We grab a drink all the time- water, pop, juice. So, what goes into making them? This week we're starting to explore some of the most popular beverages and the science behind them. We're kicking off by looking at beer with Dr. Jim Bruckner, a microbiologist who works in breweries on quality control and beer … Continue reading Beverages: Beer
Water: Treatment and Purification
Did you ever read Magic School Bus at the Waterworks? In this episode we got our own tour through the water works and how water is cleaned up from Dr. Dan Zitomer. We talked about how safe water gets to our faucets, how we treat it, and how we manage it. Rachel especially loved this … Continue reading Water: Treatment and Purification
Water: Plastics and Waste
Last week we talked about how important clean and accessible water is. This week, we talk to an expert who thinks about how do we keep water clean. Dr. Anne Schauer-Gimenez works with Mango Materials to produce materials that are biodegradable. These products come from waste products of cleaning water and, when broken down, help … Continue reading Water: Plastics and Waste
Water: Quality and Pollution
Right now both Rachel and Alyssa live in Michigan, a state surround by thousands of miles of shoreline and four of the five Great Lakes. Our state was also recently affected by the Flint water crisis. Being in an area where water is thought about frequently, we wanted to learn more about how our water … Continue reading Water: Quality and Pollution
One Year
We made it one year with Speaking Science! To commemorate, we recorded a special episode with just the two of us talking about our favorite episodes, what we hope for this next year, and what exciting episodes might be coming up. As we plan out our schedule, we want to hear from you! Send us … Continue reading One Year
Artificial Intelligence: Self-Driving Cars
We're familiar with cars- whether we are driving them, riding them, or dodging them in the crosswalks. But what happens when you take the driver out of the car? This week we got to take a field trip to May Mobility in Grand Rapids, MI to learn about self-driving cars. We wanted to know how … Continue reading Artificial Intelligence: Self-Driving Cars
Artificial Intelligence: Video Game
Video games are a part of daily life for many of us. From Mario Kart with friends to Legend of Zelda to old-school Snake. We've been innovating and challenging ourselves with different scenarios, worlds, and game type over the years. So what's the next big leap in gaming? We talked with Dr. Arend Hintze from … Continue reading Artificial Intelligence: Video Game
Artificial Intelligence: Biomedicine
Many of us have heard of Tony Stark's JARVIS in the Iron Man movies or have used Siri or Alexa to look up information. But what else can we use artificial intelligence for? Over the next three episodes, we're taking a look at how we interact with A.I. on a daily basis and how that … Continue reading Artificial Intelligence: Biomedicine
CRISPR
For one week we're taking a break from posting our usual series to focus on a topic that's made headlines in the news over the last few years. From battles in the court of law to "gene-edited babies", CRISPR is an emerging technology that has made a lot of waves. We wanted to talk to … Continue reading CRISPR
Faking It: Additives
This week we finish our Faking It series. To conclude, we talked with Robert Freeborn, a graduate student at Michigan State University in the Rockwell Lab. He's looked at how the presence of a food additive effects the efficacy of flu vaccines. While we were talking about his research, we also asked a few other … Continue reading Faking It: Additives
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