Brains Matter

In today’s episode, I speak to Ashen Vithana, a sleep scientist, and Alex Young, an entrepreneur and futurist, from the http://youtube.com/@thesnoozestrategists podcast.

I speak to them about the following topics:

– What is sleep science?
– What makes for a good sleep?
– Is there an impact from watching screens before bed?
– Are sleeping pills a good idea?
– What is the impact of exercise on sleep?
– How useful are wearable health devices?
– How does shift work impact sleep?

Download MP3 of Ep 204

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This episode is also available on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n394qJ2NK3M

The theme music, “Soul of the Machine”, was composed and performed by Clive Weeks.

In this episode, I speak to Dr Jürgen Knödlseder on the following topics:
– What are the components of a carbon footprint in science, particularly in astrophysics research?
– How was the lab’s carbon footprint estimated?
– How do we continue to do research and minimise our carbon footprint?
– What are some new ways that conferences are being conducted?
– Looking at new research with “old” data
– Are there enough astronomers to justify all the new instruments coming online?
– How increasing co-operation and reducing competition will help reduce wastage
– A rundown on Dr Knödlseder’s foray into local politics from the lens of environmentalism

Download MP3 of Ep 203

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This episode is also available on YouTube: https://youtu.be/QivSmBRi08E

In this episode, I speak to Dr Jürgen Knödlseder on the following topics:
– What are gamma rays?
– How do we detect gamma rays?
– The process of finding where the measurements of radioactive aluminium came from
– The work Jurgen did on the Integral satellite
– How do you focus gamma rays?
– What is Bragg Reflection?

Download MP3 of Ep 202

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This episode is also available on YouTube: https://youtu.be/g6bMPpRHN3U

In this episode, I speak to PhD student, Ayush Pandhi on his research into how polarised light is affected by magnetism in space.

Ayush’s paper referenced in this episode can be found here: https://arxiv.org/abs/2208.06417

Download MP3 of Ep 201

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In this episode, I speak to engineering student Jamali Kigotho, who talks about his work on designing rooftop wind turbines for residential areas, how it would work and the possibilities around this.

Download MP3 of Ep 200

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This episode is also available on YouTube: https://youtu.be/O_HvFKvIeN8

In this episode, PhD student Luke Steller returns to talk to us about Venus and the asteroid Bennu. We discuss:

* What does the discovery of Phosphene on Venus mean?
* What creates Phosphene?
* Could life exist on Venus, and how could life arrive on Venus?
* Could life evolve on Venus itself?
* Some information about the Osirus Rex spacecraft and its interaction with asteroid Bennu
* What could the samples from Bennu tell us?

Download MP3 of Ep 199

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Also check out Feedspot’s Top 20 General Knowledge Podcasts here: https://blog.feedspot.com/general_knowledge_podcasts/

In this episode, I talk to Luke Steller, who is a PhD candidate at the Australian Centre for Astrobiology at the University of New South Wales.

I spoke to Luke about:
– Luke’s background
– How he became interested in astrobiology
– Ancient life on Earth
– How understanding ancient life on Earth influences the search for life elsewhere
– Understanding how hot springs are involved in the formation of life
– Life near deep sea vents
– What do we think is required to form life?
– The variability of life
– The Miller-Urey experiment
– The origin of life versus habitability
– What might extraterrestrial life look like?

Download MP3 of Ep 198

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In this episode, I talk to Dr Onisha Patel, who is a structural biologist at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research (WEHI) in Melbourne, Australia

I speak to her about:
– How she got into science from her interest in art
– What inspired her growing up
– Structural Biology and what it is
– Why knowing the shape of proteins is useful
– Pseudo Enzymes
– Understanding cancers through these techniques
– Mixing art with structural biology
– Her research
– The Superstars of STEM Programme

Download MP3 of Ep 197

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In this episode, I talk to Bec Lin, Shiyen Perera and Cyndy Li from Monash University who are all part of the Monash Solar Decathlon Team, and took part in the US Department of Energy Solar Decathlon Design Challenge.

I speak to them about:
– Their backgrounds
– The Monash Solar Decathlon Team itself
– The US Department of Energy competition
– The individual projects each of the teams worked on, plus an outline of the winning project from another MSDT team

Download MP3 of Ep 196

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In this episode, I speak to Dr Dyani Lewis on the research work she is undertaking as part of a larger team in studying chlamydia

Download MP3 of Ep 195

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