Rabbit Hole of Research the Podcast: Episode 5: Mutants! The Show Notes


This has no particular format; it’s just correcting or updating anything in the show we didn’t get a chance to fully talk about or things we had on the tips of our tongues and couldn’t get out as we recorded. As always, feel free to comment, and we will address stuff in future shows! Enjoy.

artwork by 

Georgia Geis@atomicnumber14 https://www.instagram.com/atomic_number14/


Say hello and let us know:

Who your favorite mutant is?

Favorite Cereal/food to eat while watching cartoons?

Excited about X-men 97?


What are we drinking:

Joe and Nick: Insufficient Clarence: Sketchbook Brewery


Genotype vs phenotype

Genotype is an organisms unique sequence of DNA. 

Phenotype is the observable expression of this genotype – a person’s presentation.


Mutation:

Hereditary mutations (germ line) vs Somatic mutations (non-germ line cells)

Causes:

Mutagens

is a physical or chemical agent that permanently changes genetic material, usually DNA, in an organism and thus increases the frequency of mutations above the natural background level.

Carcinogens:

any substance, radionuclide, or radiation that promotes carcinogenesis (Cancer). 

Teratogens: 

substances that may cause non-heritable birth defects via a toxic effect on an embryo or fetus.


Cancer:

Predisposed for cancer?

Cancer from secondhand smoke.


Peppered Moth’s adaptation during Industrial Revolution

Evolutionary changes of African Elephant thank size due to poaching

Wolves adapt to radiation at Chernobyl


Marvel Unique Mutants: 

Sooraya: 

A mutant with the ability to transform her body into a pliable cloud of dust. 

Bailey Hoskins: Worst X-man ever

A mutant with the worst power of self-detonation which he could only use once, since this power could kill him


Fallout series video game


Legacy virus

The Legacy Virus was based on a virus created by Apocalypse in the distant future, which was intended to kill the remaining non-mutants.

Stryfe engineered the Legacy virus to kill mutants. In the beginning the virus was only targeting mutants but it jumped to humans

Comic series cured by Colossus and in X:Men animated series it was Wolverine was used by Cable to generate a cure (utilizing wolverine’s healing factor).


Can we create a Real Wolverine 

Healing factor 

Wolverine has healing factor: he can heal from any injury or disease. Yet, there are a number of inconstancies. Also, Wolverine has bones fused with Adamantium (a virtually indestructible steel alloy named after the fabled metal Adamantine of Greek mythology).

All about Bones:

What are Bones made of? Our bones have metal: calcium, trace metals like copper, zinc, magnesium 

Bones are needed to act as a calcium sink

Metal to Bone fusing

Osseointegration (from Latin osseus “bony” and integrare “to make whole”) is the direct structural and functional connection between living bone and the surface of a load-bearing artificial implant

Osseointegration was first observed—albeit not explicitly stated—by Bothe, Beaton, and Davenport in 1940

What happens if you coat bones in metal?

Adamantium ripped from his body by Magneto’s powers: Wolverine #75


Human genotypes/phenotypes similar Marvel’s Nightcrawler

Humans born with tails

Pointy ears

Blue skin

Fused/ Webbed fingers


Gus Gormon played by Richard Pryor in Superman III makes fake Kryptonite and creates Evil Superman.


DC doesn’t have mutants, but Metahumans. But a metahuman by any other name is still a mutant.


Godzilla clone: Space Godzilla


Movie: Gattaca (1997)

Book: Brave New World by Aldous Huxley 1932:


Hearing loss

Hair cells

Genetic hearing loss restored with gene therapy

Old age hearing loss


Alzheimer’s treatment disparities

Alzheimer’s drug trials plagued by lack of racial diversity

Movie: Rise of Planet of the Apes (2011)


Okay, that’s it for this episode. How’d we do?


You can always email (I do answer back), click the comment link below, or follow me online for real time tracking.

Rabbit Hole of Research Podcast Episode 4: Giant Animals Show Notes



Episode 4: The Show Notes

This has no particular format; it’s just correcting or updating anything in the show we didn’t get a chance to fully talk about or things we had on the tips of our tongues and couldn’t get out as we recorded. As always, feel free to comment, and we will address stuff in future shows! Enjoy.

What we drinking:

Joe: Phony Negroni —St. Argrestis

Nick: Water


Let us know:

What’s your favorite animal?

What’s your favorite giant animal movie?

Favorite color?


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Show notes:

Technically any plane carrying the president is designated as Air Force One:

Air Force One (1997) movie

What is Dry January

Food of the Gods 1976 movie 

Food of the Gods Novel by H.G. Wells

Art by Georgia Geis @atomic_number14

Let the Ants Try by Frederik Pohl (short story)

Where do sloths live?

Sloths are found throughout Central America and northern South America, including parts of Brazil and Peru

Who sings song—“You and me, baby, ain’t nothin’ but mammals So let’s do it like they do on the Discovery Channel”? 

Bloodhound Group—‘The Bad Touch’ 

Aldi and Trader Joe’s history

E. L. Doctorow: Homer and Langley—universal newspaper

Seanan McGuire (Mira Grant) Into the Drowning Deep

Pushing beached whales into ocean?

Whalefall—Daniel Kraus 

Largest land animal

The African Elephant (Loxodonta africana) holds the title for the largest land animal. Adult male African elephants can weigh between 5,000 to 14,000 pounds (2,268 to 6,350 kilograms) and stand about 8.2 to 13 feet (2.5 to 4 meters) tall at the shoulder. Female African elephants are generally smaller than males but still large compared to other land animals.

It’s worth noting that the size of elephants can vary, and these measurements are approximate. The African Elephant’s large size is a testament to its adaptation to diverse habitats across the African continent.

Largest sea animal

The blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) holds the title for the largest sea animal and, in fact, the largest animal on Earth. Adult blue whales can reach lengths of up to 100 feet (30 meters) and weigh as much as 200 tons. These enormous marine mammals are filter feeders, primarily consuming small shrimp-like animals called krill.

The sheer size of blue whales is remarkable, and they are found in oceans around the world, making them a truly global species. Despite their massive size, blue whales are gentle creatures, and their conservation status is classified as endangered due to historical whaling practices. Conservation efforts are ongoing to protect and preserve these magnificent marine animals.

The size of animals is constrained by various biological, ecological, and physical factors. Some limitations include:

1. Metabolic Demands: Larger animals generally have higher metabolic demands. Meeting these demands becomes challenging, as it requires sufficient food intake, efficient energy utilization, and effective waste removal.

2. Support Structures: The strength of bones, muscles, and other support structures is crucial. Beyond a certain size, the ability to support the body’s weight becomes a limiting factor.

3. Respiratory System: Diffusion-based respiratory systems become less effective as an organism grows larger. Efficient gas exchange becomes challenging, potentially limiting the maximum size of animals relying on this mechanism.

4. Heat Dissipation: Larger animals face challenges in dissipating heat efficiently. This is due to the decrease in surface area relative to volume, affecting heat exchange with the environment.

5. Reproductive Challenges: Larger animals often have fewer offspring and longer gestation periods. This could impact reproductive strategies and population dynamics.

6. Predator-Prey Dynamics: Size affects the ability to evade predators or capture prey. Both extreme sizes, very large or very small, can be disadvantageous in certain ecological niches.

7. Evolutionary Pressures: Evolutionary pressures may favor smaller sizes in specific environments, promoting agility, rapid reproduction, and adaptability over large size.

8. Ecological Niche: Each species occupies a specific ecological niche, and the size of an organism is often adapted to its role in the ecosystem. Deviating too much from the optimal size for a given niche could be disadvantageous.

Sources:

• Schmidt-Nielsen, K. (1984). Scaling: Why is Animal Size So Important? Cambridge University Press.

The size of insects is constrained by various biological and physical factors. Here are some key limitations:

1. Exoskeleton: Insects have an exoskeleton made of a rigid material called chitin. As they grow, they need to molt and shed their exoskeleton to accommodate a larger size. This process becomes more challenging as the insect gets larger due to the increased structural demands.

2. Respiratory System: Insects rely on a system of tiny tubes called tracheae for respiration. As they grow larger, the surface area available for gas exchange becomes insufficient, limiting their ability to provide oxygen to all cells effectively.

3. Muscle Efficiency: The efficiency of muscle function decreases as insects get larger. The relationship between muscle strength and size is not linear, and larger insects may face challenges in coordinated movement and efficient muscle function.

4. Metabolic Rate: Larger insects might struggle to meet the metabolic demands associated with increased body size. Efficient energy utilization becomes a limiting factor, affecting overall viability.

5. Predation: Larger insects may become more vulnerable to predators. Their size makes them easier targets, and the advantages of being smaller, such as agility and concealment, become essential for survival.

6. Feeding Efficiency: As insects grow larger, their feeding efficiency might decrease. The energy required to forage for food may surpass the energy gained from the food itself.

7. Developmental Constraints: The developmental processes of molting and metamorphosis, which are integral to an insect’s life cycle, impose limitations on the attainable size.

8. Environmental Conditions: In certain environments, such as those with limited oxygen concentration, larger insects might struggle to obtain sufficient oxygen, further restricting their size.

9. Evolutionary Trade-offs: Evolutionary pressures may favor smaller sizes in certain ecological niches due to trade-offs between size, reproductive strategies, and adaptation to specific environments.

Sources:

• Chapman, R. F., Simpson, S. J., & Douglas, A. E. (2013). The Insects: Structure and Function. Cambridge University Press.

Limitations of size for Animals Living in Water:

1. Buoyancy: Water provides buoyancy, supporting the weight of aquatic organisms. This allows for the existence of much larger animals in water compared to on land, where the gravitational pull is a more significant constraint.

2. Respiration: Aquatic animals often have gills, enabling efficient extraction of oxygen from water. This allows for a more effective respiratory system, potentially sustaining larger body sizes.

3. Swimming Efficiency: The streamlined shape and reduced effects of gravity in water allow for efficient movement, enabling larger sizes for aquatic animals. Whales, for example, are among the largest animals on Earth and are adapted to life in the oceans.

4. Food Availability: Water ecosystems can support larger populations of prey items, providing a more abundant food supply for predators. This abundance can contribute to the development of larger species.

5. Temperature Regulation: Water provides a more stable environment for temperature regulation. This stability can support larger animals that might face challenges related to temperature fluctuation on land.

Sources:

• Alexander, R. McN. (2006). Principles of Animal Locomotion. Princeton University Press.

• Vogel, S. (1994). Life in Moving Fluids: The Physical Biology of Flow. Princeton University Press.

The concept of an animal growing 10 times its natural size in fiction, using a lot of Handwavium!

1. Extreme Nutrient Density: An exceptionally nutrient-dense food source could potentially fuel rapid and substantial growth in an animal. This might include a novel substance with highly concentrated essential nutrients that the animal can efficiently assimilate.

2. Genetic Modification: In a fictional context, genetic modification or engineering could play a role. Introducing genes that enhance growth, metabolism, or nutrient absorption might result in animals reaching sizes beyond their natural limits.

3. Magical or Extraterrestrial Influence: In a fantastical setting, magical elements or extraterrestrial factors could be introduced. For example, exposure to a magical substance or an extraterrestrial nutrient could trigger extraordinary growth in the animal.

4. Biological Anomaly: A rare biological anomaly or mutation that dramatically increases an animal’s growth rate could be part of the fictional narrative. This could involve an unexpected interaction between the animal’s genetics and a specific type of food.

5. Artificial Growth Stimulants: In a speculative scenario, the presence of artificial growth stimulants, either intentionally or accidentally introduced into the animal’s environment, could lead to accelerated growth.

Various mythologies, religions and fictions around the world feature giant animals, often portraying them as powerful, mythical beings or creatures with extraordinary abilities. Here are some examples:

1. Jormungandr (Norse Mythology): Jormungandr, also known as the Midgard Serpent, is a giant sea serpent in Norse mythology. It is said to encircle the Earth, grasping its tail in its mouth. According to prophecy, Jormungandr will play a significant role in the events leading to Ragnarok, the end of the world.

2. Nemean Lion (Greek Mythology): In Greek mythology, the Nemean Lion was a colossal, supernatural lion with an impenetrable golden fur. It was one of the Labors of Hercules to defeat this fierce lion.

3. Kaiju (Japanese Mythology/Fiction): While not strictly part of ancient mythology, Japanese kaiju are giant monsters often featured in modern fiction and films. Examples include Godzilla, Mothra, and Rodan, representing colossal creatures with destructive powers.

4. Garuda (Hindu and Buddhist Mythology): Garuda is a mythical bird or bird-like creature in Hindu and Buddhist traditions. It is often depicted as large, with the ability to carry off elephants. Garuda is a divine companion of the god Vishnu.

5. Fenghuang (Chinese Mythology): The Fenghuang, also known as the Chinese Phoenix, is a mythical bird in Chinese mythology. It is often described as a giant and colorful bird with various supernatural abilities, symbolizing grace and longevity.

6. Yamata no Orochi (Japanese Mythology): Yamata no Orochi is an eight-headed and eight-tailed dragon or serpent in Japanese mythology. It was defeated by the storm god Susanoo, and one of its tails contained the legendary sword Kusanagi.

7. Bunyip (Australian Aboriginal Mythology): The bunyip is a mythical creature from Australian Aboriginal mythology, often described as a large, amphibious monster inhabiting waterholes, rivers, and swamps.

8. Simurgh (Persian Mythology): The Simurgh is a mythical bird-like creature in Persian mythology. It is often portrayed as a large, benevolent bird with magnificent plumage, sometimes said to possess healing powers.

Okay, that’s it for this episode. How’d we do?


You can always email (I do answer back), click the comment link below, or follow me online for real time tracking.


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Rabbit Hole of Research Podcast Episode 3: Villains Show Notes



Show notes:

This has no particular format (yet), just correcting or updating anything in the show we didn’t get a chance to fully talk about or things we had on the tips of our tongues and couldn’t get out as we recorded. As always feel free to comment and we will address stuff in future shows! Enjoy:


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Show Art by Georgia Geis

Story grid: Thriller Genre is a mash-up of Horror, Action, and Crime 

Sea of Rust: C. Robert Cargill

Terminator 2: Actor who played the scientist: Joe Morton “Dr. Miles” 

Predator[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Predator\_(franchise)]

Superman I (1978); and Superman II (1980)

Short Story about wealthy people hunting poor people:

1924 short story “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell

“Surviving the Game” (1994) staring Ice-T[https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0111323/plotsummary/]

Fritz Haber-German scientist 1908 for synthesis of ammonia (Nobel prize in chemistry 1918)—dual edge sword—also know as father of chemical warfare.

Back to Future (1985): Cultural insensitivity

What is a villain?

Random House Unabridged Dictionary defines such a character as “a cruelly malicious person who is involved in or devoted to wickedness or crime; scoundrel; or a character in a play, novel, or the like, who constitutes an important evil agency in the plot.”

The opposite of a villain is a hero. The villain’s structural purpose is to serve as the opposition of the hero character and their motives or evil actions drive a plot along. 

In contrast to the hero, who is defined by feats of ingenuity and bravery and the pursuit of justice and the greater good, a villain is often defined by their acts of selfishness, evilness, arrogance, cruelty, and cunning, displaying immoral behavior that can oppose or pervert justice

People like to love villains they relate with

Research suggests that you like villains who remind us of ourselves. 

Study published in 2020 Psychological Science, Rebecca Krause, at Northwestern University: Krause, R. J., & Rucker, D. D. (2020). Can bad be good? The attraction of a darker self. Psychological Science.

Humans hardwired to find goodness in villains

A recent study from Aarhus University found those who prefer fictional villains to heroes are more likely to be villainous themselves.

Valerie A. Umscheid, Craig E. Smith, Felix Warneken, Susan A. Gelman, Henry M. Wellman, What makes Voldemort tick? Children’s and adults’ reasoning about the nature of villains. Cognition,Volume 233, 2023

The results revealed that, overall, both children and adults believed that villains’ true selves were ‘overwhelmingly evil and much more negative than heroes’.

However, researchers also detected an asymmetry in the views, as villains were much more likely than heroes to have a true self that differed to their outer personna.

The research found that those who prefer villains such as Cruella de Vil and Darth Vader, are more likely to display the ‘dark triad‘ (Machiavellianism, narcissism and psychopathy) personality traits.

Dark Triad:

‘Narcissism describes a grandiose and entitled interpersonal style whereby one feels superior to others and craves validation (‘ego-reinforcement’),’ the researchers write.

‘Machiavellianism describes a manipulative interpersonal style characterized by duplicity, cynicism, and selfish ambition.

‘Psychopathy describes low self-control and a callous interpersonal style aimed at immediate gratification.


Thanks for spending time with us. You can always email (I do answer back), click the comment link below, or follow me online for real time tracking. Until next time…


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Rabbit Hole of Research Podcast Episode 2: AI Show Notes



Episode 2: The Show Notes

This has no particular format, just correcting or updating anything in the show we didn’t get a chance to fully talk about or things we had on the tips of our tongues and couldn’t get out as we recorded. As always feel free to comment and we will address stuff in future shows! Enjoy:

What we drinking:

Joe: Riot: Revolution Brewery

Nick: Foeder Fiend Three Floyd’s


Let us know:

What do you think about AI?

Any questions we didn’t cover?

What did we get wrong (Check the show notes)?


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Show notes:

Algorithms bias in medical

Chat bot on social media

AI Fashion model week

Anti-AI clothing

Artist using Anti-AI digital image protection:

UChicago scientists develop new tool protect artists

New tools help artists fight AI by directly disrupting the systems

Protection against facial recognition in digital photos 

AI math 

Affective Computing

Self driving cars and google search misidentify POC because of training data

Self driving car racial bias

Google racist gorillas photo recognition algorithm



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Rabbit Hole of Research Podcast Episode 1: Gaba’s Girl Show Notes


Welcome to Episode 1 Show Notes:

This is a collection of stuff that we didn’t get to in the show or talked about in the show briefly. We try to include links when possible and connecting our research paths. Maybe in future we will have a better organization system, but for now enjoy the Rabbit Hole of Show Notes!

Let us know:

What do you think about Gaba and the history of reanimation?

Any questions we didn’t cover?

What did we get wrong (read the show note first)?

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The Show Notes:

Lester Gaba:

Who is Lester Gaba

Lester the first mannequin influencer

Some Terms:

Robotsexuality-term for falling in love with robot. 

Lovotics refers to the research of human-to-robot relationship. (Lando and L3-37)

Books/Movies reanimation rabbit hole:

Mannequin-Kim Cattrall

Frankenstein– 1818

Weird Science

Ex Machina

Real life reanimation experimenters :

  1. Luigi Galvani-1780
    1. First to show that electrical signals could move freshly dissected frog legs. 
    2. During a dissection a metal look touched the muscle and the frog twitches like it would hop away. Galvani said this was caused by a special muscle viral fluid—animal electricity. 
  2. Alessandro Volta (credited with inventing the battery and field of electrochemistry), 1782, disagreed and said any electricity could produce a similar effect. And Volta started testing this on all sorts of dead things. 
  3. Giovanni Aldini
    1. Galvani was at the end of his career, so his nephew took up the charge against Volta. After the hanging of a man named George Foster (drowned his wife and kid in a canal), the body went to the lab of Giovanni. 
    2. During a demonstration he soaped and salted the man’s ears and connected him to electrodes. As he passed a current through the man his face and mouth started to twitch. 
    3. A reporter noted, “ On the first application of the process to the face, the jaws of the deceased criminal began to quiver, and the adjoining muscles were horribly contorted, and one eye was actually opened. In the subsequent part of the process the right hand was raised and clenched, and the legs and thighs were set in motion.”
    4. It was decided by the government that if George did come back to life he should be hung again. 
  4. Andrew Ure
    1. Experimented on hanged convicts—up to 300He would draw a crowd and shock different body part to make them twitch and please the crowd. Not really answering any scientific questions. “Every muscle of the body was immediately agitated with convulsive movements resembling a violent shuddering from cold. . . On moving the second rod from hip to heel, the knee being previously bent, the leg was thrown out with such violence as nearly to overturn one of the assistants, who in vain tried to prevent its extension. The body was also made to perform the movements of breathing by stimulating the phrenic nerve and the diaphragm.”“When the supraorbital nerve was excited ‘every muscle in his countenance was simultaneously thrown into fearful action; rage, horror, despair, anguish, and ghastly smiles, united their hideous expressions in the murderer’s face, surpassing far the wildest representations of Fuseli or a Kean. At this period several of the spectators were forced to leave the apartment from terror or sickness, and one gentleman fainted.”Eventually things got boring and the church was threading to shut him down afraid that he was summoning devils. In time, he gave up the reanimation efforts, correctly concluding it was a waste of his time, and then turned his attention to more productive pursuits, such as revolutionizing the way volumes are measured and with being the first to describe a bi-metallic thermostat.
    Early 1920’s Russian experiments
  5. Sergei Bryukhonenko was a scientist living in Russia during the Revolution who invented what he called an “autojektor,” or the heart-lung machine. These exist today, and Bryukhonenko’s design was fundamentally sound, but it’s the way he tested it that’s creepy.
    1. During his early experiments, Bryukhonenko decapitated a dog and immediately connected it to his machine, which drew out blood from the veins and circulated it through a filter for oxygenation. According to his paper, Bryukhonenko kept the dog’s severed head alive and responsive for over an hour and a half, before blood clots built up and killed the dog on the table.
    2. According to the Soviet Congress of Science, Bryukhonenko actually managed reanimating of a human in 1930. 
    3. Given the hours-dead corpse of a man who had committed suicide, the team plugged his body up to the autojektor and pushed a witches’ brew of odd chemicals into his bloodstream.
    4. They opened his chest cavity, administered a mix of chemicals and got a steady rhythm. The man then started to groan and move, this freaked everyone out and they shut down the experiment letting the man did for good. 
  6. Today: Luigi Galvani initial work is the basis for Electrical muscle stimulation (EMS), also known as neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) or electromyostimulation, is the elicitation of muscle contraction using electric impulses

SHOW ADVICE:

Please don’t try to reanimate things in your living room.

OTHER STUFF

galvanism — the idea that electricity could reanimate dead tissue

in honour of his pioneering work his name was given to the unit of electrical potential, the Volt.

In 1751, England passed the Murder Act, which allowed the bodies of executed murderers to be used for experimentation and scientific study. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder\_Act\_1751

Andrew Ure was Scottish and performed his experiment on a hanged convict (Matthew Clydesdale) in 1818. After experiment did describe a device that would later be the basis for the defibrillator. 

Mary Shelley was surrounded and influenced by science demonstrations (Galvani, Volta and Aldini were friends of Mary’s father), but some speculate that Mary Shelley used Ure as a model for her main character in the book, Frankenstein (1818).

Operating theater or operating room, is a facility where surgical procedures are performed . Historically, operating theaters where actually an amphitheater and a source of education and entertainment, often with “music and festive atmosphere…” https://daily.jstor.org/inside-the-operating-theater-surgery-as-spectacle/

Research on using electrodes to give amputees Restoring the sense of touch in amputees – Today’s Medical Developments

More reanimating attempts not mentioned:

Another scientists in the field of reanimation i failed to mention was Robert E. Cornish, an American biologist who studied at the University of California Berkeley. Cornish who reportedly managed to revive two dogs by rocking them back and forth to move blood around while injecting the animals with a mixture of anticoagulants and steroids. When Cornish announced he was ready to perform his experiment on humans, a California death-row inmate, Thomas McMonigle, volunteered his body post-execution, but the State of California denied his request.

Zvonimir Vrseljal et al, April 2019 Nature. Revive pig brain 4-hours post-mortem

Organ X maintains life and raises questions about what it means to be dead. 


Other Rabbit Holes:

And you may be wondering about cryonics (I wrote a newsletter about this Hey baby it’s cold outside. Let’s stay in and talk Cryonics!), and we still have no idea how to revive a frozen body, but research is ongoing


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What’s Up Jotham?


What? Jotham has a Podcast!

Welcome! The Rabbit Hole of Research Podcast is available now! So excited to share science and pop culture with you. You can listen to the Podcast on most providers (Apple, Spotify, YouTube, Amazon, etc), the Substack app, in a browser on my website or from this email!

SubstackAppleSpotifyYouTubeAmazon, Joe’s Website

Who Are We?

We are Jotham (Joe), a research mad scientist and author; Nick, roaster of the coffee bean, entrepreneur and pop culture guru; and sometimes Georgia, librarian, storyteller, and print maker. 

So, What is this Rabbit Hole of Research Podcast? 

It’s like playing a game of Telephone, where we will start in one place and let the conversation lead us down the winding scenic road exploring the science in science fiction, separating the facts from the Handwavium. We’ll have a little fun and you’ll learn a few facts you can use to impress your friends at a party or use as a conversation starter to go down your own rabbit holes. 

It will not just be us rambling, fumbling and tumbling down the rabbit hole, but we will invite creators, thinkers and innovators on to talk about their research, creative process and join the lively conversation exploring the quirky science in fiction. 

We know you have many choices of entertainment, so we will keep the episodes short, about the time it takes to drink a tasty beverage. So, please join us on this journey down the rabbit hole.

When Can I Expect The First Episodes?

NOW!

Episode 1 (Gaba Girl and Reanimation) and Episode 2 (We Talking about AI) will drop together. We should publish an episode every two weeks or so at first, but as we get into a routine we will get to weekly.

When Will The First Guests be on? And Can I Be a Guest?

So, the first guest will make an appearance in Episode 3. And sure if you want to be a guest, just drop me an email!

What About the Newsletter?

Even though I’ve been on a little Rabbit Hole of Research Newsletter vacation, don’t worry the newsletter will return this month (Feb 10th) with writing updates (like what now that my publisher closed), when will my new book go on submission to publishers, and what I’m reading, listening, watching, etc.

As always, thanks for the support! I couldn’t do this without you!

Cheers!


You can always email (I do answer back), click the comment link below, or follow me online for real time tracking.

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Happy New Year 2023

Wishing you a wonderful and healthy 2023

I’m kicking off the new year with a bang and going to be a guest and panelist at MarsCon 2023 in Virginia Beach, VA!

MarsCon January 13-15th 2023!

I’ll be on six panels:

1. Religion, Magic and Science

2. Worldbuilding: Food and Drink

3. Researching Your Story

4. Do They Still Need HMO’s in Your World?

5. Dystopia is a Double Edge Sword for the Author

6. How Do You Define SciFi in 2023?

I am so excited. This was one of my personal goals of 2022 to be invited to a Con and be on panels talking about science and science fiction. Come on down and check it out! Hope to see you there.

July 10th: Tree Farts, Cyanobacteria Airborne Poison, the Eusocial lifestyle, and Almost One Year of Handwavium

Tree farts, pond scum and cooperative ferns.

After I write my Rabbit Hole of Research episodes I keep my eye on the science, and will update if I see some interesting new research popping up. Last year I had an episode on Killer Plants (read it here), and here are some new botanical findings:

1) So, one article explores the idea that Ferns create eusocial colonies (what is an eusocial colonies you ask?) According to Britannica: An eusocial species, is any colonial animal species that lives in multigenerational family groups in which the vast majority of individuals cooperate to aid relatively few (or even a single) reproductive group members—simply put: think insects like ants or mole rats living in a colony. I can hear Spock’s voice in my head, “Logic clearly dictates that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few” —and now we can add ferns to the list of eusocial species—read more here.

2) So, it has been long known that Cyanobacteria over growing in ponds, “blooms,” can produce toxins, but a new report shows evidence for airborne toxins

3) And one last botanical laugh—Tree Farts! So, it seems “ghost forests”—“Ghosts forests” are drowned forests/marshlands with the remains of dead and decaying trees under water (read more here). These marshlands have been found to generate one-fifth of greenhouse gases, but when compared to other sources of greenhouse gases, this is a minor contribution. 

I hear you out their asking, “Jotham, If the trees are dead then what is causing these farts. Microbes are what causes farts! And Just like you reading this newsletter, the microbes in your own intestines, digesting your food causes your farts. (I apologize to all the ferns for assuming a human-centric viewpoint that only humans can read).

Hopefully, this holds you over until the next edition of Rabbit Hole of Research—What, you checked the calendar and the next edition is the one year edition! That’s right we made it one year! So, to celebrate I’m going to revisit that first edition and return with more Sexy Space! To get ready for more Handwavium and Sex in Space you can reread that episode here.

Science Quick Hits: June 12th episode

Before I jump in I want to take time to thank everyone who wrote to me or commented on my last episode on the science of cryonics (if you missed it, here is the link: https://mailchi.mp/e762b3f1d4b4/jothams-monthly-newsletter-cryonics). A couple readers wondered why I said cryonics and not cryogenics like you read in books and hear in movies.

Definition time:

Cryogenics is the production and behaviour of materials at very low temperatures

Cryonics is the low temperature-freezing (usually at −196 °C or −320.8 °F or 77.1 K) and storage of a human corpse or severed head, with the speculative hope that resurrection may be possible in the future.

Similar words, but in movies and books cryonics is the term they should be using, but Handwavium need not obey definitions. 

Okay, on to the 24,000 years and sex in space.

Okay, I’m not going to make you wait, let’s talk birds and bees or in this case mice. Remember, a long time ago when I first started this newsletter I explored the ins-and-outs of getting busy in space, or the difficulties (you can reread that episode here). One of the issues was space radiation and what it could do to sperm during space travel. A recent study was just released (check it out here) that in short frozen mouse spermatozoa stored on the Interntional Space Station (ISS) was not affected by space radiation and produced viable and genetically healthy offspring. This is good news for space travelers that one day want to reproduce. 

Next, a story straight out of science fiction, a 24,000 year old organism was revived from frozen Siberian Permafrost. Wasn’t this how The Thing got started—put the flamethrower down MacReady—oh never mind.

This is cool, but this group also discovered and revived a 30,000-year-old nematode worm, Arctic moss and some plants. “Now, the team adds rotifers to the list of organisms with a remarkable ability to survive, seemingly indefinitely, in a state of suspended animation beneath the frozen landscape,” the press release stated. 

Understanding how these multi-cellular organisms can be frozen and revived will be important in future space travel and cryonics (see what I did there).

That’s two quick hits of science. Hope you enjoyed and I’ll try to keep you up to date on the science that dosen’t make the headlines (like morphing pasta noodles or two new species of woolly flying squirrels discovered)

May Update: What happened to April?

Not much personal news to update you with, so I thought I’d share a photo from a project I was working on at work, modeling limb development in embryos. On the big screen, the green is the nucleus and the blue is the outline of the cell body. On the little screen you can see the all the electron micrograph of the cells that I’m modeling. 

As many of you know, my debut novel, “Will You Still Love Me If I Become Someone Else?’ was released on February 23rd 2021. Still haven’t read it, go check it out here. Hopefully, with COVID restrictions easing (folks are getting vaccinated which is good) I may be able to do book signings and other fun things, stay tuned for details! And I’m working on two new Novellas releasing later this year. Check out the cover:


Preorder for ‘Moonlight: A Limited Edition Paranormal Romance Anthology’ is now available here. The first draft of the novella about Eve who is a werewolf (And yes, I did a science of werewolf episode) looking to protect her pact, but finds love along the way—is hot off the keyboard and will let in cool off before I start editing. Working title is “All Your Stars Are But Moonbeams in My Hair.” What do you think about the title? Email and let me know.

And, you read correctly, i said two novellas are being released this fall. The second will be in the Emerging Worlds Anthology. I am doing a post-zombie novella titled, “The Cure”. They promised the Cure would end Zombie and return life to normal, but nobody promised normal would be easy. I’ve wanted to write a zombie story for some time, and looking at post zombie life is fun. I’m about 14K words in (Whoa, I’m half way there…now that song is stuck in your head).

And don’t worry, there will be a new issue of Rabbit Hole of Research on May 29th, and it’s going to be frosty! If you want to read past issues, check them out here!

Follow me online, and feel free to Email me with questions, comments, questionable science, or who you’d like to see interviewed.