show episodes
 
Living Room Logic asks Irish experts about the pressing issues and latest science news including Neuroscience, Evolution, the Future of Medicine, AI, Mankind and the Climate. The show is hosted by two scientists working in Ireland: Andrew McGovern, a neuroscientist best known as @scientistireland on TikTok & Dr Aidan Long, a climate expert and seafarer. Together we want to help you keep informed and up to date. This work is solely supported by our listeners on Patreon (https://www.patreon.co ...
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show series
 
The world's most important climate conference to date, COP27, is on right now in Egypt. Why should I give a f**k!? You might ask. This is why: Humans have managed to increase Earth's temperature by 1.1 C since the late 1800s, and we're on a trajectory for 3 C warming by 2100, which would basically be Armageddon. But don't freak out just yet, 3 UN c…
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In today's episode of this award winning science podcast, Aidan interviews a social scientist and climate activist, Dr Clare Watson, who tells us why many people deny or ignore climate change, and how positivity and community engagement (with a little help from the government) can refresh people's mindsets towards less doom and gloom and more actio…
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In today's episode of this award winning science podcast, Aidan interviews an expert in renewable energy, Dr Paul Deane, who explains why renewable energy could play a huge part globally in stabilising energy supplies, reducing costs and reducing carbon emissions massively. Paul has previously given TED talks about these issues and has won several …
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In today's episode of this award winning science podcast, Aidan interviews an offshore wind energy expert Dr Frances Judge, to find out just how big offshore wind is getting, how to build Eiffel Tower sized structures in raging seas, and why offshore wind may be one of the worlds ways to curb rising energy costs and fight climate change. This episo…
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What is more painful, a kick in the jewels or giving birth? Who REALLY experiences more pain: men or women? On today’s show, we sit down with Dr Siobhain O’ Mahony, a senior lecturer at University College Cork specializing in pain neuroscience, women's health, and the gut-brain axis. Dr. Siobhain starts the conversation by defining pain syndromes, …
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Today, we sit down with Dr. Caoimhe Rooney, a research scientist at NASA whose areas of expertise include mathematical modelling of complex engineering systems, planetary science, public communication and mission design. She has been featured in Forbes 30 Under 30 in 2022. Listen in as Dr. Rooney discusses how participating in Oxford’s Industrially…
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Does the menstrual cycle impact performance? What about the contraceptive pill? How does a history of research in men, impact how we advise women to exercise? This week Andrew speaks to David Nolan, a fantastic PhD candidate in applied sports sciences under the supervision of Dr. Brendan Egan at Dublin City University. David is an experienced sport…
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Today, we sit down with Alan Kelly, a professor in the School of Food and Nutritional Sciences at University College Cork. Listen in as Professor Alan deep dive into the various myths and misconceptions around processed food. Defining “processing” as the transformation of raw material, he sheds some light on what is actually done to food before it …
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What makes one persons bad day, another persons trauma? This week we go through the extraordinarily complex concepts which are as complex as any individual but Dr Samantha Dockray breaks it down. Dr. Samantha Dockray is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Applied Psychology, University College Cork. Her key interests relate to the application of psy…
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Madness, insanity, and being mental are core to the stigma around mental health. Whilst the depression and anxiety have become more accepted, much of mental health is still poorly understood and draped in stigma, such as psychosis. To get to the core of this Andrew spoke to Clinical Psychologist and associate professor in UCD Dr Keith Gaynor. He is…
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Andrew has been nominated as a rising star in Irish podcasting. Wild. In this episode he talks about how he thinks about talking science, who he looks up to, how the nomination makes him feel as well as sharing his best bits so far! You can vote for Living Room Logic in the public vote for the Irish podcast awards, you can support us on Patreon and…
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Season finale warning that will blow your butt off,but.. we might have just the treatment in mind. This week we interviewed the brilliant Dr Katie Guzzetta, former UCC PhD student and current Harvard visiting research fellow. One big paper from her PhD was published in one of the biggest journals in the world where she found that giving old mice a …
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The James Webb Space Telescope is nearing its destination 1 million miles away from earth. In the run-up to it’s first images of what the universe was like as far back as 50 million years after the start of time, Aidan interviews optics engineer Louis Martin, an expert in telescope instrumentation. This episode, Louis explains why the Webb is so im…
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Everyone has seen a jellyfish flattened on the beach, or swam frantically away from one from fear of getting a nasty sting. But there's a lot more to jellyfish than meets the eye.... Outside Aidan's time as a co-host of the podcast, he's actually an experienced marine researcher, and did his PhD on jellyfish in the North Atlantic ocean. This episod…
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Women are consistently receiving worse treatment from doctors, getting less care for painful procedures and having more significant side effects from drugs than men. This episode Andrew speaks about his research into deciphering women’s place in medicine. Unravelling the origin of sex differences in disease incidence such as Alzheimer’s disease (2x…
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Everybody loves Salmon right? Turns out they're not doing too good. In a shocking turn of events, Atlantic Salmon have been tangled up in a story of illegality and black market activity on the high seas that would make Jack Sparrow quiver in his boots, that's led to an Atlantic-wide collapse in their stocks. How do boats get away with doing questio…
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Jurassic Park was great, but Steven Spielberg got it wrong. Dinosaurs have fascinated scientists and the public alike for centuries, and only recently have we been able to shed light on a heated debate surrounding these mysterious creatures - did Dinosaurs have feathers? This raises the question of whether dinosaurs were like lumbering lizards or a…
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There is a subtle but massive difference between, “what time is it?” and “what is time?”. Have you thought about it? It’s a bit like eating a clock… Time consuming. We can’t hold time or see it, but we are all a slave to it. We experience it but cannot say what it is exactly. This episode, Andrew and Aidan discuss this idea. They share what scienti…
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It's at the bottom of the ocean. It's in the food we eat. It's in our cells. It's on the beach, or floating in the ocean. It's in your home, on the street and surrounds you in shops. It's plastic. Single use plastic has revolutionized much of our society, but at what cost? We have been making more plastic year on year since the 50s, none of which h…
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Why do humans get sad? Our emotions are regulated in our brain and sometimes we are happy and sometimes we are sad. Mental health issues are a result of this process becoming dysregulated. For example, depression could be simplified as a sadness which does not return to neutral. Rather, your neutral mood is overall reduced and you can feel signific…
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It's season 3! The $10bn James Webb telescope, named after the 1960s leader of NASA who saw the moon landing through, has been in the works since the 1990s and astronomy has laid all of their eggs in this basket. Science enthusiasts everywhere are delighted to have a distraction from that which shall not be named and return to blissful ignorance in…
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One of the worst things about COVID-19 has been the uncertainty of what happens next. Professor Walsh is a member of the disease modeling team that projects cases and hospitalizations for NPHET. These models have been a critical tool in NPHETs decision making but has their value been miscommunicated? In this conversation I ask Professor Walsh how t…
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Omicron is the latest thing COVID-19 has dumped on our windscreen just as we thought we left the driveway and were going places. This episode Andrew talks through the science of the most mutated variant yet Omicron after Ireland's first case, how our defenses will manage and what the future of Ireland will look like with COVID. Much of mainstream m…
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The climate is changing, and as this episode airs, world leaders are deciding the global plan for climate action at COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland. In the episode, Andrew sits nervously as Aidan walks him and YOU through the most important facts from the latest UN climate report that came out in August 2021. These are the facts that world leaders were …
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It is unequivocal that humans have changed the earth's climate. For this season finale, Dr Aidan puts his climate expert cap on and guides Andrew through this contentious and misunderstood topic. Together, the lads explore the many times the earth's climate has changed in the past, how humans are changing the climate today, and what we can do to so…
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Dr Daniel Jolley is a social psychologist who studies why people believe conspiracy theories and if they are worth worrying about. From 5G to jet fuel melting steel beams to Bill Gates microchipping the world, we talk through all the questions you want answered. This season is supported by FameLab Ireland. FameLab is the world's leading science com…
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Ever worry about genetically modified food? What about genetically modified humans!? This episode Andrew and Aidan explore the ways humans have tweaked the genetics of many organisms for our benefit, and the promising but morally grey future of genetic modification from recent scientific breakthroughs. This season is supported by FameLab Ireland. F…
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To make the science of appliance even more fun, Andrew and Aidan crack out some facts, splutter how unnecessarily complicated some appliances are and get absolutely smashed. This history of appliances inspires intrigue with references to Ice Man, how one of the worlds biggest defense companies started out making microwaves and how light bulbs and t…
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This episode, Andrew and Aidan cover a difficult, but important topic - today we talk about cancer. We explore the many ways cancers have been treated through time, how far our understanding of cancers have come, and why finding the cure to cancer is a lot harder than it sounds. Some promising new research may have the answers we are all looking fo…
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This episode, Aidan interviews US Army Sergeant Emmet Long about Guns - breaking down how guns work, why they’ve changed over time, and how this has redefined the way wars are fought today. This season is supported by FameLab Ireland. FameLab is the world's leading science communication competition, designed to inspire, motivate and develop scienti…
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This week we talk about Percy and his adventure to Mars. From drones on mars to the future of colinising the red planet, from Matt Damon in the martian or alien volcanoes, this week we wander thought the science. This season is supported by FameLab Ireland. FameLab is the world's leading science communication competition, designed to inspire, motiv…
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For the second half of this two-part topic, Andrew and Aidan chat about the history of addictive disorders in humans, and how these issues have flowed well into the modern age. This season is supported by FameLab Ireland. FameLab is the world's leading science communication competition, designed to inspire, motivate and develop scientists and engin…
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For the first of this two-part topic, Aidan and Andrew discuss the science of addiction, its links to our brain’s evolutionary history, and why happy rats don’t want cocaine. This season is supported by FameLab Ireland. FameLab is the world's leading science communication competition, designed to inspire, motivate and develop scientists and enginee…
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In this weeks episode, Andrew interviews Dr Fiona Gallagher about the last pandemic which ravaged Ireland. How the country responded, the formation of the Irish medical board (an ancient NPHET) and how they managed the spread of Cholera when they didn't even know what a bacteria was in 1832. Closing ports for safety and then opening them up again f…
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Season 2 has landed with the biggest bang in space and time! To kick off this freshly cooked season, Andrew and Aidan retell the origin story of the entire universe using some of the most supported theories in science, all of which involve a cosmic egg and zero chickens! We explain what stuff the universe is made up of, and how our understanding of…
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We are back! Launching on Monday July 12th we will start releasing episodes weekly for the next 10 weeks. We have loads of great stories and interviews which revolve around the world of science and technology, from the creation of time to vacuum cleaners, we have a jam packed season ahead of us! A huge shout out to our supporters on patreon and of …
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This episode marks the end of Spread the Good, a miniseries that has hopefully helped you digest the last 8 weeks of everything COVID-19 related, and get through the final weeks of Ireland’s lockdown. For the finale, Andrew shows us how far we’ve come in cold hard numbers since the last covid wave. The lads then chat about the benefits of mindfulne…
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Andrew spends the vast 7 minutes of this episode of spread the good going through the news of the week. In a fantastic turn of events, there is little to talk about. We did around 300'000 vaccinations last week, 45% of adults have their first dose and and the hospitalization situation is stable. Oh, and the Indian variant isn't the end of the world…
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This week Andrew talks through the latest stats for Ireland on COVID-19. He also dives into the complexity of antigen testing. Their use, why LIDL and Tony Hoolahan are butting heads, where Dr Ronan Glynn stands on it and what does antigen test results actually tell you? It is certainly a complex issue with nobody fully right or wrong but it helps …
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This episode Andrew has more good news about Ireland’s fight against covid, and describes the balance we are finding between the vaccine rollout and reopening the country. Aidan highlights the balance we will also need to find between our physical and digital lives as things return to normalcy. Andrew is actively working with the department of heal…
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This episode Andrew talks through the latest stats and NPHET models, the road to reopening the country and appreciates the weight that is slowly being lifted. Go get a nights sleep, eat well and spend time outside. Andrew is actively working with the department of health and meeting members of NPHET weekly to discuss the communication of COVID-19, …
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This episode we explain some key changes that occurred in the case numbers last week that bring great hope, and a sprinkle of caution. Inspired by an interview that Brezzie had with An Taoiseach Micheal Martin, the lads also discuss a mental health action plan that our youth will need to overcome the trauma of the pandemic, even after this is all o…
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This week cases went down and vaccinations went up. What is the origin of sars-cov-2? Should you be worried about variants? In this weekly mini-series we focus on the GOOD! Updates on progress towards normalcy, the importance of compassion in getting through the next 8-12 weeks and we answer your questions from our socials. Andrew is actively worki…
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How will the AstraZenica vaccine side effects impact vaccine roll-out? When does NPHET see normalcy returning? What can you do to get through this last lockdown? In this weekly mini-series we focus on the GOOD! Updates on progress towards normalcy, the importance of compassion in getting through the next 8-12 weeks and we answer your questions from…
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The U.S.A. used A.I. supercomputers to win one of the final cold war battlefields: Chess. This episode, Andrew and Aidan discuss the history of intelligence, why our global perception of it changed over time, and how we now find ourselves losing to machines. Did you know that China uses artificial intelligence to monitor and rate its citizens? Or t…
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70,000 years ago, the eruption of an Indonesian supervolcano whittled the human population down to a few thousand globally. This episode, we walk our way along our evolutionary path from the last known common ancestor of apes and homo sapiens to us: Modern humans. Did you know that scientists found a single pinky bone in a Siberian cave which uncov…
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Einstein once called quantum physics spooky, listen in to find out why! This part 2 we explore some of the biggest mysteries in physics, the shoelaces that may define the universe and the Irish scientist John Bell that proved Einstein wrong. Do you know that Heisenberg wasn’t just the one who knocks? Or that quantum entanglement isn’t just used by …
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Two greeks first once asked if we kept cutting an object in half, would we find the smallest building block of the universe? This episode we discuss how after an age of cosmic exploration through telescopes physicists began looking for the smallest of things, some of the biggest discoveries of 20th century physics and the god particle itself. Do yo…
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99% of all the species that have ever lived are now extinct, making all life that’s still on earth the lucky 1%. This episode, Andrew and Aidan walk through the biggest extinction events in the fossil record. From that time when dinosaurs got wrecked by a giant space pebble, to when a Siberian supervolcano killed 90% of all life on earth at the tim…
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This episode we interview a vaccine specialist and immune system expert, Dr Liz Ryan. What makes COVID-19 so unique that it caused a pandemic? What actually makes the elderly vulnerable? Should we be concerned about new strains? Should we be concerned about how fast the vaccines have been developed? All is discussed in this week's episode. This epi…
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