I’m on Justin.TV!

So, on the prodding of my friend and old Revision3 colleague, Neha Tiwari, I started doing a live chat program on Justin.tv last week. It’s called the Science Chat, and that’s what I do. I answer questions and talk about science for an hour.

Unfortunately, I don’t have a live-streaming set-up that allows me to take callers and actually vocally chat. But, I am able to respond to all the people who show up and ask questions or make comments in the chat room.

I have to say that I was completely overwhelmed the first week by all the people who were really interested in asking questions about science itself, recent news items, or were just curious about the way things work. I had a hard time keeping up with the flow of the chat, but I’m not complaining at all. All the activity made for an intense hour that I think was extremely fun.

And, I think lots of people who showed up enjoyed it too. I had over 30,000 unique views that first week, and hit that mark again this week. Not too shabby for a little science show… check out the premier…

Watch live video from DrKiki on Justin.tv on Justin.tv

and the 2nd episode for yourself…

Watch live video from DrKiki on Justin.tv on Justin.tv

Anyway, I definitely have to thank all the people at Justin.tv for getting this started, (moderating all the unnecessary commentary in the chat room) and making it a success right out of the gate. Neha, you and the Justin.tv team rock! I never would have started doing this or found out about the great Justin.tv audience without your suggestions.

It’s been such a great experience that I’m definitely going to be chatting on a weekly basis, if not more often. I’d also love to get interesting science-y people over to my home studio to do the chat with me (I do have two microphones…). I’m sure company would make it even more fun. So, let me know if you, my science-y friend, are interested in chatting with me and the Justin.tv audience.

Let’s see where this thing can go…

Dr. Kiki’s Science Hour – Life, Language, and Science

One of the books that the TWIS book club read this year was Don’t Sleep, There Are Snakes: Life and Language in the Amazonian Jungle by Dr. Daniel Everett of Illinois State University.

In the book, Dr. Everett tells the story of his years spent in the amazon jungle studying the language of a small tribe of Indians. There are ups and downs, thrills and spills throughout, but the most important part of the story is the language and how it changed the Dr.’s life forever.

You would be amazed at everything Dr. Everett went through in the name of science. I know I was when I read the book.

Even more amazing was getting to speak with him on the Science Hour. See for yourself…

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.

I’m Judging You.

Well, either you or your scientist friends.

The Scientist Magazine just announced “The Labbies”, a competition to find:

scientists and scientific laboratories that show real tech savvy in presenting their research to the wider world. Send us your coolest videos, neatest lab websites, sharpest blogs, most user-friendly interactive multimedia, and any other technologically-advanced presentations you use to communicate your science.

I’m one of several judges who will be rating your cool-factor, “including the father of the infographic Nigel Holmes, … Jeffrey Segall of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, NY, and David Kirby of the University of Manchester.”

I am really excited to see what scientists are doing in the multimedia and transmedia spaces these days. It’s no longer a flat website world. It’s an immersive universe of information and communication. Scientists need to understand this change and progress with it in order to keep up with cultural demands.

So, whatchya got?

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.

Thoughts On Ada Lovelace Day

Ada Lovelace was an intellectual woman in an age when women weren’t pushed to be intellectual. Her mother made sure she was trained in mathematics rather than literature so that she wouldn’t follow in her father’s (the poet Lord Byron’s) footsteps.

This training as well as her place in society put her in a position to meet and work with an academic named Charles Babbage who hired her to help on his “Analytical Engine.” Ada took the project and ran with it, elaborating on the idea in notes that contain the first computer algorithm. She is now considered the world’s first computer programmer.

There are many things that made the story of Ada Lovelace possible: her noble birth and marriage, her mother’s reactionary nature, her training, the people she met in life, etc. But, central to the story is the passion that Ada had for her academic endeavors.

Had she simply been a translator, that’s all she would have done for Charles Babbage… translated an article from Italian that he could then use in developing his ideas. Instead, she dug into the ideas and came up with ideas of her own. She wasn’t afraid to write those ideas down and share them.

And, now we celebrate her and what she helped make possible.

Women today have it fairly easy compared to the women of the past (I’m referring to women in first world nations here… I know there are many women around the world who still struggle). We can do what ever we set our minds to. We can take on the historically female held roles of mother, teacher, nurse, secretary, or we can be doctors, lawyers, astronauts… it’s up to us.

The doors are open like they never have been. All we have to do is walk through them.

By finding and following our passions, we create new opportunities for the women who will follow. We make it easier for them to do what they dream of doing.

I am lucky in that as a young scientist, I was able to find wonderful female mentors to learn from. I saw that it is possible to be a successful woman in science. I saw that it is possible to have a family at the same time. I saw that I could do it too if I wanted.

Unfortunately, there aren’t enough female role models in the sciences. The number of women in academics is growing, but it is still not equal to the number of men. It’s not because women don’t like science, or aren’t studying science. The numbers just drop between graduate school and getting jobs.

That means that most women entering graduate school aren’t seeing other women in those positions of  responsibility.

And, if seeing is believing, then we still have work to do.

But, that will come with time, and in the meantime, I’d like to thank all the women, like Ada, who toiled in the science or technology that inspired their questions.

Thank you for creating a world where I can ask questions, too.

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.