Petri Dish

Ep. 185 How to Make a Drug Pt 2: Libraries and Design

21 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

On this second episode about drug discovery, we discuss small molecule drug libraries and the challenges behind rational design! Don't know what t...

Ep. 184 How to Make a Drug Pt 1: A Target

14 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Hey everyone! Today's episode is about getting into the nitty gritty of drug discovery. We often benefit from the research and development that go...

Ep. 183 Influenza Pt 4: Vaccines and Pandemics

07 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Sorry for the COVID-related break in episodes everyone! In our return, we complete our series on influenza by discussing past epidemics and pandemics...

Ep. 182 Influenza Pt 3: Whaddya Gonna Do About It?

29 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

You've had the flu. You've had a cold. Maybe you've even had allergies! But how can you tell them apart? And if you even figure out that y...

Ep. 181 Influenza Pt 2: The Piggies

22 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Last episode we discussed the current H5N1 flu that is hitting birds pretty hard. But is bird flu different from swine flu? Is there just a 'human...

Ep. 180 Influenza Pt 1: Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza

15 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today's episode is the first in a four-part series on influenza! This time we are covering just enough background information to discuss the recen...

Ep. 179 The Silence of the Plants

01 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Sure, plants can sometimes smell good and they do cool stuff like make carbs for us to eat and oxygen for us to breathe. But they sort of look like th...

Ep. 178 A Baby Born of Two Daddies

24 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Hi everyone! This week's episode is about recent work trying to figure out a way to make a baby mouse that has two genetic dads. We also dive int...

Ep. 177 Black Holes Pt 2: Quasi-Stars and Quasars

10 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today's episode is our second and final episode on Black Holes! We cover some exotic black hole concepts, like whether they are a source of dark ...

Ep. 176 Black Holes Pt 1: Curvy Thicc Spacetime Stuff

03 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Here in our first episode on our 2-parter on Black Holes, we explain what a black hole is in theory and what it probably actually is in practice. We d...

Ep. 175 The Norfolk Southern Environmental Trainwreck

27 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In February, a train was partially derailed while carrying a number of chemicals. The subsequent attempt at containment resulted in the release of ma...

Ep. 174 Desalination Pt 2: A Not-So-Salty Future?

20 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

On this week's episode, we complete our series on desalination by discussing the near future technologies that are coming to either improve or attempt...

Last of Us Rerelease! Fungus Pt 2: Cordyceps and More!

13 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Hi Everyone! We're interrupting our series on desalination to put out a quick rerelease of one of our episodes on Fungi! We're doing this in honor of ...

Ep. 173 Desalination Pt 1: So Salty

27 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Climate change is happening, two billion people don't have a reliable and safe supply of fresh water, and the problem isn't likely to get a whole lot ...

Ep. 172 VEXAS: A Mystery Syndrome

22 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

While science and medicine have come a long way over the centuries, there are still illnesses that cannot be explained -- and many of them are autoinf...

Ep. 171 Side Quests 2: Cancer and Concrete

06 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Occasionally we do episodes where we speak about a couple different topics that don't have a specific underlying theme -- they're just fun science pap...

Ep. 170 Death Pt 2: A Twitching Heart

30 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We return with our second episode on Death, the final frontier! What is it? Actually though, like what determines the moment when someone dies? This q...

Ep 169 Death Pt.1: Disembodied Pig Brains

23 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

On our first episode about Death, we look into a paper published a few years that described the reanimation of a pig brain! Spooky! Let’s get into t...

Ep 168. The Tridemic

16 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This winter season the world is dealing with not two but three respiratory illnesses at the same time. While these are familiar names at this point, t...

Ep. 167 Coffee Pt 2: Dry, Wet, Honey, and Poop

10 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Hi Folks! Part 2 of our series on coffee focuses on how coffee beans can be imparted with different flavors through their picking and processing! We m...

Ep. 166 Coffee Pt 1: Species and History

03 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The first episode on our three part series is on the history of human consumption of coffee (as far as we know) and the several species of plant that ...

Ep. 165 Viral Hepatitis Pt 2: The Chronic

26 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In our second and final episode on viral hepatitis, we discuss Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C! One has a vaccine, the other can be treated with antiviral...

Ep. 164 Viral Hepatitis Pt 1: Acute But Not Cute

19 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In our first episode of a two parter, we discuss what the liver does, what hepatitis is generally, and which hepatitis viruses cause acute issues! Ref...

Ep. 163 Random Walks, Brownian Motion, and the Physics of Big Bacteria

12 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Last week, we discussed a very big bacterium, one you can see with your naked eye! But back in high school we all learned that bacteria and prokaryote...

Ep. 162 Really Huge Bacteria

05 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In today's episode, we discuss a recent discovery of a reaaaaaally big bacteria, like way big! Big enough that you can see it without a microscope! Lo...

Ep. 161 Monkeypox Pt 2: APOBEC3 and Microevolution

29 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Sorry about the delay in this release folks! In this episode, we revisit the current unusual Monkeypox outbreak and dive into the DNA of this virus to...

Ep. 160 Caffeine Pt 2: Muscles and Sensitivity

22 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In the second and final episode on our series on Caffeine, we dive into what acute caffeine toxicity can look like, along with other ways people can ...

Ep. 159 Caffeine Pt 1: The Most Popular Psychoactive Drug in the World

15 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

First episode of our two-parter on caffeine! For such a small and unassuming molecule, this drug is really popular, consumed all over the world for mi...

Ep. 158 Alzheimer's Redux: Lies, Fraud, and Misconduct

08 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The world of Alzheimer's research has recently been rocked by very strong evidence of scientific misconduct and fraud, specifically relating to a hist...

Ep. 157 Monkeypox

01 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Hi folks! I know most people don't really want to hear it, but we have another disease running around the world besides COVID and the more you know th...

Ep. 156 Venom Pt 3: Medicine and Mammals

25 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The final episode in our series on venom, we discuss how venom can be used in modern medicine before discussing some venomous reptiles. Then we finish...

Ep. 155 Venom Pt 2: Animal Extravaganza

18 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Part two of our series on venom! We start out talking about some venomous jellyfish and other cnidarians before moving on to arthropods, like some ver...

Ep. 154 Venom Pt 1: Bites and Stings and Ouchie Things

11 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Hi Everyone! Welcome to the first episode of our series on venom! We previously discussed toxic stuff, and venoms are a specific subset of toxic thing...

Ep. 153 Hot Dogs and Nitrates

04 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Happy 4th of July to all our listeners in the USA! In honor of the holiday, we're doing an episode on hot dogs and other cured meats, specifically reg...

Ep. 152 Doping Pt 2: Up For Debate

27 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In our first episode on the topic, we introduced the idea and definition of doping. In this episode we dive into blood doping, gene and cell doping, a...

Ep. 151 Doping Pt 1: Juicing

20 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Hey folks! On this episode Sean and Nathan discuss sports doping, first defining what counts as doping then discussing a history of doping! Our sponso...

Ep. 150: Organic Poisons

13 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We took a break from our series on poisons, but we're back now to chat about organic poisons! No, not like pesticide-free poisons, organic in this con...

Ep. 149 Sports Medicine: Whey

06 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

I promise Nathan doesn't say 'whey' weird the entire episode, it just takes a bit for him to stop. This week's episode is about whey protein! What is ...

Ep. 148 Side Quests 1: Frenchmen and Killer High Schools

30 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Hi Everyone! This is the first episode in a periodic series we're going to do called 'side quests'. Sometimes we come across science stories that aren...

Ep. 147 Poisons Pt 3: Arsenic, The King of Poisons

23 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Hi Folks! Part three of our poison series is on arsenic, the king of poisons and the poison of kings! Arsenic had a long history of being used to kill...

Ep. 146 Poisons Pt 2: Get the Lead Out

16 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Hi everyone! Here is part 2 in our series on poisons. This time we discuss lead! Our new sponsor is Athletic Greens, a really solid and easy way to ge...

Ep. 145 Poisons Pt 1: Heavy Metal

09 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Hey everyone! Nathan wanted to know how poisons work and we're starting with some metals! Metal poisons are pretty interesting because they aren't com...

[Reupload] Ep 144 Jurassic Pt 3: This is the Last One For Now

03 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

*Hey folks, some people are having a tough time hearing the episode on some platforms, this reupload is an attempt to see if we can fix that* At Natha...

Ep 144 Jurassic Pt 3: This is the Last One For Now

02 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

At Nathan's insistence, this is the last Mesozoic episode for now! We talk about dinosaurs, across the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, including heav...

Ep. 143 Jurassic Pt 2: Finally Actually Dinosaurs

25 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Yessss we're finally doing it! Dinosaurs! But only Jurassic ones! Yeah, that's right, a bunch of dinosaurs were only around in the Cretaceous, like ve...

Ep. 142 Jurassic Pt 1: Angry Magma

18 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Yay! The Age of the Dinosaurs! In this episode, we lay the groundwork for finally digging into dinosaurs in part 2 -- we discuss the changes to the cl...

Ep. 141 Triassic Pt 2: Almost Dino Time

11 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We end our discussion of the Triassic period with the land and air -- this is the time when dinosaurs and pterosaurs first evolved, along with the fir...

A Brief Petri Announcement

04 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We're taking a one episode break, Nathan kind of explains why...

Ep. 140 Welcome to Triassic Park Part 1

28 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In our last episode, we discussed The Great Dying, the transitional extinction event that ended the Permian and Paleozoic times and kickstarted the Tr...

Ep. 139 The Great Dying

21 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Hey, times are tough! So in a bit of escapism, Petri Dish has decided to dive into one of the largest extinction events of all time -- the Great Dying...

Ep. 138 Slijper's Two-Legged Goat

14 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week we have an episode on a topic recommended by a friend of the show! We begin with a story about a cute little goat born in the late 1930s in ...

Ep. 137 Mangrove Forests

07 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Nathan had a magical experience recently in a mangrove forest and because Sean is a good older brother, Petri Dish is covering the ins and outs about ...

Ep. 136 Penis Pt 2: The Missing Bone

28 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Hi everyone and welcome to our second and final episode on penises! Why are bird penises so strange? Why does the spiny anteater have a four-headed pe...

Ep. 135 Presidents' Day

21 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Hi Everyone! Happy Presidents' Day! In honor of presidents past, we have decided to do an episode on a topic Nathan has been requesting for a while --...

Ep. 134 Valentine's Day Chlamydia!

14 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Hi Everyone! Hope you're having an excellent Valentine's Day! In honor of all the romance out there, we're releasing an episode about chlamydia, one o...

Ep. 133 CoronaUpdate: Omicron

07 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Hey! We're back from our 2 week hiatus with an episode on Omicron! At this point, the omicron wave seems to be largely done in the US (in terms of new...

Hiatus Announcement

24 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Hey everyone! Hope you're all staying safe and healthy! We here at Petri Dish are taking a 2 week hiatus, but we'll be back with more science soon!

Ep. 132 Crustaceans Pt 2: Everybody Wants to Be a Crab

17 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Hi everyone! In part 1 of crustaceans we laid down a lot of groundwork on what crustaceans even *are*. But here in part 2 we wanted to spend some time...

Ep. 131 Crustaceans Pt 1: What the F*** is a Shrimp?

10 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Hey everyone! On this episode of Petri Dish we ask the question everyone has been asking since time immemorial -- what the fuck is a shrimp? Like seri...

Ep. 130 Kelp Pt 3: Chew on That

03 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Our final episode on kelp! We've spent the last two episodes discussing natural kelp forests and some of the fun things we can use kelp to do like bio...

Ep. 129 Kelp Pt 2: Fixing, Farming, and Filtering

27 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Part 2 of 3 of our series on Kelp! Part 1 was all about natural kelp forests and how cool they are, but part 2 is focused on how humans can EXPLOIT ke...

Ep. 128 Kelp Pt 1: Forests Au Naturale

20 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Hey everyone! This next series of Petri Dish is about Kelp, due to strong demand from Nathan. Kelp are those big floaty plant-looking things (but they...

Ep. 127 Koji: A Fancy Fermenty Thing

13 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This week we have a one-off episode for you on koji! Koji is a Japanese fermented ingredient with analogues in other East Asian cuisines -- basically ...

Ep. 126 Afforestation Pt 2: The Great Green Wall

06 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Hi folks! Welcome to part 2 on Afforestation/Reforestation! Last time, we discussed the Chinese effort to plant a ton of trees, both to combat deserti...

Ep. 125 Afforestation Pt 1: Build a Forest Back Better

29 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Hey everyone! On this week's episode of Petri Dish, Sean and Nathan start their two-part conversation on Afforestation and Reforestation! There's a lo...

Ep. 124 Beer Pt 3: The Beer of Future Past

22 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

On this, our last episode of our series on beer, we discuss the history of beer then talk about some of the cool ways synthetic biology and genetic en...

Ep. 123 Beer Pt 2: So Many Wonderful Types

15 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Last week we discussed how to make a beer. This week we use that knowledge to discuss the differences between different kinds of beers, from delicious...

Ep. 122 Beer Pt 1: How to Make a Brew

08 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Beer! One of humanity's oldest companions! Why are there so many kinds? How do we go about making beer? What is science doing to advance beer into the...

Ep. 121 CoronaUpdate: Maybe Another Treatment

01 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Petri Dish, we have two updates on the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic! First, the FDA has approved the use of the Pfizer vaccine on chil...

Ep. 120 Halloween: Macabre Mummies

25 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

It's the spooky season once again and this year on Petri Dish we explore the science and history of mummies! While ancient Egyptian mummies certainly ...

Ep. 119 HIV/AIDS Pt 4: Bone Marrow and Genetic Engineering

18 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In our final episode in our series on HIV/AIDS, we discuss the cutting edge treatments and vaccines that are currently being tested! One of the treatm...

Ep. 118 HIV/AIDS Pt 3: Current Treatments

11 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome to part 3 of our series on HIV/AIDS! In the previous two episodes we covered the history of HIV/AIDS and how HIV/AIDS works on the cellular le...

Ep. 117 HIV/AIDS Pt 2: Acute and Chronic

04 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This week on Petri Dish we dive deeper into HIV/AIDS pathophysiology -- how does HIV do what it does to your body? How does the virus target specific ...

Ep. 116 HIV/AIDS: The Present and the Past

27 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Recent news has led to a lot of excitement with relation to HIV/AIDS -- approval for clinical trials using a new vaccine and a new treatment/potential...

Ep. 115 COVID Vaccine Booster Shots!

20 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This week we have a short episode, a Q&A on COVID vaccine booster shots based on the latest info from 09/17/2021! Who can currently get a COVID bo...

Ep. 114 Strange Medieval Treatments Feat. The Microbe Moment Pt. 2

13 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

It's part 2 of our collaboration with The Microbe Moment (a podcast from The Microbigals! https://www.microbigals.com/the-microbe-moment-science-podca...

Ep. 113 Strange Medieval Treatments Feat. The Microbe Moment Pt. 1

06 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In the first episode of our collaboration with The Microbe Moment (a podcast from The Microbigals! https://www.microbigals.com/the-microbe-moment-scie...

Ep. 112 Multiple Sclerosis Pt 3: Current and Future Treatments

30 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In this final episode of our series on Multiple Sclerosis, we discuss the current treatments available for the disease, mainly for the relapsing/remit...

Ep. 111 Multiple Sclerosis Pt 2: Missing Myelin

23 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Last week we started our series on multiple sclerosis by discussing the history of the disease, the symptoms, and the various forms of the disease. Th...

Ep. 110 Multiple Sclerosis Pt 1: Not Scoliosis

16 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In this week's episode, Nathan and Sean start their discussion of multiple sclerosis, a progressive autoimmune neurodegenerative disorder with a ton o...

Ep. 109 Artificial Sweeteners Pt 3: Rumors and Suspicions

09 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This week on Petri Dish, Sean, Nathan, and special guest Andrei wrap up their discussion on non-nutritive sweeteners by looking at what evidence is ou...

Ep. 108 Artificial Sweeteners Pt 2: 'Natural'

02 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Hey everyone! This week's episode continues our discussion on non-nutritive sweeteners! Last week we discussed synthetic sweeteners, the ones made in ...

Ep. 107 Artificial Sweeteners Pt 1: Finger Lickin' Sweet

26 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This first episode in our three-parter on non-nutritive sweeteners is about the artificial stuff, the most-accidental discoveries that led to sacchari...

Ep. 106 Alzheimer's Disease Pt. 3: Alternate Hypotheses

19 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In this final episode of our series on Alzheimer's Disease, we discuss some of the alternate hypotheses for what actually causes and drives progressio...

Ep. 105 Alzheimer's Disease Pt 2: FDA Approval

12 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

I don't know if y'all have heard or not, but a month ago the FDA approved a drug for the treatment of Alzheimer's Disease, the first one in a couple o...

Ep. 104 Alzheimer's Disease Pt 1: Amyloid Hypothesis

05 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

One of the top killers of people over the age of 65, Alzheimer's Disease is the target of cutting edge pharmaceutical research and basic science. What...

Ep. 103 Cloning Pt 2: Why Would Anyone Do This?

28 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Ad Link: https://omio.sjv.io/c/2544961/1078765/7385 Last week we discussed how someone could go about cloning something, but this week we dive into th...

Ep. 102: How to Make a Clone Pt 1

21 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Ad Link: https://omio.sjv.io/c/2544961/1078765/7385 Jurassic Park! Dolly the Sheep! Mammoths! Cloning went from science fiction to science, but maybe ...

Ep. 101 Allergies Pt. 4: Treatments and Future Cures

14 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Ad link: https://omio.sjv.io/c/2544961/1078765/7385 Back from the brief interruption of our allergies series to celebrate our 100th episode, we're wra...

Ep. 100: The Big One Hundo

07 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The 100th episode! Woo, we did it everyone! Thank you for listening to the podcast! This episode, Sean released his grip on the reins and let Nathan a...

Ep. 99 Allergies Pt 3: Hygiene and Old Friends

31 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Ad URL: https://baxterblueglasses.pxf.io/c/2544961/1031264/11471 Okay, so you have allergies, your friends have allergies, your enemies have allergies...

Ep. 98 Allergies Pt 2: Get Your Inhalers Ready

24 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Ad URL: https://baxterblueglasses.pxf.io/c/2544961/1031264/11471 Asthma! Hives! Hay Fever! Such a wide variety of allergic responses -- what do they h...

Ep. 97 Allergies Pt 1: So Hypersensitive

17 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Ad URL: https://baxterblueglasses.pxf.io/c/2544961/1031264/11471 Everyone knows about allergies! But, at the same time, hives seem very different from...

Ep. 96 Spiciness Pt 2: The Return of the Burn

10 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Ad URL: https://baxterblueglasses.pxf.io/c/2544961/1031264/11471 We’re back to discuss some more stuff about that spicy burny feeling! Our first spi...

Ep. 95 Star Wars' LAZERSWORDS

03 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Ad Link: https://baxterblueglasses.pxf.io/c/2544961/1031264/11471 Happy May the Fourth! Would it be possible to build a real lightsaber, just like wha...

Ep. 94 Spicy Hotness Pt. 1 - Feel the Burn

26 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Advertising Link: https://baxterblueglasses.pxf.io/c/2544961/1031264/11471 If you're like me, you love that burning sensation from a nice dose of caps...

Ep. 93 One in a Million: Adenovirus COVID Vaccines and Blood Clots

19 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

https://baxterblueglasses.pxf.io/c/2544961/1031264/11471  The AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson COVID vaccines have been in the news recently...

Ep. 92 Regeneration Part 3: Newt Eyes and Lizard Tails

12 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Why can newts grow back part of their spine and brain while we're walking around unable to even heal a broken heart!? Even amongst us tetrapods, the a...

Ep. 91 Regeneration Part 2: Decapitating Sea Slugs

05 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Last week we talked about hydra and planarians, which you can slice and dice into little bits and all the bits will regrow into new little jabronis! B...

Ep. 90 Regeneration Part 1: The Immortals

29 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

How come some animals can get their tails ripped off and just grow a whole new tail, and we can't even grow back a measly little finger? I mean, there...