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PODCAST

Technically Speaking | a science and engineering discussion

Dive deep into the world of science and engineering with engaging discussions and thought provoking debates. The team share insights from careers in science and engineering, combining expert knowledge and scientific thinking with a touch of humour to make even the most complex topics accessible and entertaining for both enthusiasts and casual listeners. Sometimes we’re funny, often we’re opinionated, always we’re entertaining. Support us: https://ko-fi.com/techspeak_podcast X/Twitter:

science

All Episodes

28:12

Is the world really running out of sand?

Technically Speaking | a science and engineering... ·

2024/04/18

We've seen lots of news stories about a global sand shortage but what's really going on? Ellie, Antonia and Laura (joined by Ellie's cat Sparkles) analyse the facts, look at what sand is used for, discuss the effect that sand supplies have on people and the environment and speculate on what should be done next.Read some of the news coverage, digest some sandy facts explained using handy graphics, read the most recent report from the United Nations, or read the research that uncovers how sand mining

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31:16

What can experiments on rats tell us?

Technically Speaking | a science and engineering... ·

2024/04/04

Many breakthroughs in medicine have been made from studying rats. Antonia, Laura and Ellie discuss several studies of rat behaviour that have mapped how parts of the brain work and discuss how the results could be applied to humans to develop prosthetic limbs or help recover memory after a brain injury. They look at studies where rats are tickled until they laugh, learn to drive cars, navigate virtual reality and perform a Jedi mind trick.

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45:32

What is explosive?

Technically Speaking | a science and engineering... ·

2024/03/21

Ever watch an action movie where someone is hurled across the screen during an explosion and wondered how likely that is? Antonia, Laura, Nick and Ellie talk about movie portrayals, nuclear weapons, disaster investigations, and exploding animals.

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08:29

Technical short: Apex predators, asteroids and couch...

Technically Speaking | a science and engineering... ·

2024/03/07

In an earlier episode on apex predators we had a bit of a tech fail! Here's a big chunk of speculative conversation from Antonia, Ellie and Jasmin that that follows some sort of weird logic but somehow arrives at a sensible conclusion.

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21:22

How good is direct air capture?

Technically Speaking | a science and engineering... ·

2024/02/22

To help tackle the climate crisis, we'll need a lot of new technology to reduce the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Ellie, Jasmin and Laura share a load of facts about the chemicals, energy requirements and land use involved in technology to capture carbon dioxide from the air. They also look at how planting trees compares to this technology and answer questions from a live audience from the Engineering Development Trust about Taylor Swift's private jet and why we're spending

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34:30

Can we live forever?

Technically Speaking | a science and engineering... ·

2024/02/08

If you could take a pill to halt ageing and become immortal, would you? Laura, Jasmin and Ellie take a look at some long-lived species, discuss just some of the science behind ageing and decide, if they could, whether they'd want to stay in their biological bodies forever or upload themselves to live digitally.Read more about the science stories they discuss: Determining how long the Greenland shark lives for Jonathan the tortoise Ming the clam Earth's longest living organism Some other long-lived

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22:26

Are humans an apex predator?

Technically Speaking | a science and engineering... ·

2024/01/25

We've been around for a while and we have a lot of influence over our environment but are we really better than a lion or an orca? Antonia, Jasmin and Ellie discuss whether humans the top of the food chain or whether nature still does it better than we do.

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31:20

What does it take to find a new species of animal?

Technically Speaking | a science and engineering... ·

2023/12/21

You might be surprised to know that new species are discovered pretty much every day. Laura and Ellie talk about how these discoveries are made and debate whether it's easier to find an exctinct, fossilised species or one that's still alive. You can send your spare pennies to our ko-fi fund to support the podcast here. Read about the discoveries that Ellie and the team at IFL Science have reported on including the Carlsberg beetle, a dinosaur in Utah, a dinosaur hand, the golden mole, a fossilised

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34:26

How are vaccines developed?

Technically Speaking | a science and engineering... ·

2023/12/10

The COVID pandemic led to rapid development of vaccines. Laura, Emma and Antonia look at the history of vaccine development, the rapid development of the mRNA vaccine, and speculate on whether future vaccines could be so quickly developed. Read about how viruses are weakened to be used as vaccines, some mechanisms of vaccination, how smallpox vaccines were developed in the 18th century, whether mRNA vaccines could be used to fight HIV, and the recent Nobel prize for the mRNA vaccine used against

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24:40

How well is radiation portrayed in the movies?

Technically Speaking | a science and engineering... ·

2023/11/23

We may not know it, but pop culture is pretty good at influencing our views. Antonia and Laura discuss several action films that rely on radiation for plot points and discuss whether these plot points could be backed-up by science. They talk about using radiation to trace chemical leaks, environmental changes and to find things in the human body. Is there any way of using radiation to trace money the way thta Batman does? Can injecting yourself with a substance protect you from radiation like they

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31:42

How important is methane?

Technically Speaking | a science and engineering... ·

2023/11/09

It's contributing to the climate emergency but you don't usually hear about it. Laura, Jasmin and Antonia discuss where it comes from, why it's important, and what can be done to reduce emission of this gas into the atmosphere. Jasmin's research involves methane. Check out her research profile at Imperial College London. Antonia mentions the gates of hell firepit in Turkmenistan.

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34:04

What will advances in artificial intelligence mean...

Technically Speaking | a science and engineering... ·

2023/10/26

AI is rapidly evolving and we want to know what will happen next. Antonia, Ellie and Jasmin discuss their experience of AI, what intelligence actually means, how AI works, and how it could affect their individual careers as zoologists, science communicators and analysts. Jasmin talks about her experience with chatbots and references a study on whether people trust them. Antonia references some opinions of experts shared by Pew Research Centre, The World Economic Forum and AI Experts as well as a

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30:42

Are bioplastics better than fossil-fuel based ones?

Technically Speaking | a science and engineering... ·

2023/10/12

Like it or not, plastic is a big part of our lives. Laura, Jasmin and Antonia discuss how different plastics are made, how bioplastics are different to ones made from fossil fuels, what is really meant by biodegradable plastics, and whether plastic can be sustainable. The discussion is also peppered with more weird offshoots than normal as real-life examples add to the conversation. Did you know that lots of clothes include plastic fibres? Ever wondered how easy it is to recycle them? Are you better

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35:59

What was the Cambrian explosion and why is it so...

Technically Speaking | a science and engineering... ·

2023/09/28

The dinosaurs might take all the glory but well before they existed there was a very important period. Laura and Ellie discuss the 'explosion' in animal biodiversity that started around 541 million years ago and how we know it happened. They also speculate on what sort of animal might be missing from the fossil record and somehow come to the strange conclusion that balloon animals might have been real. Sources of information for the factual stuff: Rocks (iron) absorbed free oxygen from

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39:58

What can we use data science for?

Technically Speaking | a science and engineering... ·

2023/09/14

Whether you're a scientist or engineer you'll probably handle a lot of data. Laura, Emma and Antonia discuss how they use various data analysis techniques in their different disciplines of energy analysis and physics. They highly recommend towards data science as a resource to learn more and discus a specific example of principal component analysis (the rotating graph) from builtin.com.

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46:02

What can we learn from nesting habits of birds?

Technically Speaking | a science and engineering... ·

2023/08/31

A lot of effort goes in to studying birds and their habits. Laura, Ellie and Antonia talk about nesting habits, what we can learn from them and why it’s important for scientists to know about them. They also talk about what you can do at home to help birds survive as climate and their environment changes.

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36:52

How did university shape our careers in the energy...

Technically Speaking | a science and engineering... ·

2023/08/17

An audience from the Engineering Development Trust's Insights to University course quizzes Antonia, Jasmin, Alasdair and Sophie about how they chose their degree course, what sort of research they worked on, if they got to choose modules about climate change, and whether it’s better to do undergraduate masters or a bachelor’s degree. They also discuss how their individual choices led each of them to work in different aspects of the energy industry and whether they would change anything about how

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37:49

Is industrial-scale carbon capture really feasible?

Technically Speaking | a science and engineering... ·

2023/08/03

Although carbon capture technology is in use now, there are quite a few hurdles to jump before it becomes widely used. Laura, Jasmin and Antonia are joined by a live audience from the Engineering Development Trust's Routes to STEM course to talk about industrial applications of carbon capture in various industries. They field questions from the audience about the wider energy industry, discuss how options for storage compare to using the gas in a circular carbon economy and consider whether planting

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39:53

How can biophysics help develop drugs?

Technically Speaking | a science and engineering... ·

2023/07/20

It’s a weird mash-up of biology and physics and it really is useful. Antonia, Emma and Laura talk about how to simulate biology on a computer, how physics is involved, and speculate on how artificial intelligence could help improve the simulations and lead to speedier, cheaper drug development.

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26:30

What astounds us about science?

Technically Speaking | a science and engineering... ·

2023/07/06

It’s not often you hear about a new discovery of theory in science that makes you say 'wow!' Laura and Antonia talk about some of their moments of astonishment when they've learned something about black holes or dinosaurs.

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122 results

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