A Love Letter from Texas Scientists to the Periodic Table

A Love Letter from Texas Scientists to the Periodic Table

Author: University of Texas at Austin, College of Natural Sciences, Marc Airhart March 6, 2019 Duration: 16:07
We’re celebrating the 150th anniversary of the periodic table. Join us as we tour the cosmos, from the microscopic to the telescopic, with four scientists studying the role of four elements—zinc, oxygen, palladium and gold—in life, the universe and everything. Emily Que is a chemist who helped capture, for the first time on video, zinc fireworks that burst from an egg when it’s fertilized by sperm. Astronomer Michael Endl is searching for chemical signs of life in the atmospheres of exoplanets. Kate Biberdorf (a.k.a. Kate the Chemist) found new ways to speed up chemical reactions using palladium. And physicist Aaron Zimmerman explains why the gold in your jewelry was probably forged in an ultraviolent explosion billions of years ago. Watch zinc-spark fireworks: https://cns.utexas.edu/news/when-sperm-meets-egg-zinc-fireworks-on-display Listen to our interview with Kate the Chemist on a previous Point of Discovery podcast: https://soundcloud.com/point-of-discovery/fun-with-chemistry See a periodic table showing how each element was created: http://www.astronomy.ohio-state.edu/~jaj/nucleo/ Watch Kate the Chemist blow things up in honor of National Periodic Table Day: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=294826561181390 Hear more about the first neutron star collision captured by a gravitational-wave detector: https://soundcloud.com/point-of-discovery/cosmic-car-wreck Music for today’s show was produced by: Podington Bear - https://www.podingtonbear.com/ Chris Zabriskie - https://soundcloud.com/chriszabriskie Dresden the Flamingo - https://soundcloud.com/dresdentheflamingo Photo by Vivian Abagiu. About Point of Discovery Point of Discovery is a production of the University of Texas at Austin's College of Natural Sciences. You can listen to all our episodes at @point-of-discovery . Questions or comments about this episode, or our series in general? Email Marc Airhart at mairhart[AT]austin.utexas.edu

Curiosity is the engine of science, but the path from a question to an answer is rarely a straight line. Point of Discovery, from the University of Texas at Austin's College of Natural Sciences and hosted by Marc Airhart, pulls back the curtain on that process. This podcast is less about headlines and more about the human endeavor-the late nights, the failed experiments, the unexpected twists, and the collaborative moments that lead to new understanding. Each episode is a journey alongside researchers, giving you a front-row seat to the methods, debates, and sheer persistence that define real scientific work. You'll hear directly from the people behind the data, individuals whose unique perspectives and dedicated curiosity help map everything from microscopic cells to distant galaxies. The stories are intimate and specific, revealing how knowledge is built piece by piece. With original music by Podington Bear setting the tone, the podcast creates an immersive experience that celebrates the nuance and humanity at the heart of discovery. It’s an invitation to appreciate not just the destination, but the fascinating, often meandering trail that gets us there. Point of Discovery is produced as part of the Texas Podcast Network.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 62

Point of Discovery
Podcast Episodes
Can We Build Machines that are Less Biased Than We Are? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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Forty years ago, when James Allison had just gotten his PhD in biochemistry, he was intrigued by this far-out idea that was floating around about a new way to treat cancer. The idea—dubbed cancer immunotherapy—was to tra…
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Duration: 12:10
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A Score to Settle with Cancer [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 13:20
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Duration: 13:16
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BONUS: Full Conversation with Three STEM Deans [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 24:06
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The Language Brokers [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 8:27
Millions of children in the U.S. play a vital, but often overlooked, role in their families. These children of immigrants, known as “language brokers,” help their parents translate job applications, medical documents and…
Cosmic Car Wreck [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 7:55
Astronomers have long been able to watch the universe’s blockbuster special effects unfold in dazzling 3D Technicolor. But until now, it’s been like watching a silent movie. Today that all changes. Scientists announced t…