Dr. Kiki’s Science Hour – Celebrating Women

A few weeks ago, I wrote about Ada Lovelace, and the challenges and successes of women in science. On Ada Lovelace Day, I spoke with … from the Association for Women in Science about, yes, you guessed it… women in science.

It was a fabulous conversation, and I do believe that we did, indeed, celebrate the women in the field. And, really, I think that is the key to continued success these days. People are not responsive to whining about problems. People want to feel hopeful, to see positive role-models, be given next steps they can take themselves, and to know that their actions can make a difference.

If you are a female success in science or technology, get out there! Tell people about yourself, and don’t be afraid to do it. People want to know how you got to where you are.

Be a model for future generations of women in science by living successfully yourself.

Anyway, here is the show. Check it out:

Science Thursday on TWIT – April 22, 2010

Announcements!

Today (and most Thursdays) on TWiT I host Science Thursday…

It starts at 2pm PT with Maxwell’s House starring Ray Maxwell. Ray delves into the world of aviation, and today’s show will focus on Ash Clouds, Aero Cars, and being a Test Pilot.

From 3:30 – 4:30pm PT, you can catch Dr. Kiki’s Science Hour. Today I interview Rebecca Skloot, author of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, about her book, the science of cells, and finding such an amazing story.

Then from 5-5:30pm PT, Roz Rows the Pacific will find Roz Savage wherever she is in the Southern Pacific Ocean to discuss her journey and the concept of sustainability. Our guest will be Marcus Eriksen of the 5Gyres project.

Happy Earth Day, everyone. May you live the life you love, and may that love give back to the planet.

I hope you can join in the fun on TWiT.tv.

DKSH Gives You Choices

Just a quick note that the TWIT Network recently released Dr. Kiki’s Science Hour in video on iTunes!

That means you can now watch Dr. Kiki’s Science Hour live, or subscribe to either an audio or video version of the show, OR watch it whenever you like on YouTube.

Isn’t choice a wonderful thing?

Dr. Kiki’s Science Hour – How to Build A Better Vaccine

If you have ever had questions about how vaccines are made, tested, and then deployed to the public at large, you should listen to this episode of Dr. Kiki’s Science Hour.

Dr. Gregory Poland of the Mayo Clinic joined me on the show to talk the basics of vaccines. We covered the topic generally, but also focused on the flu and H1N1. Seriously, he was as straightforward as you can get, and I truly appreciated the answers he was able to give to my many questions.

You can listen here. Or, watch it here…

Vaccines have become a touchy subject of late, and having accurate information on which you can base your decisions is vital. I hope this episode is spread far and wide just like the diseases vaccines are meant to protect us from.

Dr. Kiki’s Science Hour – Voyage of Darwin’s Beagle

Recently, on Dr. Kiki’s Science Hour, I spoke with Karen James of the Natural History Museum in London, UK. She’s a biologist working on several interesting and interrelated projects.

First, at the Natural History Museum, she works as a botanist and has been involved in an international effort to develop a genetic bar-coding process for plants. She is also responsible for their Darwin research memorabilia… i.e. specimens that Darwin collected while traveling to the Galapagos and back, like the Floreana mockingbirds, which were massively important in the development of Darwin’s great idea.

Additionally, she is the science director for the Beagle Project, whose aim is to build a replica of the HMS Beagle and sail it as a research vessel to the Galapagos.

You can hear all about it here. Or, watch it here…

The world is lucky to have such vibrant scientists as Dr. James.

Battling the Red Queen

The Red Queen has to keep running just to stay in the same place. In the same vein, drug development for infectious diseases has to constantly keep on its toes. Infectious disease sources, like some bacteria, can evolve resistance to our drugs, and when that happens we need new drugs to maintain our effective battle against the threat to our health.

But, is there a way to get around this process of evolution – to be done with this race for survival? Dr. Andrew Read and several other researchers think there is, and they are working on ways to create “evolution-proof” drugs.

I spoke with Dr. Read last week on Dr. Kiki’s Science Hour. We discussed this idea of “evolution-proof”, focusing specifically on the malaria parasite and strategies that he and his colleagues are working on to reduce the impact that malaria has on people around the world. We also spent time talking about evolution generally, and why Dr. Read finds it so fascinating.

I invite you to take a listen to the show – you can find it in audio format here. Or, you can watch it in video at ODTV.me.

Dr. Kiki’s Science Hour – Making Science Matter

If you have ever thought critically about the American educational system, and come away with the impression (as I have) that the future of our nation is doomed, you might find this episode uplifting.

No matter what you have heard, there are teachers who care. There are teachers who try new and different approaches to teaching. There are places in the United States where children are actually learning science.

Zach Ronneberg is a science teacher at Da Vinci High School in Davis, CA. He has been recognized as among the best science teachers in the US. I got to talk with him about the ways he employs hands-on learning in the classroom, and about the KSTF Teaching Fellowship he was awarded.

You can listen to our conversation here.

Or, you can watch the video at ODTV – On-Demand TWIT Network.

Dr. Kiki’s Science Hour – Hacking Science

A couple of weeks ago I had the distinct pleasure of talking with Ariel Waldman of Spacehack.org on Dr. Kiki’s Science Hour.

We talked a lot about citizen science and the importance of opening up science to the public. She told me about several interesting projects, like GalaxyZoo, which relies on the public to process massive amounts of astronomical data.

Ariel also talked a bit about what got her interested in space and the realm of collaborative science.

You can listen to the interview here.

Or, watch it on ODTV – the On-Demand TWIT Video archive.

You can catch Ariel (and me) at SXSW if you are interested in hearing more. We are speaking on a panel called Open Science: Create, Collaborate, Communicate on Monday, the 15th, at 9:30am.