University of Michigan Museum of Natural History Podcast

Science Café: Can Nutrition, Stress, and Environmental Exposures Change Your DNA?

A discussion on the biological effects of past nutrition, stress, and toxicant exposures on our health and well-being. Are these changes heritable? Can diet and exercise protect our DNA?

• Kelly Bakulski and Dana Dolinoy of the U-M School of Public Health
• Srijan Sen of the Department of Psychiatry at Michigan Medicine

For more information on future Science Cafes, please visit our website. 

Science Café: Ancient Climates, Future Climates: What Can the Deep Past Tell Us?

A discussion on how the Earth's climate has changed many times, and the mechanisms of these changes may shed light on what we can expect in the future.  

• Chris Poulsen, Professor and Chair of Earth and Environmental Sciences
• Nathan Sheldon, Associate Professor Earth and Environmental Sciences, Associate Director of the Program in the Environment

For more information on future Science Cafes, please visit our website. 

Science Café: Has Particle Physics Fizzled?

In 2012, physicists at large particle accelerators such as the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) found evidence of the Higgs boson, long predicted by the Standard Model in physics. But since then, they have yet to find evidence of other predicted particles.

• Dante Amidei, U-M Professor of Physics 
• Aaron Pierce, U-M Professor of Physics and Director of the Michigan Center for Theoretical Physics

For more information on future Science Cafes, please visit our website. 

Science Café: The Bristle Mammoth Discovery

In the fall of 2015, a farmer near Chelsea discovered part of a mammoth skeleton and donated it to U-M.  U-M scientists discussed the excavation and early research on the Bristle Mammoth -- named for Jim and Melody Bristle on whose land it was found.

• Professor Daniel C. Fisher, Director of the U-M Museum of Paleontology
• Adam Rountrey, Collection Manager for Vertebrate Fossils, U-M Museum of Paleontology

For more information on future Science Cafes, please visit our website. 

Science Café: Cyanobacteria: Toxic tide or treasure?

You've probably heard of the harmful "algal" blooms in Lake Erie. These are caused by cyanobacteria (the organisms formerly known as blue-green algae), which grow in nutrient-rich water, often overpopulating due to fertilizer run-off. But did you know that cyanobacteria also absorb CO2 and that researchers are studying whether they might affect, or even mitigate, global warming? Learn about water quality and the carbon cycle, and discuss the possible policy implications. Join Vincent Denef of the University of Michigan's Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, and Anthony Vecchiarelli of the Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology. 

• Vincent Denef of the University of Michigan’s Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
• Anthony Vecchiarelli of the Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology.

For more information on future Science Cafes, please visit our website.