STEM Storytellers

Are all bees honey bees? Are all bacteria harmful? Do all weeds harm the crops that feed us? Do all fisheries serve the same purpose? This week the fellows use analogies and metaphors to build nuance into some common misconceptions about their research. This work is funded in part by support from the National Science Foundation’s Innovations in Graduate education program award number 1735124. The findings of this work are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NSF. Our music is provided by Blue Dot Sessions(sessions.blue) under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial 4.0 License.

George Schaible is a graduate student in Biochemistry at Montana State University. In this episode he discusses his academic journey in the first years of his graduate studies.  This work is funded in part by support from the National Science Foundation’s Innovations in Graduate education program award number 1735124. The findings of this work are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NSF. Our music is provided by Blue Dot Sessions(sessions.blue) under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial 4.0 License.

Jenna Mattice is a graduate student in Biochemistry at Montana State University. In this episode she explains the importance of Deuterium when studying proteins.  This work is funded in part by support from the National Science Foundation’s Innovations in Graduate education program award number 1735124. The findings of this work are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NSF. Our music is provided by Blue Dot Sessions(sessions.blue) under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial 4.0 License.

When planning research projects involving living organisms, we often take for granted how our measurements may affect the well being of our subjects. While planning my research, I was confronted by how stress can affect the sexual development of trout in ways I had never imagined(http://www.montana.edu/ecology/directory/grad-students/preul.html). This work is funded in part by support from the National Science Foundation’s Innovations in Graduate education program award number 1735124. The findings of this work are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NSF. Our music is by Resolute and provided by Blue Dot Sessions(sessions.blue) under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial 4.0 License.

In this episode, Sam Verplanck describes how structural beams are applicable to a common snowpack test called the Propagation Saw Test. This work is funded in part by support from the National Science Foundation’s Innovations in Graduate education program award number 1735124. The findings of this work are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NSF. Music in this episode is provided by Blue Dot Sessions under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial 4.0 License.

Mei Ling Wong, a graduate student in Land Resources & Environmental Science (http://weedeco.msu.montana.edu/students/). In this episode she discusses how little herbicides have changed in the past century. Music in this episode is by Resolute and provided by Blue Dot Sessions(sessions.blue) under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial 4.0 License. This work is funded in part by support from the National Science Foundation’s Innovations in Graduate education program award number 1735124. The findings of this work are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NSF.

This episode explores the memory of wax with Madison Nelson, a physics doctoral student at Montana State University. Find out more about her work here: http://www.physics.montana.edu/grad/more-infor-grads/Madison-Nelson-More-Info.html. Our music is by Castro and provided by Blue Dot Sessions (sessions.blue) under a Creative Commons  Attribution-Non-Commercial 4.0 License. This work is funded in part by support from the National Science Foundation’s Innovations in Graduate education program through award number 1735124. The findings of this work are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NSF.

Simone Durney is a graduate student in Ecology who studies the Parnassius butterfly.  In this episode she describes how everyday tools help her study the effects of climate change on this butterfly and its habitat.  This work is funded in part by support from the National Science Foundation’s Innovations in Graduate education program through award number 1735124. The findings of this work are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NSF. Our music is by  The Balloonist and provided by Blue Dot Sessions under a Creative Commons  Attribution-Non-Commercial 4.0License.

Kathleen Carroll discusses lion conservation strategies based on a PLOS ONE article from July 2018. Africa’s human population is expected to increase threefold by the end of this century, with highest population growth near protected areas. This episode provides a layperson discussion of the factors work for and against large animal conservation.  Cushman SA, Elliot NB, Bauer D, Kesch K, Bahaa-el-din L, Bothwell H, et al. (2018) Prioritizing core areas, corridors and conflict hotspots for lion conservation in southern Africa. PLoS ONE 13(7): e0196213. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0196213

Katie Carrol explains and discusses this PLOS ONE article from July 2018.  Conservation of large carnivores, such as the African lion, requires preservation of extensive core habitat areas, linkages between them, and mitigation of human-wildlife conflict. However, there are few rigorous examples of efforts that prioritized conservation actions for all three of these critical components.  Cushman SA, Elliot NB, Bauer D, Kesch K, Bahaa-el-din L, Bothwell H, et al. (2018) Prioritizing core areas, corridors and conflict hotspots for lion conservation in southern Africa. PLoS ONE 13(7): e0196213. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0196213

Katie Carroll reads from the text of "Prioritizing core areas, corridors and conflict hotspots for lion conservation in southern Africa". The full July 2018 article can be found in PLOS ONE https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0196213