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Behavioural Sciences
Latest SciPods from the behavioural science communities
SOONER – Fundamental and Applied Research on Open Online Education in the Netherlands
The number of individuals engaging with open online learning is rapidly growing because this form of learning is a flexible means of education that can be adapted to a wide range of different circumstances. Through the SOONER (www.sooner.nu) project, Prof. Dr. Marco...
Seeds of STEM – Developing an Innovative Early Childhood Curriculum
Introducing science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) to younger generations has become a key priority for many researchers, educators, and policy makers. Dr Mia Dubosarsky of Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in Massachusetts, Dr Florencia Anggoro...
Diversifying and Retaining STEM Leaders for the Future – Professor Kevin Ahern, Dr. Chelsea Wolk and Stephanie Ramos
The growing significance of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) is not currently being matched by an appropriate level of variation in student demographics. Professor Kevin Ahern, Chelsea Wolk and Stephanie Ramos of Oregon State University are...
A Different Tangent to Teaching Trigonometry – Professor James L. McClelland, Stanford University
Learning trigonometry is a challenge for many high-school students, impeding their access to careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Dr James McClelland, a professor of cognitive science at Stanford University, California, has been working to...
Biology
Top SciPods from the bio-science communities
Orange Innovation, Creating Citrus Disease Resistance – Professor Fred G. Gmitter, Jr, Professor Zhanao Deng, Professor Yi Li
Florida’s citrus industry is under threat from Huanglongbing (HLB, or citrus greening disease), a devastating plant disease. A collaboration between the University of Florida and the University of Connecticut aims to develop resistance to HLB in citrus plants, using...
Nature’s Vital Signs, Using Bioindicators to Understand Ecosystem Health – Dr Paul Montagna, Texas A&M
The 2010 Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill was an environmental disaster in the Gulf of Mexico that may take decades to recover. In the immediate wake of the crisis, scientists began to study the developing effects of the spill. Dr Paul Montagna at Texas A&M, Corpus Christi...
An Integrated Approach To Fighting Inflammatory Bowel Disease – Dr Claudio Fiocchi, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic
Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) causes significant pain and discomfort to sufferers and severely affects quality of life. Research on IBD focusing on the individual contributing factors has failed to provide truly effective treatment options, and the broader picture...
HTLV-1 The Forgotten Cousin of HIV – Professor Charles Bangham, Imperial College London
The catastrophic impact of HIV – human immunodeficiency virus – is well-known worldwide. Not so well known is its distant cousin HTLV-1, human T cell leukaemia virus type 1, which also has the potential to destroy lives. The study of HTLV-1 can shed light on HIV...
Earth and Environment
Popular SciPods from earth and environmental sciences
Angler Attitudes, Understanding Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Harvests – Drs Andrew Scheld & William Goldsmith, Virginia Institute of Marine Science
Scientists from the Virginia Institute of Marine Science at the College of William & Mary are working to understand what motivates fishermen to target Atlantic bluefin tuna. Collaborating with the fishing community, the team surveyed over 5,000 bluefin tuna...
Promoting Inclusion in Environmental Policy Development – Professor Dr Jill H. Slinger, Delft University of Technology
Responding to global environmental change requires ongoing effort, and long-term success depends heavily upon the input of local communities. Moreover, if diverse viewpoints are included in policy development, then shared solutions and common goals are achieved. Dr...
Nature’s Vital Signs, Using Bioindicators to Understand Ecosystem Health – Dr Paul Montagna, Texas A&M
The 2010 Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill was an environmental disaster in the Gulf of Mexico that may take decades to recover. In the immediate wake of the crisis, scientists began to study the developing effects of the spill. Dr Paul Montagna at Texas A&M, Corpus Christi...
Resilient Cropping Systems for a Sustainable Future – Dr Amélie Gaudin, University of California, Davis
Dr Amélie Gaudin at the University of California, Davis explores ways to develop more efficient and resilient cropping systems. Here we take a closer look at just a few of Dr Gaudin’s research projects, which aim to build multifunctional agricultural systems where...
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Engineering and Technology
New SciPods in engineering and technology
Improving Electrode Microstructural Dynamics & Battery Performance – Dr Partha P. Mukherjee, Purdue University
Whether it be enabling renewable technologies, mobilising electric vehicles, or powering the electronic devices we carry, batteries are essential to modern life. As technology continues to advance, high-quality, long-lasting batteries are needed more than ever. Dr...
Wolfspeed & International Femtoscience – Creating a New Generation of Capacitors
Capacitors are a vital component in virtually every electronic device we use, and yet, innovations that make them more efficient have been a long time coming. Mr John Fraley and his colleagues at Wolfspeed, A Cree Company, and International Femtoscience are now...
Learning-Based Performance Optimisation of Uncertain Systems – Dr Ali Mesbah, University of California
Many systems in nature change in random, unpredictable ways over time. From the motions of microscopic particles in fluids to the daily price of stocks, random processes play a large role in systems we interact with every day. Also, because of our incomplete...
At the Forefront of Imaging & Remote Sensing – Innovative Imaging and Research (I2R)
Scientists and engineers often need tailored remote sensing instruments to understand complex phenomena. ‘Innovative Imaging and Research’, or ‘I2R’, located at the NASA John C. Stennis Space Center in Mississippi, is developing such instruments for particularly...
Health and Medicine
New and popular SciPods in health and medicine
Using Mathematical Modelling to Predict Biology – Professor Stuart C. Sealfon, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
With unprecedented advances in scientific research comes a growing body of data. Accurately interpreting these data is a significant obstacle to an improved understanding of biological systems and their behaviour during disease. To overcome this challenge, Dr Stuart...
An Innovative Approach to Vascular Drug Delivery – Cylerus
Prosthetic vascular grafts for dialysis access have a limited lifespan and usefulness due to inflammation, infection and especially blood vessel narrowing at the site of graft implantation. Consequently, patients need repeated surgeries to revise or replace the...
Playing Voice Messages to Improve Hygiene and Health – Dr Stephen Lane, Stargates Inc.
Hand hygiene is the most cost-effective approach to preventing the transmission of infectious diseases in hospitals. While there has been much effort towards improving hand hygiene by healthcare workers, patients are seldom targeted. To this end, Dr Stephen Lane,...
Could a Better Understanding of Bacteria Prevent Colorectal Cancer- Professor Jason M. Crawford, Yale University
Our digestive system contains trillions of bacterial cells, constituting a highly diverse community of microorganisms living within us that can influence human physiology and cause disease. Dr Jason Crawford at Yale University has extensively researched some of the...
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Physical Sciences
Latest SciPods from the physical science community
Improving Electrode Microstructural Dynamics & Battery Performance – Dr Partha P. Mukherjee, Purdue University
Whether it be enabling renewable technologies, mobilising electric vehicles, or powering the electronic devices we carry, batteries are essential to modern life. As technology continues to advance, high-quality, long-lasting batteries are needed more than ever. Dr...
A Different Tangent to Teaching Trigonometry – Professor James L. McClelland, Stanford University
Learning trigonometry is a challenge for many high-school students, impeding their access to careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Dr James McClelland, a professor of cognitive science at Stanford University, California, has been working to...
A Flickering in the Darkness – Professor Gilles Gerbier, Queen’s University
Deep, deep underground, surrounded by kilometres of solid rock, a team of scientists led by Professor Gilles Gerbier of Queen’s University, Canada, watches for a miniscule flicker of energy. A flicker that will, they hope, betray the existence of the most elusive...
Changing the Landscape of Geology, Forecasting Earthquakes – Professor Friedemann T. Freund, NASA Ames Research Center
Imagine a world where we knew about earthquakes before they strike – days before a potentially lethal event. A world with an early warning system that would give us time to evacuate vulnerable buildings, to activate civil defence organisations, to minimise the loss of...
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