Why Are Doctors Still Prescribing Opioids? | Orbitals 404

A Bittersweet Farewell and Enthusiastic Hello: A New Science Podcast Is Headed Your Way!: We have some bittersweet news: Orbitals is coming to a close. BUT there’s a new science podcast headed your way in 2022! It’s called Tiny Matters, and it's a show about things small in size but big in impact. Every other Wednesday, hosts Sam... by Orbitals

5 min listen

? Solutions 112 | The Sweet Chemistry of Vanilla Memories: If there’s one flavor you can always count on, it’s vanilla. Sweet, creamy, and nostalgic, it comes from a creeping orchid vine. But with increased demand, scientists are finding new ways to make it, including starting from an unexpected... by Orbitals

12 min listen

? Solutions 111 | A Walk Among the Sponges: Think the science behind sponges must be boring? You’re so, so wrong. Shrink down to the microscopic level with us and take a walk among sponges designed to keep bacteria alive, clean with just water, and literally cut through your holiday cleaning.... by Orbitals

15 min listen

Bacteria are cleaning up our toxic waste | Orbitals 410: Bacteria often get a bad rap, which is fair—they are responsible for diseases like strep throat, pneumonia, and tuberculosis, and antibiotic resistance is a legitimate threat to humanity's existence. But some bacteria might actually save lives by... by Orbitals

15 min listen

? Solutions 110 | What your raincoat and a hydrogen fuel cell have in common: Polymer membranes make everything from rain jackets to medical devices. But they’re also integral parts of hydrogen fuel cells, powering cars that give off nothing but water vapor. How do fuel cells work, and why aren’t you driving one yet?... by Orbitals

16 min listen

The Great Molasses Flood of 1919 | Orbitals 409: When you hear the word “molasses” you probably imagine super slow-moving, brown-colored sweet stuff that you add to a cookie recipe. And that is what molasses usually looks like, but under certain conditions and in large enough quantities,... by Orbitals

13 min listen

? Solutions 109 | No 5G Without Chemistry: 5G is coming… but can your phone handle it? Surprisingly, a lot of that comes down to the chemistry inside! Let’s crack open your phone to figure out how chemistry is making it smaller, faster, and a little more sticky! Solutions is made... by Orbitals

14 min listen

Sweat: The Taboo Fluid That Keeps Us Alive | Orbitals 408: Sweat is this thing that many of us seem to loathe, but also pay a lot of money to do while being yelled at by professionals. So what is sweat? And why do we do it? And why are we often so embarrassed by it? This episode features writer Sarah Everts,... by Orbitals

17 min listen

? Solutions 108 | Antiviral Fabric: From Less-Smelly Socks to Life-Saving Masks: A team of researchers making workout gear that never stinks realized that their invention could actually have a bigger impact fighting a global pandemic. It all starts with a high-performance fabric found in your closet and a common mineral in your... by Orbitals

14 min listen

It's Raining PLASTIC?! | Orbitals 407: In 2020, researchers discovered that more than 1,000 tons of plastic—that’s over 100 million plastic water bottles worth—rains down on National Parks and wilderness in the western U.S. every year. How is that possible? This week's episode... by Orbitals

16 min listen

? Solutions 107 | How Wood is Making Sunscreen More Effective: Many of us slather sunscreen on in the summer to keep sunburns at bay. But new materials can improve sunscreens without adding more of the sticky, greasy compounds we all hate. The surprising origin of those new ingredients? Wood! Solutions is... by Orbitals

16 min listen

The Icepick Surgeon | Orbitals 406: Sam Kean's latest book, The Icepick Surgeon: Murder, Fraud, Sabotage, Piracy, and Other Dastardly Deeds Perpetrated in the Name of Science, dropped earlier this week. It’s about when knowledge becomes everything—the only thing. At whatever the... by Orbitals

18 min listen

? Solutions 106 | Fermenting Pheromones and Phytases: How do you keep moths from munching on apples? By confusing them with a field full of mating pheromones brewed in a lab. The same fermentation strategy can also make enzymes to help chickens digest their feed and keep their farmyards a little less…... by Orbitals

15 min listen

Pretzel Perfume, Egg Foam, and the Number of Bubbles in Beer: Pub Chemistry | Orbitals 405: A lot has happened in the last year (understatement of the millennium), so we wanted to bring our listeners something a bit sillier than usual. In this episode we’re talking food and drink chemistry—just fun bits of trivia that you can take with... by Orbitals

20 min listen

? Solutions 105 | The New Molecules Making Vaccines More Effective: Vaccines help our immune system to learn to recognize invading pathogens before we ever get infected. But some vaccines include molecules that act like an extra alarm system, alerting our immune cells to pay attention! These molecules are called... by Orbitals

18 min listen

? Solutions 104 | How Omega-3s from Algae Could Help Save Our Oceans: In this episode of Solutions, we’re going to travel from mangrove coasts to outer space, to the middle of Nebraska, and even to Norway to answer the question of how microscopic algae could help save our oceans from overfishing by making literal... by Orbitals

16 min listen

Combating The Climate Crisis: From Blackout Curtains to Feeding Cows Seaweed | Orbitals 403: April 22nd is Earth Day, so this month’s episode is all about our warming planet--what the data are telling us about our planet's future, how scientists are working to find solutions to deal with it, and how you the listener can actually make a... by Orbitals

18 min listen

? Solutions 103 | Boats Floating on Air and Solar Panel Crystal Balls: Lessons from Nature: We humans are pretty smart, but sometimes our best solutions to big problems are inspired by nature! We’re talking to scientists about how deep-sea diatoms can inspire more efficient solar panels and how tiny marine plants can lead to boats that... by Orbitals

19 min listen

Does Life Exist Beyond Earth? How Would We Know? | Orbitals 402: In today’s episode, we’re talking about life. What it is, how it started here on Earth, and how we’re trying to find it in other parts of the universe. Featuring NASA astrobiologist Dr. Jason Dworkin and MIT astrophysicist Dr. Sara Seager. by Orbitals

15 min listen

? Solutions 102 | Natural Plant Extracts: From Imposters to Invaluable Ingredients: Natural extracts are in everything from food to medicine to beauty products. But how do we know which molecules from the natural world have benefits? And how can we verify that the ingredients advertised on the outside of the bottle are actually... by Orbitals

18 min listen

Can We Make Baby Formula As Good As Breast Milk? | Orbitals 401: Dr. Steven Townsend is a professor of Organic Chemistry at Vanderbilt University, studying the chemistry of breast milk—what makes it so good for babies, and why that’s so hard to replicate in infant formula. Dr. Townsend’s interest in the field... by Orbitals

11 min listen

? Solutions 101 | How Eggplants Inspired Sustainable Paint: Welcome to the first episode of Solutions, an Orbitals spin-off podcast for 2021! We need to move people and stuff around the globe, but the options we have to do that aren’t great for our planet, and we’re the ones who are going to feel those... by Orbitals

19 min listen

Introducing Solutions: An Orbitals spin-off podcast | BONUS episode: Introducing Solutions, a fun new Orbitals spin-off podcast hosted by Dr. Alex Dainis. Every month of 2021, we'll be releasing an episode that will give you a front row seat to chemists in industry today—the work they do and how it can solve problems... by Orbitals

1 min listen

The Pesticide That Launched the EPA | Orbitals 309: In the first half of the 20th century, there were very few environmental laws in the United States. Then, in 1962, environmentalist Rachel Carson published Silent Spring, opening the eyes of many Americans to the environmental destruction and... by Orbitals

19 min listen

Preventing COVID-19: The Science and Scientists Behind Protective Equipment | Orbitals 308: As of November 16, 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused over 1.3 million deaths globally, more than 246,000 of which have been in the United States. Although this country has done very little to control the spread of this virus, there are people out... by Orbitals

12 min listen

What If Half of Earth's Soil Disappeared? | Orbitals 307: The only thing that's standing between life and lifelessness is about six feet of loose soil material covering the Earth. In this episode of Orbitals, soil biogeochemist and political ecologist Dr. Asmeret Asefaw Berhe breaks down why soil is a... by Orbitals

13 min listen

The American Chamber of Horrors | Orbitals 306: Imagine buying mascara that makes you go blind, or picking up hair removal cream that causes your teeth to fall out. Before 1938 products like these were all over the place. Legally. The American Chamber of Horrors was a traveling exhibit, created by... by Orbitals

16 min listen

Coronavirus Drugs: Where Are We and What's Next? | BONUS episode: Antiviral drugs could help us fight the new coronavirus, but we don’t currently have a highly potent and effective antiviral that cures COVID-19. Why not? We called a few virologists to find out. by Orbitals

8 min listen

Could a Polio Vaccine End This Pandemic? | BONUS episode: The COVID-19 pandemic has scientists considering a few less-conventional options while vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 are being developed. One option might be the oral polio vaccine. We chatted with one of the researchers proposing the idea—Dr. Robert... by Orbitals

6 min listen

What's In the Stuff We Put In Us and On Us?: Ingredients with George Zaidan | Orbitals 305: We’re each a big mush of chemicals surrounded by chemicals, and figuring out which of these chemicals are helpful, versus harmful, is complicated. Our executive producer, George Zaidan, takes on that challenge in his new book Ingredients: The... by Orbitals

17 min listen

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Why Are Doctors Still Prescribing Opioids? | Orbitals 404

Why Are Doctors Still Prescribing Opioids? | Orbitals 404

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