Episode 60 of the Mindcast is up!

Download it here.

Show topics:

Breakthrough in the origin of life - part of the TCA Cycle (or Krebs Cycle) can run in reverse, strange helical ice forms inside of carbon nanotubes, Nature publishes paper that exonerates the Tripoli six - six doctors and nurses held in Libya accused of infecting patients with HIV, NASA refuses to put a price tag on the Moon mission, global warming extends the life of space junk, strong rare-Earth magnets in childrens toys can be swallowed and cause injury, including one death.

Interviews with two UC Davis scientists, Dr. Rob Atwill who is organizing a study on E. coli in the Salinas valley, and Dr. Jonathan Eisen who studies microbial genomics and advocates for open-access scientific journals. Brought to you by The Scientific Method, Theme = Starcraft by Derek Duke, Glenn Stafford, Jason Hayes, and Tracy W. Bush.

A couple of things to note about this episode. The interviews were recorded “on location,” so to speak. My firewire audio device is finding itself rather useful. I’ll write about the various equipment configurations I’ve come up with to meet various needs some other time, though. I was also happy to give Jon an excuse not to go to a meeting - he insisted that he miss it in order to do the interview.

Both of these interviews were very revealing - and I couldn’t bear to have them wait until the backlog of episodes got to them. If you have the time, I encourage you to listen to this show before listening to any further shows that I upload. You’ll learn about what we really know about the Salinas Valley E. coli outbreaks from someone who’s been there, and all about the genomics of microscopic organisms from someone who sequences genomes for breakfast. Including one that has TWO genomes!
You’ll also learn about “Open Access” journals. Many scientific journals charge for you to read the science, and you have to go through red tape to reprint any of it in newspapers and such. Open access journals promise to change all that, and bring more information to everyone’s fingertips, from specialists to the general public. You can read more about it at Jon’s weblog, The Tree of Life.

Also, here’s a treat. It pays to notice the things that people keep in their offices. I saw something strange in a corner that Jon Eisen was all too happy to whip out:

That’s right, a chess set made from acrylic-filled microware!

Awesome! If only there was still time for me to stick around and play a game. I’ll have to arrange it.

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