Nature and Science Podcast

Don Murphy

Our podcast explores nature and science by following the personal journeys of individuals who have dedicated their lives to nature and science.   We talk with theoretical physicists, park rangers, conservation biologists and anyone who loves nature and science. 

  1. How A Love Science Helped Save Our National Parks

    06/06/2025

    How A Love Science Helped Save Our National Parks

    Send us a text Scientific research at Yellowstone and other National Park has yielded many useful discoveries benefiting humanity.  One of the most important was the discovery of the thermophilic bacterium, Thermus aquaticus.  Later an enzyme was purified by a team led by Dr. Henry Erlich, which led to the practical use of the PCR test in covid detection and many other uses. Science in parks is a crucial tool for the advancement of humanity. However, if it were not for the early efforts of George Menendez Wright, science may have never taken hold in our national parks.  Today, the George Wright Society continues that effort by supporting parks, protected/conserved areas, cultural sites, and other kinds of place-based conservation by encouraging communication among and convenings of researchers, managers, educators, practitioners, and the public to facilitate informed decisions and actions that embrace our values. Joining me to talk science in our national parks is Dave Harmon, executive director of the George Wright Society.  Dave is responsible for overseeing the George Wright Society’s operations, including co-editing Parks Stewardship Forum and helping plan workshops and other meetings. A member of the GWS since 1985, Dave began working for the organization in 1990 and served as executive director from 1998 to 2017 before returning that role in 2019. He is active in IUCN's World Commission on Protected Areas.  He also maintains a research interest in the relationship between biological and cultural diversity, having co-founded the NGO Terralingua, which is devoted to that subject. Dave has co-edited several volumes on protected area conservation, including The Antiquities Act: A Century of American Archaeology, Historic Preservation, and Nature Conservation (with Francis P. McManamon and Dwight T. Pitcaithley), The Full Value of Parks: From Economics to the Intangible (with Allen D. Putney), and A Thinking Person's Guide to America's National Parks (with Robert Manning, Rolf Diamant, and Nora Mitchell). https:/natureandsciencepodcast.com

    40 min
  2. How Unlocking The Secrets Of Nano Vaults Could Revolutionize Disease Cures

    05/13/2025

    How Unlocking The Secrets Of Nano Vaults Could Revolutionize Disease Cures

    Send us a text This episode explores the mystery of a cellular organelle known as the vault and how unlocking the secrets of nano vaults could revolutionize Disease Cures.  Though its structure is well know and its protein composition well established, its function remains a mystery.  Joining us to explain this mystery is its discoverer, Dr. Leonard Rome. Dr. Leonard H. Rome is a cell biologist, biochemist and part-time dean involved in research, teaching and administration at the University of California, Los Angeles. He earned his undergraduate degree (B.S. in Chemistry) and graduate degrees (M.S. and Ph.D. in Biological Chemistry) at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. He was a postdoctoral fellow at the National Institutes of Health, where he worked on lysosome biogenesis. Dr. Rome has been on the faculty of the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA since he joined the Department of Biological Chemistry in 1979. He became a full Professor in 1988 and has been Senior Associate Dean for Research in the School of Medicine since 1997. Since 2005 he has been the Associate Director of the California NanoSystems Institute. Dr. Rome has served as the elected Chair of the School of Medicine Faculty Executive Committee and he is actively involved in Graduate and Medical Education. In 1991 he received a UCLA School of Medicine Award for Excellence in Education. If you would like to learn more about vaults check out Dr. Rome's youtube channel or go to our website: https:/natureandsciencepodcast.com

    1 hr
4.9
out of 5
10 Ratings

About

Our podcast explores nature and science by following the personal journeys of individuals who have dedicated their lives to nature and science.   We talk with theoretical physicists, park rangers, conservation biologists and anyone who loves nature and science.