Episodes
Monday Apr 29, 2019
Monday Apr 29, 2019
How do we manage to remain in good health (at least most of the time) in a world full of microorganisms that think our bodies are the equivalent of Magaluf? Does ‘imposter syndrome’ ever go away? And just what the heck is the microbiome!? All of these questions and more were answered when we returned to The Salutation Inn in Manchester for a catch up with Sheena Cruickshank, Professor of Immunology and Public Engagement expert. Sheena works on the immune system, more specifically looking at the cross-talk between different immune cells and how this shapes our immune response when we encounter something that shouldn’t be in our bodies. We sat down for a pint with Sheena to talk about some of the unexpected features of the immune system, the hot topic of the microbiome as well as the glamorous world of faecal transplants, which are exactly what they sound like…
Welcome back to the Pint of Science podcast. Each week, we meet scientists in pubs around the UK to find out about their lives, their universe, and everything. From *how* fruit flies love to *why* humans love, via jumping into volcanoes, winning Olympic medals, where we came from and more!
Like what we do? Be sure to subscribe to us and rate us on your favourite podcasting platform!
The Pint of Science podcast is a part of the Pint of Science Festival, the world's largest science communication festival. Thousands of guests and speakers descend on pubs in hundreds of cities worldwide to introduce science in a fun, engaging, and usually pint-fuelled way.
This podcast is made possible with the help of our sponsors Brilliant.org. Do check them out, and visit www.brilliant.org/pintofscience/ where the first 200 people who sign up will get 20% off a Premium plan!
Professor Sheena Cruickshank completed her Bachelor’s degree at Strathclyde University, and after being tempted to remain in the lab by the promise of free-beer, went on to obtain her PhD in Immunology from the University of Leeds. Since 2007, Sheena has worked in the Department of Immunology, investigating autoimmunity, how immune responses get started, and the communication between immune cells. She is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, and Public Engagement Secretary for the British Society for Immunology. Her interest in Public Engagement has led to her developing several projects to share research, notable examples including ‘The Worm Wagon’ and ‘Britain Breathing’.
You can follow Sheena on twitter @sheencr.
Thanks to us all having colds on the day of recording, we forgot to get our usual group photo, so instead here is a picture of a hermit crab without its shell.
More about Pint of Science at pintofscience.co.uk
Monday Apr 22, 2019
Pint of Science Podcast E6: Professor Matthew Cobb - Evolutionary Zoologist
Monday Apr 22, 2019
Monday Apr 22, 2019
This week we share a pint with a scientist who really smells. Sorry, he researches smells. Specifically, he’s interested to know how maggots smell; who says science can’t be glamorous! Our guest for episode 6 is the University of Manchester’s Professor Matthew Cobb, Professor of Zoology, award-winning science communicator extraordinaire and expert on the French Resistance during World War II… A bit of a modern-day polymath!
We made a return visit to Manchester’s very accommodating Salutation Inn, where we spent a fascinating couple of hours learning about (amongst other things): the nature of consciousness; how we can apply our understanding of genetics to give us clues about the sense of smell in Neanderthals; and why it’s better to work with flies than people… Matthew literally arrived armed with a bottled smell, such is his commitment to hands-on (noses-on?) science communication. Enjoy!
Welcome back to the Pint of Science podcast. Each week, we meet scientists in pubs around the UK to find out about their lives, their universe, and everything. From *how* fruit flies love to *why* humans love, via jumping into volcanoes, winning Olympic medals, where we came from and more!
Like what we do? Be sure to subscribe to us and rate us on your favourite podcasting platform!
The Pint of Science podcast is a part of the Pint of Science Festival, the world's largest science communication festival. Thousands of guests and speakers descend on pubs in hundreds of cities worldwide to introduce science in a fun, engaging, and usually pint-fuelled way.
This podcast is made possible with the help of our sponsors Brilliant.org. Do check them out, and visit www.brilliant.org/pintofscience/ where the first 200 people who sign up will get 20% off a Premium plan!
About Matthew Cobb, this week's guest:
Professor Matthew Cobb is Professor of Zoology in the Division of Evolution and Genomic Sciences at the University of Manchester. After obtaining a PhD in Psychology and Genetics from the University of Sheffield, and a stint as a postdoc at the Institute of Psychiatry in London, Matthew moved to France in 1984 – where he stayed for 18 years. The various positions he held in France shaped his research interests in chemical communication and the sense of smell (as well as his historical interests in the French Resistance during World War II). Matthew returned to the UK in 2002 to take up a post as a lecturer at the University of Manchester, where in 2007 he received the University’s award for Teaching Excellence. Alongside his research, Matthew has published two popular science books; The Egg & Sperm Race (2006), and Life’s Greatest Secret (2015). He has also written two historical books on the French Resistance, and regularly writes for The Guardian.
Matthew is great on twitter, follow @matthewcobb for regular fascinating nuggets of science.
Monday Apr 15, 2019
Monday Apr 15, 2019
Life can be unpredictable, but one thing we can all be sure of is that one day, it’s going to end... according to this week’s guest though, that needn’t be something to worry about too much! To say that we were chuffed with this week’s episode is a bit of an understatement. We sat down for a drink and a chat at The Borough Pub in Lancaster with none other than Dame Professor Sue Black, world-renowned forensic anthropologist and strong contender for a ‘most productive person ever’ award.
Over a delightful couple of hours, we dissected (pun intended) some fascinating topics, including what it’s like to study human anatomy using human cadavers, how to keep your cool when presenting evidence in court, and how to cope with the emotional and physical demands of disaster victim identification. Dark as some of this subject matter can be, Sue’s refreshingly down-to-earth attitude, sensitivity and sense of humour helped to bring out the inspirational and fascinating aspects of the work. We also got to hear about some cutting-edge forensic work Sue’s team have pioneered, and a grisly story about a medieval murder case that left us feeling light-headed…
Welcome back to the Pint of Science podcast. Each week, we meet scientists in pubs around the UK to find out about their lives, their universe, and everything. From *how* fruit flies love to *why* humans love, via jumping into volcanoes, winning Olympic medals, where we came from and more!
Like what we do? Be sure to subscribe to us and rate us on your favourite podcasting platform!
The Pint of Science podcast is a part of the Pint of Science Festival, the world's largest science communication festival. Thousands of guests and speakers descend on pubs in hundreds of cities worldwide to introduce science in a fun, engaging, and usually pint-fuelled way.
This podcast is made possible with the help of our sponsors Brilliant.org. Do check them out, and visit www.brilliant.org/pintofscience/ where the first 200 people who sign up will get 20% off a Premium plan!
About Sue Black, this week's guest:
Professor Dame Sue Black is a globally renowned anatomist and forensic anthropologist, and presently Pro-Vice Chancellor of Engagement at Lancaster University. From 2005 to 2018 Sue was Professor of Anatomy and Forensic Anthropology at the University of Dundee where she oversaw the running of the Centre for Anatomy and Human Identification, a world-leading centre responsible for training the UK national disaster victim identification unit and for creating the first forensic anthropology programme in the UK. Sue has led forensic teams specialising in disaster victim identification across the world, in Kosovo, Sierra Leone, Grenada, Iraq and Thailand, work that has led to her receiving her DBE in 2016 for services to forensic anthropology and education. Since August 2018, Sue has been overseeing the engagement strategy for Lancaster University as part of a newly created role.
Sue’s autobiography ‘All that Remains: A Life in Death’ recently won the Saltire Book of the Year Award. She reads a great audiobook version of it too.
You can follow Sue on twitter: @ProfSueBlack
And just because we liked the video, here’s Sue performing an ‘alien autopsy’ at Dundee’s Being Human Festival.
More about Pint of Science at pintofscience.co.uk
Monday Apr 08, 2019
Monday Apr 08, 2019
How did the dinosaurs die out? What is Deep Time? Why are there so many insects? And is dental microwear just tiny orthodontics (spoiler alert: it isn’t). These are just a few of the big questions we sat down to ask Anjali Goswami, Professor of Paleobiology and Research Leader in the Life Science Vertebrates Division at the Natural History Museum. This week, the beautiful Imperial Durbar in Tooting served as our setting, a venue that turned out to be very suitable for the podcast content! Please be warned, this week’s episode contains a large number of tigers.
Welcome back to the Pint of Science podcast. Each week, we meet scientists in pubs around the UK to find out about their lives, their universe, and everything. From *how* fruit flies love to *why* humans love, via jumping into volcanoes, winning Olympic medals, where we came from and more!
Like what we do? Be sure to subscribe to us and rate us on your favourite podcasting platform!
The Pint of Science podcast is a part of the Pint of Science Festival, the world's largest science communication festival. Thousands of guests and speakers descend on pubs in hundreds of cities worldwide to introduce science in a fun, engaging, and usually pint-fuelled way.
This podcast is made possible with the help of our sponsors Brilliant.org. Do check them out, and visit www.brilliant.org/pintofscience/ where the first 200 people who sign up will get 20% off a Premium plan!
About Anjali Goswami, this week's guest:
Anjali Goswami is a Professor of Paleobiology and Research Leader in the Life Science Vertebrates Division at the Natural History Museum. Her research has taken her on a fascinating journey through evolutionary history, and she’s published on everything from echolocating whales through to birds of the Mesozoic, via mole and dolphin skulls (a bit like Dr DoLittle, but with more… skeletal animals). Her most recent work focuses on carrying out a huge 3D scanning and analysis effort to reconstruct vertebrate evolution at extremely high resolutions, to help us understand how things like developmental pathways shape variation, and then how the environment acts on this variation to produce the diversity of life. Pretty big questions! Anjali has an excellent website you can visit and see some of the amazing images her lab produces.
You can also follow her on twitter: @anjgoswami
More about Pint of Science at pintofscience.co.uk
Monday Apr 01, 2019
Monday Apr 01, 2019
Ever wondered how many ways you can die on a volcano? Or perhaps you're more interested in impressing your geoscientist friends with geeky party tricks? This week's episode has it all; we found ourselves a cosy corner at The George and Dragon in Acton, then directed our microphones and curiosity towards salt-loving organism Chris Jackson, Professor of Basin Analysis at Imperial College London.
In an almost alarming display of energy, Chris arrived to record this podcast straight off the back of an 18 mile run, proceeded to grab a pint and then provided fantastic insight into both his research and some of the wider structural issues with academia. Get yourself comfy and dive in!
Welcome back to the Pint of Science podcast. Each week, we meet scientists in pubs around the UK to find out about their lives, their universe, and everything. From *how* fruit flies love to *why* humans love, via jumping into volcanoes, winning Olympic medals, where we came from and more!
Like what we do? Be sure to subscribe to us and rate us on your favourite podcasting platform!
The Pint of Science podcast is a part of the Pint of Science Festival, the world's largest science communication festival. Thousands of guests and speakers descend on pubs in hundreds of cities worldwide to introduce science in a fun, engaging, and usually pint-fuelled way.
This podcast is made possible with the help of our sponsors Brilliant.org. Do check them out, and visit www.brilliant.org/pintofscience/ where the first 200 people who sign up will get 20% off a Premium plan!
About Chris Jackson, this week's guest:
Chris Jackson completed his undergraduate degree and PhD training at the University of Manchester in 2002. After a brief 2 year stint in Norway working for Norsk Hydro, Chris returned to the UK to take up an academic position at Imperial College London where he is now a Professor of Basin Analysis in the Department of Earth Sciences and Engineering. Chris has received awards in recognition of both his lectures and his writing, and in possibly the most niche complement of all time has been described by the Geological Society of London as ‘the leading and most productive interpreter of three-dimensional seismic reflection data of his generation’.
Alongside his work at Imperial, Chris has also made several exciting television appearances, including BBC Two's Expedition Volcano which saw him descending into a live volcano. Honestly, these Earth Science types...
Follow Chris on twitter: @seis_matters