Petri Dish

Hey everyone, this week is part 2 of our episodes on sex, this time focusing on sex determination in humans and Sean's rocky relationship with the field of evolutionary psychology! Nathan and Sean discuss the XY chromosome system, the SRY gene, all sorts of things that can make people fall outside of the XX-XY female-male dichotomy, and more! This episode our very real promo is for a non-fiction h...

This week on Petri Dish Sean and Nathan dive into the apparently controversial topic of biological sex. In this part 1 of a two part discussion, Sean and Nathan talk about the biological basis for the concepts of 'male' and 'female' in non-human organisms ranging from yeast to plants to reptiles. They bring up different kinds of chromosomal systems, weirdos like the platypus and clownfish, and whe...

Hey everyone, this week we complete our discussion about cancer. Last episode we talked about what cancer is, where it comes from, and what the different types are. This week, Sean and Nathan talk about the risk factors associated with cancer, the current treatment methodologies, and the next-generation of treatments that scientists are working on! Also featured in this episode is a promo commerci...

Cancer is the leading cause of death worldwide and it is a biologically complex set of diseases, so Sean and Nathan dive in to the biology this week (and next week) on Petri Dish. Cancer affects almost everyone in the world, with millions of people diagnosed each year and almost everyone knowing someone who has had cancer. This episode, they talk about what cancer is, what the main theories are on...

Welcome back to Petri Dish! Hope Americans had a nice Thanksgiving break, and are refreshed and recharged for another episode. We're picking up where we left off last time with part 2 of Cannabinoids. We discussed the plant, compounds, and briefly covered what they can do to you last episode. But this episode, we dive deeper into the purported health benefits and hazards of THC and CBD. We talk ab...

Hello and happy almost Thanksgiving to folks in the USA! In honor of a holiday that features stuffing yourself, we're covering the muchies-inducing plant, Cannabis, and the chemicals it produces. With more and more locations around the world decriminalizing and legalizing marijuana, this is a great time to ask yourself "what the fuck does this shit actually do, like real science-wise"? This episod...

Hi Everyone! This week Sean and Nathan are joined by certified young person Griffin Allen, who has street-level knowledge about VAPING -- the recently-in-the-news drug delivery phenomenon that has seen an unexpected uptick in sending people to the hospital over the past year. How does vaping work, and how does it compare to traditional smoking? What can you vape? When people are sucking on USB dri...

On this week's episode, Sean and Nathan explore the human side of outer space! What happens to our bodies in microgravity? What are galactic cosmic rays? Will Disney own the Lunar Gateway Space Station?! Listen to find out, more or less! CORRECTION: Sean messed up! At a certain point, when discussing Van Allen Belts, Sean states that he thinks a portion of the International Space Station's flight...

Spooky episode 13 is just dropping just a few days after Halloween! This episode is about disease vectors -- specifically ticks, mosquitoes, and the diseases they carry! Learn about how climate change is somehow going to make this stuff worse too! Find out which hemorrhagic fevers are percolating in those little critters. Sponsors: RAGE SALON; SUCKERS - The Sexy Vampire Dating App References:https...

This weeks episode is a spooky sci-fi romp about how we're hooking up brains to computers and minds to machines back to minds again! Except it is all real science! Tune in to hear Nathan and Andrei tell Sean he's crazy, learn what Elon Musk is doing with his latest company, and whether this technology is going to destroy humanity before CRISPR does. For some visual references, I highly recommend t...

Part two of CRISPR and genetic editing! This time, we talk about what plants and animals we have already CRISPR'd! Also, we discuss CRISPRs in the context of human health. Then, at the insistence of Nathan and Andrei, Sean is forced to discuss the ethical conundrums that come up surrounding the democratization of genetic modification. Nathan starts this episode out with a trigger warning about GMO...

Tenth episode of Petri Dish! Going to be honest, didn't think we'd make it this long. Sean and Nathan have a special guest for this episode, Andrei Daye. He's a dude who has read some stuff about CRISPR-Cas9 and how it is a --r e v o l u t i o n a r y-- technology, and wanted to know more! In case you hadn't heard, CRISPR-Cas9 is the hot new way to genetically modify DNA, and has been used in labs...

Our animal episodes seem popular, so episode 9 is a return to silly beasties -- in this case Sean and Nathan are talking about organisms that like to live in EXTREME environments, organisms called extremophiles. Sean and Nathan discuss the plural of octopus, with Sean starting out wrong with octopi (wrong!), Nathan offering octopussies (hmm) then switching to octopuses (best accepted answer). Sean...

This week Nathan and Sean discuss the origin of life on Earth! Every cell in your body came, ultimately, from the zygote that was made when your dad’s sperm wiggled its way into your mom’s egg. And those little dudes came from another cell, and another, leading all the way back in time - a physical chain of cell divisions leading back to that very first cell. But what existed in the moments before...

Woah woah, we got the end of our first little microseries -- this time wrapping up CLIMATE CHANGE. In this episode, Sean tries to convince Nathan that doomsday scenarios are not cool, they're serious business. The dudes walk through the different potential climate scenarios, and some of the potential ways we can mitigate and reverse climate change. If you thought the first episode was dismal, this...

This week is part one of our two-part series on CLIMATE CHANGE. For part one, Sean and Nathan talk about what is causing climate change and how humans are involved in all of that. Part two (coming next Monday!) covers the different scenarios for what the world could look like in the year 2100, and what we can do to combat climate change! Stay tuned! In the episode, Sean praises China for building...

Episode 5 of PETRI DISH! This episode is a prequel of sorts to our upcoming 2 part series on CLIMATE CHANGE (oh no!). In this episode, Sean tries to discuss ECOSYSTEM ENGINEERS with Nathan, who keeps calling these critters Environmental Engineers, which is 50% right. He seriously did it multiple times, just couldn't say ecological. Anyway, what's up with these engineer guys? They're animals (inclu...

Sean and Nathan wrestle with their doubts over acupuncture in the face of its glorious and undeniable efficacy! Learn about what the current science is on whether acupuncture does anything, what it could be physically doing (if anything at all), and a bit about the history of acupuncture as Nathan demonstrates his historian chops. Check out our patreon page!patreon.com/petridish References:https:/...

What do the duck-billed platypus, antarctic toothfish, and sleepy lizard have in common? They exist, they're weird, and it is evolution's fault. In this episode, Sean and Nathan take a very very small survey of weird wildlife and some of the evolutionary forces behind their oddness. Check out our patreon page! www.patreon.com/petridishContact us about corrections and/or questions at petridishpod a...

Learn more about the future of meat on the second episode of PETRI DISH. Sean and Nathan discuss lab-grown meat, the not-yet-in-stores futuristic food option that involves growing animal cells in a lab and grinding them up for dinner! Korean Human LCD GIF: https://i.imgur.com/Cnd9rMs.gifvSmall Error Note! At 12:55 Sean says 'cellulose' but he was being dumb -- he meant 'collagen'.References for re...

Hi Everyone! Welcome to the inaugural episode of PETRI DISH. In this episode, Sean and Nathan discuss what is living inside you -- the wonderful and ever-expanding world of the gut microbiome. The microbiome seems to affect things ranging from obesity and diabetes of Alzheimer's and allergies, and we do our best to dip our toes into the big scientific ideas involved in this microscopic world. We'l...