Norway's fourth tallest cartoonist Øystein Runde asks scientists about the details behind their biggest ideas or craziest discoveries, like Ana Bonaca who found mysterious bullet holes through the Milky Way, or particle physicist Eugene Chudnovsky who has a theory of how life could exist inside stars. Also, interviews with the occasional artist / creative / whoever I want, when i feel like it.But mostly scientists.Supported by NITRO STUDIOS, Oslo. + the patrons at patreon.com/rundeJingle kindly donated by the talented Charky, aka Trop1ce.
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Noland Arbaugh, world's first Neuralink human: a pinky in the brain
Monday, July 29, 2024 • Duration 56:48
Noland is an affable Arizonian with an advanced piece of tech in his skull: A Neuralink. With it, Noland can see his own brainwaves and control his computer ... somewhat. Often his powers are not very much more than what anyone with a hand could do ... but as he mentioned on Joe Rogan two weeks ago, he has one crazy power: He has an aimbot in his head. How does this work? Why is his precision so high? What will the future bring for Neuralink? As Noland says: "This is as bad as it's ever going to be." And it's pretty good.
We get into how Noland became paralyzed and the mystery of how it happened - and Noland's surprising (or not so surprising) attitude to this mystery.
We also, over two hours, delve into the technical nuances of how Noland uses his brain-computer interface, and in the end talk a little about Elon Musk, about how Noland's life was before his accident, and about his faith.
Don't miss this episode!
Astrobiologist Maya D. Yanez: Could acetylene fermentation be an energy source for microbes on Titan?
Sunday, July 14, 2024 • Duration 02:46:19
NASA JPL intern Maya D. Yanez has recently defended her Ph.D. on acetylenotrophy. This is the ability to extract energy from acetylene, and only a few species of bacteria (that we know of here on Earth) have it. They aren't very studied, and there's never been astrobiology studies specifically about this - so Maya's Ph.D. represents a whole new possibility for life to exist on other worlds.
Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction and the Potential for Life on Titan
02:06 Titan's Unique Environment and Habitability
05:37 Understanding Moles and Molecules on Titan
09:25 The Role of Water and Amino Acids on Titan
12:37 The Importance of Tungsten and Other Metals for Microbes on Titan
18:44 Impact Melt Ponds and Potential Habitability on Titan
29:18 The Dragonfly Mission and Selk Crater
32:09 Discovering New Microbes and Metabolisms
36:21 The Role of Acetylene in the Origins of Life
53:00 Formation of Planets from Gas and Dust Clouds
57:40 Formation of the Solar System and the Dichotomy of Gas Giants and Rocky Planets
01:05:27 Moons and the Potential for Life on Titan
01:19:45 Redefining Life to Include Different Forms
01:21:42 Proto-Life and Categorizing Life
01:23:27 The Enigma of Viruses
01:25:15 Evolution of Viruses and Bacteria
01:32:47 Acetylene-Eating Microbes and Life on Titan
01:43:09 Isotopic Fractionation and Tracing Life
01:46:16 Personal Journey and Pursuing a Scientific Career
01:51:54 Pursuing Higher Education and Cultural Identity Loss
01:54:09 The Impact of Mentors and Belief in Success
01:57:19 The First Astrobiology Application of Acetylenotrophs
02:01:12 The Future of Maya's Research and Publications
02:05:30 Exploring Monopoles and Other Physics Concepts
02:07:18 Life Inside Stars and Cosmic Bullet Holes
02:09:05 The Fascination of Science at Different Scales
02:13:13 Science Education and Lesson Plans for Elementary Students
02:18:23 Resources for Further Exploration
02:21:34 The Importance of Diversity and Inclusion in STEM
02:23:42 Challenges Faced by Early Career Scientists
02:29:14 Exploring the Potential for Life on Other Planets
02:42:41 Ethical Considerations in Space Exploration
AI summary:
Maya Yanez discusses the potential for microbial life on Saturn's moon Titan. While it is unlikely that Earth microbes could survive on Titan, there is a possibility that microbes have evolved or originated on Titan and are accustomed to its unique conditions. Titan's thick atmosphere, comprised of nitrogen and methane, protects the surface from radiation. The presence of hydrocarbons, such as acetylene, in Titan's atmosphere and on its surface is a key factor in its potential habitability. The subsurface ocean on Titan, which is 18 times the volume of Earth's oceans, is another exciting aspect that could support life. Maya discusses the energy choices of microbes and how they impact their metabolism. She explains how energy-yielding reactions have led to the discovery of new microbes and metabolisms on Earth. Maya also talks about the importance of anammox in the nitrogen cycle and the conditions necessary for life to exist on other planets. She discusses the formation of the solar system and the role of supernovae in the condensation of gas and dust to form planets. The conversation explores the formation of the solar system and the conditions necessary for life on other planets. It discusses the differences between gas giants and rocky planets, the process of fusion in stars, and the temperature variations in the sun. The possibility of landing on the sun and the Parker Solar Probe mission are also mentioned. The conversation then delves into the formation of moons and the potential for life on Titan, focusing on the presence of complex organic chemistry, protection from cosmic radiation, and the availability of minerals. The importance of phosphorus in life and the search for extraterrestrial life that is different from life on Earth are also discussed. The conversation in this part focuses on the definition of life and the potential for life on other planets. The concept of life with a Y is introduced, which encompasses all types of life on Earth and the potential for life as we don't know it. The discussion also touches on the origins of viruses and their relationship to bacteria. The energy storage molecule ATP is mentioned, and the density of energy it contains is explored. The conversation concludes with a personal story about Maya's educational journey and her passion for learning. Maya shares her journey of pursuing higher education and her experiences as a minority in the field of science. She discusses the challenges she faced, including cultural identity loss and self-doubt. Maya highlights the importance of having mentors who believe in you and the impact they can have on your success. She also talks about her research on acetylenotrophs and the potential for life on Titan. Maya concludes by sharing her passion for science education and her efforts to make science accessible to young students. In this final part of the conversation, Maya discusses her work at USC and her aspirations to work at JPL. She also talks about the budget cuts at NASA and the importance of diversity and inclusion in STEM. Maya shares how she has inspired her younger family members to pursue science and emphasizes the need for representation in the field. The conversation then delves into the potential for life on Mars, Venus, Europa, and Titan, and the ethical considerations of human exploration and colonization of other planets.
Keywords
Titan, microbes, potential habitability, hydrocarbons, subsurface ocean, microbes, energy choices, metabolism, energy-yielding reactions, new microbes, anamox, nitrogen cycle, life on other planets, solar system formation, supernovae, gas and dust condensation, solar system formation, gas giants, rocky planets, fusion, temperature of the sun, landing on the sun, Parker Solar Probe, formation of moons, life on Titan, complex organic chemistry, cosmic radiation, minerals, phosphorus, extraterrestrial life, definition of life, life with a Y, potential for life, viruses, bacteria, ATP, energy density, educational journey, higher education, minority representation, cultural identity, self-doubt, mentors, research, acetylenotrophs, life on Titan, science education, USC, JPL, budget cuts, diversity, inclusion, STEM, inspiration, life on Mars, life on Venus, life on Europa, life on Titan, human exploration, colonization, ethics
Takeaways
Microbes from Earth are unlikely to survive on Titan, but there is a possibility of microbes that have evolved or originated on Titan.
Titan's thick atmosphere, comprised of nitrogen and methane, protects the surface from radiation.
The presence of hydrocarbons, such as acetylene, in Titan's atmosphere and on its surface is a key factor in its potential habitability.
Titan's subsurface ocean, which is 18 times the volume of Earth's oceans, is another exciting aspect that could support life. Microbes make energy choices based on the type of diet and metabolism they perform.
Energy-yielding reactions have led to the discovery of new microbes and metabolisms on Earth.
Anamox is critical to the nitrogen cycle and was theorized based on its energy-yielding potential.
The formation of the solar system involved the condensation of gas and dust, triggered by a nearby supernova explosion. Gas giants like Jupiter and Saturn formed farther away from the sun and were able to capture hydrogen and helium gas, while rocky planets like Earth did not capture these gases and remained closer to the sun.
The temperature of the sun varies, with the surface being cooler than the corona, which can reach millions of degrees Kelvin.
The Parker Solar Probe mission flew close to the sun, but there is no solid surface to land on.
Moons can be formed through capture, formation in place, or other processes, and Jupiter's moons are believed to have formed in place.
Titan, one of Jupiter's moons, has conditions that could potentially support life, including complex organic chemistry, protection from cosmic radiation, and the availability of minerals.
Phosphorus is an essential element for life, as it is part of the DNA molecule.
The search for extraterrestrial life should consider the possibility of life forms that are different from those on Earth. Defining life in a way that is agnostic but encompasses all types of life on Earth is a challenge for astrobiologists.
The concept of life with a Y provides a framework for categorizing the results of potential life on other planets.
Viruses are not unanimously considered to be alive on Earth, but if found on another planet, they may be considered a form of life.
ATP is a molecule that carries energy and is essential for the functioning of cells.
Maya's educational journey highlights the importance of encouragement and support in pursuing a career in science. The importance of having mentors who believe in you and support your goals
The impact of cultural identity loss on minority students in higher education
The challenges and self-doubt experienced by students pursuing science
The potential for life on Titan and the research on acetylenotrophs
The importance of making science education accessible to young students Maya primarily conducted her work at USC, but she has also been involved with JPL and aspires to work there in the future.
NASA has faced budget cuts, which have affected JPL and led Maya to explore other career options in education and outreach.
Maya has inspired her younger family members to pursue science and encourages diversity and inclusion in STEM.
The potential for life on Mars, Venus, Europa, and Titan is discussed, with considerations of energy availability and ethical concerns.
Exploration of space should prioritize scientific discovery and understanding before considering tourism and colonization.
Titles
The Significance of Titan's Subsurface Ocean
The Unique Conditions and Habitability of Titan Microbes and Energy Choices
The Importance of Anamox in the Nitrogen Cycle The Possibility of Life on Titan
The Importance of Phosphorus in Life ATP: The Energy Currency of Cells
The Enigma of Viruses: Alive or Not? Exploring the Potential for Life on Titan
Navigating Higher Education as a Minority in Science Budget Cuts at NASA and Career Options
Inspiring the Next Generation of Scientists
Sound Bites
"Could I take some microbes from here on earth and dump them onto Titan's surface and would they survive? That answer is probably no."
"Titan is very unique when it comes to solar system bodies. I like to view it as the most Earth-like body in the solar system."
"Every hydrocarbon that we find on Titan's surface is likely sourced from methane at the beginning of the day."
"Microbes, the choice for them is really about energy."
"Energy-yielding reactions have led to the discovery of brand new microbes and brand new metabolisms here on Earth."
"Anamox is critical to how nitrogen is cycled around the world."
"That's why Uranus and Neptune are our ice giants, is that they were far enough away from the sun that they could coalesce rocks and metals and then get the hydrogen ices or hydrogen compounds and other ices forming."
"The rocky planets, those close to the sun, did not get massive enough to begin to capture hydrogen and helium gas. If we did, we would have been closer to gas giants."
"I could look into the sky and then I could see the sun turn on."
"How do we define life in a way that is agnostic but encompasses all types of life on Earth?"
"If we found viruses somewhere else, we would say that we found life, yet we don't consider them to be life on Earth."
"Viruses are encapsulated. Viruses do carry genetic material that they can use to produce future cells."
"I didn't realize how much of my own Hispanic and Mexican identity I was losing being in a town where I couldn't speak Spanish, I couldn't pick up the grocery store, like things at the grocery store I would normally grab."
"I'm struggling in this thing. It must mean that I can't do this thing. And that's not true."
"Hi, I failed physics. Will you still work with me?"
"I'm also so impressed at how you have time to spend on all these kids doing all this extra stuff on top of working in NASA JPL"
"I have five niblings, five nieces and nephews. Three of them are not yet in school. But the two older ones, one of them absolutely loves space, just had a space themed birthday party and loves math."
"If you have a more diverse team in regards to race, gender, all kinds of different things, you will have more innovative ideas."
Jesse Moynihan: On creating FORMING, the Ice King from Adventure Time, the NFT-financed Jesus 2. part 1 of 2
Thursday, March 31, 2022 • Duration 01:57:46
The second part of the Jesse Moynihan interview!
Jesse Moynihan went from incredibly weird underground cartoonist to "household name" when his friend and colleague Tom Herpich suggested Pendleton Ward hired Jesse to join as a storyboarder/writer/artist/art director at the end of the first season of the soon-to-be legendary animated show Adventure Time.
On the side of the enormous body of work that is Adventure Time (currently on HBO max), Jesse has also made his own, weird, spiritual, slice-of-life comic about bickering cosmic gods, Forming. With his brother Justin he's released the short Manly on youtube, via Cartoon Hangover. And he's been art director on the beautiful show Midnight Gospel (Netflix).
Recently Jesse presented an NFT project on his instagram account @jmoyns. The ensuing debate showed that some of his regular fans saw NFTs as a betrayal of the integrity Jesse had shown through his entire career - and with great disappointment comes great interviews! I jumped on the opportunity to hear Jesse explain his thoughts on NFTs and their place in the current art scene, as I can easily say that Jesse has never been an artist known for taking "the easy route". So, what's his thoughts on the climate impact of NFTs, why he stayed away from OpenSea even though it could have meant a bigger profit, what he sees as the future for art, on building a new fanbase from the ground up, and what he wants to do next.
I'm very proud to give you this 3,5 hour talk with one of the most awesome creators I know of! For practical reasons this talk has been cut in two.
Jesse's art can be found on Netflix (Midnight Gospel), HBO max (Adventure Time), YouTube (Manly)
Instagram: @jmoyns
His future project, on twitter: @jesus2rises
On Discord: discord.gg/jesus2rises This podcast is, as always, produced thanks to Nitro studios, Oslo, and with the help of my supporters at https://www.patreon.com/runde
Patreon supporters get secret comics, sketches, full pdfs of unaccessible comics (like Olav Sleggja and Margarin and Teleboy - in english) AND extra nice drawings and maybe gifts if they meet me at festivals. This year I'm a guest at Fantasticon Copenhagen (june 25th) and Art Bubble Aarhus (sept 16th).
If you want to support Ukraine AND get a comic from me and genius Ida Neverdahl, order our first travelogue MOSCOW from this link -
Jesse Moynihan: On creating FORMING, the Ice King from Adventure Time, the NFT-financed Jesus 2. part 1 of 2
Thursday, March 31, 2022 • Duration 01:42:18
For the first non-space related episode of Wunderdog, I have a MASSIVE nugget of artistic GOLD.
Jesse Moynihan went from incredibly weird underground cartoonist to "household name" when his friend and colleague Tom Herpich suggested Pendleton Ward hired Jesse to join as a storyboarder/writer/artist/art director at the end of the first season of the soon-to-be legendary animated show Adventure Time.
On the side of the enormous body of work that is Adventure Time (currently on HBO max), Jesse has also made his own, weird, spiritual, slice-of-life comic about bickering cosmic gods, Forming. With his brother Justin he's released the short Manly on youtube, via Cartoon Hangover. And he's been art director on the beautiful show Midnight Gospel (Netflix).
Recently Jesse presented an NFT project on his instagram account @jmoyns. The ensuing debate showed that some of his regular fans saw NFTs as a betrayal of the integrity Jesse had shown through his entire career - and with great disappointment comes great interviews! I jumped on the opportunity to hear Jesse explain his thoughts on NFTs and their place in the current art scene, as I can easily say that Jesse has never been an artist known for taking "the easy route". So, what's his thoughts on the climate impact of NFTs, why he stayed away from OpenSea even though it could have meant a bigger profit, what he sees as the future for art, on building a new fanbase from the ground up, and what he wants to do next.
I'm very proud to give you this 3,5 hour talk with one of the most awesome creators I know of! For practical reasons this talk has been cut in two.
Jesse's art can be found on Netflix (Midnight Gospel), HBO max (Adventure Time), YouTube (Manly)
Instagram: @jmoyns
His future project, on twitter: @jesus2rises
On Discord: discord.gg/jesus2rises This podcast is, as always, produced thanks to Nitro studios, Oslo, and with the help of my supporters at
Patreon supporters get secret comics, sketches, full pdfs of unaccessible comics (like Olav Sleggja and Margarin and Teleboy - in english) AND extra nice drawings and maybe gifts if they meet me at festivals. This year I'm a guest at Fantasticon Copenhagen (june 25th) and Art Bubble Aarhus (sept 16th).
If you want to support Ukraine AND get a comic from me and genius Ida Neverdahl, order our first travelogue MOSCOW from this link -
Eugene Chudnovsky: How life could evolve inside stars
Thursday, March 31, 2022 • Duration 01:20:29
In 2020, the esteemed physics professors Eugene Chudnovsky and Luis Anchordoqui published thatr describes a theoretical form of life unlike anything else.
Eugene and Luis suggested that a combination of cosmic strings and magnetic monopoles could perform the tasks of DNA at a subatomic level.
Eugene Chudnovsky received his undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral education at Kharkiv University in Ukraine, and has been engaged in human rights for years, among many other things as Co-Chair of the Committee of Concerned Scientists. We talk a bit about his experiences in the Soviet Union before he left for the US. The episode was recorded before the invasion of Ukraine.
Ads:
Wunderdog exists because of my patrons. Consider joining www.patreon.com/runde if you have the opportunity. Or, more urgent:
Ida Neverdahl & I have made a travelogue comic from Russia, MOSCOW. We participated in one of the last pro-LGBT demonstrations before it was deemed illegal, and also experienced first hand how street protesting already in 2015 were strongly regulated. The book is out in english, and the publisher, Centrala, has now put "Moscow" as part of their Ukraine help sale. Please check out MOSCOW and the other books from Centrala here. (All proceeds other than shipping go to Ukraine)
For Norwegian readers, I have a new book out, "ANTIBIOTIKA, helt og antihelt", together with Norway's foremost authority on antibiotics resitant bacteria, prof. Dag Berild. It's been called a "pedagogical bullseye" by Dagens Næringsliv and it's a short, easily digested and remembered summary of Berild's 30 years of research on how bacteria develop antibiotics resistance. Even Norway can cut our consumption of antibiotics in half without sacrificing anyone's health, and in the book we show how. April 3rd we present it at Litteraturhuset Oslo, Saklig Søndag. I will also be at Fantasticon in Copenhagen June 25th, and Art Bubble in Aarhus September 16th.
Ana Bonaca: Galactic bullet holes
Sunday, March 6, 2022 • Duration 01:04:49
While studying the stellar stream GD-1, Harvard astronomer Ana Bonaca made a literally enormous discovery: Cosmic "bullet holes" in our galaxy, several light years across. Something with around a million times the mass of our sun has punched enormous holes in our galaxy. What is the "bullet" here? Is it a supermassive black hole, of the kind we only see in the center of a galaxy? Or is it a cluster of stars? Or is it something even stranger, a "bullet" made of dark matter?
00.06.26
What are star clusters?
00. 08.00
Is the milky way just a big star cluster? No, because the Milky way is bound together with a dark matter halo.
00.10.15
The Milky Way has more mass than its amount of stars should indicate. So what is the extra, “invisible” mass? This is Ana’s favorite solution to what the cosmic bullets can be …
01.01.04
So, is earth safe from cosmic bullets?
Cynthia Phillips: Visiting Jupiter moons
Saturday, October 31, 2020 • Duration 01:08:01
Jupiter's moon Europa is the most exciting place in the solar system to look for life. Cynthia Phillips from NASA tells us why.
Cynthia Phillips is a planetary geologist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where she serves as the Europa Clipper mission’s project staff scientist and project science communications lead. She is also the deputy project scientist for the Europa Lander mission concept.
This podcast is possible because of Nitro Studios, Oslo.
James Fallon + Jakob Løvstad: Psychopath professor vs MMA legend
Wednesday, October 7, 2020 • Duration 51:25
Professor James Fallon talks psychology and space travel for "psychopaths" with psychologist and former coach of the Norwegian MMA national team, Jakob "the striking viking" Løvstad.
This podcast is a collaboration with Nitro studio, Oslo. Theme song: Jan Krey aka Jkreyzy
Extra material and my art for patrons at www.patreon.com/runde - special thanks to my 5$ and up patrons:
Maren Struksnæs
Adrian Kaxrud Berntsen
Jo Christiansen
Halvor Harnæs Lund
Øystein Borgersen
Are Edvardsen
Maisen Pedersen
Kyle Arumugam
Kyrre Matias Goksøyr
Lars Ivar Igesund
Morten F. Thomsen
Robin Hanson: Mind uploads will be a bigger gamechanger than AI
Wednesday, October 7, 2020 • Duration 02:02:46
Robin Hanson on how mind uploads could make space irrelevant.
The Fermi paradox is the mysterious lack of traces of alien civilized life.
Professor Robin Hanson invented a term to describe that something may doom all civilizations to die before they go interplanetary (and become visible from earth). He coined this unknown factor "The Great Filter". Today, the term Great Filter has become quite mainstream and understandable - just look at Elon Musk's pinned tweet since august: "We must pass the great filter."
But Robin has moved on - this idea was his in 1996! We want to know what he's up to next. So this episode is not about the great filter, but about Robin's excellent, and very unique, book "Age of Em". (We'll have to save his new book "Elephant in the brain" for later - we only had two hours!) Later, Robin developed the "Grabby aliens" hypothesis as a potential (and scary) solution to the fermi paradox. This has a separate episode!
This podcast is a collaboration with Nitro studio, Oslo. Theme song: Jan Krey aka Jkreyzy
Extra material and my art for patrons at Patreon.com/runde - special thanks to these 5$ and up patrons:
Maren Struksnæs
Adrian Kaxrud Berntsen
Jo Christiansen
Halvor Harnæs Lund
Øystein Borgersen
Are Edvardsen
Maisen Pedersen
Kyle Arumugam
Kyrre Matias Goksøyr
Lars Ivar Igesund
Morten F. Thomsen
Philip Lubin: Breakthrough Starshot, the world-saver laser, and how Stephen Hawking and Yuri Milner took it closer to reality
Wednesday, October 7, 2020 • Duration 58:19
NASA professor Philip Lubin and his potentially asteroid-deflecting and planet-saving laser, Breakthrough Starshot.
Stephen Hawking's last speeches were often about his gigantic dream project, funded by physichist and billionaire Yuri Milner: The Breakthrough Initiative. It is mindblowing in scope and ambition. Professor Philip Lubin is one of the minds that inspired one part of this initiative: Breakthrough Starshot.
This podcast is a collaboration with Nitro studio, Oslo. Theme song: Jan Krey aka Jkreyzy
If you feel like supporting, write a review on iTunes!
Extra material, and my art, is available for patrons at Patreon.com/runde - special thanks to these 5$ and up patrons:
Maren Struksnæs
Adrian Kaxrud Berntsen
Jo Christiansen
Halvor Harnæs Lund
Øystein Borgersen
Are Edvardsen
Maisen Pedersen
Kyle Arumugam
Kyrre Matias Goksøyr
Lars Ivar Igesund
Morten F. Thomsen
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