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23 Mar 2021

Monkey Business – Jean-Baptiste “JB” Leca

Do monkeys know how much fruit your sunglasses are worth? In episode 96 of Parsing Science, we talk with Jean-Baptiste "JB" Leca from the University of Lethbridge's Department of Psychology about his field research observing interactions among macaques at a Hindu temple in Bali. There, the monkeys h......
Listen to episode..Monkey Business – Jean-Baptiste “JB” Leca
23 Feb 2021

How Mosquitoes Target Us – Zhilei Zhao & Lindy McBride

Why do mosquitoes prefer us over other animals? In episode 94, we talk with Zhilei Zhao and Lindy McBride from Princeton about their research into how mosquitoes that can carry dangerous diseases - such as Zika, dengue, West Nile virus and malaria - are able to track us down so quickly while ignorin...
Listen to episode..How Mosquitoes Target Us – Zhilei Zhao & Lindy McBride
29 Dec 2020

Pet Project – Eric Tourigny

What do changes in our beliefs about the death of our pets over the past century say about the relationship we have with our companion animals? In episode 90, Eric Tourigny from Newcastle University's School of History, Classics and Archaeology discusses his research into historic pet cemeteries a......
Listen to episode..Pet Project – Eric Tourigny
4 Aug 2020

The Metaethics of Moral Claims – Jordan Theriault

How do our brains respond when people behave in unpredictable ways? In episode 80, Jordan Theriault from Northeastern University discusses his research into a set of brain regions which, when activated by a variety of social tasks, can provide insights into how we judge the moral objectivity or su......
Listen to episode..The Metaethics of Moral Claims – Jordan Theriault
7 Jul 2020

Mosquito-inspired Biotechnology – Richard Bomphrey

What if mosquitos weren't just annoying bugs, but instead were bio-inspiring features? In episode 78, we talk with Richard Bomphrey from the University of London’s Royal Veterinary College about how mosquitoes can detect surfaces using the airflow caused by the movement of their own wings … and th...
Listen to episode..Mosquito-inspired Biotechnology – Richard Bomphrey
26 May 2020

Birds’ Evolution Across Mass Extinctions – Daniel Field

Might a 66.7-million-year-old "turducken" be the world's oldest bird? In episode 75, Daniel Field from the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Cambridge discusses his research into a bird that mashes up features from chickens, turkeys, and ducks. Its fossil provides the best evidence......
Listen to episode..Birds’ Evolution Across Mass Extinctions – Daniel Field
12 May 2020

Parroting Probabilities – Amalia Bastos

Very few animals can combine information to adjust their predictions in a flexible way by using domain-general intelligence as humans do. In episode 74, Amalia Bastos from the University of Auckland discusses her research demonstrating that kea parrots can make predictions based in probabilities, ......
Listen to episode..Parroting Probabilities – Amalia Bastos
14 Apr 2020

The Plight of the Tiger – Akchousanh Rasphone

Are wild tigers now extinct in Laos? In episode 72, Akchousanh "Akchou" Rasphone from Oxford's Wildlife Conservation Research Unit discusses her research which concludes that improvised snares appear to have decimated the country's wild tiger population, a species whose worldwide population is now......
Listen to episode..The Plight of the Tiger – Akchousanh Rasphone
31 Mar 2020

Why We Love & Exploit Animals – Verónica Sevillano

Why is it that we treat various species of animals so differently? In episode 71, Verónica Sevillano with the Autonomous University of Madrid discusses her research applying social psychology and conservation biology to understand the relationships people have with animals. Her chapter, "Animals a...
Listen to episode..Why We Love & Exploit Animals – Verónica Sevillano
17 Mar 2020

The Minds of Single-celled Organisms – Jeremy Gunawardena

Can even a single-celled organism truly learn? In Episode 70, Jeremy Gunawardena with the Department of Systems Biology at Harvard Medical School talks with us about his replication of an experiment originally conducted over a century ago, which suggested that at least one single-cell organism - t......
Listen to episode..The Minds of Single-celled Organisms – Jeremy Gunawardena
3 Mar 2020

Cuttlefish in 3D Glasses – Trevor Wardill

Why Velcro 3D glasses onto cuttlefish? In Episode 69, Trevor Wardill from the Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior at the University of Minnesota discusses his research into the previously unknown ability of the cephalopod to see in stereo vision. His article, “Cuttlefish use stereopsis t...
Listen to episode..Cuttlefish in 3D Glasses – Trevor Wardill
4 Feb 2020

Ivory Towers and Abattoirs – Temple Grandin

How can research improve the lives of livestock, even as they're on their way to slaughter? In episode 67, Temple Grandin from the Colorado State University's College of Agricultural Sciences talks with us about her work on promoting improved communications between academic researchers and those i......
Listen to episode..Ivory Towers and Abattoirs – Temple Grandin
29 Oct 2019

Hearing Better than a Barn Owl – Saptarshi Das

How can what engineers learn from how barn owls pinpoint the location of the faintest sounds apply to their development of nanotechnologies capable of doing even better? In episode 61, we're joined by Saptarshi Das, a nano-engineer from Penn State University, who talks with us about his open-acces......
Listen to episode..Hearing Better than a Barn Owl – Saptarshi Das
15 Oct 2019

Enduring Effects of Neurofeedback – Michelle Hampson

When real-time fMRI neurofeedback improves people's symptoms long after treatment, might that influence the guidance that's provided to patients, and also inform the design of future clinical trials? In episode 60, we're joined by Michelle Hampson from Yale University's School of Medicine. She dis......
Listen to episode..Enduring Effects of Neurofeedback – Michelle Hampson
17 Sep 2019

The Neuroscience of Terrorism – Nafees Hamid

What can brain scans of radicalized jihadists tell us about how they react to what they perceive as attacks on their sacred values? In episode 58, we're joined by Nafees Hamid from Artis International who talks with us about his article “Neuroimaging ‘will to fight’ for sacred values: an empirical...
Listen to episode..The Neuroscience of Terrorism – Nafees Hamid
6 Aug 2019

Fishing for Color – Zuzana Musilová

How do some fish see color in the black-and-white world of the ocean's depths? In episode 55, Zuzana Musilová, an evolutionary biologist at Charles University in Prague, discusses her research into the unique way that some fish in the deep ocean’s darkness may be able to see in color. Her article ...
Listen to episode..Fishing for Color – Zuzana Musilová
23 Jul 2019

Collective Memories – Ida Momennejad & Ajua Duker

Can communication across networks of people be optimized to share information, while at the same time lessening the likelihood of information bubbles and echo chambers? In Episode 54, we're joined by Ida Momennejad and Ajua Duker from Columbia University and Yale University, respectively, to discu......
Listen to episode..Collective Memories – Ida Momennejad & Ajua Duker
11 Jun 2019

Double Trouble – Elisabeth Bik

Just how rampant is scientific misconduct? In episode 51, Elisabeth Bik talks with us about her research suggesting that as many as 35,000 papers in biomedicine journals may be candidates for retraction due to inappropriate image duplication. Her open-access article, “Analysis and Correction of In...
Listen to episode..Double Trouble – Elisabeth Bik
28 May 2019

Wisdom & Madness of Crowds – Wataru Toyokawa

When in Rome, should you really do as the Romans do? In episode 50, Wataru Toyokawa from the University of Konstanz in Germany discusses how observing and imitating others in crowds can at times enhance collective ‘wisdom’ ... while other times it can lead to collective ‘madness.’ His article, "So...
Listen to episode..Wisdom & Madness of Crowds – Wataru Toyokawa
5 Feb 2019

Voyeuristic Birds – Masayo Soma

Could birds' courting behaviors change when they're being watched? In episode 42, Masayo Soma from Hokkaido University discusses her research into monogamous songbirds which intensify their singing and dancing during courtship rituals – but only while in the presence of an audience of other birds....
Listen to episode..Voyeuristic Birds – Masayo Soma
22 Jan 2019

A Sniff Test of Stress – Jonathan Williams

Might the chemicals we exhale while watching movies tell us about the emotional stress that we're experiencing? In episode 41, Jonathan Williams from the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry in Mainz, Germany discusses his research analyzing the gasses emitted in cinemas, as described in his article...
Listen to episode..A Sniff Test of Stress – Jonathan Williams
13 Nov 2018

Plasticity & Face Recognition – Marlene Behrmann

Might our brains have greater plasticity than commonly thought? In episode 36, Marlene Behrmann from Carnegie Mellon University, discusses her 3-year longitudinal investigation of a young boy who had the region of his brain which recognizes faces removed, but regained this ability through neural p......
Listen to episode..Plasticity & Face Recognition – Marlene Behrmann
16 Oct 2018

Decoding Cancers’ Expression – Mike Feigin

Because 98% of the human genome doesn't serve a direct role in gene expression, many biologists have long thought of them as nothing but "junk DNA." But might they hold the key to helping stem the formation of deadly cancers? In episode 34, Mike Feigin from Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center...
Listen to episode..Decoding Cancers’ Expression – Mike Feigin
2 Oct 2018

Halting Cancers’ Spread – John Lewis

Can we put the brakes on cancers' ability to metastasize? In episode 33, John Lewis from the University of Alberta talks with us about his research into inhibiting cancer cell movement and metastasis through genomic targets. His open-access article "Quantitative in vivo whole genome motility scree...
Listen to episode..Halting Cancers’ Spread – John Lewis
4 Sep 2018

Nothing to a Bee – Adrian Dyer

While various vertebrates have been taught to learn humans' concept of "zero," might too honey bees, even though their brains have thousands of times fewer neurons? In episode 31 Adrian Dyer from RMIT and Monash University in Australia talks with us about his work first teaching bees to count and ...
Listen to episode..Nothing to a Bee – Adrian Dyer
21 Aug 2018

Hearing Loss and Cognition – Yune Lee

Might early hearing impairment lead to cognitive challenges later in life? Yune Lee from the Ohio State University talks with us in episode 30 about his research into how even minor hearing loss can increase the cognitive load required to distinguish spoken language. His open-access article  "Diff...
Listen to episode..Hearing Loss and Cognition – Yune Lee
1 May 2018

Linguistic Artifacts in Creole – Nicole Creanza

What might migration patterns tell us about how modern languages came about? Vanderbilt University's Nicole Creanza talks with us about her research into how migration during the colonial era contributed to the development of the creole language, Sranan. Her open-access article "Using features of ...
Listen to episode..Linguistic Artifacts in Creole – Nicole Creanza
20 Mar 2018

Stroke Recovery with Light – Anna-Sophia Wahl

Anna-Sophia Wahl — a neuroscientist with the Brain Research Institute at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, in Zurich, as well as a physician with the Central Institute of Mental Health in Mannheim, Germany — talks with us about her open-access article "Optogenetically stimulating intact...
Listen to episode..Stroke Recovery with Light – Anna-Sophia Wahl
24 Oct 2017

Open Science and Replications (Part 2 of 2) – Tim Errington & Brian Nosek

Reproducing research results can help accelerate the scientific progress. In the second half of this two-part episode, Tim Errington and Brian Nosek from the Center for Open Science share insights from their the Center's replication of a high-profile anti-cancer treatment study. In the episode T...
Listen to episode..Open Science and Replications (Part 2 of 2) – Tim Errington & Brian Nosek
17 Oct 2017

Open Science and Replications (Part 1 of 2) – Brian Nosek & Tim Errington

Open access to both the scientific process and results should be the default, not the exception. In the first of this two-part episode, Brian Nosek and Tim Errington from the Center for Open Science talk about the important role of open science in accelerating scientific progress, as discussed i......
Listen to episode..Open Science and Replications (Part 1 of 2) – Brian Nosek & Tim Errington
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