Nice to Know - Conversations with Everyday Scientists Robyn Schenk

Turns out, pigeons are way more interesting than your average street critter. Their ability to navigate has been known and used by people for centuries, but we still don't know how they are able to sense the earth's magnetic fields.Greg Nordmann (@GregNordmann) is a PhD student in the lab of David Keays (@keays_lab) at the IMP in Vienna (@IMPvienna), where he is trying to answer this question, by studying the pigeon brain's response to magnetic stimuli.Check out keayslab.org for more about Gr...

Dr Nadine Gloss is an anthropologist/sociologist studying the sociology of sex work and sex work activism. Despite sex work being the "oldest job", there are many barriers in place that treat sex workers unfairly compared to other industries. Nadine shares her experience in observing and participating in sex work activism, debunking common tales about who does sex work and why, and why, at the end of the day, they deserve the same working rights as any other job.For more information about sex...

Dr Iromi Wanigasuriya is a molecular biologist studying epigenetics, or how our genes are regulated, in embryos. We talk about sex differences in gene expression, but also in medical research and for being an international student.For more info on the gender gap in medical studies, I encourage you to check out this article, by Kelly Burrowes in The Conversation > https://theconversation.com/gender-bias-in-medicine-and-medical-research-is-still-putting-womens-health-at-risk-156495 or th...

Prof Sommer Gentry is a mathematician working in the area of Operations Research, and her husband, Prof Dorry Segev, is a transplant surgeon and epidemiologist. Together, they use their research to improve organ transplant policies in the USA, with the goal of improving the health and equity of healthcare for people requiring organ transplantation.Sommer (@shelikesmath) is a Professor of Mathematics at the US Naval Academy, and Dorry (@Dorry_Segev) is Professor of Surgery and Associate Vice C...

A brief monologue / verbal essay on some interesting things I learned while reading about the evolution of human ageing.See https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00239-019-09896-2For more information about Nice to Know, follow me on Twitter @RobynSciences, instagram @nicetoknowapodcast or email nicetoknowthepodcast@gmail.com

Michael Borg (@dr_borg) is a developmental biologist and expert in the molecular workings of plant reproduction. In this episode, he tells me how different organisms reset their DNA in order to start again with the next generation. We also talk more broadly about why we should care about plants and study biology in general. For more information about Nice to Know, follow me on Twitter @RobynSciences or Instagram @nicetoknowapodcast. You can also get in touch via nicetoknowthepodcast...