In Season 2 of the series we will share a new collection of surprising and unusual stories from the history of science. In each episode we will feature two seemingly unrelated stories from the past. Then, Dan Riskin will connect the dots between those stories and offer insight into how that history impacts modern medical research. We are learning from the past so we can understand the present, and inform the future. Along the way we will learn how a professor at Stanford turned mild mannered young men into cruel vicious prison guards, and how the Irish Potato Famine really had nothing to do with potatoes. We will ask questions such as: “Did we learn the wrong lesson from the sinking of the Titanic?” “How many people did Orson Wells actually fool?” and “What exactly is Maple Syrup Urine Disease?” In these ten episodes we will also follow along with SciMar as they take their breakthrough science into the testing phase. Will the things they discovered in a row of test tubes in the lab be repeatable in real people? And will that prove to be the final cure for type 2 diabetes? So, if you are intrigued by science, get excited about the process of discovery, and want to have the best stories at your next dinner party, this is the show for you. We promise a season full of guinea pigs, Corona beer, shipwrecks, and cobras. -- The series is produced by SciMar, a medical research company developing a new way to detect, treat and cure type 2 diabetes. Rather than insulin from the pancreas, they are focused on hepatalin, a hormone that comes from the liver. We will use historical stories to shine a light on where this modern company is headed.
Science communication has impacted our lives more than we ever thought it would. Getting complicated scientific and medical information out to a large number of people is crucial to our public health. And it is not easy.
We will look at how stories can help spread and preserve information. We start with the oldest true story ever told and ask why and how it stood the test of time.
Then we will listen to the most talked about radio pl...
Let’s talk about the use of animals in medical research. It’s not a subject that people are very comfortable discussing, but we are going to do it anyway.
We will start with an incredible story of a fire in Bar Harbor Maine that impacted the health of people all over the world for years, even though they never even knew about it.
Then we will ask the question ‘what really causes Ulcers, and how did researchers figure that out?’
Dr Way...
The relationship between researchers and funders is complicated.
Some people think that researchers should be left to their own direction and that all financial support should be ‘no-strings attached.’ But is that possible? Is it desirable?
We look at how the Roman Colosseum was funded, and ask ‘what impact did that have on its design and its use?’
Then we turn our attention to NASA --- is the space agency funded by the military? Shou...
The Amish community in Pennsylvania is heavily impacted by genetic diseases. You might think that their resistance to modern technology would make it difficult to treat these conditions. But actually their philosophies around family and community make it easier to manage these diseases.
John Franklin’s ships were lost to the world for more than a century and a half. They were only discovered by a team of people that combined modern ...
We often complain about having too little of something: Too little time, too little money. But today in first world countries a lot of our problems come from having too much of something: Too much sugar, too much technology.
We point this lens at a pair of historical stories to better understand if tragedies and hardships of the past were really the result of having ‘too little’ of something, or if we need to use a different perspec...
We’ve all heard the saying about “the best laid plans….” but there is a caveat to that. Not all unexpected consequences are bad. Sometimes something really amazing occurs unexpectedly.
This episode tells the story of Henry Molaison, better known as Patient HM, or “the most important brain in the history of neuroscience.” Henry didn’t set out to be a guiding light for the world of neuroanatomy. He just wanted a cure for his epilepsy....
Join us for a wild ride through Vienna and Paris. We will hang out with Mozart, Marie Antoinette, and the incredible Dr Mesmer. We will drink cocktails and stay up way too late. All in an effort to answer the question: Is it possible that being blinded could help you see new things?
I’m not talking about literal blindness here, I mean when you intentionally deny yourself some key piece of information.
If you are hiring someone and ar...
Sometimes great discoveries have to wait for the creation of the perfect tool.
What is the best screw ever invented? If you said the Phillips, you are wrong. The Phillips is the most popular screw type, but not the best. The standard slot screw is also very popular, but it isn’t the best either. The best screw type ever invented is the Robertson, and the story behind why it never became the biggest selling screw in the world is one ...
Ten years ago, in a hospital in London England a drug company conducted a clinical trial. That trial went horribly wrong. The lessons learned from that event have informed every pharmaceutical trial since then. We will hear from one of the men who took that experimental drug.
We will also look to history -- and uncover the origin of the first ever clinical trial. It was conducted on a sailing ship in the middle of the ocean. The les...
Kick back and enjoy a cold Corona beer as we tell stories about the importance of names. From cameras to resumes to hormones, names matter.
George Eastman decided to name his company Kodak after playing a game of Anagrams with his mother. But the choice wasn’t an accident. It was a deliberately constructed name with a very clear intent.
Similarly the brewers of Corona beer didn’t pull that name from the top of their head, They had a ...
Dan Riskin invites you to listen to season 2 of Inside the Breakthrough - How Science Comes to Life. This innovative series combines stories of the distant past with modern updates to get a better understanding of how science works.
In season two we will explore the connections behind naming a new hormone, ridding a city of snakes, and battling Napoleon on the high seas.
Along the way we will learn how a professor at Stanford turned ...
SciMar does more than produce a podcast. They are a real medical research company doing really amazing work in the field of type 2 diabetes. This episode tells the story of how they got here. ‘Here’ being: on the verge of a transformational breakthrough in metabolic health. It starts with a Eureka moment in a lab… travels to a biological science conference in Minnesota… and then spends a quiet week relaxing beside the lake in Jaspe...
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Anna Sale explores the big questions and hard choices that are often left out of polite conversation.
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people.
A straightforward look at the day's top news in 20 minutes. Powered by ABC News. Hosted by Brad Mielke.