Locally Sourced Science

LSS 83: Women in Science III

March 31, 2020

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SARS-CoV-2 Viral Particles
(Source: NIAID, Wikimedia Commons)

In the month of March, we are recognizing the contributions of women scientists to all fields of science. This is our last edition of our special Women’s History Month episodes. Of course, LSS will continue to post interviews of women scientists in upcoming shows.

Today, you’ll hear a podcast from Cornell graduate student and Locally Sourced Science contributor, Candice Limper. She speaks with fellow graduate student Dr. Scarlett Lee from the Department of Microbiology and Immunology in the Cornell College of Veterinary Medicine.
In this interview, Dr. Lee, who is a veterinarian, talks about what is known so far about COVID-19 disease in humans of different ages. She discusses the disease in light of her research interest, which is the effect of age on the immune system.

Later in the show, you’ll hear an interview of Dr. Jarra Jagne, a veterinarian and Senior Extension Associate at the Animal Health Diagnostic Lab in the College of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell University. She specializes in avian diseases and advises poultry producers on how to avoid disease outbreaks in their flocks. Here, she talks about zoonotic diseases such as SARS-CoV-2, the cause of COVID-19, that can spread from animals to humans.

Also, in today’s show, Liz Mahood’s presents a profile of Dr. Mary Guinan, the Dean of the School of Community Health Sciences at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Show Producer: Esther Racoosin

Interviews: Candice Limper & Esther Racoosin

Profile of Dr. Mary Guinan: Liz Mahood

Music: Joe Lewis, Blu Dot Sessions, Ben Jordan

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LSS 82: Women in Science 2

March 28, 2020

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While this is another episode celebrating woman scientists, first we talk about the importance of handwashing and Ignac Semmelweis the father of handwashing.

As you know, this month we are recognizing Women scientists, and the contributions that they are making to help us understand the diverse world around us and the worlds inside us.

We recently spoke with Dr. Mingming Wu, Professor of Biological and Environmental Engineering in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Dr. Wu uses engineering and physics principles to understand biological processes. She is interested in the forces that are exerted on cells, or by cells, when they move inside the body.

In January of this year, Dr. Wu and colleagues published a study exploring how breast cancer tumor cells move inside the body. The group created a device that could be used to study how breast cancer cells respond to the presence of a chemokine, a hormone released by lymph node immune cells that can attract tumor cells in the body.

At the AAAS meeting in 2018, we interviewed Dr. Amelia Safi, who talked about the use of antibiotics in the dairy industry.

Mark Sarvary of Locally Sourced Science interviewing Dr. Amelia Safi after her talk at the AAAS annual conference

Lastly, we dedicated a segment to Tu Youyou, who won the “Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine” in 2015.

Show Producer: Mark Sarvary

Interviews: Mark Sarvary & Esther Racoosin

Profile of Tu Youyou: Liz Mahood

Music: Joe Lewis

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LSS 81: Women in Science I

March 3, 2020

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In today’s show, you’ll hear an interview from Cornell undergraduate Rosemary Glos. She spoke with Cornell Professor Chelsea Specht, the Barbara McClintock Professor in the School of Integrative Plant Science, where she studies the evolutionary biology of plants. In this interview, Dr. Specht talks about the value of the many natural history collections at Cornell.

Later in the show, you’ll hear a report on Ithaca College’s annual Women in Math day. Esther Racoosin covered the February 8th event, where female high school students learned about the many reasons why they might want to consider majoring in math in college.

Janani Harihanan presents a profile of Dr. Janaki Ammal, the first woman scientist to receive a Ph.D. in Botany in the United States.

And Liz Mahood presents the Science News.

Image Credits: Cornell University, image of Dr. Chelsea Specht. Esther Racoosin, image of Ithaca College Women in Math publicity.

Show Producer: Esther Racoosin

Interview of Cornell Professor Dr. Chelsea Specht: Rosemary Glos

Profile of Dr. Janaki Ammal: Janani Harihanan

Science News: Liz Mahood

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LSS 80: Darwin and co-Evolution

February 18, 2020

LSS 80: Darwin and co-Evolution

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Each year, around the time of Charles Darwin’s birthday on February 12, the Paleontological Research Institution, also known as PRI, presents a week-long festival of events called “Darwin Days”. The theme of this year’s celebration was “The Power of Pollination”!

To learn more about Darwin’s observations of flowers and the insects that pollinate them, Locally Sourced Science contributor Esther Racoosin attended one of the Darwin Days events. It was a presentation, titled “Pollination and Coevolution: Love Story or Arms race” by Cornell Professor Anurag Agrawal. At the beginning of today’s show, you’ll hear about Darwin’s thoughts on co-evolution and Dr. Agrawal’s research on the topic.

*Acanthurus lineatus*, the striped surgeonfish

Later in the show, you’ll hear an interview produced by Cornell undergraduate Alejandro Schmieder. He spoke with Cornell Assistant Professor Esther Angert about her research on a type of bacteria, Epulopiscium, that lives inside the gut of tropical surgeonfish. Angert talks about how those two organisms have perhaps co-evolved to develop a symbiotic relationship that allows them to survive changing conditions in the ocean.

And, lastly, you’ll hear our science events calendar for the week.

Image Credits: Paleontological Research Institution, Anurag Agrawal, Cornell University Dept. of Microbiology

Show Producer: Esther Racoosin

Interview of Cornell Professor Esther Angert: Alejandro Schmieder

Science Calendar: Esther Racoosin

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