Point of Discovery

About how long would you say the microbes living in your gut have been there? You might be surprised by what researchers discovered when they compared the microbes in our guts with those of our closest relatives, the great apes. Tell Us What You Think Take our short survey at: http://txsci.net/utpodcastsurvey About Point of Discovery Point of Discovery is a production of the University of Texas at...

This summer, we're celebrating a milestone: one year of telling you science stories from the frontlines here at the University of Texas at Austin. In this episode, we give a sneak peek at upcoming shows, recap some highlights from the past year and invite you, the listener, to take a quick survey to let us know how we're doing. The survey is at: https://utexas.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_eUTDsDlYdmBB...

As the summer movie season kicks into high gear, we talk with a scientist about some of the challenges in simulating the way everyday objects behave on the big screen. Etienne Vouga's computer simulations have helped bring to life a wizard's hair in The Hobbit and clothing in Tangled. To see examples of some of his simulations, go to: https://cns.utexas.edu/news/why-is-cgi-in-the-movies-still-so-h...

As the College of Natural Sciences’ Freshman Research Initiative celebrates its 10th anniversary, we speak to students and scientists about how doing research as freshmen and sophomores impacted them. About Point of Discovery Point of Discovery is a production of the University of Texas at Austin's College of Natural Sciences. You can listen to all our episodes at @point-of-discovery . You can als...

To study diseases, biologists often make models, for example, a rat with a disorder similar to Alzheimer's. With a good model, they can tinker with different variables and see if anything halts the disease, without the ethical limits of experimenting on actual humans. But scientists studying an especially nasty bacterium that tends to invade and breed out of control in the lungs of people with cys...

As bees sharply decline around the world, two researchers are taking very different approaches to understand -- and potentially reverse -- this troubling trend. One is studying the microbes that live inside bees and help protect them against infections. The other is studying the links between changing landscapes and bee health. Point of Discovery is a production of the University of Texas at Austi...

What would you do if you had Superman's x-ray vision? In today's episode of the Point of Discovery Podcast, we talk to a physicist about how he's using his superhuman powers to explore the insides of ancient Mayan pyramids without digging. This cool infographic shows how it works: https://cns.utexas.edu/news/pyramid-probe Point of Discovery is a production of the University of Texas at Austin's Co...

What is the mysterious force that seems to be pushing the universe apart faster and faster? Scientists are racing to find the answers and along the way, might get a step closer to finding the "theory of everything." Point of Discovery is a production of the University of Texas at Austin's College of Natural Sciences. You can listen to all our episodes at @point-of-discovery . You can als...

When Richard Finnell first met her, Rachel was a nine-year-old girl with severe developmental delays. Her condition seemed to be caused by a deficiency in a critical B vitamin called folate. Yet she had plenty of folate circulating in her blood. Somehow it was vanishing before it got to her brain and spine. Eventually Finnell made a surprising discovery. He's now using new genetic tools like CRISP...

How do we manage to follow a conversation with a friend in the middle of a noisy room? Neuroscientists, like Nace Golding, are still working out the details—but what they've learned so far is pretty amazing. Point of Discovery is a production of the University of Texas at Austin's College of Natural Sciences. You can listen to all our episodes at https://soundcloud.com/point-of-discovery . You can...

Meet chemistry lecturer Kate Biberdorf, founder of the wildly popular outreach program Fun With Chemistry. Learn more at: http://www.cm.utexas.edu/outreach/funwithchem Point of Discovery is a production of the University of Texas at Austin's College of Natural Sciences. You can listen to all our episodes at https://soundcloud.com/point-of-discovery . You can also subscribe via iTunes: https://itun...

Despite a billion years of evolution separating us from the baker’s yeast in our refrigerators, hundreds of genes from an ancestor that we share live on nearly unchanged in us both, say biologists at The University of Texas at Austin. Point of Discovery is a production of the University of Texas at Austin's College of Natural Sciences. You can listen to all our episodes at https://soundcloud.com/p...