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Green chemistry is a scientific approach that aims to design and develop chemical processes and products that reduce the use of hazardous substances and promote sustainability.

Dr. Shannon Stahl joins us to discuss green chemistry and his new paper in the journal Nature that puts forward a new process of making drugs by using hydrogen as a source of electrons for electricity.

Dr. Shannon Stahl is a Professor of Chemistry at U-W Madison. He has over 270 journal publications and 20 patents from more than 20 years of research. His research group at the University of Wisconsin-Madison is using green chemistry to help minimize our environmental impact and move toward a sustainable future.

 

Image courtesy: PIXABAY

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AI is everywhere these days, including at the doctor’s office. In the new book Future Care: Sensors, Artificial Intelligence, and the Reinvention of Medicine, cardiologist Jag Singh provides an overview of where we’re at in digitizing various aspects of the healthcare system, from medical research; to monitoring symptoms, diagnosis, and interventions; all the way to hospital management. He presents a vision of what medical care may look like in the future, as technologies to gather, analyze, and synthesize medical data, continue to develop. On this week’s PNM, we discuss with Jag how these new approaches have the potential to restructure how healthcare works.

Future Care is available wherever books are sold. More information about Jag Singh’s work is at https://www.jagsinghmd.com/

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Perpetual Notion Machine contributor Catherine Garvens speaks with Dr. Anne Pringle about her research into the invasive Death Cap Mushroom in California and her lab’s ongoing research in the field of mycology.  We also discuss her recent year of research in South Africa. Anne is currently the Mary Herman Rubinstein professor in the Departments of Botany and Bacteriology at the University of Wisconsin Madison.

Photo courtesy of The Pringle Lab

 

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Science communication involves conveying complex scientific concepts in a clear manner to the public, policymakers, and journalists. Each crisis is unique in its urgency and severity, thus scientists must be creative to promote fact-based decision making and mitigate harms from the crisis.

Christopher M. Reddy joins us to discuss his new book about this topics. Science Communication in a Crisis: An Insider’s Guide is out now.

Christopher Reddy is a Senior Scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. He’s published over 200 peer-reviewed manuscripts that dive into his research on the chemistry of oil spills and plastics. He’s testified before Congress five times and has used his expertise to help the Deepwater Horizon oil spill efforts. 

 

Image courtesy: catmoz / PIXABAY

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IUDs, or intra-uterine devices, are gaining in popularity with as a form of birth control, with more than a 99% efficacy at preventing pregnancy.

But, it wasn’t always like this. Some might still be wary of past failures, like the Dalkon Shield in the early 1970s. The Dalkon Shield was taken off the market only after it caused multiple deaths, infertility and sterility, and miscarriages stemming from pelvic infections caused by the Shield’s design.

What can we learn about this and other past failures in designing reproductive health devices?

Our guest on this episode of Perpetual Notion Machine is Dr. Catherine Klapperich, Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Boston University and the Founding Director of the BU Precision Diagnostics Center. She says that having a diverse team is integral to preventing failures and tragedies down the line, and why scientists need to “look around the table when [designing] something and ask yourself, ‘Y’know, who’s not here, that should be here?'”

She and new host Lauren Hicks discuss the shortcomings and ultimate failure of reproductive health devices, from the Dalkon Shield to Essure, a device designed as an alternative to tubal litigation. They also discuss the weaponization of surveillance technology in a post-Roe nation.

About the guest: 

Dr. Catherine Klapperich is a Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Boston University, where she leads the Laboratory for Diagnostics and Global Healthcare Technologies, and is a member of the Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology. Her research is focused on engineering medical devices for trans women’s and women’s health, use in low resource settings, and at the point of care. 

She’s a recipient of multiple research awards, and contributes to several health news outlets. You can read her article, “From the Dalkon Shield to Britney Spears’ IUD: Why Diverse Teams Need to Be Involved in Contraceptive Design,” here, and find more about her at profklapperich.com.

Photo by Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition on Unsplash

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The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resource’s Frog and Toad Survey is the longest running survey of its kind in the country. Every spring and summer, thousands of citizen scientists strike out on routes all over the state to listen for the breeding calls of Wisconsin’s eleven frog and one toad species. Perpetual Notion Machine host Catherine Garvens brings you an overview of these efforts. We’ll hear from volunteers as they run their routes, and from folks at the Wisconsin DNR who work to organize the survey and collect the data. And, we’ll listen to some frogs and toads along the way.

Click here to go to the Wisconsin Frog and Toad Survey website.

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