The New York Academy of Sciences

Dr. Ben Goldacre, author of Bad Pharma: How Drug Companies Mislead Doctors and Harm Patients, discusses the pervasive bias in reporting clinical trials of medications. He calls for all trials to be registered and for all trial results to be reported. Otherwise, he says, doctors, researchers, and patients are prevented from making discerning decisions about treatments and the field of evidence-base...

The Supreme Court recently refused to hear a case challenging federal funding for embryonic stem cell research. Dr. John Murray, a lawyer and geneticist, and Dr. Chris Henderson, scientific director of Target ALS, discuss the case and the field of stem cell research. The Supreme Court recently refused to hear a case challenging federal funding for embryonic stem cell research. Experts discuss the...

Brian Switek, a panelist at our upcoming Love and Lust in the Animal Kingdom event and author of My Beloved Brontosaurus, discusses what we know about dinosaur sex and how we know it. Brian will be a panelist at our event, Lust and Love in the Animal Kingdom on February 12th, part of our Science and the Seven Deadly Sins series.

David Randall, author of the book Dreamland: Adventures in the Strange Science of Sleep, MIT neuroscientist Matt Wilson, PhD, and Harvard instructor of psychiatry Erin Wamsley, PhD, discuss the science of sleep and dreams. David Randall, author of the book Dreamland: Adventures in the Strange Science of Sleep, MIT neuroscientist Matt Wilson, PhD, and Harvard instructor of psychiatry Erin Wamsley,...

This excerpt from our Pride: Flying Cars and Other Broken Promises event features biologist and professor Stuart Firestein considering pride and scientific predictions. Professor Firestein discusses how scientific predictions, which can appear to the public as arrogant and unreliable, are ideally informed by humility and a sense of curiosity in the face of ignorance. The event was part of our Scie...

In Part 2 of our podcast coverage of Wrath Goes Viral, the panelists discuss factors involved in preventing outbreaks from reaching pandemic scales. The SARS virus and SARS-like virus that appeared earlier this year in Saudi Arabia provide interesting case studies for considering containment policy. In the section, the panelists discuss factors involved in preventing outbreaks from reaching pandem...

This is Part 1 of our podcast coverage of the event Wrath Goes Viral, the first in our Science and the Seven Deadly Sins series. In this first section, the panel considers the evolution of viruses, the spillover of pathogens from animals to humans, and some cultural practices that increase the rate of this phenomenon. The discussion is moderated by award-winning author David Quammen. The panelists...

In this podcast, Dustyn Roberts discusses her work on the cutting edge of engineering. Her Sample Manipulation System, part of the Curiosity Mars Science Laboratory, is now helping to analyze soil samples on Mars, and her current projects range from DIY biomechanics to opening up and supporting a world of educational resources.

In this podcast, art historian Nina Samuel, biologists Brian Enquist and James Brown, and ethnomathematician Ron Eglash discuss the prevalence and power of fractals from the perspectives of their various disciplines.

What does play have to do with learning? More than you may think. Today's kids are getting less playtime than previous generations, and that may have an impact on later learning development. Dr. Karen Adolph, Dr. Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, and Dr. David Kanter help us explore the playful side of education. This podcast is produced in complement to an Academy workshop held earlier this summer on the relati...

Nutrition is notoriously tricky to get a handle on, with conflicting reports and unsubstantiated fads all over the place. So why can't science get to the bottom of what's right and right for you? For one, it has a lot to do with things called biomarkers. The experts featured in this podcast were recorded at the symposium "Biomarkers in Nutrition: New Frontiers in Research and Application," held on...

Salt is one of the most important and versatile ingredients in foods around the world. We like it, we need it, but are we getting too much of it these days? Get the big picture on this unique compound in episode six of our nutrition series. The "A Thought for Food" podcast series is brought to you by Science the City and the Sackler Institute for Nutrition Science.

Locavorism is all the rage these days, but does science back it up? Is local food more nutritious? Can it improve our environment? And does it even taste better? This June, we invited a panel of experts from the New York area to find out. This podcast was recorded live at "The Science of Local Food" event on June 26, 2012, a part of the River to River Festival. A big thanks goes out to the South S...

The battle of wills to resist the last cupcake isn't the only one being waged over sugar. In fact, sugar or fructose to be more precise is one of the most hotly contested subjects in the world of nutrition. Find out why in the fifth edition of our nutrition series. The "A Thought for Food" podcast series is brought to you by Science the City and the Sackler Institute for Nutrition Science.

A few years ago, Resveratrol a compound found in red wine and dark chocolate, among other foods made a splash in the news as an anti-aging wonder and was soon after seized upon by marketers. But the truth is that research is still in its early stages. Dr. Joseph Baur leads us through the science behind the hype. The bulk of this podcast was recorded live at the June 5, 2012 event "The Science Behi...

Trans fat, saturated fat, hydrogenated oil such terms are plastered on food labels across the country. But what do any of them really mean? Find out all about fat in this episode of our nutrition series. The "A Thought for Food" podcast series is brought to you by Science the City and the Sackler Institute for Nutrition Science.

Though fat and sugar are often seen as the bad guys in the world of nutrients, the truth is our body needs them to survive. Begin to explore those most maligned compounds in the third edition of our nutrition series. The "A Thought for Food" podcast series is brought to you by Science the City and the Sackler Institute for Nutrition Science.

Oysters once more abundant in New York Harbor than anywhere else in the world fell victim to over-harvesting and pollution. But today, thanks to the efforts of a few key groups like the NY Harbor School New York's oysters are making a comeback. Hear moderator Andy Revkin lead a panel discussion on how these little bivalves can help restore New York Harbor to its former glory. This panel took place...

This March, 17 middle-school teams descended on the Academy for the 2nd Annual FIRST LEGO League Robotics Scrimmage. Find out what went down this year, as teams turned their sights to food safety. For more information on the FIRST LEGO League Food Factor Challenge click here. This podcast is co-sponsored by Science the City and the Sackler Institute for Nutrition Science.

You've heard it once, you've heard it a thousand times: the U.S. has a big problem with obesity. But did you know that there are demonstrated links between obesity and all kinds of serious health problems including cancer? In this episode, Science a partnership between the New York Academy of Sciences and the Josiah Macy, Jr. Foundation to foster the translation of basic science discoveries into i...

Author, storyteller, and teacher Matthew Dicks tells the story of his high-school arch nemesis, a biology teacher known as "Bunhead," in part two of our science-storytelling podcast series. You can hear the final podcast from our February 2nd Science Teachers event over at the Story Collider. This week, they feature a story by our own Meghan Groom, Director of K12 Education and Science the City at...

Kelly Vaughan isn't your average middle school science teacher. She's willing to go out on a limb to engage her students—even if that means wrangling crustaceans now and then. She recounted her story during the Science font-size: x-small

Scurvy was once the scourge of the seven seas, but it turned out to have a simple solution: Vitamin C. In the second installment of our nutrition series, learn all about the power of vitamins, minerals, and other micronutrients. The "A Thought for Food" podcast series is brought to you by Science the City and the Sackler Institute for Nutrition Science.

How do we know what's really good for us in an age of information overload? The first installment in our new podcast series on nutrition follows the journey of food from the table through the digestive tract to begin to get to the bottom of that big question. The "A Thought for Food" podcast series is brought to you by Science the City and the Sackler Institute for Nutrition Science.

As internet dating gains popularity, millions of singles are turning over large amounts of personal data to computers in the hopes that an algorithm will find them the perfect mate. OK Cupid's data blogger Christian Rudder explains how all that data can reveal some interesting and often funny facts about the sex lives of humans online. Photo: Upcoming speaker Christian Rudder poses with his dog Al...