2Scientists

Tara Bracken is a specialist in Infectious disease and Global Health, a champion of vaccines, a blogger and just all round great communicator of many things science. We talk to her about tackling malaria, reaching out to the vaccine hesitant and how keeps herself from just crawling under a table and hiding from bad science.

...and we're feeling kind of queasy if we're honest. Les Shaw is a researcher at the University of South Florida and he studies the resistance of bacteria to antibiotics. Most of us have only known a world where many infections can easily be treated with readily available treatments, but the rise of resistant bugs such as MRSA is frighteningly common and threatens to become a major health issue. H...

We've all heard of "The Paleo Diet", but what did our paleolithic ancestors actually eat? Well we found exactly the scientist to ask. Briana Pobiner is a paleoanthropologist whose research centers on the evolution of human diet. We discuss when and why humans started eating meat. We also had to ask her about the dream job she has at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, where she hel...

Sunlight, blue light, red light, sleep tight! Virginie Gabel is a neuroscientist and a specialist in light and sleep cycles. Why do we sleep less when we're older and why do screens ruin our sleep? Why is our circadian rhythm important to our health, and how long should a "disco nap" be? These are all important questions we tackled with her over our coffee and croissants.

Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, Ph. D. is a marine biologist, policy expert, and founder of Ocean Collectiv, a consulting group for ocean conservation solutions that center social justice. She writes about how we can use the ocean without using it up on the National Geographic blog and @ayanaeliza. As a defender of science, after hearing about the march she knew she had to get involved. Tune in to hear m...

Andrew Steele is an astrobiologist who is most at home hiding in his lab analyzing his data. Given that he is looking for life on other planets - so would we be! But Andrew is one of many scientists who realizes that hiding away is no longer an option. They need to be out there communicating their work to a public that deserves to hear about it.

The March for Science was a global celebration of science. Attended across the world by scientists and non-scientists from every background. It was a demonstration of support for a field of work that affects our health, our economies and our planet. It was a vote of confidence for the importance of evidence. We spoke to three special guests about what the march meant to them. In part I, meet Paul...

Andrea Wiggins rather confusingly is a scientist that studies other people doing science. The technologies they use, how they work together and how they share information. Did you think research was just for scientists? Well Andrea looks at how citizen science works. How people without formal scientific training are helping to push the boundaries for research in fields ranging from ornithology to...

Taegan McMahon, of the University of Tampa, has pretty much grown up in the wild. Destined to become an ecologist, she studies fungal infections that are killing off entire frog populations. And she's run into jungles, crossed rapidly flowing rivers and battled crocodiles to do so! OK maybe battled is a slight exaggeration, but there seems to be little she won't do to protect her amphibious friend...

Peter Bentley is a scientist's scientist. A man who thinks you should only be doing science as long as you love it (as he does). His subjects of study range from brain networks to hunter-gatherers to autopilots on planes. He looks at how the natural world works through the medium of IT, and in turn how IT can benefit from how the world works.  Peter's love of science extends to writing numerous bo...

A chicken, an alligator and a turtle walk into a lab... Just a few of the weird and wonderful species that Richard Wingate uses to study the cerebellum or the "little brain". When not wearing his anatomist's hat, he explores the fine line between science and art working with artists and non scientists to find out how they see the world of scientific research. Stay tuned in to hear the tale of the...

Tis the season to be thankful, and we are, for our friend Mel and her return to Tampa. So to celebrate we wanted to re-release her podcast. The volcanologist who studies the earthquakes generated by volcanoes, in order to predict potential eruptions better. Mel's work requires her to spend a lot of time in close proximity to volatile, active volcanoes – even sacrificing her favorite sweater to col...

Our brains are our little black boxes, making us who we are. But how does a brain store memories and where? Why do we lose them as we get ill or old? This was the subject for our guest, neurologist and neuroscientist Emrah Düzel. His group in Magdeburg Germany, looks at new ways of tackling diseases such as Alzheimer's, like exercise and brain training. So listen in and form a few new synapses of...

She's a lady of many accolades: professor of Computer Science at Oxford, the first female professor at the University of St. Andrews and a CBE – Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire for her services to computer science. She is Ursula Martin.

Meet Randy: scientist of data, teacher of machines, master of visualizations. Like a lion tamer, he uses his computer to whip that data into shape; whether you want to plan your ideal road trip or just learn the perfect way to create a pie chart. A proponent of artificial intelligence, he's excited about all the ways it can help improve our lives.

Think of nuclear power stations and you might think meltdowns with Homer Simpson at the reins. The truth is that nuclear power is a clean and efficient source of energy and far safer than we give it credit for. Just ask Claire Blackett Taylor, a human reliability expert who works at the Halden Reactor in Norway. As the name implies, she studies how the men and women working at these plants can be...

You're not prejudiced are you? No, neither are we. Yet we all unintentionally make snap judgements about people every day. This "implicit bias" is the bread and butter of criminologist Lorie Fridell. Her work with the police highlights the dangers of this kind of bias, but also shows that, with a little bit of training, this is something we can all overcome.

Dan Huber has been into sharks since the age of 8. He's studied them, lived with them and almost lost his head because of them! We talk biomechanics, the dangers of captivity and megalodon. So many questions... so little time. We appreciate you humoring us Dan.

Jennifer Sedillo is a microbiologist by training and beer scientist for love. So this Valentine's day we talked to her over a pint, about our pints. We heard how brewing is not just for the bearded sex. And we finally have a reason for why that beer tastes as good as it does!

Resistance is futile! Or not, if you're a disease causing parasite or mosquito. This is where evolutionary biologist Silvie Hujiben comes in. She is looking for new ways to prevent and maybe even eradicate diseases like malaria but without just throwing drugs at the problem. Listen to her explain how controlling evolution might be the answer.

Kim Luddy went from aspiring marine biologist to actual cancer researcher. Now she's working on therapies to train our immune systems to attack cancer cells. Will they be a magic bullet? Probably not. Tune in to hear how immunotherapies could help, the joys of Twitter and how well Kim knows her cats.

Starting out as a chemical engineer Megan Detloff decided that wasn't enough pain for her so she switched to neuroscience. Now as a researcher at Drexel University in Philadelphia, she looks at what she describes as the "pain of everyday living" or the pain that results from spinal cord injury. Listen to her tell us more about using exercise as a treatment and the veterans that inspire her to keep...

He's a researcher, teacher, astronaut candidate, director of outreach programs and UFO investigator. Antonio Paris loves and lives Space! He talks to us about his favorite planet – Mars – and whether E.T. is likely to call any time soon.

From inflammation to intellectual property, Ruan Cox details his scientific career to date. Why not all scientists stay in science and why that's a good thing. This scientist talks about his favorite tech and how we should be using it to learn more about our own health. Oh, and if you think of a twitter handle for him, let us know so he too can communicate in 140 characters or less.

Sit back...take a deep breath... and relax. Feeling better? Well maybe you shouldn't be. Catherine Wikholm is a psychologist studying how meditation might not be all peace and happiness. As with any treatment, mindfulness might actually be damaging. On the upside though, find out how man's best friend might specifically be a veteran's best friend in cases of post traumatic stress disorder.