『STEM-Talk』のカバーアート

STEM-Talk

STEM-Talk

著者： Dawn Kernagis and Ken Ford
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 The most interesting people in the world of science and technologyFlorida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition 代替医療・補完医療 博物学 科学 自然・生態学 衛生・健康的な生活
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  • Episode 190: Judith Curry and the Consequences of Climate Alarmism

    Episode 190: Judith Curry and the Consequences of Climate Alarmism
    2026/01/07
    Dr. Judith Curry, a climatologist known for her criticism of alarmist, doomsday rhetoric about climate change, returns to STEM-Talk for her second appearance. Judy most recently was one of five researchers commissioned by the U.S. Department of Energy to draft a Climate Assessment Report summarizing the current state of climate science with a focus on how it relates to the United States. In this interview, Judy summarizes the climate report’s key points, including the finding that that carbon-dioxide induced warming of the planet appears to be less damaging economically than has been commonly believed. The report, which was released this past summer, also argues that aggressive mitigation strategies for carbon dioxide emissions could be more harmful than helpful. Our interview comes on the heels of the prestigious journal Nature retracting a study that predicted climate change and carbon emissions would cause catastrophic economic damage by the end of the century. Our conversation with Judy also followed an about-face from Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, who wrote last fall that it’s time to tamp down the alarmist rhetoric that climate change will lead to humanity’s demise. Curry is president of the Climate Forecast Application Network and host of the blog, Climate Etc, which you can find at JudyCurry.com. Her blog provides a forum for climate researchers, academics and technical experts from other fields as well as citizen scientists to discuss topics related to climate science and science policy. Her research interests include hurricanes, remote sensing, atmospheric modeling, polar climates, air-sea interactions, climate models, and the use of unmanned aerial vehicles for atmospheric research. She has published more than 100 scientific papers and is the author of “Climate Change and Uncertainty: Rethinking Our Response,” a book that provides a framework for understanding and rethinking the climate-change debate. Show notes: [00:03:59] Ken opens the interview explaining that Judy was one of the five authors of a climate assessment report commissioned by the U.S. Department of Energy. Before diving into the key findings of the report and the response it has received, Ken asks Judy to explain how she became one of the five authors. [00:06:21] Ken mentions that critics of the climate working group have accused the authors of being hand-picked skeptics of the effects of climate change. Judy argues that she and her co-authors are scientists determined to get the science right. Ken asks Judy to talk about her co-authors and the working relationship of the group. [00:09:18] Ken asks Judy to talk about how she and her co-authors came to their key finding that the economic impacts of climate change are less severe than typically thought. [00:13:08] Ken asks Judy to provide examples that demonstrate how climate mitigation strategies can be more harmful than helpful. [00:16:08] Ken follows up by asking about the report’s proposal to shift climate science from alarmism to focus more on a better understanding of natural climate variability. [00:18:14] Ken asks Judy what her thoughts are on the next steps that should be taken for a better understanding climate variability. [00:20:06] Ken asks Judy to elaborate on the findings of chapter six of the report regarding global warming and extreme weather events. In particular, Ken asks about the problems with associating specific extreme weather events like hurricanes to climate change, and the issues created by the short historical records we have at our disposal. [00:24:20] Ken asks Judy to talk about chapter nine of the report, which is about the need to focus on reducing vulnerabilities in our infrastructure instead of mitigating carbon emissions. [00:28:43] Ken asks Judy to comment on the accusations that she is a “climate change denier.” [00:31:18] Ken asks Judy to talk about a paper she co-authored with her colleague Dr. Harry DeAngelo titled “A critique of apocalyptic climate narrative.” [00:36:27] Ken brings up Bill Gates’ recent about-face on climate change and the need to pivot away from doomsday views of cataclysmic climate disasters. Ken asks Judy to elaborate on what she has dubbed “climate alarmism fatigue.” [00:39:32] Ken asks Judy to give her thoughts on the issue of sea level rise, particularly in light of the pushback that the DOE report faced on this topic. He also asks her to discuss the recent paper that was released after the DOE report titled “A global perspective on local sea level changes” which proports that there is no statistically significant acceleration of the rate of sea level rise for 98% of the suitable global locations. [00:50:47] Ken points listeners to Judy’s blog, Judycurry.com, where she discusses many of these same issues. Ken goes on to explain that his perspective as well as Judy’s perspective is that climate change has become a scapegoat for many issues. He asks Judy to talk about this...
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    1 時間 5 分
  • Episode 189: NASA’s Flawed Plan to Return to the Moon – with Mike Griffin & Lisa Porter

    Episode 189: NASA’s Flawed Plan to Return to the Moon – with Mike Griffin & Lisa Porter
    2025/12/11
    Today’s episode of STEM-Talk features a timely and wide-ranging discussion with Drs. Michael Griffin and Lisa Porter about NASA’s plans to return humans to the Moon, the history of lunar missions, and how China’s advances in space technology pose a serious threat to U.S. national security. IHMC founder and CEO Emeritus Ken Ford’s interview with Griffin and Porter came 10 days before Griffin appeared before the U.S. House Committee on Science, Space and Technology to give testimony on China’s advancements in space and the risks it poses for the United States. “We have squandered a 60-year head start on pioneering the space frontier to a nation that, without reason or provocation on our part, has chosen to become our nation’s adversary,” said Griffin in his opening comments to Congress. In this episode, Griffin and Porter explain why it is critical for the U.S. to return to the Moon before China. They also argue that NASA’s Artemis III mission to return to the lunar surface and establish a permanent base on the Moon is seriously flawed and should be scrapped. Griffin and Porter are co-founders and co-presidents of LogiQ Inc., a company providing high-end management, scientific and technical consulting services. Griffin’s background includes roles as the former Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, the Administrator of NASA, the Space Department Head at the John Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory as well as Chairman and CEO of Schafer Corporation. Porter’s background includes roles as the former Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, the founding Director of the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA) in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and the Associate Administrator for Aeronautics at NASA. Show notes: [00:04:44] Ken opens the interview by welcoming Mike back to STEM-Talk, who was a guest on Episodes 23 and 134. He also welcomes Lisa to her first appearance on STEM-Talk and asks her to talk about her decision to major in nuclear engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. [00:08:50] Ken asks Lisa why she went to Stanford for a Ph.D. in physics. [00:10:43] Ken explains that Lisa was the founding director of the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA), a department within the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. Ken asks about some of the challenges the American intelligence community faced that she addressed as director of IARPA. [00:16:15] Ken asks about Lisa’s time working for Mike as Associate Administrator for Aeronautics at NASA, and how she came to accept that role. [00:18:07] Ken explains that when Mike became Undersecretary for Defense for Research and Engineering in 2018, he invited Lisa to become the Deputy Undersecretary for Defense for Research and Engineering. Ken asks Mike why Lisa was ideal for that role. [00:21:07] Ken explains that Mike and Lisa are working together again as co-founders and co-presidents of LogiQ Inc., a company that provides scientific consulting services. Ken asks Mike to give a brief overview of LogiQ’s work. [00:24:44] Ken shifts the discussion to space exploration, noting that he wants to talk about Mike’s 2024 congressional testimony on returning to the Moon, and a paper that he and Lisa published titled “A system architecture for human lunar return.” To begin the discussion, Ken asks why it is so important for us to return to the Moon. [00:29:11] Ken asks Mike and Lisa to explain why it is important for the US to be the first to return to the Moon in the context of China’s ambition to send humans to the Moon and establish a permanent lunar presence. [00:33:24] Ken asks Mike and Lisa if they see the cancellation of the Apollo program as a mistake. [00:35:36] Ken asks Mike and Lisa to give an overview of the Artemis program. [00:41:45] Ken mentions the centrality of the Gateway in the Artemis plan, and the problem with making something that is already hard even harder for no good reason. [00:43:28] Ken mentions his concern that the focus on a Mars-forward approach might impede our success with the current Moon missions. [00:46:40] In Mike and Lisa’s aforementioned paper, they propose a dual-launch lunar landing architecture, which is simpler than the current NASA architecture and presents lower risks to the crew. Ken asks Mike and Lisa to elaborate on this idea. [00:48:41] Ken asks Mike and Lisa what they think are some of the other technical and programmatic problems with the current Artemis plan. [00:52:31] Ken asks Mike and Lisa what NASA’s response has been, as well as the response of others in the human space flight community, to their paper and recommendations for the Artemis mission architecture. [00:54:25] Ken explains that Sean Duffy, the Secretary of Transportation and acting NASA administrator, has opened the door to some additional lander ideas in light of concerns that the two current ...
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    1 時間 18 分
  • Episode 188: Marina Walther-Antonio discusses the microbiome’s role in women’s health and cancer

    Episode 188: Marina Walther-Antonio discusses the microbiome’s role in women’s health and cancer
    2025/11/04
    Today we have Dr. Marina Walther-Antonio, a Mayo Clinic researcher who investigates the role of the microbiome in cancer and reproductive health, particularly endometrial and ovarian cancers. According to the World Cancer Research Fund International, endometrial and ovarian cancers are among the top 10 most prevalent cancers in women worldwide, and there are still no standard screenings for early detection. Marina is an assistant professor in the Department of Surgery and the Mayo Clinic Center for Individualized Medicine Microbiome Program. She has a joint appointment in the department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Today we talk to Marina about how she and her colleagues are utilizing the methodologies of environmental microbiology and technologies used in astrobiology to improve our understanding of endometrial and ovarian cancers. Through her investigations into the microbiome, she and her team are developing early detection tests that will enable clinical interventions before certain cancers develop. Show notes: [00:03:13] Dawn opens our interview asking Marina about the history of her interest in extraterrestrial life. [00:05:49] Dawn mentions that Marina did her undergraduate studies in Portugal at the University of Aveiro, where she majored in biology. Dawn asks why Marina chose biology as her major. [00:06:39] Ken explains that the undergraduate programs at Aveiro University require students to do a year of research outside the university and asks Marina about her experience with this requirement. [00:08:34] Ken explains that while Marina was conducting her internship at NASA Ames Research Center, there were several projects under way at the astrobiology institute, with the one that Marina was assigned to looking at a Mars analogue site in Oregon’s Warner Valley. Ken asks what kind of work Marina did on this project. [00:10:06] Ken asks Marina why after earning a master’s degree in microbiology from Indiana University, she went to Washington State University to earn a Ph.D. in environmental sciences. [00:13:29] Dawn asks about Marina’s Ph.D. research on microbialites, which are microbial structures that can thrive at the bottom of certain freshwater lakes and other extreme environments. [00:16:02] Dawn explains that just as Marina began researching microbial populations, the Mayo Clinic Center for Individualized Medicine created a microbiome program. Dawn asks Marina about the circumstances that led to her joining Mayo. [00:19:05] Dawn mentions that Dr. Claire Fraser, the director of Maryland’s Institute for Genome Sciences pointed out in Episode 32 of STEM-Talk that there are more microbes on a single person’s hands than there are people on Earth, as well as the fact that our gut is home to more than 100 trillion bacteria. Dawn asks Marina to talk about this microbial side of humanity. [00:21:51] Ken mentions that if listeners are interested in learning more about the microbiome and how it affects human health, they should listen to Episodes 20 and 168 with Dr. Alessio Fasano. Ken asks Marina to give a short overview of the microbiome. [00:25:37] Dawn asks Marina how the focus of her research shifted to the role of the microbiome in cancer and reproductive health. [00:29:00] Dawn explains that endometrial and ovarian cancers are among the top 10 most prevalent cancers in women worldwide; with ovarian cancer being the most common gynecological malignancy and the fifth leading cause of death due to cancer in women in the nation. Dawn goes on to explain that in a 2023 paper Marina investigated the area of microbiome that is associated with ovarian cancer to better understand the microbiome’s potential in early detection. Dawn asks Marina to talk about this study and its findings. [00:35:55] Given the small scale and sample size of her initial study, Ken asks Marina what her ideal follow-up study would look like. [00:38:37] Ken mentions that in 2019 Marina published the results of a study that found that post-menopause is a key factor in the composition of endometrial cancer microbiome. This study also investigated the impact of patient factors on the microbiome, including menopausal status, BMI, and vaginal pH balance. Ken asks Marina to elaborate on the findings. [00:44:13] Dawn notes that there is no standard screening for early detection of ovarian and endometrial cancers despite their prevalence worldwide. Dawn asks Marina about the work she and her colleagues are engaged in in this space. [00:47:17] Dawn explains that prior to Marina’s aforementioned study, vaginal pH had not been associated as a risk factor in endometrial cancer. Dawn goes on to explain that variations in microbial compositions are implicated in a number of gynecologic and obstetric diseases. Marina’s core question was that since the vaginal microbiome is so crucial to women’s health, why then do vaginal microbial profiles vary strikingly from person to person. This question, as Dawn explains, led to a ...
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    1 時間 19 分
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