PODCAST · science
Petri Dish
by Petri Dish
Profane, insane, and 100% primo science, Petri Dish is a no-BS podcast that explores the wildest subjects in modern science with clarity and evil joy.Hosted by Sean Allen, a Nanoparticle/Immunology Researcher, and Nathan Allen, his "screenwriter" brother, Petri Dish fuses hard science with a freewheeling and madcap conversational style. Cannabinoids, Plague, Cats, the dreaded Candiru, and the even more dreaded Covid-19: all these and more are dissected with intellect and irreverence, dropping every week.So reject ignorance. Join the Scientific Revolution. Join Petri Dish.
Episodes
-
Ep. 185 How to Make a Drug Pt 2: Libraries and Design
On this second episode about drug discovery, we discuss small molecule drug libraries and the challenges behind rational design! Don't know what that means? Tune in to find out! References: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcell.2019.00107/full...
-
Ep. 184 How to Make a Drug Pt 1: A Target
Hey everyone! Today's episode is about getting into the nitty gritty of drug discovery. We often benefit from the research and development that goes into the creation of drugs we use to treat illnesses without really understanding what goes into that process. In this first part, we will discuss…
more -
Ep. 183 Influenza Pt 4: Vaccines and Pandemics
Sorry for the COVID-related break in episodes everyone! In our return, we complete our series on influenza by discussing past epidemics and pandemics to understand how influenza has repeatedly led to large scale medical events. Then we will finish by discussing the current and future state of...
-
Ep. 182 Influenza Pt 3: Whaddya Gonna Do About It?
You've had the flu. You've had a cold. Maybe you've even had allergies! But how can you tell them apart? And if you even figure out that you do have influenza, are there any treatments you can take that can help? References:...
-
Ep. 181 Influenza Pt 2: The Piggies
Last episode we discussed the current H5N1 flu that is hitting birds pretty hard. But is bird flu different from swine flu? Is there just a 'human flu', or do we only catch influenza from other animals? Let's get into the evolutionary history of the flu and primary hosts! References:...
-
Ep. 180 Influenza Pt 1: Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza
Today's episode is the first in a four-part series on influenza! This time we are covering just enough background information to discuss the recent H5N1 pandemic in birds, which was responsible for the egg shortage and has been killing a lot of wild birds. References:...
-
Ep. 179 The Silence of the Plants
Sure, plants can sometimes smell good and they do cool stuff like make carbs for us to eat and oxygen for us to breathe. But they sort of look like they're just passively sitting there, right? Just chilling. If only we could hear just a slightly broader range of frequencies, we would hear a whole...
-
Ep. 178 A Baby Born of Two Daddies
Hi everyone! This week's episode is about recent work trying to figure out a way to make a baby mouse that has two genetic dads. We also dive into why mammals don't seem to have virgin births!References: https://www.nature.com/articles/cr201115 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17034046/...
-
Ep. 177 Black Holes Pt 2: Quasi-Stars and Quasars
Today's episode is our second and final episode on Black Holes! We cover some exotic black hole concepts, like whether they are a source of dark energy, what a white hole is, and whether black holes are fuzzy or not! References:...
-
Ep. 176 Black Holes Pt 1: Curvy Thicc Spacetime Stuff
Here in our first episode on our 2-parter on Black Holes, we explain what a black hole is in theory and what it probably actually is in practice. We dive into why it is still hard for us to really know what the true nature of black holes are and we discuss the different kinds of black...
-
Ep. 175 The Norfolk Southern Environmental Trainwreck
In February, a train was partially derailed while carrying a number of chemicals. The subsequent attempt at containment resulted in the release of many thousands of gallons of these chemicals. What were those chemicals? What are the risks involved in their release? References:...
-
Ep. 174 Desalination Pt 2: A Not-So-Salty Future?
On this week's episode, we complete our series on desalination by discussing the near future technologies that are coming to either improve or attempt to supplant the current front runners that we discussed last week. We will also discuss the downsides of desalination and work that is being done…
more -
Last of Us Rerelease! Fungus Pt 2: Cordyceps and More!
Hi Everyone! We're interrupting our series on desalination to put out a quick rerelease of one of our episodes on Fungi! We're doing this in honor of the season 1 finale of The Last of Us, which heavily features a fungus called Cordyceps, which we covered in this episode. Check it out and learn...
-
Ep. 173 Desalination Pt 1: So Salty
Climate change is happening, two billion people don't have a reliable and safe supply of fresh water, and the problem isn't likely to get a whole lot better on its own! Desalination is the process of making fresh water from salt water, but what is the current state of the technology? Find out on...
-
Ep. 172 VEXAS: A Mystery Syndrome
While science and medicine have come a long way over the centuries, there are still illnesses that cannot be explained -- and many of them are autoinflammatory disorders. Many people all over the world have been inflicted with these disorders with no clear cause. But recently, scientists were…
more -
Ep. 171 Side Quests 2: Cancer and Concrete
Occasionally we do episodes where we speak about a couple different topics that don't have a specific underlying theme -- they're just fun science papers that have cropped up recently! This time we discuss the confluence of two different hot technologies, CRISPR base editing and CAR T cells. We...
-
Ep. 170 Death Pt 2: A Twitching Heart
We return with our second episode on Death, the final frontier! What is it? Actually though, like what determines the moment when someone dies? This question has actually had a different answer through the years, and we dive into the definition and how it has changed as technology has advanced.…
more -
Ep 169 Death Pt.1: Disembodied Pig Brains
On our first episode about Death, we look into a paper published a few years that described the reanimation of a pig brain! Spooky! Let’s get into the science behind it and some of its implications for humans!
-
Ep 168. The Tridemic
This winter season the world is dealing with not two but three respiratory illnesses at the same time. While these are familiar names at this point, they’re definitely different from one another, so let’s get into COVID, the flu, and RSV!
-
Ep. 167 Coffee Pt 2: Dry, Wet, Honey, and Poop
Hi Folks! Part 2 of our series on coffee focuses on how coffee beans can be imparted with different flavors through their picking and processing! We mentioned this in the show notes for the last episode, but we will be going on a couple month hiatus while Nathan and Stacey take a vacation in…
more -
Ep. 166 Coffee Pt 1: Species and History
The first episode on our three part series is on the history of human consumption of coffee (as far as we know) and the several species of plant that can produce those sweet, sweet beans! As a note, we are going to be taking a hiatus after Pt 2 next week for Nathan and Stacey to take a…
more -
Ep. 165 Viral Hepatitis Pt 2: The Chronic
In our second and final episode on viral hepatitis, we discuss Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C! One has a vaccine, the other can be treated with antivirals, but both can be pretty serious and bad if you aren't protected or treated. Our sponsor is Athletic Greens, a really solid and easy way to get…
more -
Ep. 164 Viral Hepatitis Pt 1: Acute But Not Cute
In our first episode of a two parter, we discuss what the liver does, what hepatitis is generally, and which hepatitis viruses cause acute issues! References: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00705-022-05375-0 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK13296/...
-
Ep. 163 Random Walks, Brownian Motion, and the Physics of Big Bacteria
Last week, we discussed a very big bacterium, one you can see with your naked eye! But back in high school we all learned that bacteria and prokaryotes in general were pretty simple cells and were definitely smaller than our cells. While we've found a lot of examples that push back against this...
-
Ep. 162 Really Huge Bacteria
In today's episode, we discuss a recent discovery of a reaaaaaally big bacteria, like way big! Big enough that you can see it without a microscope! Longer than a fruit fly! BIG! How can a bacteria get so big? What is going on there? Let's discuss it! References:...
-
Ep. 161 Monkeypox Pt 2: APOBEC3 and Microevolution
Sorry about the delay in this release folks! In this episode, we revisit the current unusual Monkeypox outbreak and dive into the DNA of this virus to try to understand why it is so much more global this time. Spoiler alert: the DNA currently doesn't have answers for us, but it seems to be…
more -
Ep. 160 Caffeine Pt 2: Muscles and Sensitivity
In the second and final episode on our series on Caffeine, we dive into what acute caffeine toxicity can look like, along with other ways people can be sensitive to caffeine. We also discuss whether caffeine can be useful for giving you a boost while exercising! Our sponsor is Athletic Greens, a...
-
Ep. 159 Caffeine Pt 1: The Most Popular Psychoactive Drug in the World
First episode of our two-parter on caffeine! For such a small and unassuming molecule, this drug is really popular, consumed all over the world for millennia! What is caffeine? How does it work? We'll even begin to discuss why some people are more sensitive to caffeine than other people....
-
Ep. 158 Alzheimer's Redux: Lies, Fraud, and Misconduct
The world of Alzheimer's research has recently been rocked by very strong evidence of scientific misconduct and fraud, specifically relating to a historically relevant paper about amyloid beta oligomers as a potential cause of Alzheimer's Disease. There are a lot of nuances and complexities at…
more -
Ep. 157 Monkeypox
Hi folks! I know most people don't really want to hear it, but we have another disease running around the world besides COVID and the more you know the facts, the better you can do what you can to avoid it! Learn about monkeypox on this week's episode of Petri Dish! References:...
-
Ep. 156 Venom Pt 3: Medicine and Mammals
The final episode in our series on venom, we discuss how venom can be used in modern medicine before discussing some venomous reptiles. Then we finish up by talking about the very few and very strange venomous mammals! References: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2019.00218/full...
-
Ep. 155 Venom Pt 2: Animal Extravaganza
Part two of our series on venom! We start out talking about some venomous jellyfish and other cnidarians before moving on to arthropods, like some very venomous spiders! Then we go into treatment options for venom before finishing with some very strange venomous amphibians! Not just poisonous!...
-
Ep. 154 Venom Pt 1: Bites and Stings and Ouchie Things
Hi Everyone! Welcome to the first episode of our series on venom! We previously discussed toxic stuff, and venoms are a specific subset of toxic things that are introduced to the body by bite or injection rather than getting swallowed or inhaled or whatever. In this first episode we give a...
-
Ep. 153 Hot Dogs and Nitrates
Happy 4th of July to all our listeners in the USA! In honor of the holiday, we're doing an episode on hot dogs and other cured meats, specifically regarding the health impacts of nitrates/nitrites! Our sponsor is Athletic Greens, a really solid and easy way to get your vitamins if you're like me...
-
Ep. 152 Doping Pt 2: Up For Debate
In our first episode on the topic, we introduced the idea and definition of doping. In this episode we dive into blood doping, gene and cell doping, and a little debate about whether doping really is all that bad. References: https://www.wada-ama.org/en/prohibited-list...
-
Ep. 151 Doping Pt 1: Juicing
Hey folks! On this episode Sean and Nathan discuss sports doping, first defining what counts as doping then discussing a history of doping! Our sponsor is Athletic Greens, a really solid and easy way to get your vitamins if you're like me and are too silly/busy to cook proper meals every day and...
-
Ep. 150: Organic Poisons
We took a break from our series on poisons, but we're back now to chat about organic poisons! No, not like pesticide-free poisons, organic in this context just means they're molecules that have carbons and hydrogens in them! So no more chatting about metallic poisons, we're going to move on to...
-
Ep. 149 Sports Medicine: Whey
I promise Nathan doesn't say 'whey' weird the entire episode, it just takes a bit for him to stop. This week's episode is about whey protein! What is it? Does it actually provide any benefit over any other protein? Our sponsor is Athletic Greens, a really solid and easy way to get your vitamins…
more -
Ep. 148 Side Quests 1: Frenchmen and Killer High Schools
Hi Everyone! This is the first episode in a periodic series we're going to do called 'side quests'. Sometimes we come across science stories that aren't quite enough to do a full episode on, but are interesting and fun to talk about! So from now on we'll occasionally present them as a series of...
-
Ep. 147 Poisons Pt 3: Arsenic, The King of Poisons
Hi Folks! Part three of our poison series is on arsenic, the king of poisons and the poison of kings! Arsenic had a long history of being used to kill nobles, but after a reliable test for arsenic was developed in the 1800s it got a lot less popular for killing people. But in true human fashion…
more -
Ep. 146 Poisons Pt 2: Get the Lead Out
Hi everyone! Here is part 2 in our series on poisons. This time we discuss lead! Our new sponsor is Athletic Greens, a really solid and easy way to get your vitamins if you're like me and are too silly/busy to cook proper meals every day and need to get those nutrients somehow! Check them out and...
-
Ep. 145 Poisons Pt 1: Heavy Metal
Hey everyone! Nathan wanted to know how poisons work and we're starting with some metals! Metal poisons are pretty interesting because they aren't complex molecules or anything, they're like single atoms running around messing up your biological systems! But how do metals interact with biology in...
-
[Reupload] Ep 144 Jurassic Pt 3: This is the Last One For Now
*Hey folks, some people are having a tough time hearing the episode on some platforms, this reupload is an attempt to see if we can fix that* At Nathan's insistence, this is the last Mesozoic episode for now! We talk about dinosaurs, across the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, including...
-
Ep 144 Jurassic Pt 3: This is the Last One For Now
At Nathan's insistence, this is the last Mesozoic episode for now! We talk about dinosaurs, across the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, including heavy-hitters like T Rex! We also dispel some misunderstandings about velociraptor and other fun dino facts! Our new sponsor is Athletic Greens, a…
more -
Ep. 143 Jurassic Pt 2: Finally Actually Dinosaurs
Yessss we're finally doing it! Dinosaurs! But only Jurassic ones! Yeah, that's right, a bunch of dinosaurs were only around in the Cretaceous, like velociraptor and T. rex. But don't worry, I'm sure some of your favs were in the Jurassic, like good ol' stegosaurus! What is a dinosaur? Who was...
-
Ep. 142 Jurassic Pt 1: Angry Magma
Yay! The Age of the Dinosaurs! In this episode, we lay the groundwork for finally digging into dinosaurs in part 2 -- we discuss the changes to the climate and continents of the Jurassic and how that played into the development of the dinosaurs. References:...
-
Ep. 141 Triassic Pt 2: Almost Dino Time
We end our discussion of the Triassic period with the land and air -- this is the time when dinosaurs and pterosaurs first evolved, along with the first mammals! References: https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rsbl.2012.0949...
-
A Brief Petri Announcement
We're taking a one episode break, Nathan kind of explains why...
-
Ep. 140 Welcome to Triassic Park Part 1
In our last episode, we discussed The Great Dying, the transitional extinction event that ended the Permian and Paleozoic times and kickstarted the Triassic and Mesozoic! While the Mesozoic is often thought of as the Age of the Dinosaurs (and it *is* the time when they both evolved and went…
more -
Ep. 139 The Great Dying
Hey, times are tough! So in a bit of escapism, Petri Dish has decided to dive into one of the largest extinction events of all time -- the Great Dying! Serving as the end of the paleozoic and start of the mesozoic, the Great Dying killed of around 90% of marine animal species and 75% of land...
We're indexing this podcast's transcripts for the first time — this can take a minute or two. We'll show results as soon as they're ready.
No matches for "" in this podcast's transcripts.
No topics indexed yet for this podcast.
Loading reviews...
ABOUT THIS SHOW
Profane, insane, and 100% primo science, Petri Dish is a no-BS podcast that explores the wildest subjects in modern science with clarity and evil joy.Hosted by Sean Allen, a Nanoparticle/Immunology Researcher, and Nathan Allen, his "screenwriter" brother, Petri Dish fuses hard science with a freewheeling and madcap conversational style. Cannabinoids, Plague, Cats, the dreaded Candiru, and the even more dreaded Covid-19: all these and more are dissected with intellect and irreverence, dropping every week.So reject ignorance. Join the Scientific Revolution. Join Petri Dish.
HOSTED BY
Petri Dish
Loading similar podcasts...
Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Petri Dish have?
Petri Dish currently has 197 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Petri Dish about?
Profane, insane, and 100% primo science, Petri Dish is a no-BS podcast that explores the wildest subjects in modern science with clarity and evil joy.Hosted by Sean Allen, a Nanoparticle/Immunology Researcher, and Nathan Allen, his "screenwriter" brother, Petri Dish fuses hard science with a...
How often does Petri Dish release new episodes?
Petri Dish publishes regularly with 197 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to Petri Dish?
You can listen to Petri Dish on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Petri Dish?
Petri Dish is created and hosted by Petri Dish.
URL copied to clipboard!