Lab Out Loud » biology

Episode 79 – Vernier’s Game-Changer

Brian — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 05:30:07 +0000

David Vernier

Our guest this week is the co-founder of Vernier Software & Technology, David Vernier. David talks to us about the history of the company, his popular software and data collection hardware, and the release of two new products that are part of Vernier’s Connected Science System – the LabQuest2 and Graphical Analysis iOS app.

Links:

To listen to this episode, download the mp3 directly, find us on iTunes, or use the player below.

Episode 77 – Gaming for Science

Brian — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 05:30:02 +0000

Zoran Popović

Our guest this week is Zoran Popović. As director for the Center for Game Science at the University of Washington, Zoran helped create (with David Baker and Seth Cooper) Foldit – a popular online game that teaches protein folding and ultimately allows scientists to discover protein structures through crowdsourcing and community collaboration. Zoran talks to us about Foldit and using games to help solve problems facing humanity.

Episode 74 – There’s a Zombie in my Classroom

Dale — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 06:30:16 +0000

Dr. Steven Schlozman

This week we talk with Dr. Steven Schlozman, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and Lecturer in Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Schlozman talks to us about his start in teaching, his recent book “The Zombie Autopsies: Secret Notebooks from the Apocalypse” and how to use zombies to teach science.

Links:

The Zombie Autopsies
“The Zombie Autopsies” (Amazon.com)
Steven Schlozman Profile at Harvard
George Romero Continues Undead Obsession with ‘Zombie Autopsies’
Potential of a Zombie Attack Considered by Guest Speaker (the Utah Statesman)
A Harvard Psychiatrist Explains Zombie Neurobiology
Inside Zombie Brains: Sci-fi Teaches Science (CNN)
The Neuropsychology of Zombies (Boston.com)
Essential Zombie Films
The Walking Dead, AFC

More Links:

The Zombie Autopsies Book Trailer

Zombie Autopsies 101 from Daniel Lagin on Vimeo.

To listen to this episode, download the mp3 directly, find us on iTunes, or use the player below.

Episode 73 – NCSE Now Defending Climate Change Education

Brian — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 06:30:29 +0000

Dr. Eugenie Scott

As science educators are increasingly reporting attacks on climate change education, the National Center for Science Education (NCSE) is announcing that they will also be defending climate change science in public school science education. Join us as Dr. Eugenie Scott explains this new initiative for NCSE by adding climate change to their portfolio in defending good science education.

Links:

To listen to this episode, download the mp3 directly, find us on iTunes, or use the player below.

Episode 72 – 2011 Science Breakthroughs of the Year

Dale — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 06:30:45 +0000

To kick off the new year, we invited Pamela Hines , senior editor at Science, to talk with us about science in 2011. From the farthest reaches of the universe to the deepest mysteries of the cell, Hines highlights the major science breakthroughs of 2011. Listen to the episode to hear about these discoveries, and what we might expect to see in 2012.

Links

Science/AAAS
Science Magazine Editors
Subscribe to Science (K12 Teacher Membership Requires verification of teaching status)
2011 Breakthrough of the Year
“HIV Treatment as Prevention” (Science Abstract)
“HIV Treatment Dramatically Prevents Heterosexual Transmission” (Science Insider)
Hayabusa Mission Website
“Australopithecus sediba May Have Paved the Way for Homo“ (AAAS News Release)
“Malaria Vaccine Meets (Modest) Expectations” (Science Now)
Laser Mosquito Killer (YouTube)

Science/AAAS cover art courtesy of Science/AAAS. Readers may view, browse, and/or download material for temporary copying purposes only, provided these uses are for noncommercial personal purposes. Except as provided by law, this material may not be further reproduced, distributed, transmitted, modified, adapted, performed, displayed, published, or sold in whole or in part, without prior written permission from the publisher.

Featured image courtesy of lead author, Dr. Myron Cohen.

To listen to this episode, download the mp3 directly, find us on iTunes, or use the player below.

Episode 71 – Hack Your Bio Class

Brian — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 06:30:44 +0000

Marcus Wohlsen

For the last episode of 2011, we talk with journalist and author Marcus Wohlsen. Wohlsen is a science writer for the Associated Press who has received abundant praise for his recent book “Biopunk: DIY Scientists Hack the Software of Life.”
Listen to the episode as Wohlsen talks about his book, the underground community of “biopunks” and how you might hack your biology curriculum.

Links

To listen to this episode, download the mp3 directly, find us on iTunes, or use the player below.

Episode 59 – The Courage to Teach

Brian — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 06:30:52 +0000

Dr. Eric Plutzer

This week we discuss evolution education with Dr. Eric Plutzer, co-author of “Defeating Creationism in the Courtroom, But Not in the Classroom” – a recently published article in Science Magazine. Dr. Plutzer discusses the paper, and what the results reveal about how much evolution is actually being taught in biology classrooms across the nation.

The Cautious 60:

The cautious 60% may play a far more important role in hindering scientific literacy in the United States than the smaller number of explicit creationists. The strategies of emphasizing microevolution, justifying the curriculum on the basis of state-wide tests, or “teaching the controversy” all undermine the legitimacy of findings that are well established by the combination of peer review and replication. These teachers fail to explain the nature of scientific inquiry, undermine the authority of established experts, and legitimize creationist arguments, even if unintentionally (Berkman and Plutzer, “Defeating Creationism in the Courtroom, But Not in the Classroom”, Science: 28 January, 2011).

Links:

Dr. Eric Plutzer, Penn State
Defending Science Education in the Courtroom, but not in the Classroom, Science (January 28, 2011)
Evolution, Creationism, and the Battle to Control America’s Classrooms (Amazon.com)
Evolution, Creationism, and the Battle to Control America’s Classrooms (Google Books)
Bad Science Education in the U.S. (Pharyngula)
NCSE (National Center for Science Education)
NABT (National Association of Biology Teachers)

Direct download: LOL59.mp3

Episode 54 – The Encyclopedia of Life

Dale — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 06:30:37 +0000

Originally imagined by Harvard biologist E.O. Wilson as “…an electronic page for each species of organism on Earth…”, The Encyclopedia of Life is a free, online, collaborative encyclopedia intended to document every living species known to science. It is compiled from existing databases and from contributions by experts and non-experts throughout the world.

This week we talk with Dr. Marie Studer (EOL Learning and Education Director) and Mr. Bob Corrigan (EOL Product Manager and Acting Deputy Director) to learn about the EOL, how to participate in the project, and how it can be used in the classroom.

E.O. Wilson on Saving the Earth (TED):

EOL Links

The Encyclopedia of Life
The Encyclopedia of Life (E.O. Wilson, 2003)
Navigate (learn how to navigate EOL, search for content, customize your experience, explore pages, and where to find background information)
L+E Website
EOL Podcasts
NameLink
CoolIris
Encyclopedia of Life images (Flickr)

Links

Aaron’s World
NASA-Funded Research Discovers Life Built With Toxic Chemical
“A Bacterium that Can Grow by Using Arsenic Instead of Phosphorous” (Science)
It’s Not Arsenic-Based Life (PZ Myers’ Pharyngula)
Silicon-Based Life?
Brian Updates His Textbooks

This episode was prompted by a comment in episode 49:

I coach the Ocean Sciences Bowl team (Lake Sturgeon Bowl is the regional) at my High School. We listen to Ocean Gazing while setting up or buzzer system at the beginning of our meetings. Check out the bobbing and bowling episode from last February to hear our team as one of the features. I also like to listen to the Encyclopedia of Life’s “One species at a Time” podcast (also called Podcast of Life). Both podcasts are hosted by Ari Daniel Shapiro who also does some NPR work.

Direct download: LOL54.mp3 (42 minutes long)

Episode 53 – Science We Can Learn

Brian — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 06:30:10 +0000

Daniel M. Carchidi and Dr. Natalie Kuldell

This week we talk with Daniel M. Carchidi (Publication Director) and Dr. Natalie Kuldell (instructor) about MIT OpenCourseWare (OCW). OCW is a web-based publication of virtually all MIT course content, open and available to the world.

How do you learn science? Join the conversation at www.laboutloud.com to share your favorite classes, media sources, or other ways to learn about science.

Links

Direct download: LOL53.mp3

Episode 44 – Griff Jones and the IIHS

Brian — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 06:15:46 +0000

Griff Jones

Griff Jones is an award-winning science teacher plucked from teaching high school to work with UFTeach – a program with the University of Florida designed to increase the quantity and quality of secondary mathematics and science teachers. Griff was also selected to work with the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety to make two videos about understanding the science behind car crashes: Understanding Car Crashes: When Physics Meets Biology & Understanding Car Crashes: It’s Basic Physics. Griff talks to us about the videos, the IIHS, and their many resources for science teachers.

Make sure to visit Griff and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety at the 2010 NSTA Conference on Science Education in Philadephia.

Links:

(IIHS) Insurance Institute for Highway Safety
IIHS Vehicle Ratings
IIHS Videos: “Understanding Car Crashes: When Physics Meets Biology” & “Understanding Car Crashes: It’s Basic Physics”
50th Anniversary crash test video: 1959 Chevrolet Bel Air & 2009 Chevrolet Malibu
2010 NSTA Conference on Science Education in Philadephia
UFTeach
Griff Jones – UFTeach Biography (pdf)
Griff Jones – Products from Science Kit
‘Galileo’ Subs for Instructor in UFTeach Lab
UF Today: Two former high school teachers show their college students how to teach math and science. The first lesson is to have fun

From Paul G. Hewitt, the developer of the “Conceptual Physics” curriculum and author of the best selling text book by the same name: “The video “Understanding Car Crashes: It’s Basic Physics” and accompanying teacher’s guide are wonderful. The pacing is excellent, the coverage fascinating, and most importantly, the physics is correct. It’s a first rate teaching package. I give it five stars!” (www.iihs.org/videos/default.html)

Direct download: LOL44.mp3