Petri Dish

Last episode introduced the blood brain barrier; it is a lot like a bouncer for the exclusive dance club that is your brain, keeping all the randos out. But this week we get into some of the details on diseases and drugs and their impact on the blood brain barrier. Also, sometimes we WANT drugs to get into the brain, so how can we get around this BBB? This episode has a promo for Lit Gaming Area P...

We did a twitter poll and the people have spoken! You folks want to hear about the "Blood Brain Barrier"! But what is it, besides great alliteration?! The blood brain barrier is a lot like a bouncer for the exclusive dance club that is your brain -- but who is allowed in? How does one get in? And on a cellular and protein level, who are the actual bouncers that keep us out? Next week we will get i...

We all know *about* vitamin C but... what actually IS vitamin C? And what does it even do in your body? How can being deficient in vitamin C make pirates bleed out of their gums and have their teeth fall out? Also, can vitamin C cure cancer? Find out some of this stuff, tune in! This episode is sponsored in part by Vaer Watches, which you can visit at   https://www.vaerwatches.com/ . Currentl...

Measles! Super contagious, very tricky, no real treatments, can cause IMMUNE AMNESIA! But hey, we have a vaccine, so this disease should be history, right? Well, definitely not yet! Learn more about this disease on this week's episode! This episode is sponsored in part by Vaer Watches, which you can visit at   https://www.vaerwatches.com/  to purchase beautiful curated photographs. Curre...

Plastics! So useful! But also filling up our landfills and gunking up our oceans! What are microplastics? Are they bad for human health and/or the environment? What even ARE plastics? And are there any ways we can recycle or otherwise deal with plastic waste better than we are right now? Check out the episode! This episode is sponsored in part by Vaer Watches, which you can visit at   https:/...

This week we're doing our second episode about Fungi! Last week we talked about what fungi even are in a broad sense. This week we cover symbiotic and pathogenic fungi, like the famous Cordyceps fungi! This episode is sponsored in part by Vaer Watches, which you can visit at   https://www.vaerwatches.com/  to purchase beautiful curated photographs. Currently you can get 15% off with the...

This week we're talking about Fungi! They used to be grouped in with plants, then got their own Kingdom... But what do we think about them now? What even are fungi? How can a group contain both little yeasts used for baking and mushrooms that can get you high? And how have we used them to make huge leaps forward in biological sciences? Next week we'll cover symbiotic and pathogenic fungi, like the...

Howdy y'all! Today we're releasing our final episode on autoimmune disorders! If you haven't already, we highly recommend you check out our episodes on the immune system (Episodes 36 and 38) for useful background information that will help you understand this episode, and also check out our previous couple of episodes on examples of chronic inflammatory disorders and autoimmune diseases! This epis...

Ahoy-hoy! Today we're releasing an episode on autoimmune disorders like lupus and MS! What is going on in these diseases where your adaptive immune system starts attacking you? If you haven't already, we highly recommend you check out our episodes on the immune system (Episodes 36 and 38) for useful background information that will help you understand this episode and some of our upcoming episodes...

Hey folks! Today we're releasing an episode on chronic inflammatory disorders like osteoarthritis! If you haven't already, we highly recommend you check out our episodes on the immune system (Episodes 36 and 38) for useful background information that will help you understand this episode and some of our upcoming episodes! This episode is sponsored in part by The Galry, which you can visit at www.t...

Hey folks! Last week we divided our episode in two, and here is the second part of bacteria's weapons of war! This episode continues our coverage about the little biological weapons bacteria have evolved to wage war on other bacteria and on eukaryotic cells as well! Email us at petridishpod -at- gmail.com . On twitter @dishpodcast and instagram @petridishpodcast. References: https://www.sciencedir...

Hey folks! Somewhat short episode this week! We originally intended to release the complete episode, but we've divided it in two because we're dealing with a little bit of pandemic stuff but want to keep delivering content! Anyway, this episode is about the little biological weapons bacteria have evolved to wage war on other bacteria and on eukaryotic cells as well! Email us at petridishpod -at- g...

Hi Everyone, it is still pandemic and you should still stay safe out there. This week Sean and Nathan discuss clinical trials! You might be hearing a lot about clinical trials in the news (especially because of the pandemic), but not all clinical trials are well designed. Check out this episode to help you develop a critical eye for those clinical trial results. This episode features a promo for &...

Hi Everyone, hope you are all staying safe during this pandemic. This is the second half of our final episode of this racism series -- we talked so much about racist experiments in episode 51 that we ran out of time to talk about the history and issues with IQ. This episode features a promo for Play Comics, a podcast that looks at the intersection between comic book-inspired video games and the so...

Hi Everyone, hope you are all staying safe during this pandemic. We are continuing our series on the long intertwining history of race, racism, and science. In this episode, the third of four*, we discuss some specific examples of racist scientific misconduct: things like the Tuskegee Experiment and the treatment of Henrietta Lacks and her family. *We went so long on this episode that we split it...

Hi Everyone, hope you are all staying safe during this pandemic. For our 50th full episode, we are continuing our series on the long intertwining history of race, racism, and science. In this episode, the second of three, we discuss racist science in the 20th and 21st century by focusing on eugenics and human genetics. Next time we will talk about specific examples of racist scientific misconduct...

Hi Everyone, hope you are all staying safe during this pandemic. The murder of Black people like Breonna Taylor and George Floyd has led to a lot of discussion here at Petri Dish about what we could do with our platform. We decided one of the things we could do was inform our listeners about the long intertwining history of race, racism, and science. In this episode, the first of three, we discuss...

On this, the final skin episode of our four-part (!) series, Sean and Nathan speak again with skin scientist Matilde Miranda about skin aging and the affect sunlight has on your skin! Learn about what SPF and UV Index means, the different kinds of UV light, and how to pick a nice sunscreen to reduce your chances of getting skin cancer. Featuring a promo for an upcoming podcast Talking Bugs, an ent...

This week Nathan and Sean talk about psychedelic drugs, specifically classical psychedelics like psilocybin and LSD. How do they work? What do they actually do to your brain? Can they be repurposed for more than making you see crazy stuff? Listen in! Stay safe out there, everyone. Featuring a promo for The Unexceptionals, an interview podcast! Check it out on twitter @_unexceptionals Email us...

Take care of yourselves out there, everyone. Racism is real and Black people have suffered the brutality of racist systems for their entire lives. This week's bonus episode is about Kawasaki Disease and the atypical Kawasaki that appears to be manifesting in children during this COVID-19 pandemic. Email us at petridishpod -at- gmail.com . On twitter @dishpodcast and instagram @petridishpodcast. Re...

What actually happens when you get infected with something? What are the steps your body goes through to protect you? Why do so many illnesses have "flu-like" symptoms? Find out this week as Sean and Nathan dive into the SCIENCE OF SICK(ness)! We recorded this episode a while ago, so it does not make reference to current (US) events. We here at Petri Dish support protesters and the cause they repr...

This week we talk about some specific cephalopods and how weird/cool they are! Giant squids! Blue-ringed octopuses! Bigfin squids, argonauts, nautiloids, and more! Get your fill of these funky folks under the sea! Featuring a promo for Thorndale, an actual play podcast! Check them out at   https://www.thornvalepodcast.com/ and on twitter  @ThornvaleCast Email us at petridishpod -at- gmai...

This episode is about cephalopods! Octopuses, squids, cuttlefish! All the jabronis! This is actually a two-parter. In this episode we're talking about cephalopod blood, eyes, ink, camo, and intelligence! Next time we are going to be talking about specific cephalopods that we think are particularly weird and cool! Featuring a promo for Planthropology, a podcast about plants! Check them out on twitt...

This episode is about the causative agent for mad cow disease, scrapie, and Creutzfeldt-Jakob -- prions! It's not a bacteria, it's not a fungus, it isn't even a virus! No, it is a little protein encoded in our own genome! Find out how there can be an infectious disease caused by a misfolded protein. Featuring a promo for Lit Gaming Arena Podcast! Check them out on twitter @litgamingarena and onlin...

Ravens, crows, and other corvids have held a special place in the human imagination for centuries, and deservedly so! In this episode, we discuss ANIMAL INTELLIGENCE in the context of ravens and crows. We talk about tool-making, inductive reasoning, and convergent evolution of counting! Funky stuff! Learn about these cool birds! Special shoutout to Dr. Swift (twitter: @corvidresearch), her twitter...