Kgnu - How On Earth

On today's show, Beth talks to Dr. Brianna Stubbs. Brianna is the lead translational scientist at the Buck Institute, the world’s first research institute for the study of aging. As translational scientist, she spearheads efforts to move basic science research into clinical and daily application. We hear about her research background in the applications of ketosis for health, performance and resilience, and how ketosis can be attained by ingesting a product being developed at the Buck. Executive Producer: Beth Bennett Show Producer:Beth Bennett Host: Beth Bennett Listen to the show:

This week on How on Earth we speak with Ainissa Ramirez, materials scientist and author of The Alchemy of Us:  How Humans and Matter Transformed One Another.   In this book, she examines eight inventions and reveals how they shaped the human experience.      Listen to how our sleep and language were influenced by some of these inventions.  Learn the history about how photographic film was developed, and the surprising use of technological advances in some of our most iconic cameras. Hosts:   Jill Sjong and Beth Bennett Executive Producer:  Beth Bennett Listen to the show:

This week on How on Earth, Beth talks with Dr Paul Cohen, a physician-scientist whose research focuses on obesity and metabolic disease. They spoke about his recent study highlighting the link between brown fat and positive health outcomes in cancer, cardiovascular disease, and type 2 diabetes. Their converstiaon starts at about 5 minutes. You can read the research study here. Producer: Beth Bennett Host: Beth Bennett Additional Contribution: Joel Parker Executive Producer: Beth Bennett Listen to the show:

This week, Beth talks to Prof. Mike Breed, of the University of Colorado, about his longtime research on honeybees. The interview starts at about 6 min. They explore some fascinating aspects of bee biology, and some of the problems facing these amazing creatures, as well as what you can do to attract and support them. Here are some tips from the CSU extension service for providing habitat and food sources. Host: Beth Bennett Executive Producer: Beth Bennett Show Producer: Beth Bennett Listen to the show:

Beth talks with Steven Engle, Chief Executive Officer and Director of CohBar, Inc, a biotechnology company developing mitochondria-based therapeutics to treat chronic diseases and extend healthy lifespan. The company’s lead compound, CB4211, is in early stage clinical trial for fatty liver disease and obesity. The company also has four preclinical programs, two in cancer, one in fibrotic diseases, one in type 2 diabetes, and one, which we discuss here, in COVID-19 associated acute respiratory syndrome. You can find more at the company website. The interview starts at about 6 minutes. Host:Beth Bennett Executive Producer: Beth Bennett Show Producer: Beth Bennett Listen to the show:

  We speak with CU-Boulder Geneticist Tom Johnson about his ground-breaking research into the genetics of aging and ways to improve lifespan and healthspan.  We feature excerpts from Ariel Lavery's StoryCorps interview with her dad, Tom Johnson, and we speak with Johnson about his recent diagnosis of Lewy Body Dementia. Executive Producer: Beth Bennett Producer: Shelley Schlender

Sometimes it seems that science and art are completely different worlds but that has not always been the case. There is a long history of artistic scientists and scientific artists.  In this edition of How on Earth, we talk about the alchemy of transmogrifying science into theatre. Our guests include two scientists and two playwrights who collaborated to create plays inspired by scientific research as part of a theatre project produced by the Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company.  The production is called "Science Shorts", which will be streaming the performances online Thursday through Sunday this week, January 21-24.  The production will feature readings of four short plays by Colorado playwrights, and four short talks by the local scientists who inspired their work. Our science guests are geophysicist Dr. Neesha Schnepf and biologist Ashley Whipple, and our playwrights are Nigel Knutzen and Ellen K. Graham.  Neesha and Nigel collaborated on creating the play Trinal, which takes three different perspectives o

(Whole Show) Longer “healthspan”  might be why the most popular Non-COVID story in Science Magazine last year involved the body-building supplement alpha-ketoglutarate (AKG), fed to middle-aged mice.  Buck Institute of Research on Aging Scientist Gordon Lithgow explains. Executive Producer: Beth Bennett Producer: Shelley Schlender Additional Music: Stop This Train - by John Mayer.

In today's show, Beth talks with science writer and journalist Gary Taubes about his new, and more personal book (The Case for Keto) on his experience with the low-carb, high fat or ketogenic diet. He interviewed hundreds of people, physicians, scientists, and ordinary folks, about their experiences on this diet. The keto diet produces consistency weight loss because it circumvents the insulin system, activated by carbs, which promotes fat storage. And yet, this diet also produces good health metrics in terms of cholesterol and other outcome measures. The interview starts at about 9 minutes in. Executive Producer: Beth Bennett Producer:Beth Bennett Additional Contributions: Joel Parker

Our lives have been changed by lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries which are everywhere: in our cell phones, cars, toys, power tools and grid energy storage. Indeed, the 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to the three scientists who invented and developed them.  As the world manufactures more and more Li-ion batteries, what are the challenges and opportunities for recycling them?  How can we prevent the batteries from ending up in landfills where the toxic metals inside can leak out?   In this episode, we talk with Dr. Zheng Chen, a professor of nanoengineering at the University of California, San Diego, and co-author on the paper “Efficient Direct Recycling of Lithium-Ion Battery Cathodes by Targeted Healing” published a few weeks ago in the journal Joule.  Hosts: Jill Sjong, Joel Parker Feature: Shelley Schlender Executive Producer: Beth Bennett Show Producer: Joel Parker Engineer: Sam Fuqua Listen to the show:

Scratch & Sniff COVID Test (starts 1:00) CU Scientist Dan Larremore explains how a smell test app might offer an affordable COVID screening that's way more accurate than a temperature check.       Ice Age BONE Fire  (starts 6:00)  Archeologist John Hoffecker and local volunteers recreate a Paleolithic “campfire” that used bones as the primary fuel. Volunteers who helped with this project — Josh Steinsiek, Dustin Goodew of Arapahoe Meat Company, Outdoorspeople Lin and Henry Ballard, Amber O’Hearn and Siobhan Huggins. Engineer Sam Fuqua Host/Producer: Shelley Schlender Additional Contributions:  Edie Hill, Composer Executive Producer: Beth Bennett Listen to the show:

This week on How on Earth, Beth gives an update on the efficacy, safety, and availability of the mRNA vaccines for the corona virus. You hear from Drs Tony Fauci, Michael Diamond, and Roger Seheult. Host: Beth Bennett Producer: Beth Bennett Engineer: Sam Fuqua Executive Producer: Beth Bennett Listen to the show:

This week we review the hit movie “My Octopus Teacher,” the story about a man who goes diving in a kelp forest off the Western Cape of South Africa, and becomes acquainted with an octopus.   We review the movie with Roger Hanlon, a diving biologist, cephalopod expert and senior scientist at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, MA.   We discuss the octopus' elaborate camouflage and complex behavior.  We'll get some answers to our octopus questions:   Do they dream?   Do they play?   Use tools?   Are octopuses a second form of intelligent life on earth? You can learn more about the South African sea forest at the Sea Change Project.  You can learn more about octopuses at Roger Hanlon's research. Host & Producer:   Jill Sjong Executive Producer:  Beth Bennett Engineer:   Sam Fuqua Listen to the show:

CU COVID TESTING UPDATE  (starts 1:00) We join CU Engineering Professor Cresten Mansfeldt as he and his students open a sewer manhole and do maintenance on their wastewater COVID early warning system.  We also get an update on COVID status at CU Boulder.     ROCKY MOUNTAIN SPOTTED FEVER & CLIMATE CHANGE (starts 11:15) Brown dog ticks that carry Rocky Mountain Spotted fever usually bite dogs.  But they prefer to bite people over dogs when temperature rise to 100 degrees.  UC-Davis scientist Laura Backus explains her new study and its implications in a time of climate change.   Host: Shelley Schlender Producer:Shelley Schlender Engineer:Sam Fuqua Additional contribution: Music from Lynn Patrick Executive Producer:Beth Bennett Listen to the show:

This week on How on Earth, Beth interviews author Judith Schwartz. In her new book, the Reindeer Chronicles, she takes the reader on a tour of some of the most wounded places on earth, and stories of how a passionate group of eco-restorers is leading the way to their revitalization. This optimistic book describes solutions to seemingly intractable problems that can restore local water, carbon, nutrient, and energy cycles. Host:Beth Bennett Producer:Beth Bennett Engineer:Sam Fuqua Additional contribution:Joel Parker Executive Producer:Beth Bennett Listen to the show:

In this week's show Beth talks to Dr. Dominik Nischwitz about his new book, It’s All in Your Mouth, to learn more about the relationship between our mouths and the rest of the body. Many European dentists have practiced holistic dentistry for decades. The practice is now becoming more common in the US. This idea is that many common chronic conditions—obesity, inflammation, stroke, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, heart disease, and cancer, among others—often have their origins in the mouth. And by treating the mouth, the body too can benefit. To learn more, you can follow the links above or check out Dr Dom's Instagram feed. Host: Beth Bennett Producer: Beth Bennett Engineer: Maeve Conran Additional Contributions: Joel Parker Executive Producer: Beth Bennett Listen to the Show:

CU-Boulder Sociologist Andrea Tilstra discusses how this decade's reduction of lifespan in the US  ties closely with two factors 1) easier access to painkillers and opioids, and 2) the obesity epidemic and the related health problems that come with it.  Tilstra also explains the quesitons a social scientist/demographer asks when examining the COVID-19 pandemic, the COVID-19 Boulder County local tracking of the pandemic, and the human factors to consider as people face the stresses of social distancing and trying to stay connected.   Producer and Host:   Shelley Schlender Engineer:   Maeve Conran Executive Producer:   Jill Sjong Additional Contributions:  Music from Lynn Patrick

How clean is "clean"?  How do you get clean, and how important is it...could it actually be advantageous to your skin and general health to not try to get too clean?  We talk with medical doctor and author Dr. James Hamblin about his new book "Clean:  The New Science Of Skin". Hosts: Chip Grandits, Joel Parker Executive Producer: Jill Sjong Show Producer and Engineer: Joel Parker Additional Contributions: Shelley Schlender Listen to the Show:

In Part Two of the Shale Revolution, we look at the environmental concerns associated with hydraulic fracturing, particularly the air quality along the Front Range.    We interview Detlev Helmig, an atmospheric scientist, who monitors the air quality along the front range.    We also discuss why well setbacks are such a contentious issue in Colorado. Producer and Host:   Jill Sjong Engineer:   Maeve Conran Executive Producer:   Jill Sjong Listen to the show:

This week on How on Earth, we look at the shale industry, which has transformed this country in ways we could not have imagined a decade ago.    How did this happen?   Where do experts think the fracking industry might be going?     In this two-part series, we consider why Wall Street and environmentalists are becoming strange new allies. We interview Paula Noonan from Colorado Watch, the platform for tracking Colorado Legislature.   We also listen to excerpts from Bethany McLean, author of Saudi America:   the Truth about Fracking and how it's Changing the World. Host/Producer:     Jill Sjong Engineer:   Maeve Conran Executive Producer:   Susan Moran Listen to the show: