Archive for the ‘Nature’ Category.

Critical Wit #63 – The Science of Beekeeping and Concerns with Bee Colony Collapse Disorder

Richard Mendel is a beekeeper, Vice President of the Southeast Michigan Beekeepers Association, and contributor to the Ann Arbor Backyard Beekeepers.  In this episode, we discuss the science of beekeeping, the concerns over the issue of bee colony collapse disorder, and at the end we talk about killer bees (otherwise known as Africanized honeybees).

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Critical Wit #49 – From The Cutting Room Floor 5

In this episode, I give you more interview excerpts from off of the cutting room floor, such as Zachary Moore gives his favorite evidence of evolution that’s not relevant to molecular genetics (episode 43), why Rosie Redfield thinks it’s important for scientists to blog (epsd 42), what Sean B Carroll thinks are some of the under-appreciated qualities of Charles Darwin (epsd 46), and what Barbara Oakley thinks is the hardest part of writing about technical science for the general public (episode 40).  And of course, we include a few funny clips, both of which occur in episode 44 & 45, when Peggy Nelson seems to ironically preface a drop-out in the conversation…listen carefully.

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Critical Wit #46 – On Charles Darwin: A Conversation with Sean B Carroll

Dr. Sean B Carroll is an award-winning scientist, author, and educator. He is currently Professor of Molecular Biology and Genetics and an Investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute at the University of Wisconsin.  With Darwin Day coming up, we talk about Charles Darwin.  We discuss some of the interesting aspects to the famous naturalist, in particular those that Darwin fans may otherwise not fully appreciate or understand.  Sean also talks about an important resource of which educators can get free materials on evolution: Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Visit http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/ for more information.

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Critical Wit #42 – Rosie Redfield on ‘Arsenic Bacteria’: One Year Later

Dr. Rosie Redfield is a microbiologist at the University of British Columbia and science writer for the Field of Science blog network.  In this episode, guest host Sophie Bushwick talks with Dr. Redfield about her work on whether bacteria have sex, the possibility of arsenic-based life forms, and the importance of blogging and open science.  Dr. Redfield has recently been named one of Nature magazine’s ‘ten people who mattered in 2011.’ You can follow Rosie Redfield on Twitter @RosieRedfield and subscribe to her blog at http://rrresearch.fieldofscience.com.

Sophie Bushwick is a freelance science writer who contributes to Scientific American’s Sixty Seconds Podcast, and the io9 blogging network.  You can subscribe to her blog called “Life is just a theory” at www.sophiebushwick.com and follow her on Twitter @SophieBushwick.

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Critical Wit #37 – Rambunctious (not Ragamuffin) Gardens: Ecosystem Innovations

Emma Marris is a freelance science writer and author of Rambunctious Garden: Saving Nature in a Post-Wild World.  In this episode, Emma talks about her book, describing how the perspective in which humans have had about the importance of wilderness to be pure and pristine is an outdated notion.  It disregards the impact in which ecosystems throughout the world have been already affected by human influence.  Therefore, it is time to look at different ways in which ecosystems can be created or modified in order to endure the changing the climate and world.  You can find out more about Emma by visiting her website www.emmamarris.com and you can follow her on twitter @Emma_Marris.

If you enjoy this podcast, please consider ‘liking’ the Critical Wit page on Facebook and/or give it a rating in iTunes. You can also follow Critical Wit on Twitter @TheCriticalWit.  Thanks!