299 - Phone a Friend

Science... sort of

00:00:00 - This episode we’re joined by Sarah McAnulty (@SarahMackAttack), a Ph.D. candidate studying the immune system of the bobtail squid, which is delightfully cute and glows in the dark to avoid detection. You can see some of her research in action in this video: Bobtails + Bacteria = BFF. Finally, according to Sarah and Alton Brown, EAT ALL THE SQUIDS THAT YOU CAN, THE OCEAN DEPENDS ON IT.

00:24:15 - Squids live in the drink and Abe stops by for one. He’s enjoying, as best he can, a Native Species from Blue Mountain Brewery. Ryan thinks the call is coming from inside the house with his Inside Job IPA from Henhouse Brewing, which is mercifully west coast in styling.

00:29:20 - We’re back with Sarah chatting about her ongoing outreach effort, Skype a Scientist, which works to connect researchers with classrooms and other venues that want to have a conversation with a real live scientist. Ryan is a participant and a big fan. If you or someone you know could be a participant on either side of the equation, consider signing up! You can also support the project on Patreon.

00:53:23 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like squids, or are they? First up, Tyler D. is deserving of a Patreon thesis, and based on some assumptions of his location and interests, he gets: Potential pharmacological effects of Cephalopod spaghettification in the preparation of Cincinnati-style chili: do oodles of noodles decrease oodles of squids in the world’s oceans? Thanks, Tyler! Next, Gary K. went to GSA 2018 and sent us some notes, which prompts a brief discussion of conference attendance strategies.

More cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on our Patreon!

Music for this episode:

• Afterglow - Chvrches

• Bubbles In My Beer - Willie Nelson

• Call Me - Blondie