The Science Pawdcast
The Science Pawdcast breaks down the latest science happening in the human world AND the pet world. Each episode will also bring you a guest to enthral you with their area of knowledge. You'll learn, be captivated, and laugh along with host Jason Zackowski. Pets and Science, it's the pawfect mix. You'll also get episodes of PetChat which are the live shows from social audio. PetChat is a live community gathering updates about the animals in our life, but also the animals in the wonderful community that supports us! Heart and Hope. Science and Shenanigans.
Episodes
A parasite that lays eggs in wounds and eats living tissue sounds like something from a horror movie, but it is real and it is making headlines right now. We break down the New World screw worm outbreak in Texas, what it does to animals, and why ranchers and veterinarians treat it as an urgent livestock health emergency. We also talk through the bigger picture: how infestations spread through everyday cuts and bites...
Your brain is way more flexible than your body. We start with a wild virtual reality study that asks a simple sci-fi question: could humans learn to fly if we had wings? After a week of VR training with motion tracking, participants don’t just get better at flying through rings and hovering over cliffs, their brains begin responding to wings the way they respond to arms. We unpack what that says about neuroplasticit...
A cruise ship, a rare virus, and a big question: when you hear “hantavirus outbreak,” what’s the real risk and what’s just scary headlines? We start by unpacking the MV Hondius hantavirus story, why hantaviruses can be so dangerous, and how infections usually happen through rodent exposure in dusty enclosed spaces. We also talk through what public health officials look for during an outbreak, including long incubati...
A rare autoimmune disorder can feel invisible until it steals someone’s movement, and stiff person syndrome is one of the starkest examples. We break down what’s happening in the nervous system when GABA-driven “calm down” signals get disrupted by autoantibodies, why symptoms can escalate into severe spasms and rigidity, and why the condition has captured public attention through Celine Dion’s story.
Then w...
AI chatbots are everywhere now, and the real problem is not cheating or convenience. It is what happens to your brain when a tool offers a confident answer before you have wrestled with the evidence. We break down a fascinating study on generative AI and critical thinking that puts people in a city council scenario, forces a decision under time pressure, and tests how early versus late AI access changes argument qua...
The most convincing health claims are the ones that feel personal, and few topics are as personal as medical cannabis for mental health. We take on a huge Lancet meta-analysis that pulled together 54 trials and thousands of participants to ask a simple question: does medical cannabis actually help anxiety, depression, and PTSD more than placebo? The answer is uncomfortable, especially given how common “medical marij...
Seventy thousand digits of pi is impressive, but the number that stuck with us is much scarier: about one in four high school students now reports sleeping five hours or less. We dig into the latest teen sleep deprivation data, what it means for learning, mental health, and emotional regulation, and why “just go to bed earlier” ignores adolescent circadian rhythm biology. When melatonin shifts later during puberty, ...
Think space is fast? Try outrunning time. We kick off with a clear-eyed breakdown of Project Hail Mary’s core science.
Using the Parker Solar Probe as our real-world speed limit, we map the math of interstellar distances to compare to the ability for Ryan Gosling to get to Tau Ceti in Project Hail Mary.
Then we turn to biology’s unforgiving rules. Could a years-long medically induced coma carry a crew throug...
A baby macaque clutching an orange plush shouldn’t teach us this much about biology, but Punch does. His quiet hold on a stuffed orangutan opens a door into attachment science, stress, and how primate societies enforce rules we often mistake for cruelty. We walk through why zookeepers reached for a surrogate object, how tactile comfort supports motor development and emotional regulation, and what happens when a firs...
A newborn brain can feel the pulse before it knows the tune—and that single insight opens a door into how early our minds start to organize the world. We kick off the new season by exploring two studies that hit close to home: one revealing that infants build visual categories and detect musical rhythm far earlier than many assumed, and another mapping the real‑world challenges older adults face when caring for pets...
A father that gives birth, a horse that says “no,” and an ER doctor who wants to keep you out of the hospital—this episode brings science and everyday choices into sharp focus. We start with a mind-bending dive into seahorses, where males carry the pregnancy and build a placenta-like environment from skin. New research shows familiar pregnancy genes at work inside the brood pouch, but with an unexpected hormonal swi...
Coffee may nudge biology, but only within limits. We dig into new research suggesting that three to four cups a day align with longer telomeres for people with severe mental illness, then challenge the hype with the caveats that matter: observational design, smoking as a confounder, wildly different cup sizes and brew methods, and the reality that more caffeine can erase potential benefits. We translate the science ...
When the brain gets knocked, it fights back—at least for a while. We open with new research that uses ALPS MRI to watch the glymphatic “waste rivers” of the brain as they surge after repeated head impacts and then falter when the system is pushed too far. That real-time look at fluid flow explains why early symptoms can be misleading and why rest, recovery windows, and better sideline calls aren’t just policy—they’r...
A vaccine built for a virus might be whispering a powerful message to cancer care. We dig into a new Nature paper suggesting that mRNA COVID shots could enhance the effectiveness of checkpoint inhibitor immunotherapy—especially in non‑small cell lung cancer and melanoma—by acting as an immune alarm that sharpens anti‑tumor responses. The data is retrospective, not causal, so we break down why the signal is exciting,...
Ever wonder how a pumpkin could help clean a toxic field—and why your dog might boost your mood as much as a wedding ring? We unpack both, starting with fresh research from Kobe University that reveals how a small amino acid tag on major latex-like proteins pushes pollutants into plant sap. That single routing decision explains why some gourds move stubborn chemicals like PCBs all the way to their fruits, illuminati...
A top predator that “wastes” food and ends up feeding an entire ecosystem? That paradox sits at the heart of our latest exploration into polar bear behavior and the hidden scaffolding of the Arctic food web. We unpack new research estimating that each polar bear leaves roughly 300 kilograms of edible remains annually—amounting to millions of kilograms across the region—and why those leftovers are vital calories for ...
The sky went dark at midday, the temperature dipped, and a continent held its breath. We chased the total solar eclipse to Texas and came back with more than a memory—fresh science on how birds react when day vanishes and returns a few minutes later. Leveraging a blend of community observations, autonomous recorders, and BirdNET machine learning, researchers tracked behavior from Mexico to Canada and found a clear p...
A newborn with higher pTau217 than an adult with Alzheimer’s—what would that mean for how we detect, define, and treat dementia? We dive into a startling new finding that reframes tau phosphorylation as a dynamic, reversible process rather than a one-way street. From the costs and tradeoffs of PET scans and CSF analysis to the promise of new blood tests, we lay out how clinicians navigate biomarkers and why context ...
Imagine fixing a fracture with a steady hand and a smart pen. We open the lab door on a handheld “bone printer” that lays down bio‑ink directly at the injury site, promising faster healing, fewer imaging steps, and the chance to customize strength and shape in minutes. If you’ve ever waited days for scans and fabrication, the appeal is obvious: hydroxyapatite to encourage bone growth, PCL as a biocompatible scaffold...
After a two-week hiatus dealing with shipping challenges and postal strikes, Jason and Chris return with exciting scientific breakthroughs and heartwarming pet insights. Their absence was filled with stuffy reshipping adventures and a memorable Comic-Con appearance with their super-dog companions.
The episode features a remarkable development in Huntington's disease treatment – a devastating neurodegen...
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