Shows
Curiosity WeeklyHammerhead Embryos, Free Throw Touch, Kinky AlloyToday, you’ll learn about the rare study of a hammerhead shark embryo, how touching your teammate might help them make free throws, and a super alloy that doesn’t break - it kinks. Hammerhead Embryos “Secrets of Hammerhead Sharks Revealed in ‘Very Rare’ Images.” by Robyn White. 2024. “Bonnethead shark.” David A. Ebert, et al. 2021. “Are Hammerhead Sharks Dangerous and Do They Attack Humans?” by Robyn White. 2022. “Embryonic development in the bonnethead (Sphyrna tiburo), a viviparous hammerhead shark.” by Steven R. Byrum, et al. 2023. Free Throw Touch “Physical touch from teammates appears...2024-07-0411 min
A Day in the Half-LifeReimagining PlasticsWhy isn’t more plastic actually recyclable? Why don’t compostable forks actually compost? And when are we going to solve our waste problems?This episode features three scientists working to manage the planet's plastic addiction by developing smarter materials that avoid the pitfalls of 20th century plastics. We talk about the challenges of the current recycling and composting systems, philosophies of materials design, why trying to recycle some things is just "wishcycling," and why we can allow ourselves to feel a little optimism — even though the news paints a pretty bleak picture sometimes. My...2023-03-0851 min
A Day in the Half-LifeHydrogen: The Original Alternative FuelThe smallest element in the universe has big potential for clean, sustainable energy. In fact, we’ve been using it as a fuel for vehicles here on Earth and NASA vehicles out exploring the solar system for many decades. So why aren’t we living in a hydrogen utopia already, and how can we get there? In this episode, we discuss the past, present, and future of hydrogen energy, including the dirty side of hydrogen production and the current push for zero-emissions hydrogen to power our daily lives and decarbonize big-ticket industries like steel manufacturing. Featuring:2022-11-1735 min
Curiosity WeeklyMusic and Dementia, Microbe Rocket Fuel, Bitcoin MiningToday you’ll learn about how music is being used to combat dementia, how scientists are making more efficient rocket fuel from bacteria, and the environmental effects of bitcoin mining.Music and Dementia “Music Helps Patients With Dementia Connect With Loved Ones” by Marla Paulhttps://neurosciencenews.com/music-alzheimers-connection-21316/“Music: Bridging Memories for People With Alzheimer's” by Dennis Thompsonhttps://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2022-09-06/music-bridging-memories-for-people-with-alzheimersMicrobe Rocket Fuel“Bacteria for Blastoff: Using Microbes to Make Supercharged New Rocket Fuel” by Aliyah Kovnerhttps://newscenter.lbl.gov/2022/06/30/bacteria-for-blastoff/“Microbes May Hold the Secret to...2022-11-0414 min
A Day in the Half-LifeGreen Machines: The natural and artificial photosynthesis powering the planetWhat is photosynthesis? Oh, no big deal, just the key to life on Earth as we know it! Join me as I take a deep dive into this amazingly sophisticated chemical process. Hear fascinating details they didn't teach you in school and get a crash course on how natural photosynthesis inspires the development of renewable energy technologies that could someday replace all petroleum products.Featuring Jan F. Kern, from Berkeley Lab's Biosciences Area; and Joel Ager, from the Energy Sciences Area and an adjunct professor at UC Berkeley.Produced and hosted by Aliyah Kovner2022-07-2555 min
A Day in the Half-LifeInclusion in STEM: the Name Change InitiativeA Day in the Half-Life explores what working in STEM is really like, and that means conversations about inclusion. So to celebrate Pride Month, we're releasing a special episode about making research & academia culture more inclusive for transgender scientists.Publications are an essential part of career growth for scientists. But what if you no longer use the name on past work? How can you claim your intellectual labor? Transitioning to one's preferred identity can be challenging on its own. Journals and Institutions shouldn't make it harder. The Name Change Initiative, launched in 2021, aims to make t...2022-06-0932 min
A Day in the Half-LifeClimate ModelingFor decades, scientists have been able to predict future Earth conditions, like rainfall and temperature, with impressive accuracy using computer programs called climate models. These models are helpful at telling us what might happen to our weather depending on how much we curb greenhouse gases emissions now, and they can be used to study how much human-driven climate change plays a role in big events such as Hurricane Harvey or last year’s Pacific Northwest heatwave, compared with our planet’s natural processes.We hear about climate models all the time, but how many of us know how...2022-04-2255 min
A Day in the Half-LifeMore Microchips, Moore ProblemsA podcast episode about research and development of microelectronics. The race to make smaller and smaller electronic chips is coming to an end, after many decades of creative engineering. Individual transistors are now just a few nanometers (that’s billionths of a meter) in length, so there’s not much more shrinking to be done. But there is still a lot of room for improvement. The 20th century effort to pack transistors onto tiny silicon wafers transformed clunky, heavy early electronics into the sleek, portable devices we see today. The challenges of the 21st century will be to m...2022-02-0948 min
New Books in ScienceA Conversation with Aliyah Kovner, Science Writer and Science PodcasterListen to this interview of Aliyah Kovner, science writer and also host of the podcast A Day in the Half-Life. We talk about who science communication reaches: peers, other experts, non-experts, you, me, everyone.Aliyah Kovner : "That's definitely a thing not talked about enough, that is: often the audience for science communication is the scientists themselves, who want to learn about other fields. And even brilliant people with PhDs don't know the lingo for a different field. So, any scientist really actually has to appreciate the fact that most people are going to be outsiders to their r...2021-10-271h 05
Scholarly CommunicationA Conversation with Aliyah Kovner, Science Writer and Science PodcasterListen to this interview of Aliyah Kovner, science writer and also host of the podcast A Day in the Half-Life. We talk about who science communication reaches: peers, other experts, non-experts, you, me, everyone.Aliyah Kovner : "That's definitely a thing not talked about enough, that is: often the audience for science communication is the scientists themselves, who want to learn about other fields. And even brilliant people with PhDs don't know the lingo for a different field. So, any scientist really actually has to appreciate the fact that most people are going to be outsiders to their r...2021-10-271h 05
A Day in the Half-LifeEnergy storage: Save your electrons for a rainy dayHave you ever wondered how electricity is available all the time? That’s the seemingly magical science of energy storage. In this episode, we speak to a policy leader and a researcher about the history of piggy-banking power to spend it later, and how this field is evolving to help us prevent extreme weather-related blackouts, adopt more renewable energy, and build bigger, better, more environmentally responsible batteries.Featuring: Noël Bakhtian, director of Berkeley Lab's Energy Storage Center. Noel formerly served as director of the Center for Advanced Energy Studies at Ida...2021-09-2347 min
A Day in the Half-LifeQuantum ComputingIn 1935, the famous physicist Erwin Schrödinger was debating with his friend Albert Einstein about the nature of a fundamental concept in quantum mechanics – a field that was, at the time, still very new. To illustrate his point, Schrödinger proposed a thought experiment wherein a (rather unfortunate) cat sealed in a box is both alive and dead simultaneously – up until the moment someone opens the box. Decades later, that abstract paradox is still very much alive, and enabling the development of a new generation of computers. These quantum computers use bits (called qubits) that, unlike the binary...2021-06-3052 min
A Day in the Half-LifeBiomanufacturing: Making Stuff with MicrobesWhat do advanced medicines, renewable fuels, vegan burgers, smart fabrics, petroleum-free plastics, and cruelty-free cosmetics have in common? They're all produced with specially engineered microbes! Yep, microbes. In episode three, we explore the fields of science making this 21st century industrial revolution possible: synthetic biology and biomanufacturing. Our guests discuss how humans first developed the tools and knowledge to harness the natural capabilities of bacteria and yeast, and chat about where this rapidly accelerating industry could go next. (Hello painless vaccines and eco-friendly air travel!)Featuring:Jay Keasling, CEO o...2021-04-2346 min
A Day in the Half-LifeDark EnergyTwenty years ago, scientists were surprised to discover that the universe’s expansion is accelerating. The unknown and invisible force causing this acceleration was named “dark energy,” and in the years since, researchers learned more about what the phenomenon is not — but have yet to crack the puzzle of what it actually is. Physicists say it could be an as-of-yet undetected form of energy permeating the cosmos, or it could be an unmeasured property of the force of gravity. Either way, the answer will reshape our models of the universe.In this episode, we speak with Nobel Laureate Saul Per...2021-03-1034 min
A Day in the Half-LifeMachine LearningA Day in the Half Life is a podcast from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) about the incredible and often unexpected ways that science evolves over time, as told by the researchers who led it into its current state and those who are going to bring it into the future.In our very first episode, we discuss machine learning. First developed about 80 years ago, machine learning (ML) is a type of artificial intelligence centered on programs – called algorithms – that can teach themselves different ways of processing data after they are trained on sample datasets.In t...2021-02-0841 min