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Teaching Algorithms to Caption Ultrasound Images | Dr Mohammad Alsharid
Teaching Algorithms to Caption Ultrasound Images | Dr Mohammad Alsharid
Original Article Reference
This SciPod is a summary of the conference proceedings ‘Captioning Ultrasound Images Automatically’, from the International Conference on Medical Image Computing and Computer-Assisted Intervention. doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-32251-9_37
About this episode
Medical professionals require years of training before they can describe ultrasound images of developing foetuses. Dr Mohammad Alsharid and colleagues from the Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Nuffield Department of Women’s and Reproductive Health at the University of Oxford suggest that this task could one day be carried out by machine learning algorithms. In their latest study, the team showed how neural networks, trained by the expert knowledge of real sonographers, could convert subtle features within the images into accurate, readable captions.
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Exploring the Surface Chemistry of Interstellar Dust
Exploring the Surface Chemistry of Interstellar Dust
About this episode
Original Article Reference
This animation is a summary of https://doi.org/10.3390/min11010026
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Increase the impact of your research
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• Good science communication encourages everyday people to be scientifically literate so that they can analyse the integrity and legitimacy of information.
• Good science communication encourages people into STEM-related fields of study and employment.
• Good public science communication fosters a community around research that includes both members of the public, policymakers and scientists.
• In a recent survey, 75% of people suggested they would prefer to listen to an interesting story than read it.
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Reinventing the Capacitor: The Topological Route of Electricity – Professor Valerii Vinokur | Professor Anna Razumnaya | Professor Igor Lukyanchuk
Reinventing the Capacitor: The Topological Route of Electricity – Professor Valerii Vinokur | Professor Anna Razumnaya | Professor Igor Lukyanchuk
Original Article Reference
This SciPod is a summary of https://doi.org/10.33548/SCIENTIA805
About this episode
Modern microelectronics is currently facing a profound challenge. The demand for even smaller and more closely packed electronics has hit a stumbling block: the power emitted in these devices releases more heat than can be efficiently removed. Now, Professors Valerii Vinokur, Anna Razumnaya, and Igor Lukyanchuk propose a solution based on the seemingly counterintuitive phenomenon of ‘negative capacitance’. The effect is surprisingly linked to an intriguing topological structure, which is found time and again across a broad range of scientific fields.
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Designing Spacecraft to Explore Extreme Environments Within the Solar System | Dr Jekan Thanga
Designing Spacecraft to Explore Extreme Environments Within the Solar System | Dr Jekan Thanga
Original Article Reference
This SciPod is a summary of https://doi.org/10.33548/SCIENTIA804
About this episode
In the next few decades, upcoming technological advances will offer unprecedented opportunities to explore the solar system – both with autonomous robots, and through manned missions. Dr Jekan Thanga and the Space and Terrestrial Robotic Exploration (SpaceTREx) Laboratory at University of Arizona are at the forefront of efforts to design miniature spacecraft that will allow us to reach these distant worlds, and navigate their rugged, unfamiliar terrains. In the future, his team’s research could pave the way for the establishment of long-term, off-world human settlements, and the discovery of life in extreme, yet potentially habitable environments.
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Exploring the Impact of Urbanisation on Soil Microbes | Dr Carl Rosier
Exploring the Impact of Urbanisation on Soil Microbes | Dr Carl Rosier
Original Article Reference
This SciPod is a summary of the paper ‘Urbanization pressures alter tree rhizosphere microbiomes’ from Scientific Reports. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-88839-8
About this episode
Beneath our feet lies one of the most biodiverse habitats imaginable – the soil. These highly active underground microbial communities are vital to ecosystem health; they cycle nutrients, form soil structure, and decompose organic matter, among many other functions. The type of microbes that colonise soil is determined by the local plant community and climatic variables, both of which are rapidly changing due to human activity. In a recent study, Dr Carl Rosier of the University of Delaware has explored how urban development disturbs the environmental cycles that influence the types of microbes found in various soil habitats.
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• Good science communication encourages people into STEM-related fields of study and employment.
• Good public science communication fosters a community around research that includes both members of the public, policymakers and scientists.
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What Makes an Effective Grants Peer Reviewer? | Dr Tiffani Conner
What Makes an Effective Grants Peer Reviewer? | Dr Tiffani Conner
Original Article Reference
This SciPod is a summary of the paper ‘What makes an effective grants peer reviewer?’, from the open access journal PLOS ONE. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0232327
About this episode
Peer review is a key component in the determination of funding allocation, especially within the science and technology sectors. However, the literature evaluating this process is sparse, often focusing on outcomes rather than the methodology. Dr Tiffani Conner and her colleagues from Oak Ridge Associated Universities in the USA have researched which specific skills are most desirable in a reviewer and how these can be enhanced, whilst also evaluating the impact of review format.
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• Good science communication encourages people into STEM-related fields of study and employment.
• Good public science communication fosters a community around research that includes both members of the public, policymakers and scientists.
• In a recent survey, 75% of people suggested they would prefer to listen to an interesting story than read it.
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Revolutionising Understanding of the Myometrium to Prevent Preterm Birth
Revolutionising Understanding of the Myometrium to Prevent Preterm Birth
About this episode
Preterm birth refers to the birth of a baby before 37 weeks of completed gestation. An estimated 15 million babies are born prematurely each year and sadly, this prevalence is rising. Approximately 1 million die as a result of premature birth, and those who survive are at risk of lifelong disabilities. Dr Buxton and his team at the University of Nevada, Reno, are studying the role of the smooth muscle of the uterus to elucidate its role in preterm labour and birth.
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Increase the impact of your research
• Good science communication helps people make informed decisions and motivates them to take appropriate and affirmative action.
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• Good science communication encourages people into STEM-related fields of study and employment.
• Good public science communication fosters a community around research that includes both members of the public, policymakers and scientists.
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Dr Fatima Rehman – A New Biological Tool to Assess the Efficacy of Chemotherapy in Breast Cancer
Dr Fatima Rehman – A New Biological Tool to Assess the Efficacy of Chemotherapy in Breast Cancer
Original Article Reference
This SciPod is a summary of the paper ‘Elevated Soluble Galectin-3 as a Marker of Chemotherapy Efficacy in Breast Cancer Patients: A Prospective Study’, from the International Journal of Breast Cancer. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/4824813.
About this episode
There is an urgent need for prognostic tools that can accurately predict the outcomes of patients undergoing treatment for breast cancer. Dr Fatima Rehman and her colleagues investigated the relationship between breast cancer prognosis and the secretion of a biological marker called Galectin-3 to drive forward the development of optimised treatment regimes. This work was conducted at Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre in Pakistan.
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Han Han and Fredrik Mørk Røkenes – Investigating The Benefits Of The ‘Flipped Classroom’ In Teacher Training
Han Han and Fredrik Mørk Røkenes – Investigating The Benefits Of The ‘Flipped Classroom’ In Teacher Training
Original Article Reference
This SciPod is a summary of the paper ‘Flipped Classroom in Teacher Education: A Scoping Review’, from Frontiers in Education. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2020.601593
About this episode
The ‘flipped classroom’ is an innovative educational approach that emphasises active learning, with the aim of increasing student engagement and academic performance. While educators in numerous disciplines have recently started experimenting with this approach, there is still a lack of solid research assessing its effectiveness in the field of teacher education. To fill this gap, Han Han and Fredrik Mørk Røkenes of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology have recently examined a multitude of studies focusing on flipped classroom approaches in teacher training environments.
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Dr Jeanne Chambers – Measuring Ecological Resilience to Combat Wildfires
Dr Jeanne Chambers – Measuring Ecological Resilience to Combat Wildfires
Original Article Reference
This SciPod is a summary of the paper ‘Operationalizing Resilience and Resistance Concepts to Address Invasive Grass-Fire Cycles’, from Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution. https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2019.00185
About this episode
Invasive plants can permanently alter ecosystems to promote conditions that support their own persistence. For example, certain invasive grasses can make areas prone to more frequent and larger wildfires, which negatively impact native species but favour fire-resistant invaders. This self-perpetuating process, termed a grass-fire cycle, can be impossible to reverse. Dr Jeanne Chambers of the United States Department of Agriculture’s Rocky Mountain Research Station and her colleagues – Matt Brooks, Matt Germino, Jeremy Maestas, David Board, Matt Jones, and Brady Allred – recently examined how an ecosystem’s resilience to fire and resistance to invasive grasses influence whether a grass-fire cycle will establish. In their paper, the scientists introduced a geospatial tool and decision matrix that incorporate measures of ecological resilience and resistance to invasive grasses for designing management strategies to combat grass-fire cycles.
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• Good science communication encourages people into STEM-related fields of study and employment.
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PMAC 2022: Moving Towards the World We Want
PMAC 2022: Moving Towards the World We Want
Original Article Reference
This SciPod is a summary of https://doi.org/10.33548/SCIENTIA807
About this episode
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Dr Tai-Cheng Chen – Investigating Thermal Spraying Methods for Preventing Maritime Corrosion
Dr Tai-Cheng Chen – Investigating Thermal Spraying Methods for Preventing Maritime Corrosion
Original Article Reference
This SciPod is a summary of the paper ‘A comparative study on the tribological behavior of various thermally sprayed Inconel 625 coatings in a saline solution and deionized water’ from Surface and Coatings Technology. doi.org/10.1016/j.surfcoat.2020.125442
About this episode
Every year, the combined effects of corrosion and wear cause a huge amount of damage to coastal and offshore machinery, incurring huge costs for repair and maintenance. While there are various types of coating that offer protection from wear and corrosion, the way in which that they are applied can massively impact their effectiveness. Dr Tai-Cheng Chen and his team at the Institute of Nuclear Energy Research, Taiwan, have been analysing these methods, in order to determine the best way to protect maritime infrastructure.
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Using Machine Learning to Predict Bacterial Growth According to the Media Components
Using Machine Learning to Predict Bacterial Growth According to the Media Components
About this episode
Bacterial growth depends on the complex interactions of a multitude of chemical components. Microbiologists have long attempted to predict bacterial growth according to culture media components, and have employed a variety of mathematical and computational models to this end. Dr Bei-Wen Ying and her colleagues at the University of Tsukuba, Japan, successfully applied machine learning to understand the contribution of media culture components to bacterial growth. Their work makes a significant contribution to growth prediction and demonstrates that machine learning can be employed in the exploration of the complex dynamics that regulate living systems.
Original Article Reference
This animation is a summary of https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-43587-8
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Increase the impact of your research
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• Good science communication encourages people into STEM-related fields of study and employment.
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Strategies to Ensure the Worldwide Elimination of Tetanus in Mothers and Neonates | Dr Syed Ahsan Raza
Strategies to Ensure the Worldwide Elimination of Tetanus in Mothers and Neonates | Dr Syed Ahsan Raza
Original Article Reference
This SciPod is a summary of the paper ‘Eliminating Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus and Promoting Clean Delivery Practices Through Disposable Clean Birth Kits’ from the open access journal, Frontiers in Public Health. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2019.00339
About this episode
The potentially fatal impact of tetanus on mothers and infants is a serious issue in developing countries. Dr Syed Ahsan Raza at Baylor College of Medicine and Dr Bilal Avan at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine have recently published their perspectives and insights into this important issue.
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Exploring the Hershey Company’s Child Labour Case | Dr Bertrand Guillotin
Exploring the Hershey Company’s Child Labour Case | Dr Bertrand Guillotin
Original Article Reference
This SciPod is a summary of the case ‘The Hershey Company: Broken pledge to stop using child labour’, published by IVEY Publishing and distributed by Harvard Publishing.
About this episode
The Hershey Company, one of the largest chocolate manufacturers in the world, produces and distributes millions of sweet treats every year. In 2019, an article on the Washington Post accused the company of failing to uproot child labour from its cocoa supply chain. Dr Bertrand Guillotin, an Associate Professor at Temple University’s Fox School of Business, recently published a case study that closely explores these child labour allegations against the Hershey Company.
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Exploring the Potential of Metatorbernite in Uranium Remediation | Dr Caroline Kirk
Exploring the Potential of Metatorbernite in Uranium Remediation | Dr Caroline Kirk
Original Article Reference
This SciPod is a summary of the paper ‘Locating hydrogen positions in the autunite mineral metatorbernite [Cu(UO2)2(PO4)28H2O]: a combined approach using neutron powder diffraction and computational modelling’ from the International Union of Crystallography Journal, doi.org/10.1107/S205225252100837X.
About this episode
Although nuclear power is a clean alternative to fossil fuel combustion, this industry often causes uranium pollution in the local environment. The generation of metatorbernite, a solid material containing uranium, is one promising way to remove dissolved uranium atoms from industrial wastewater. However, before this remediation technology can be widely applied, we need a deeper understanding of the properties of metatorbernite, such as its long-term stability, to ensure that uranium will not be re-released from its structure. Dr Caroline Kirk, Ms Fi MacIver-Jones and their colleagues at the University of Edinburgh have been working to establish the structure and stability of this material, so that it can be applied for uranium remediation in the near future.
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Investigating Fructans to Understand How Plants Can Survive Harsh Environments | Dr José Ordaz-Ortiz
Investigating Fructans to Understand How Plants Can Survive Harsh Environments | Dr José Ordaz-Ortiz
Original Article Reference
This SciPod is a summary of the paper ‘Localization and composition of Fructans in Stem and Rhizome of Agave Tequilana Weber var. azul’, in Frontiers in Plant Science. doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2020.608850
About this episode
The molecules within plant tissues can tell us about how they can withstand harsh environmental conditions. The Agave tequilana plant, native to Mexico, has a high concentration of fructan molecules throughout its tissues. Alongside his colleagues, Dr José Ordaz-Ortiz at the Center for Research and Advanced Studies of the National Polytechnic Institute in Mexico, combines several powerful analytical techniques to better understand the role that these fructans play in plant biology.
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• Good science communication helps people make informed decisions and motivates them to take appropriate and affirmative action.
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• Good science communication encourages people into STEM-related fields of study and employment.
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Translational Imaging Innovations: Accelerating Ophthalmic Research Through an Integrated Online Platform
Translational Imaging Innovations: Accelerating Ophthalmic Research Through an Integrated Online Platform
Original Article Reference
This SciPod is a summary of https://doi.org/10.33548/SCIENTIA769
About this episode
Led by Dr. Eric Buckland, Translational Imaging Innovations, Inc. (TII) provides purpose-driven software systems that drive such ophthalmic research forward. The TII image management platform provides researchers with the tools to manage multifaceted imaging workflows and efficiently organize and analyse complex sets of images and data to accelerate the development of new diagnoses and treatments for eye diseases. By unleashing the power of the eye, TII aims to transform medicine.
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Establishing a Positive Control for CD4 Cells: A Vital Addition to the Research Toolkit
Establishing a Positive Control for CD4 Cells: A Vital Addition to the Research Toolkit
Original Article Reference
This SciPod is a summary of the paper ‘A Positive Control for Detection of Functional CD4 T Cells in PBMC: The CPI Pool’, published in the journal Cells. https://doi.org/10.3390/cells6040047
About this episode
Measurement of CD4 T cell-mediated immunity requires functional tests to be conducted with viable peripheral blood mononuclear cells, PBMC. Recently, scientists at CTL successfully developed a positive control that not only verifies the functionality of CD4 T cells in PBMC, but also that the antigen-presenting cell compartment is unimpaired in the test sample as well.
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Revealing How Table Tennis Could Be Transformed into a Popular Spectator Sport | Professor Ralf Schneider
Revealing How Table Tennis Could Be Transformed into a Popular Spectator Sport | Professor Ralf Schneider
Original Article Reference
This SciPod is a summary of the paper ‘Statistical Analysis of Table-Tennis Ball Trajectories’, from Applied Sciences. doi.org/10.3390/app8122595
About this episode
Rapid-fire rallies of short, fast shots are a defining feature of professional table tennis – but for many audiences, the excitement of these matches isn’t easily conveyed on the TV screen. Using a combination of computer simulations and statistical analysis, Professor Ralf Schneider and his colleagues at the Institute of Physics of the University of Greifswald, Germany, explore how slight changes to the game’s equipment could slow matches down, and make them more interesting to viewers. Karl Lüskow, Marc Marschall and Stefan Kemnitz produced and optimised the simulation code, while Lars Lewerentz performed statistical analysis of the data.
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Improving the Outlook for Children with Congenital Heart Disease | Dr Marta Erlandson
Improving the Outlook for Children with Congenital Heart Disease | Dr Marta Erlandson
Original Article Reference
This SciPod is a summary of https://doi.org/10.33548/SCIENTIA771
About this episode
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The Unease Modulation Model: Revolutionising Health, Stress Management and Public Policy | Dr Joseph Arpaia – Dr Judith P. Andersen
The Unease Modulation Model: Revolutionising Health, Stress Management and Public Policy | Dr Joseph Arpaia – Dr Judith P. Andersen
Original Article Reference
This SciPod is a summary of the paper ‘The Unease Modulation Model: An Experiential Model of Stress With Implications for Health, Stress Management, and Public Policy’, published in the open access journal Frontiers in Psychiatry. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00379
About this episode
Stress is inherently prevalent in our lives and can have seriously deleterious impacts on individual health and well-being, as well as society more broadly. Dr Joseph Arpaia a psychiatrist in private practice in the USA, and colleague Dr Judith P. Andersen of the University of Toronto Mississauga in Canada, have proposed a new theoretical account of stress that has the potential to revolutionise clinical care in the fields of psychiatry and addiction, and improve well-being on a global level.
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Preventing Rabies: A Deadly but Neglected Disease | Dr Joanne Maki
Preventing Rabies: A Deadly but Neglected Disease | Dr Joanne Maki
Original Article Reference
This SciPod is a summary of https://doi.org/10.33548/SCIENTIA757
About this episode
Rabies is transmitted from animals to humans through the bite of an infected animal, all too often with fatal consequences, particularly in the developing world. Dr Joanne Maki, Technical Director for the Veterinary Public Health Centre at Boehringer-Ingelheim Animal Health, has worked in rabies prevention for 30 years. With extensive background and experience gained in the rabies vaccine industry, Dr Maki shares her perspectives on the call to action to eliminate this deadly zoonotic disease.
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Immigration, Epidemic Mortality and Demographic Recovery | Dr Pierre Galanaud
Immigration, Epidemic Mortality and Demographic Recovery | Dr Pierre Galanaud
Original Article Reference
This SciPod is a summary of the paper ‘Mortality and demographic recovery in early post-black death epidemics: Role of recent emigrants in medieval Dijon’, published in the open access journal PLOS One (https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0226420) and the letter ‘Recent immigrants at increased pandemic risk’ published under open access in the journal Science (https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abd1098).
About this episode
Dr Pierre Galanaud, an immunologist from Paris-Saclay University and Inserm UMR 996, analysed historical tax records to investigate the impact of epidemics on recent emigrants who experienced the 15th century plagues in Dijon, France. His research highlights the vulnerability of emigrants with low economic status to epidemic-related mortality. More broadly, his work demonstrates the important role that migrants play in population growth and demographic recovery after an epidemic has taken place. These findings are of particular relevance given the current COVID-19 pandemic.
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Dream Warmer: An Innovative, Safe and Effective Complement to Skin-to-Skin Care for Neonatal Hypothermia | Dr Anne Hansen
Dream Warmer: An Innovative, Safe and Effective Complement to Skin-to-Skin Care for Neonatal Hypothermia | Dr Anne Hansen
Original Article Reference
This SciPod is a summary of https://doi.org/10.33548/SCIENTIA765
About this episode
Dr Anne Hansen is the Medical Director of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and Associate Chief of the Division of Newborn Medicine at Boston Children’s Hospital. With her colleagues, Dr Hansen has developed and tested a low cost, non-electrical warming mattress called the ‘Dream Warmer’ to help prevent and treat neonatal hypothermia in countries with limited medical resources. Her team has conducted extensive testing in Rwanda with results demonstrating that this medical device is safe, effective and ready for use on a wider scale.
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Understanding Sudden Unexpected Infant Death: A Unique Collaboration
Understanding Sudden Unexpected Infant Death: A Unique Collaboration
Original Article Reference
This SciPod is a summary of https://doi.org/10.33548/SCIENTIA772
About this episode
When a supposedly healthy infant passes away, it can be hard to understand why. Juan Lavista Ferres (Microsoft), Dr Jan-Marino Ramirez and Dr Tatiana Anderson (both from Seattle Children’s Research Institute), and Professor Edwin Mitchell (University of Auckland), form the core of a novel collaboration to conduct vital and extensive research into the risk factors and mechanisms behind sudden unexpected infant death. This unique collaboration spanning across disciplines, industries and continents, is providing the deeper understanding that is needed to prevent unnecessary infant deaths.
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Return of Baird’s Tapir: Blessing or Omen? | Dr LaRoy Brandt – Maggie Singleton
Return of Baird’s Tapir: Blessing or Omen? | Dr LaRoy Brandt – Maggie Singleton
Original Article Reference
This SciPod is a summary of ‘Record of Baird’s tapir Tapirus bairdii at the La Suerte Biological Field Station in the Caribbean lowlands of Costa Rica’, in PeerJ Preprints. doi.org/10.7287/peerj.preprints.27128v1
About this episode
The destruction of jungle and forest habitats is a serious issue threatening species across the globe. Dr LaRoy Brandt and Maggie Singleton of Lincoln Memorial University studied one such threatened species, Baird’s tapir, in Costa Rica. By identifying the tapir’s tracks and deploying remote trail cameras, the team caught rare glimpses of this threatened species, indicating a return of the native population and an increase in their numbers. The question is, however, is this increase a sign of improving habitats or a result of less favourable forces at play?
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Confronting Challenges to the Uptake of Digital Healthcare | Paola Mattei
Confronting Challenges to the Uptake of Digital Healthcare | Paola Mattei
Original Article Reference
This SciPod is a summary of the open access paper ‘Digital governance in tax-funded European healthcare systems: from the Back office to patient empowerment’, published in the Israel Journal of Health Policy Research. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s13584-020-0361-1
About this episode
Digital healthcare promises a wealth of benefits for current healthcare systems, yet its uptake has been remarkably slow across Europe. Taking the example of the UK in particular, Paola Mattei, Associate Professor in Political Science at the University of Milan, Italy, has recently considered the explanations for the slow uptake of digital healthcare and provides a commentary on why this is the case and what challenges now need to be faced to ensure success.
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Do Maternal Influences on Birthweight Influence Future Cardiometabolic Risk? | Dr Gunn-Helen Moen
Do Maternal Influences on Birthweight Influence Future Cardiometabolic Risk? | Dr Gunn-Helen Moen
Original Article Reference
This SciPod is a summary of the paper ‘Mendelian randomization study of maternal influences on birthweight and future cardiometabolic risk in the HUNT cohort’, published in Nature Communications. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-19257-z
About this episode
Adverse environmental factors in the mother’s womb and/or during the first years of life have traditionally been thought to be responsible for an increased risk of cardiometabolic disease for children later in life. Dr Gunn-Helen Moen [MO-en] at the University of Oslo in Norway and her collaborators used sophisticated statistical and genetic techniques to identify whether there is a causal effect of environmental factors that influence intrauterine growth on future cardiometabolic risk in the child. Their results were surprising but important.
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Using Machine Learning to Predict Bacterial Growth According to the Media Components | Dr Bei-Wen Ying
Using Machine Learning to Predict Bacterial Growth According to the Media Components | Dr Bei-Wen Ying
Original Article Reference
This SciPod is a summary of the paper: ‘Predicting the decision-making chemicals used for bacterial growth’ published in Nature Scientific Reports. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-43587-8
About this episode
Bacterial growth depends on the complex interactions of a multitude of chemical components. Microbiologists have long attempted to predict bacterial growth according to culture media components, and have employed a variety of mathematical and computational models to this end. Dr Bei-Wen Ying and her colleagues at the University of Tsukuba, Japan, successfully applied machine learning to understand the contribution of media culture components to bacterial growth. Their work makes a significant contribution to growth prediction and demonstrates that machine learning can be employed in the exploration of the complex dynamics that regulate living systems.
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