send an email or voice message. We read/listen to them all and will put them on air. This is your show too so get involved and don't let Brad have all the fun.

How does one go from believing in every conspiracy under the fake moon to being an atheist activist dedicated to critical thinking and reason? Read the Bible. At least that’s what did it for this episode’s guest Calvin Smith. Calvin is podcaster, Tik Tok’er (check below for all his links and handles) and the social media manager for the Secular Alliance of Michigan. In this episode we talk about his path from self-proclaimed conspiracy theorist to self-proclaimed atheist activist. We discuss the encroachment of religion into US politics and policy and how the Secular Alliance of Michigan pushes back. We also chat about using social media and conversation to reach those lost in the conspiracy rabbit hole and as you’ll see this leads to more than a few yet to be answered questions. When and if public debates are needed or useful? How to deal with alternative sources and how to harness the negativity of social media. You can find Calvin Smith and the Secular Alliance of Michigan below:Tiktok: @UnquestionableCalvinYouTube: @UnquestionableCalvinTwitter: @UWCSPodcastSecularAlliance.orgMichiganAtheists.comYouTube for SAM: @SecularMichiganWE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! Head to www.twobradforyou.wordpress.com to subscribe to, donate to and follow the show on social media. You can also leave a comment, send an email or voice message. We read/listen to them all and will put them on air. This is your show too so get involved and don't let Brad have all the fun.

How can AI improve upon the design of mRNA vaccines? How much is too much when it comes to sperm donations? Turns out the Netherlands has a problem with serial donators. And a quick note on some interesting patterns in data associating smartphone usage with adolescent depression, anxiety, self harm, and suicide. Plus, a special debut of an excellent new track by friends of the show The Dust Collectors.This episode is a mix of stories and were chosen for different reasons. The first is a more positive look at AI rather than a lot of the doom and gloom stuff that has dominated the conversation recently. It also offers an interesting perspective on the complexity and beauty of biology. The story of one Dutch man fathering upwards of 500 children via sperm donations is troubling and reminds us of the ethical challenges involved with medicine and biotech. Finally, an interesting look at some international data regarding adolescent mental health and smartphones hints that the problem isn’t as clear cut as we might think. It also gives a nice example of how data is used to generate new questions and challenge assumptions. Very big thanks to The Dust Collectors for providing their new track ‘Waiting Game’ as the outro music. Check out live show dates and the debut album release on their website or by following them on Instagram and/or Spotify. WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! Head to www.twobradforyou.wordpress.com to subscribe to, donate to and follow the show on social media. You can also leave a comment, send an email or voice message. We read/listen to them all and will put them on air. This is your show too so get involved and don't let Brad have all the fun. Links‘Remarkable’ AI tool designs mRNA vaccines that are more potent and stable https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-01487-y#ref-CR1Algorithm for Optimized mRNA Design Improves Stability and Immunogenicity https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06127-zDutch court orders sperm donor to stop after 550 children https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/apr/28/dutch-court-orders-sperm-donor-to-stop-after-550-childrenDutch serial sperm donor case raises questions in Belgium https://www.brusselstimes.com/487914/dutch-serial-sperm-donor-case-raises-questions-in-belgiumSuicide rates for girls are rising. Are smartphones to blame? https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2023/05/03/suicide-rates-for-girls-are-rising-are-smartphones-to-blame