In this clip from episode 12, Raquel Bryant explains how small fossil shells called foraminifera can be used to understand 90 million year old oceans.

What tiny fossils tell us about past oceans - clip from Ep. 12

Emily Agnello explains the lab procedures used to study CaMKII, a protein in your brain that helps create and store memories. In order of appearance: Laura Fattaruso, Emily Agnello, Laura Patrick, Meg Stratton.

How proteins in the brain can retain memories - a clip from ep. 17

Interviews from the Second National Conference for Justice in Geoscience. I talk to the organizers of the conference, Dr. Benjamin Keisling, Dr. Raquel Bryant, and Dr. Rachel Bernard, as well as Geological Society of America President Dr. Mark Little, and geophysicist Dr. Edith Davis.
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FULL TRANSCRIPT available at https://bit.ly/3DaTNvf

Ep. 35 - The Second National Conference on Justice in Geoscience

Started in 2013, the GSA On To the Future program supports student participation in the annual GSA Connects meeting by providing financial support to attend the meeting, waiving registration fees, and providing mentorship and specialized programming with GSA leadership. Ten years after the program was started, I spoke with two On To the Future alumni who have become leaders within the geoscience community. Dr. Ángel García Jr. is the current chair of GSA’s Diversity in Geosciences Committee until June 30, when David Davis will take over as chair for the next year. In this podcast, they speak about their research, their first time attending the GSA Connects meeting as On To the Future scholars, and their visions for how to enact ongoing change and progress in the geoscience community. Comedian Sean Calhoun joins as co-host. This episode was produced by Laura Fattaruso as part of the Geological Society of America Science Communication Fellowship.

Full transcript: https://tinyurl.com/gsaotf

Ep. 36 -  Ángel, David, and Sean

First episode of Lab Talk with Laura on WMUA Amherst, featuring guests Nigel Golden and Ruthie Halberstadt of the Northeast Climate Science Center, and guest co-host local comic Taylor Ortiz. We talk about arctic ground squirrels, grizzly bears, and how to pee in Antarctica.

Ep. 1 - Nigel, Ruthie, and Taylor - 1/23/18

Second episode of Lab Talk with Laura on WMUA Amherst, featuring guests Laura Hancock and Evan Kuras of UMass Amherst, and guest co-host local comic Matt Woodland. We discuss invasive garlic mustard, lesser longnose bats, urban biodiversity, and outdoor education. Check out the Life Science blog that both Laura and Evan contribute to here: http://thatslifesci.com/

Ep. 2 - Evan, Laura, and Matt - 1/30/18

On the third episode of Lab Talk with Laura, I am joined by Ben Padilla (http://bpadillaecology.weebly.com/) of the Environmental Conservation Dept., and Dr. Emily Redman, assistant Professor of the History of Science at UMass Amherst, with local comedian Carrie Glauner cohosting. We discuss urban ecology, the intersection of science and religion, and the history of science and math.

Ep. 3 - Ben, Emily, and Carrie - 2/6/18

We're joined by Carolyn Gorss of the Environmental Conservation dept. who studies wetland health, and Professor of Biology Dr. Elsbeth Walker who studies how plants regulate iron content, so that food crops might be engineered to provide more nutrients. We discuss salamander crossings and mutated corn, and how scientists studying chicken cancer led to important therapies for AIDS patients. Have a listen! Comedian Sean Calhoun (@archercalhoun) co-hosts.

Ep. 4 - Carolyn, Elsbeth, and Sean - 2/13/18

We're joined by Srishti Kashyap of the Microbiology Dept. and George Locascio of the Environmental Conservation Dept. Comedian and CEO of Comedy as a Weapon Tim Lovett joins as co-host. Srishti talks about her research exploring how high temperature microbes interact with their surroundings to produce specific mineral signatures, which helps us look for life in extreme environments in the past or on other planets. George discusses his work exploring how certain plant pollens affect bumble bee parasites. We find out that you can order bees and microbes in the mail! Have a listen!

Ep. 5 - Srishti, George, and Tim - 2/20/18

On this episode, we talk to Dr. Sasha Suvorov of the Environmental Health Science Dept. at UMass about how an important discovery on Easter Island relates to our bodies' long-term response to flame retardants, and we talk to Dr. Matt Moore  from the Food Science Dept. about the challenges of fighting norovirus. Comedian Monk Danger cohosts.

Ep. 8 - Monk, Sasha, and Matt - 3/13/18

On this episode I'm joined by PhD student Marcus Cole and Dr. Todd Emrick from the Emrick Lab in the Polymer Science Dept. at UMass. We talk about many different uses for polymers-- improving solar energy technology, making better TVs, and improving methods of delivery cancer medications. What is the difference between silica, silicon, and silicone? And more fundamentally, what is a polymer? Comedian Giancarlo Biondino joins as cohost.

Ep. 9 - Giancarlo, Marcus, and Todd - 3/20/18

Underwear with EKG sensors, clothes that make energy from movement, floating offshore wind turbines: it sounds like the stuff of the future but this tech is actually in use today! We're joined by Dr. Trisha Andrew from the Chemistry Dept. who works on developing wearable technologies, and Dr. Spencer Hallowell of Civil Engineering who studies how offshore wind turbines could fail during extreme weather and how to prevent that failure.  Comedian Kathy Lynch joins as co-host.

Ep. 10 - Kathy, Trisha, and Spencer - 3/27/18

How and why do single cell organisms move? What is happening in the brains of sea slugs? Answers to these and many more questions as we are joined by Dr. Paul Katz and Dr. Lillian Frtiz-Laylin of the Biology Dept. at UMass Amherst. Comedian Tricia D'Onofrio joins as co-host.

Ep. 11 - Paul, Lil, and Tricia - 4/3/18

I'm joined by Dr Kristen DeAngelis of the Microbiology dept at UMass and Dr David Sela of the Food Science dept with comedian Nick Caron co-hosting. Kristen talks about her work studying how climate change affects soil bacteria communities and the breakdown of carbon in a long term study site at Harvard Forest. David discusses his work investigating bacteria in our digestive systems, especially how these bacteria interact with breast milk in infants. Yet again Gaia theory comes up and we take note of the similarities between bacteria communities in soil and in our bodies. I also learn about prions, plasmids, and lignans for the first time. Check it out!

Ep. 13 - Kristen, David, and Nick - 4/24/18

I'm joined by Dr. Elroy Aguiar and Dr. Scott Ducharme from the Physical Activity and Health Lab in the Dept. of Kinesiology as they discuss their lab work in the CADENCE study, exploring the relationship between health and walking pace. Listen in to find out the perfect song to set your walking pace. Hartford based comedian Rob Santos joins as co-host. If you'd like to participate in the ongoing CADENCE study which is now seeking people ages 60-85, you can call 413-545-1583 or email cadencestudy@gmail.com.

Ep. 14 - Elroy, Scott, and Rob - 5/1/18

This week I'm joined by Raquel Bryant and Adriane Lam of the UMass Geoscience Dept. to talk about science outreach. Adriane talks about her website Time Scavengers that provides resources for learning about Climate Change and Evolution (www.timescavengers.blog). We listen to a series of interviews I did at the UMass Public Outreach and Engagement Summit, where I spoke to Dr. Alexandra Jones, founder and Executive Director of the DC-based non-profit Archaeology in the Community(http://www.archaeologyincommunity.com/), Dr. Barbara Zurer Pearson, research associate in the Language Acquisition Research Center in the Dept. of Linguistics at UMass, recent Master's graduate Mercedes Harris from the Environmental Conservation Dept., and Rick Freedman, PhD student in the Information and Computer Science Dept. and one of the organizers of the Outreach Summit.

Ep. 15 - Alexandra, Barbara, Mercedes, Rick, Adriane, and Raquel - 5/15/18

My guests today are Julie Davis, recent UMass graduate studying Plant, Soil, and Insect Science, and Joe Drake, PhD student in the Environmental Conservation Dept. Julie discusses her research exploring how soil fungus affects the flowers and nectar of tobacco plants, and the subsequent consequences for bees who feed on those flowers. Joe tells us all about the behaviors and habitat of the water vole that occupies the Scottish highlands, and how you can learn about an animal that is quick to hide from people.

Ep. 16 - Rocki B, Julie, and Joe - 5/29/18

My guests today are Dr. Julie Brigham-Grette, Professor and Geoscience Dept. Head, and Adriane Lam, PhD student in the Geoscience Dept. at UMass Amherst. Julie discusses her field work in the Arctic, including drilling in Lake El'gygytgyn in northeast Siberia. She also discusses the need for public policy to address the growing impacts of climate change on society. Adriane discusses her research exploring the relationship between evolution observed in the fossil record and past ocean currents, including her experience working on an International Ocean Drilling Program research cruise in the Pacific. She also talks about her educational website Time Scavengers (www.timescavengers.blog). Comedian Jon Ross, who hosts a monthly comedy show at The Wheelhouse in Greenfield, MA, joins as co-host.

Ep. 18 - Julie, Adriane, and Jon - 7/10/18

On this episode I'm joined by undergraduate researcher in Chemical Engineering Phoebe Bisnoff as she talks about her work using nanocrystals to improve LED and solar tech, and being the founder and President of the UMass chapter of oSTEM, and UMass Geoscience PhD student Becky Smith discussing her work using plant lipids in the sediment record to reconstruct sea surface temperatures over the last 3.5 million years. The hilarious Penina Beede joins as co-host.

Ep. 19 - Penina, Phoebe, and Becky - 7/17/18

This week I'm joined by Dr. Forrest Bowlick and Dr. Will Daniels, both of the Geoscience Dept. at UMass. Forrest Bowlick is a lecturer and graduate program director for the Geographic Information Science master's program. He shares his thoughts on map projections, the scarcity of helium, and his new project to develop online accessible GIS-education modules. Will Daniels is a postdoc who studies lake sediments to understand past climates, but today we focus on his recent experience as a participant in a NASA human research program simulating a mission to an asteroid. Cartoonist and comedian Woozy Kurtz joins as co-host.

Ep. 20 - Will, Forrest, and Woozy - 7/31/18

On today's episode, Igor Luzhansky discusses his work at the Langer Lab at MIT working on implantable diabetes treatments made with an extract from seaweed. Edwin Murenzi explains how injecting rat brains into frog eggs has helped him understand the impact of pesticides on mammals. Comedian Gabe Sklan joins as co-host. This episode is chock full of surprises, don't miss it!

Ep. 21 - Gabe, Igor, and Edwin - 8/14/18

On this episode, we hear interviews with earthquake scientists of many varieties at the 2018 Southern California Earthquake Center Meeting in Palm Springs, CA. I talk to Emily Brodsky, Seismologist at UC Santa Cruz, Kate Scharer of the US Geological Survey, Ellen Yu of the Southern California Earthquake Data Center, and Ahmed Elbanna, a Civil Engineer at U. of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. I'm joined in the studio by UMass PhD students Raquel Bryant and Edwin Murenzi, and Edwin's friend Ben Aalvik (founder of Fully Rooted juice company) to chat about the interviews and discuss any questions that come up as we listen. We learn about taking the temperature of a fault, trenching into fossil earthquakes, what is done with all the data collected by seismometers, and how engineers and geologists can help each other. Part 1 of a 2 part special episode!

Ep. 22 - Emily, Kate, Ellen, Ahmed (plus Raquel, Edwin, and Ben)

On this episode I'm joined by Dr. Heidi Bauer-Clapp, Assistant Director of Grants and Scholarships in the Office of Professional Development at UMass, and organizer of the 3 Minute Thesis competition where graduate students compete to share their research in a compelling 3 minute speech. Grad student finalists Lian Guo (Organismic and Evolutionary Biology) and Louis Colaruotolo (Food Science) join us to share their research. Lian shares her work studying how climate shifts affect populations of river herring, a food source for many species higher on the food chain. Louis shares his research into a new method for testing biodegradable food packages using light and green food dye. You can catch them both at the final 3 Minute Thesis competition at Jones Library in Amherst, MA on Saturday March 23 at 3 pm. Hampshire college student and comedian Gabe Sklan joins us again as co-host.

Ep. 25 - Heidi, Lian, Louis, and Gabe

On this episode I'm joined by Dr. Destenie Nock who recently completed a PhD in Industrial Engineering, and Hannah Johlas, PhD student in Mechanical Engineering. Destenie describes her research exploring the best ways to develop energy infrastructure in the global south, as well as planning for sustainable energy development in New England. Hannah explains how her computer simulations of fluid dynamics will help build better offshore wind farms. Both Hannah and Destenie are also co-chairs for the Graduate Women in STEM Outreach committee and they talk about the work they have done sharing their passion for science and engineering with young students and young girls in particular. Comedian Kim DeShields (aka Boney) joins as co-host. You can check out Destenie's blog about navigating life as a PhD student on her website: www.destenienock.com

Ep. 26 - Destenie, Hannah, and Kim

Today I'm joined by Dr. Laurie Brown and Dr. Chris Condit, retired professors in the Geoscience Dept. at UMass. They tell the story of how they met and fell in love doing field work in the Springerville volcanic field in northern Arizona. Laurie explains her work studying Earth's magnetic field as it's recorded in the rock record (paleomagnetism), and talks about being the first woman professor hired in her department. Chris discusses his work mapping volcanoes and lava flows, and training NASA astronaut candidates how to do geologic mapping and sampling. Local comedian Jennifer Myszkowski joins as co-host. You can also find Jennifer hosting the Lady Haha Comey Open Mic at Holyoke Hummus in Holyoke, MA and hosting Bear Swaps Saturday mornings from 8-10 on Bear Country 95.3 FM.

Ep. 27 - Chris, Laurie, and Jennifer

On this episode I'm joined by UMass Amherst Physics grad students Daria Atkinson and Alina Blinova. Daria explains her research in soft materials geometry, and how knitting can help us understand the behavior of soft materials. Alina explains her work using lasers to supercool rubidium atoms in order to explore the quantum behavior of atoms. Comedian Kendra Dawsey joins as co-host, you can find her on Instagram @unamusedblackgirl

Ep. 28 - Daria, Kendra, and Alina

On this episode I'm joined by leadership from the UMass chapter of oSTEM (Out in Science, Tech, Engineering, and Math). Undergrads Sam Marsden (current oSTEM President) and Robin Zollner (co-founder of UMass oSTEM) and PhD student Sanket Sabnis (Graduate Liaison to oSTEM)explain why it's important to have representation of queer identities in science. They also explain their research in chemical engineering: Janus particles that are engineered to have two distinct properties in one particle, polymer solutions that might be able to prevent vaccines from breaking down without refrigeration, and zeolite nano-sheets that can be used to separate hydrogen and carbon dioxide. Comedian Taylor Ortiz of the sketch comedy group Felt Waffle joins as co-host.

Ep. 29 - Sanket, Sam, Robin, and Taylor

For this extra special episode I'm joined in the studio by Caroline Ladlow  of UMass Geoscience and comedian Lisa Wentworth. We talk about Caroline's work using lake cores to understand storms and tsunamis, and we listen to interviews with scientists at the 2018 American Geophysical Meeting: Patrick O'Brien of the Lunar and Planetary Lab at University of Arizona describes his work studying lunar weathering, Sean Bath, a program specialist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration describes projects aimed at tackling the consequences of climate change, Ruben Rojas from the Physics Dept. at University of Maryland explains his lab's work trying to create a mini magnetic dynamo with a very large rotating sphere, Dr. Sharon Cooper and Dr. Jon Lewis, co-founders of the STEM SEAS (Student Experiences Aboard Ships) Program explain how their program gives undergrads the chance to do ocean research, and Kimberly Foecke from the Anthropology Dept. at Columbia College explains why she is rotting meat in the name of science.

Ep. 30 - Caroline, Lisa, and interviews from AGU

Dr. Tricia Serio (Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at UMass Amherst) and Dr. Suzanne Sindi (Applied Mathematics at UC Merced) explain their collaborative research into prion diseases using lab experiments with yeast colonies and mathematical simulations. They explain how prion diseases form and are transmitted, why they are incurable, and how their work aims to tackle that problem. They also talk about their unique collaboration as a biologist and mathematician and how these two fields have come together in recent decades. Comedian and teacher Ang Buxton joins as co-host.

Ep. 31 - Tricia, Suzanne, and Ang

This episode is all about water! We are joined by Marsha Allen from Geosciences and Mimi Alkattan from Civil and Environmental Engineering. Marsha explains her work studying storage and movement of water in the fractured bedrock of the island of Tobago, in order to plan for sustainable water pumping that considers future impacts from climate change. Mimi describes her work studying drinking water quality. Many places in the world with limited water supplies only deliver water to residents at certain times, but the water systems are designed for continuous flow-- she looks into the impacts of these intermittent water supplies on water quality. Local comedian Kim DeShields (aka Boney) joins as co-host.

Ep. 32 - Marsha, Mimi, and Kim

On this episode we talk to alumni of the STEMSEAS program(Student Experiences Aboard Ships) started by Sharon Cooper and Jon Lewis. I'm joined in the studio by Emma Robertson, a UMass undergrad who sailed last summer from Woods Hole, MA to Reykjavik, Iceland. Also in the studio are Raquel Bryant and Benjamin Keisling, UMass Geoscience graduate students who have both served as mentors on STEMSEAS cruises. We also hear interviews from Alhasan Alshaarbaf of the University of St. Thomas, and Michael Martins of the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Visit the STEMSEAS website to learn more and apply: http://mlp.ldeo.columbia.edu/stemseas/

Ep. 33 - STEMSEAS - Emma, Alhasan, Michael, Raquel, and Benjamin

On this episode I chat on the phone with Anna Minkina, a PhD student in Genomics at University of Washington in Seattle. Anna explains the methods underlying COVID-19 testing and how understanding the method can help us understand the delays to widespread testing in the US. We also chat about her work in genomics-- tracking the lineage of cells. Check out her article on Medium that inspired our conversation: https://elemental.medium.com/the-science-behind-coronavirus-testing-and-where-the-u-s-went-wrong-7920c3fb5049

Ep. 34 - COVID-19 testing explained by Anna Minkina

A weekly radio show where Laura Fattaruso and a local comic interview STEM researchers at UMass Amherst. Fun, casual, informative! Online hosting supported by the Emrick Polymer Science Lab at UMass. Laura's research and outreach are funded by the National Science Foundation.

Lab Talk with Laura

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