Carry the One Radio: The Science Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

Consciousness, ecstasy, tentacles…. Dr. David Scheel tells all in our new episode about octopuses! We take a dive into the scientific research on these fascinating creatures, and what they can tell us about the oceans and ourselves. This episode was produced by Julianne Riggs, Cindy Liu and Marilyn Steyert. You can find the pdf of this transcript on carrytheoneradio.com.

Carry the One Radio alum and recent UCSF Neuroscience graduate Dr. Anna Lipkin is on the other side of the mic to talk about how overlooking tiny aspects of the neuron lead to surprising gaps in what we know about the cells that make up our body.

What happens when you bring together a marine mammal veterinarian and a stem cell researcher? You save a life! More specifically, Cronutt’s - a sea lion diagnosed with epilepsy, but who just happened to be at the right place at the right time.  Epilepsy is a chronic brain disorder characterized by excessive and abnormal seizures, and while there are existing medications that can help manage these seizures, there is no cure to this day…but perhaps there’s hope thanks to a novel cell-based therapy? To learn more about this promising therapy, we spoke with Drs. Claire Simeone (a marine mammal veterinarian) and Scott Baraban (a stem cell researcher), and how their teams worked together to stop Cronutt’s seizures. Listen and learn! This episode was written and produced by Rebecca Fang, Deanna Necula, and Devika Nair. The music used in this episode is from www.freemusicarchive.org, and the cover art is by Deanna. For more information, please visit www.carrytheoneradio.com.

You might know that it takes a very, very, very long time to develop new drugs, but it seems like there are new treatments for COVID-19 all the time…how is that possible? It’s all thanks to the exciting field of drug repurposing! What is that, you ask? Well, it might sound self-explanatory, but, like most things in life, there’s more to it. Listen to our latest episode and learn from the experts, Dr Marina Sirota (@SirotaLab) and Dr Brian Shoicet (@BShoicet)! This episode was written and produced by Maggie Colton and Cindy Liu. Music in this episode was produced by Maggie Colton. Episode art by Cindy Liu, with vector art from vecteezy.com. You can learn more about Marina’s and Brian’s research below here: Sirota lab and Shoicet lab.

Fossils of ancient viruses are living inside us, and they may reveal important clues about how we became who we are today. In this Young Scientist Spotlight, PhD candidate Emma Harding tells us about her research studying viral fossils in marsupials, and why she suspects these chunks of ancient DNA are sticking around for a reason. She also talks about what it’s like working in a brand-new field, and why Australia is an awesome place to study weird genomes. We can’t wait for you to meet this rising microbiology star!  This episode was produced by Celia Ford. Music used in this episode is by Blue Dot Sessions on Free Music Archive. To learn more about Emma’s work, follow her on Twitter @emma__harding and check out her website, https://emmavirologist.wixsite.com/my-site. 

We, like many animals, live in groups. We need these groups to survive -- but why? What are the benefits of group living? What do we gain from each other? What quirks of evolution drove us to band together, form collectives, and solve problems together? In this episode, we’re joined by collective behavior researchers Iain Couzin and Naomi Leonard, who study networks, teamwork, and interactions between groups of everything from fish to robots to humans on social media. They discuss how we can get the most out of each other, what we can learn from creatures across all scales of life, and the beauty of our interconnected world. You can read more about our guests’ research on their lab websites. Iain Couzin work is on https://collectivebehaviour.com/research/ (and on Twitter @icouzin) and Naomi Leonard is https://naomi.princeton.edu/. This episode was written and produced by Celia Ford and Deanna Necula. Music from this episode was produced by Blue Dot Sessions. Episode art by Celia Ford, with vector art from The Noun Project. A full transcript of the episode is available in the show notes at carrytheoneradio.com.

When you think about the future of medicine, do you picture cure-all pills? Instant diagnostics from a drop of blood? What about going back to the basics with plant-based treatments with a side of spiritual healing? In this episode, we sat down with scientist and social entrepreneur Dr. Victoria Hale, co-founder of an ayahuasca tea company called Sacred Medicines. Listen to our conversation about how psychedelics are making a comeback (especially in the mental health space), what it takes to get FDA approval for new treatments, and the ethical and cultural debate surrounding the increased Western attention on traditional ayahuasca tea ceremonies. Check out the episode page at carrytheoneradio.com for links to Sacred Medicines and more reading! This episode was produced by Stella Belonwu, Cindy Liu, and Seesha Takagishi. Episode art by Stella Belonwu and Seesha Takagishi. All music by Blue Dot Sessions.

What do cancer cells and t-shirts have in common? You might be surprised! In this Young Scientist Spotlight, Dr Danielle Twum explains how she uses her communication skills and expertise to help doctors and researchers improve the way they treat cancer. In addition to working in industry, Dr Twum also works with AAAS IF/THEN to teach young students about being a scientist. We talk about her transition from studying corals to cancer, how the hungriest cells in our body can be a tumor’s best friend and the importance of telling a story with your science. By the end, you may never look at a shirt tag the same way again! This episode was produced by Maggie Colton with help from the team at CTOR. Music by Valentin Sosnitskiy. You can follow Dr Twum @forgedonyx on Twitter and Instagram.

The earth can’t wait, and it’s imperative that we are climate aware and are moved to action to maintain it. In this episode covering sustainability and climate change, we talk to Dr. Sheri Weiser, a physician-scientist at UCSF with a long history of researching food insecurity and climate justice. Dr. Weiser has been a Principal Investigator on over 25 research grants and has published over 165 manuscripts in this area. In our conversation with Dr. Weiser, we learn about how her work exposed her to the harsh climate realities faced by the food insecure on a daily basis. Additionally, Dr. Weiser shares her path to sustainability activism and some initiatives she has led in the UC system to tackle climate change with a key focus on environmental justice and equity. These include, but are not limited to, integrating sustainability across the UC curriculum, directing the Global Food Initiative at UCSF, co-leading the launch of UCSF’s EaRTH Center this Earth Day (April 22nd), and creating a myriad of opportunities for student involvement. To learn more about the Global Food Initiative, the UCSF Climate Change and Mental Health Task Force, the UCSF EaRTH Center, and the UCSF Human Health and Climate Change student group, see the links below! Global Food Initiative: https://www.ucop.edu/global-food-initiative/ Climate Change and Mental Health Task Force: https://psychiatry.ucsf.edu/climatechange EaRTH Center: https://earth.ucsf.edu/ Human Health and Climate Change Student Group: https://ucsf.campusgroups.com/club_signup?group_type=27712&category_tags= For free tickets to the Center for Climate Justice launch event, https://www.eventbrite.com/e/uc-center-for-climate-justice-launch-event-tickets-148653952975?aff=erelexpmlt This episode was written and produced by Rachel Rock and Stella Belonwu with editing help from the rest of the CTOR team. Music used in this episode is by Blue Dot Sessions and Niklas Schreiber.

Before this episode, if someone asked me what could be done to improve maternal and newborn health outcomes, one of the last things on my mind would have been “kindness” because that part should be obvious, right? Wrong. In this episode, we speak with Dr. Afulani and Dr.Walker, two faculty members in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and affiliates with the Institute of Global Health Sciences at UCSF. They share information about the disparities in women’s health and the importance of patient-centered care across the globe, particularly in these pandemic times, where navigating patient interactions with physicians can be varied and complex.