Monday, May 25, 2020

Big Picture Science for May 25, Gained in Translation













Big Picture Science - Gained in Translation

(Repeat) Your virtual assistant is not without a sense of humor. Its repertoire includes the classic story involving a chicken and a road.  But will Alexa laugh at your jokes? Will she groan at your puns?

Telling jokes is one thing. Teaching a computer to recognize humor is another, because a clear definition of humor is lacking. But doing so is a step toward making more natural interactions with A.I.

Find out what’s involved in tickling A.I.’s funny bone. Also, an interstellar communication challenge: Despite debate about the wisdom of transmitting messages to space, one group sends radio signals to E.T. anyway. Find out how they crafted a non-verbal message and what it contained.

Plus, why using nuanced language to connive and scheme ultimately turned us into a more peaceful species. And yes, it’s all gouda: why melted cheese may be the cosmic message of peace we need.

Guests:

This repeat podcast was previously released on April 22, 2019

Download podcast at - http://bigpicturescience.org/episodes/gained-in-translation

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://bigpicturescience.org/, and be sure to check out Blog Picture Science, the companion blog to the radio show.

Monday, May 18, 2020

Big Picture Science for May 18, Vaccine, When?













Big Picture Science - Vaccine, When?

It will be the shot heard ‘round the world, once it comes.  But exactly when can we expect a COVID vaccine?  We discuss timelines, how it would work, who’s involved, and the role of human challenge trials.

Also, although he doesn’t consider himself brave, we do.  Meet a Seattle volunteer enrolled in the first coronavirus vaccine trial.  And, while we mount an elaborate defense against a formidable foe, scientists ask a surprising question: is a virus even alive?

Guests:
  • Nigel Brown – Emeritus Professor of Molecular Microbiology at the University of Edinburgh
  • Ian Haydon – Public information specialist at the University of Washington, Seattle
  • Bonnie Maldonado – Professor of Pediatrics and Infectious Diseases at the Stanford University School of Medicine
  • Paul Offit – Head of the Vaccine Education Center, and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia

Download podcast at - http://bigpicturescience.org/episodes/vaccine-when

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://bigpicturescience.org/, and be sure to check out Blog Picture Science, the companion blog to the radio show.

Monday, May 11, 2020

Big Picture Science for May 11, To the Bat Cave













Big Picture Science - To the Bat Cave

To fight a pandemic, you need to first understand where a virus comes from. That quest takes disease ecologist Jon Epstein to gloomy caverns where bats hang out. There he checks up on hundreds of the animals as his team from the EcoHealth Alliance trace the origins of disease-causing viruses. But their important work is facing its own threat; the Trump administration recently terminated funding to the Alliance because of its collaboration with Chinese scientists.

Hear how Dr. Epstein finds the viruses, what kind of human activity triggers outbreaks, and how science counters the unsubstantiated claim that the virus escaped from a lab.

Guests:

Download podcast at - http://bigpicturescience.org/episodes/to-the-bat-cave

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://bigpicturescience.org/, and be sure to check out Blog Picture Science, the companion blog to the radio show.

Big Picture Science for May 04, Is Life Inevitable?













Big Picture Science - Is Life Inevitable?

(Repeat) A new theory about life’s origins updates Darwin’s warm little pond.  Scientists say they’ve created the building blocks of biology in steaming hot springs. Meanwhile, we visit a NASA lab where scientists simulate deep-sea vent chemistry to produce the type of environment that might spawn life.  Which site is best suited for producing biology from chemistry?

Find out how the conditions of the early Earth were different from today, how meteors seeded Earth with organics, and a provocative idea that life arose as an inevitable consequence of matter shape-shifting to dissipate heat. Could physics be the driving force behind life’s emergence?

Guests:
  • Caleb Scharf – Director of Astrobiology at Columbia University, New York
  • Laurie Barge – Research scientist in astrobiology at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory
  • Bruce Damer – Research scientist in biomolecular engineering, University of California, 
  • Jeremy England – Physicist, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

This repeat podcast was previously released on May 13, 2019

Download podcast at - http://bigpicturescience.org/episodes/is-life-inevitable

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://bigpicturescience.org/, and be sure to check out Blog Picture Science, the companion blog to the radio show.