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Science Can Be Funny But………………..

Friday, October 30th, 2020 | STEPHEN BRONI | No Comments

……..can science comedy also be an effective tool  for  enhancing  understanding and support for science?

Science and comedy may seem like an odd pairing.  Science is a serious business, right?  And everyone’s sense of humour is different. Does science comedy work as a tool for communicating science effectively to a public audience.

In this short blog I make no claims or draw any conclusions.
Rather we are just going to dip our toes into the world of science comedy by looking at a few examples of `comedic science’ and let you come to your own conclusions as to whether you think comedy can be a tool to enhancing understanding  of science in a public audience.

Do science comedians rely on a pre-knowledge of science and/or a specific topic?

How does/could/ comedy enhance the understanding & support for science in a non-scientific public audience?

Check out some of these science comedians and more and you decide

Science Laughs :Brian Malow
‘A Virus Walks Into a Bar…’ and Other Science Jokes

Scientist Turned Comedian: Tim Lee

Science Comedian Vince Ebert | Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2017  

Science doesn’t know everything: Dara O’Briain

All of the above a background in science- Dara O’Briain  for example has a degree in mathematics and theoretical physics from University College Dublin and besides stand-up comedy has presented a number of science shows for BBC including School of Hard Sums, Dara Ó Briain’s Science Club)

Sneaking Science into Stand-Up: Kasha Patel
NASA Science Writer, stand-up comedian and founder of ‘DC Science Comedy’ Kasha Patel actually researches the effectiveness of her own science comedy by analysing over 500 of her science jokes as she explains in her 2019 TEDx talk.

Closer to home Andrew Scott from  Otago University School of Science Communication looked at Science comedy  for his Master’s degree  entitled  “Funnily Serious: Using Comedy  to communicate Science”  part of which included a   comedic science film entitled Tangled Waters  looking at the use of ant-shark nets along the Dunedin coastline. (Maybe I shouldn’t have put this in ahead of possible beach visit at upcoming December Camp!)

Want to dive further in the world of Science comedy?
Check out  Crastina’s International List of Science Comedians

Finally, if you come across an example of science comedy that you think does a really good job of enhancing understanding and/or support for science let me know in the comments.

Enjoy and good luck with your upcoming NCEA external exams.

 

                                             Graphic:https://www.stemmayhem.com/funny-science-jokes/ 

Easy Parenting: Brood Parasites Get Someone Else to Do the Hard Work

Friday, September 25th, 2020 | Petrina Duncan | No Comments

 For most birds, reproduction is a life process that takes up a lot of time and energy. There are huge energetic costs to a female bird with respect to mating, egg-laying, incubating the eggs and feeding hungry chicks for many weeks or months. Some birds also migrate vast distances across land and sea before breeding can commence, using up even more time and energy. Breeding for a bird is a lot of hard work.

So, if a bird found an easier way to become a successful breeder, we would expect that behaviour to be favoured by natural selection and become fixed. In about 1% of all bird species, that’s exactly what has happened: it’s called brood parasitism.

Brood parasites are birds who have learned how to make the parenting process much easier. They still have to find a partner and mate successfully, but instead of the female bird laying her eggs in a nest that she and/or her partner made, she stealthily lays them in the nest of another bird. Intraspecific brood parasites lay eggs in nests belonging to birds of their own species, compared to interspecific brood parasites who target other bird species.

Common cuckoo chick in the nest of a tree pipit.

Common cuckoo chick in the nest of a tree pipit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Benefits and advantages for the brood parasites:

  • Increased breeding output
  • Minimal energy expenditure because they don’t defend a nest, incubate eggs or feed chicks.
  • Genes passed on to the next generation.

Costs and disadvantages for the host birds:

  • Decreased breeding output
  • Expending more energy raising someone else’s offspring, especially if the parasitic chick is very large as more food will have to be found.
  • Not passing on genes to the next generation.

Generalists and Specialists

Some brood parasites put their eggs into the nests of a wide variety of other species. These are called generalists. An advantage of this behaviour is the flexibility it offers. Generalists can be successful in many different places and at almost any time, as long as a suitable host bird is nesting nearby.

Alternatively, brood parasites can be specialists. They will target one species to be the host of their egg/s. The limiting factor in this approach is the lack of flexibility, as parasites must live close to their host species or spend time and energy travelling to find them during the breeding season.

 Brood parasites in New Zealand

Cuckoos are the most famous brood parasitic birds worldwide. In New Zealand, two migratory species of cuckoos arrive on our shores in September and October each year. The shining cuckoo/pīpīwharauroa (Maori name) is the smaller of the two species. These small birds fly all the way from the Solomon Islands and the Bismarck Archipelago, a distance of more than 5000 kilometres. On arrival in NZ, shining cuckoos/pīpīwharauroa seek out their target host species, the tiny grey warbler/riroriro, in forests and gardens across the whole country.

Shining cuckoo/pīpīwharauroa being fed by its host parent, a grey warbler/riroriro.

Shining cuckoo/pīpīwharauroa being fed by its host parent, a grey warbler/riroriro.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Long-tailed cuckoos/koekoeā fly to NZ from even further away. They spend winter in an arc of Pacific Islands which extends from Henderson Island (Pitcairn group) in the east to Palau in the far west of Micronesia. A long-tailed cuckoo/koekoeā migrating from Palau to NZ will fly more than 6700 kilometres – perhaps that’s why they don’t have the energy to be a ‘normal’ bird parent. They arrive in NZ in September and October to begin searching for their target host species. In the North Island, they look for a small bird called the whitehead/pōpokatea in tall, mature forests. The forests of the South Island have two host species for long-tailed cuckoos/koekoeā: the brown creeper/pīpipi and the rarer yellowhead/mohua. All three of these host species are endemic to NZ and closely related.

Whitehead host parent feeding a young long-tailed cuckoo

Whitehead host parent feeding a young long-tailed cuckoo

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Strategies of a successful brood parasite

  • Be selective. Brood parasites take their time to find the best host ‘mum’ to be a surrogate parent for their offspring. In human terms, this is a like parents shopping around to find the very best day care centre for their toddler. Before putting her eggs into a host’s nest, the parasitic bird will watch a potential ‘mum’ closely to appraise her age, condition, singing ability, territory location, size of the nest and its location. These factors will contribute to the parasite’s final choice of the best host for the job.
  • Team Work. Some parasitic bird pairs work together to achieve their goal. For example, male great spotted cuckoos in Southern Europe will stage an attack on an unsuspecting pair of magpies. The male cuckoo appears in full view of the magpies to divert their attention and launch a pretend attack. Meanwhile the female cuckoo sneaks into the magpies’ nest to quickly lay her egg. This risky egg-laying behaviour is only possible because both the male and female are working as a team to ensure the hosts don’t see what’s happening.
  • Egg mimicry and timing of laying. Parasitic bird eggs have evolved over time to look and feel very similar to the host’s eggs, a concept called egg mimicry. This reduces the chance of egg rejection by the host. Their eggs also usually have thicker shells than the host’s eggs. Parasitic birds will also strategically time their egg laying. By waiting until the host has already laid a few eggs, the parasitic female ensures that incubation is already underway.
The larger blue egg is that of the parasitic common cuckoo. The cuckoo’s egg looks very similar to those of the host, a common redstart

The larger blue egg is that of the parasitic common cuckoo. The cuckoo’s egg looks very similar to those of the host, a common redstart

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • Chicks who are bullies. Brood parasite eggs generally hatch earlier than the host’s eggs. The parasitic chicks use strategies like pushing the host’s eggs and chicks out of the nest or stabbing chicks with a special hook on their beak. Imposter chicks also tend to make louder, more frequent begging sounds to ensure they get all the food from host parents. Some species like NZ’s shining cuckoo have chicks who can mimic the begging call of a grey warbler’s chicks, ensuring the host is fooled into feeding them.
  • Total destruction of eggs. Sometimes a cuckoo misses the chance to lay her eggs at the optimum time. As an extreme measure, she will destroy the entire egg collection in the host’s nest. This behaviour is like a reset for the host bird to start over with breeding. She will probably mate again and lay another clutch of eggs while the watchful parasite bird prepares to intercept at just the right time.
Common cuckoo chick in host nest

Common cuckoo chick in host nest

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Can host birds fight back?

Brood parasitism is a classic coevolutionary “arms race”. Each time a host species evolves a new behaviour to defend against brood parasitism, the parasite species evolves a new trait which makes its breeding strategy more successful. Here are a few ways in which hosts can fight back.

  • Egg recognition. Many host birds have evolved to be experts at egg recognition. They will recognise and then reject eggs which look different to their own. Sometimes a host will even leave its nest entirely if a strange looking egg appears. However, brood parasites have adapted to this selection pressure by either becoming generalists (they parasitise multiple species) or producing eggs which are almost identical to the host’s eggs (egg mimicry).
  • Chick recognition. Some host ‘mums’ are able to recognise and reject chicks which are not their own. However, rejecting chicks carries the risk of mistakenly rejecting their own chicks. If the rate of parasitism is very high, selection for accurate chick recognition will be stronger.
  • Nest features. Species that commonly get parasitised may deploy nesting tactics to minimise interference. Their nest may be well camouflaged to avoid detection. The nest’s location could be away from places where parasitic birds can sit. The nest entrance may be too small for the brood parasite to enter. For example, the grey warbler’s nest entrance is tiny, preventing shining cuckoos from entering. But the cuckoo manages to parasitise their nests regardless. Researchers suspect the egg is laid elsewhere then carried in the cuckoo’s beak up to the warbler’s nest and carefully deposited inside.

Should we be concerned about brood parasitism?

As our climate changes and the human population continues to increase, natural habitats such as forests are disappearing due to fires, logging, agriculture and urban sprawl. For bird species that are already in decline due to habitat loss, brood parasitism  may pose a significant threat, especially if generalist parasites increase in numbers. Reproductive success will be compromised at a time when the population is already decreasing. The combined pressures could become too much, putting the species at risk of localised extinction.

On the bright side, a brood parasitic species can’t survive without its host species. Parasitic birds often wait until their target host has raised one clutch of offspring before parasitising the second nest. This is a behaviour which will give rare host species a helping hand.

Grey warblers will often raise a family of chicks successfully early in spring, before the shining cuckoos arrive in NZ from their long migratory journey. Even if the grey warbler’s second nest gets targeted by a shining cuckoo, they have already contributed their genes to the next generation and hopefully the behaviour of early nesting was also passed on to their offspring.

For rarer NZ bird species such as the yellowhead/mohua and whitehead/pōpokatea, being less successful breeders due to parasitism by long-tailed cuckoos/koekoeā is a concern to conservationists. Long-tailed cuckoos are also able to parasitise the nests of the more common brown creeper/pīpipi in the South Island. As yellowhead numbers decrease, brown creeper numbers may also begin to decline due to being parasitised at a higher rate. In the North Island, whiteheads are increasing in numbers due to human conservation efforts which will hopefully help to mitigate the negative effects of brood parasitism.

Conclusion

Brood parasitism represents a rare and unusual parenting strategy. There are many benefits for the bird who does the parasitising such as avoiding most of the hard work involved with being a parent.

Brood parasitism is a great example of coevolution in which the evolutionary “arms race” is played out in the privacy of a nest or within the boundaries of a territory. There will always be winners and losers in this host-parasite exploitative relationship. What we must try to do is reduce or eliminate human-related pressures which adversely affect the breeding success of birds. By helping to conserve native bird species and their habitats, we’ll be supporting them to withstand the negative impact of brood parasitism long term.

Further reading:

Photo Credits:

Common cuckoo chick in the nest of a tree pipit.
Vladlen666/WikiMedia Commons (CC1.0)
https://www.sciencenews.org/blog/wild-things/cuckoos-may-have-long-lasting-impact-other-birds

Shining cuckoo/pīpīwharauroa being fed by its host parent, a grey warbler/riroriro.
Photography by Robin Colquhoun. From NZ Birds Online: http://www.nzbirdsonline.org.nz/species/shining-cuckoo#bird-photos

Whitehead host parent feeding a young long-tailed cuckoo. Photography by Adam Clarke.
From NZ Birds Online: http://nzbirdsonline.org.nz/species/long-tailed-cuckoo

The larger blue egg is that of the parasitic common cuckoo. The cuckoo’s egg looks very similar to those of the host, a common redstart. Photography: Dr. Tomas Grim. https://phys.org/news/2018-05-russian-cuckoo-invasion-alaskan-birds.html

Common cuckoo chick in host nest. Photography by Per Harald Olsen (CC BY 2.0)
https://www.birdorable.com/blog/bird-term-brood-parasite/

The Unknown Explorers of Prehistory

Friday, July 31st, 2020 | STEPHEN BRONI | No Comments

As a boy I had a fascination for Arctic explorers; Nansen, Nordenskjold, Peary, Franklin Cook, and a Scot by the name of John Rae. Many years later when working as an interpretive tour guide at Denali National Park in Central Alaska I found myself working alongside Yupiks, Athabascan and Aleuts and was reminded that as my boyhood heroes pushed north in their clunky wooden-hulled ships in search of that elusive Northwest Passage they encountered people already living on that frigid landscape and who had been for thousands of years.

Where did they come from? When did they arrive and how did they get there?

The classic story I learned at school was that first Americans crossed the land-bridge (Beringia) from Siberia at a time of warmer interglacial climate around 11,000-14, 000 years ago.

However, this is assertion is increasingly being challenged by recent archaeological finds.
What is emerging is evidence of a much earlier arrival than previously thought at a time of `Glacial Maximum’ when the `land-bridge’ was buried under kilometre thick ice sheets.

Who were these men and women – these nameless explorers of prehistory – and could they really have crossed a Beringian ice-cap?

Anatomically they were the same as you or I but what did they wear, how did they navigate, how did they survive such hostile conditions?

What were their hopes, dreams, aspirations and fears as they pushed further and further into an increasingly hostile environment? Were they driven by the pursuit of something new and better or fleeing from something bad?

Or is it simply that the urge to make ‘split-infinite journeys’ and “boldly go where no-one has gone before” is inherent in us as a species. That pull of the far horizon, to explore, took us out of Africa and remains with us today as we plan to colonise other planets.

The more one delves into what we know of these earliest of Arctic explorer/colonisers one can’t help but admire the tenacity, resilience and bravery they must surely have had to cross from Asia to Alaska and down through the Americas.

Until recently the commonly held theory was that the first human inhabitants of the Americas arrived somewhere around 11,000 years ago. Known as the Clovis people after a characteristic type of stone tool first found at a site in Clovis, New Mexico in the 1930’s their stone tools have subsequently been found across the Americas.

Then, in the 1990’s evidence began emerging from a number of sites of earlier occupation, the most famous and controversial being the Monte Verde site way down in Southern Chile. Monte Verde sparked intense controversy within the archaeological community as it claimed evidence of occupation as early as 14,500-18,500 years ago. To have reached Southern Chile by then those first colonisers would have had to have crossed Beringia much earlier than previously thought. ‘’Not possible” say the glaciologists! Beringia would have been covered in kilometre deep ice sheets at that time.

Could they have snuck around the southern coast of Beringia? Perhaps these tenacious early colonisers coastal hopped up the east coast of Asia, round to the Alaskan Archipelago, down the British Columbian coast to California, Mexico and beyond to South America.
This Coastal-Settlement Theory is gaining more and more traction with archaeologists as new sites are discovered.
Sea levels at that time of Glacial Maximum would have been up to 120 metres lower exposing many coves, beaches and islands submerged today. The single longest sea journey might well have been less than 200km.

Marine Archaeology is challenging at the best of time but nowhere more so that around the Bering Sea and Alaskan coast, so gathering evidence for the coastal- settlement theory remains challenging. While only a few coastal sites have been found dating from about 11000-15000 years ago the search continues as new archaeological techniques and technology develops.

What we do know is that as early as 60, 000 years ago proto-Melanesians were a seafaring people. There is evidence of voyages of 150- 450 km by 32,000 years ago. All of which supports the idea of a possible coastal settlement path up the coast of Asia and across to the Alaskan Coast of the Americas.

The Chiquihuite Cave Site
Now a newly discovered site in Mexico has pushed the arrival of the first Americans back even further -a whole 15,000 years earlier than previously thought!
Chiquihuite Cave is located far inland in a remote mountainous region at a height of nearly 3000m. Over 2000 stone tools have been unearthed along with other evidence that push the arrival of the first Americans back to 25,000-30,000 years ago!
“We don’t know who they were, where they came from or where they went. They are a complete enigma. We falsely assume that the indigenous populations in the Americas today are direct descendants from the earliest Americans, but now we do not think that is the case.
By the time the famous Clovis population entered America, the very early Americans had disappeared thousands of years before. There could have been many failed colonisations that were lost in time and did not leave genetic traces in the population today”. Says Archaeologist Dr. Ciprian Ardelean.

No human remains or DNA has yet been found at this site so it is not possible to know for sure the genetic lineage to possible founder populations in Siberia and Beringia.
The traditional view that most Native Americans (in both North and South America) are mainly descended from the same ancient peoples that most Chinese, Japanese and other East Asians are descended from is now also being challenged by recent genomic research. This suggests that the initial peopling of the Americas was probably carried out by a different group of people partly related to ancestors of modern-day Australian aborigines, Papua New Guineans, Andaman Islanders and Mamanwa people from the Philippines.

Whether those early explorer colonisers fought their way on foot across expansive glaciers and down an ice-free corridor within Alaska or battled stormy seas around the fringes of a frigid Beringia they must have been remarkably tough and resilient individuals and communities.
The individual identities  of the very first to  make the crossing will remain forever unknown. Since we have no Nansen, Nordenskjold or Peary to be our Arctic explorer heroes from that era we are left with a collective reverence for an unknown people who had the tenacity, endurance, drive and fortitude to make the toughest migration since our species walked out of Africa somewhere around 80,000 years ago.

Sources & Further Reading:

YouTube Links:

Most archaeologists think the first Americans arrived by boat. Now, they’re beginning to prove it
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=6&v=CmxhFgpIacI&feature=emb_logo

How the First Americans Got There
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dyjZBJt-Yg

Landmark find rewrites world’s prehistory as it is currently known
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/archaeology/archaeology-discovery-americas-us-human-story-prehistory-a9632161.html

Earliest humans stayed at the Americas ‘oldest hotel’ in Mexican cave
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/07/200722112726.htm

Evidence of human occupation in Mexico around the Last Glacial Maximum
Ciprian F. Ardelean, Lorena Becerra-Valdivia, […]Eske Willerslev : Nature (2020)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2509-0

Illustration credits:
1. Tyler Jacobsen
2. Kenneth Garrett
3. Chris Burns
4. Dr. Ciprian Andelean

Study Skills, Exam Revision and Time Management

Friday, June 26th, 2020 | Petrina Duncan | No Comments

Student sitting meditatively on pile of booksRevising for exams is a task that most students dread. It’s that daunting time when you suddenly realise that there is a lot more information to learn than days left to learn it all. Often, many other events are going on in your life at the same time, so revision gets left until the last minute, which only makes things worse. As your stress levels build, you may find it difficult to sleep or lack the energy to exercise. Ultimately, you need to monitor your own stress levels and take control over when and how your revision gets done.

If there is one piece of advice to give, plan ahead. It’s never too early to start getting organised for assessment. With a clear plan for each of the subjects you’re studying, you will have more confidence and a sense of purpose. You’ll know what the end goal is, how long you have to get there, and all the steps needed on the way to achieving success.

For school students, you’ll probably have some practice exams coming up during Term Three. These exams are often shorter in duration than the final exams because you haven’t yet covered all the topics for the year’s work. Find out from your teachers exactly what will be examined in the practice exams. Then find out when these exams are and make a plan going backwards from exam week to now.  Consider using a planner template to plan when you will revise each subject. You can also add in other commitments such as sports practice, hobbies and leadership roles. You may have other deadlines such as internal assessments, practicals and sports competitions coming up, all of which should be added to your planner.

Identify when you have time each day to study for the exams. It might be a slot between 4pm and 6pm each week day, or a Saturday afternoon. For each subject you study at school, allow at least three hours of study time per week. As exams get closer, increase the number of hours per week. Remember to include breaks, sport, relaxation and fun in your schedule. Avoid too much computer time, especially just before bed. If you are lacking motivation, think about creating a study group with a few friends. Getting together for a focused session for one hour might be more worthwhile than sitting alone at home all evening getting distracted by social media. You could even teach each other part of a topic. Most of all, keep eating well, get plenty of sleep and exercise, and monitor your stress levels.

Revision can be broken down into four phases:

  1. You’ll need to do an initial reading of the content of a topic. After reading, try writing a summary (from memory) of what you have read. Organise the summary in a way that works for you, such as in mind maps, wall charts, flash cards, voice recordings or flow charts. Go back to check that your original notes match your summary – add in any forgotten information.
  1. Next you should read your summary over and over again for the next few days. Test your knowledge by forcing yourself to say it out loud, make links between parts, do quizzes, draw diagrams, write paragraphs or write definitions. Stick notes onto the wall of your room so that you see them daily. Your aim is to move the information into your long term memory.
  1. Monitor your ability to recall/understand certain aspects over others. Which bits do you keep forgetting? Try another way to remember those things. Keep reading over your notes and summaries. Test yourself again. Ask a friend/relative to help with testing you. Do more quizzes or multi-choice tests … try Kahoot online.
  1. Finally, practise answering past exam questions. NZQA subject resources can be found here. Become familiar with the way exam questions are worded for each subject. Be aware of which topics have been asked in the last three years of exams. If parts of questions such as graphics or photos are missing from the website versions of exams, ask your teachers if they have a paper version that you can photocopy. Mark your work using online assessment schedules. Give your work to your teacher for feedback and ask if you can spend some time going over their suggestions after class.

At this point, forming a small study group would be worthwhile. You could all attempt a past exam paper, then meet up to discuss your answers and mark each other’s work. Talking about the parts you struggled to answer will help your understanding greatly. Find out how your friends are doing their revision. Swap ideas and share your knowledge. Keep it fun!

Finally, always put your phone in another room when you are studying. It is just a distraction. Use it as a reward for an hour’s solid study when you take a break. Good luck with your revision!

Links:

TKI  study and Exam techniques

https://assessment.tki.org.nz/Assessment-tools-resources/Study-and-exam-techniques

NZQA Subject Resources
https://www.nzqa.govt.nz/ncea/subjects/

Phases of revision (Massey University, NZ):
https://owll.massey.ac.nz/tests-and-exams/phases-of-revision.php

Revision tips
https://www.theguardian.com/education/2013/apr/24/revision-advice-students

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2018/may/17/struggling-revision-exams-cramming-experts

 

Sleep – “The Main Course in Life’s Feast and The Most Nourishing”

Monday, May 11th, 2020 | STEPHEN BRONI | No Comments

moonlit sky with stars

“Innocent sleep. Sleep that soothes away all our worries. Sleep that puts each day to rest. Sleep that relieves the weary labourer and heals hurt minds. Sleep, the main course in life’s feast, and the most nourishing.”
So wrote William Shakespeare.

I’ve never really thought of `The Bard’ as being a cognitive scientist but he is uncannily close to the truth with those words if we take a brief dive into sleep science research.

So, what is your  sleep routine? Are you a morning or a night time person? Do you go to bed at same time every night or just whenever?

I’m a night time person myself and often don’t get to bed till midnight or later if I get engrossed in some creative project. At the other end of the day I wake early, hate sleeping in and am a big fan of sunrises so, if  pre-dawn sky looks promising will often head out with camera, tripod and thermos of coffee to watch the new day unfold. As a student  I was as guilty as  the next man  of pulling a few too many `all-nighters’ in the run up to exams or during post exam party season. My first post-university job was as a `Water Bailiff on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides and involved night shift work -patrolling the river after dark looking for poachers! And it doesn’t get dark till very late in summer on the Outer Hebrides (Great use of a zoology degree, eh?). In my late 20’s I crewed on an private Antarctic expedition ship  for over a year where our `watches’(shifts) ran four hours on 8 hours off over the 24 hour cycle. As part of the expedition  I  spent 11 months in a tiny hut  on the Antarctic continent with just 2 companions.  There we went from 24 hours daylight to 24 hours darkness that  lasted about 3 months ( It would be fair to say  that the `novelty’ of 24 hours darkness wears off fairly quickly !).  The terms `night’ and `day’ as determined by the hands on the clock lose their meaning. I quickly discovered that the key to maintaining daily motivation, mental and emotional balance was `routine’. Having  a routine for the `day’  meant Antarctic night became an experience I could relish and  cherish forever !

Outside of  those diurnal extremes I’d always held to the belief that it doesn’t really matter when you go to bed? Life is for living, right? The body will tell you when it wants to sleep? What ever time  that happens to be that day doesn’t really matter!

How wrong I was!

I’ve recently discovered that there’s a lot of research that says it does matter!
Not just when you sleep but how much sleep your body gets.

What’s more, the implications of not sleeping well and regularly could have profound effects not just on your ability to learn but on your cardiovascular system , reproductive capacity and immune system. So as we look for ways to maximise our protection against CoVid19 a good night’s sleep  may well be another powerful tool in the cupboard.

It is clear that far from being at rest during sleep your brain is beavering away  and working very hard  to keep us  healthy, and sane.

Sleep is our  superpower according to brain scientist Prof Matt Walker.Matt Walker on TED Stage

In his short TED talk, he eloquently presents us with some sobering research and conclusions on how we potentially abuse our bodies through our sleep habits.

 

The data and conclusion presented  in his talk  blew me away  when I first watched  and this along with further reading on the topic has made me re-evaluate my current sleep regime. 

Have a look for yourself  and if not convinced, here a few more links on sleep science  you may find interesting:

Why do we sleep? Russell Foster
Russell Foster is a circadian neuroscientist: He studies the sleep cycles of the brain. And he asks: What do we know about sleep? Not a lot, it turns out, for something we do with one-third of our lives. In this talk, Foster shares three popular theories about why we sleep, busts some myths about how much sleep we need at different ages — and hints at some bold new uses of sleep as a predictor of mental health.

The brain benefits of deep sleep — and how to get more of it
Dan Gartenberg
There’s nothing quite like a good night’s sleep. What if technology could help us get more out of it? Dan Gartenberg is working on tech that stimulates deep sleep, the most regenerative stage which (among other wonderful things) might help us consolidate our memories and form our personalities. Find out more about how playing sounds that mirror brain waves during this stage might lead to deeper sleep — and its potential benefits on our health, memory and ability to learn.

Sleep-Engineering: Improve Your Life By Manipulating Your Sleep
Penny Lewis Lewis is a neuroscientist at the University of Manchester, where she runs the Neuroscience and Psychology of Sleep (NaPS) lab. Based on the latest neuroscientific research Penny Lewis shows why sleep is thought to be critical for combining and restructuring memories, and thus to form the basis of creativity.

Why Schools should start later for Teens
Wendy Troxel
Teens don’t get enough sleep, and it’s not because of Snapchat, social lives or hormones — it’s because of public policy, says Wendy Troxel. Drawing from her experience as a sleep researcher, clinician and mother of a teenager, Troxel discusses how early school start times deprive adolescents of sleep during the time of their lives when they need it most.
This talk is more related to US teens where many schools start ~ 7am. (Perish the thought !) but still worth a look.

Additional references related  to  some of the specific research cited in  Prof. Matt Walker’s talk can be found here

Finally, a few starter  tips for a good night’s sleep

  1. Go to bed at the same time, wake up at the same time, no matter whether it’s the weekday or the weekend. Regularity is king!
  2. Keep it cool! Aim for a bedroom temperature of around 18 degrees Celsius.
  3. Avoid the urge for that last look at your emails or just one more Youtube clip just before bed .
  4. If find yourself tossing and turning  and not able to get to sleep, get out of bed and go to a different room and do something different. Your brain will very quickly associate your bedroom with the place of wakefulness, and you need to break that association. So only return to bed when you are sleepy.
  5.  Try  and avoid caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol  before  bed time

For more Healthy Sleep Tips  from our Otago University  Well Sleep Centre click here

So if you find  yourself  struggling with aspects of school work, prone to colds and flu and  life just generally  getting you down try re-evaluating your sleep routine.

In  the words of  a more modern prescient writer, the  “Dean of science fiction“,
Robert  A. Heinlein:

“Happiness consists of getting enough sleep. Just that, nothing more !”

Using Podcasts to Learn About Science

Thursday, April 30th, 2020 | STEPHEN BRONI | No Comments

Written by Petrina Duncan

If you enjoy listening to stories and are naturally curious, podcasts are a way in which you could learn more about almost any topic you can think of. There are lots of benefits of listening to podcasts: you can do other tasks such as exercising at the same time, a wide range of global topics are covered, you will hear a range of communication methods, and you can visualise as you listen which engages multiple parts of your brain. Learn about other benefits here.

The diversity of podcasts is huge, so here is a list of some science-based podcasts accessible online which you can browse through to find topics you are interested in or curious about. Enjoy the show!

New Zealand Podcast Series:

  1. Our Changing World This excellent science and natural history series has been running for many years on Radio New Zealand (RNZ). The weekly show is currently hosted by the very talented Alison Ballance, a zoologist, wildlife filmmaker, writer and radio producer. Alison often goes on location for her stories to labs and field sites in remote and rugged places, eg. Antarctica, Codfish Island and the Chatham Islands. Highly recommended. Also worth listening to is Alison’s four-part series called Voice of the Iceberg set in Antarctica.
  1. Critter of the Week Presented by Jesse Mulligan (RNZ) and Nicola Toki (Department of Conservation’s Threatened Species Ambassador), this weekly session combines a friendly chat with a scientific description of uncharismatic but loveable, lesser known species in NZ. For example, learn about the NZ antlion, Bryde’s whales, basking sharks, or Smeagol the gravel maggot. Who knew there was a maggot named after Smeagol?
  1. Science Express Presented by Te Papa museum in Wellington (see their blog), these podcasts are recordings of live interviews with experts, recorded in front of an audience. Learn about diverse topics such as the psychology of criminals, fossil hunting for dinosaurs and drilling into the Alpine Fault. Not a weekly series.
  1. Scigest Described as ‘podcast-sized servings of digestible science from the world of Plant and Food research’, this has something for everyone. Within their numerous podcast episodes, learn about topics such as the future of food, the personality of a snapper, stink bugs and the career path to becoming a scientist. A must for future scientists, especially those interested in plants, food, horticulture, biosecurity or genetics.
  1. Stupid questions for scientists Although not strictly a NZ podcast, the presenter is an award winning science communicator, Dr Michelle Dickinson, better known as Nano Girl, who now teaches at the University of Auckland. Described as “a brilliantly entertaining, while delightfully educating podcast which brings together top comedians and scientists. Topics include animal intelligence, medicinal majijuana and the science of attraction. Riveting stuff!

Australian Podcast Series:

  1. The Science Show A weekly radio series produced by the ABC in Australia. The Science Show provides unique insights into the latest scientific research and debate, from the physics of cricket to prime ministerial biorhythms. Hear about the future of space research, how young people view science, life at extreme ocean depths and amazing stories about blood.
  1. Great Moments in Science Another ABC Australia production, host Dr Karl Kruszelnicki reveals ‘groundbreaking and life-saving’ science stories, as well as a few ‘wacky and implausible’ ones. Be absorbed by topics such as why humans are no longer cannibals, why 5G won’t kill you and the intelligence of spiders.
  1. Science Friction Described by the ABC as ‘science, culture and everything in between’ this series focuses on topics which might be slightly contentious, edgy or controversial. Hosted by award-winning science presenter/journalist Natasha Mitchell. Check out their recent podcast on bats, pandemics and China’s wildlife markets with relation to the COVID-19 virus. Great interviews with relevant experts.

British Podcast Series:

  1. 5 Live Science Podcast Join Dr Chris Smith and the ‘Naked Scientists’ for a weekly update of science news stories and analysis from the BBC radio. Their topics are diverse, their humour is entertaining, and they even answer questions from the public about science topics. Episode examples: beached whales, bright Neanderthals, the Coronavirus, veganism, gene editing. Great listening.
  1. Costing the Earth An excellent BBC radio series which covers a wide range of global environmental and conservation topics. They often go on location and interview lots of different experts. Episode examples include: eco anxiety, how young people are taking on climate change issues, and ending the age of plastics. Subscribe and upskill.
  1. Discovery Explorations into the world of science from BBC radio. The presenters often interview leading scientists who have made significant discoveries in their field of research. Episode examples include gene research, stem cells, COVID-19, locust plagues and micro-plastics in the ocean.
  1. CrowdScience The BBC take ‘questions from the public about life, Earth and the universe to researchers hunting for answers at the frontiers of knowledge.’ Updated weekly, you can hear answers to questions like:  Can science explain why I love shopping? Why are we obsessed with crime? Would humans still exist if dinosaurs were alive? Fascinating stuff.
  1. BBC Inside Science Dr Adam Rutherford and guests illuminate the mysteries and challenge the controversies behind the science that’s changing our world. Of particular interest to NZ biology students will be their podcasts about human evolution, eg. The hidden history in our DNA – Part 1 – Sex and Disease and The hidden history in our DNA – Part 2 – Travel and Culture.

American Podcast Series:

  1. Sciencemag A weekly science podcast show, produced by the AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science). Two or three topics are discussed each week, including interviews with expert scientists. They currently have a strong focus on COVID-19 related stories (like most science podcasts!). Other topics include: visiting a near-Earth asteroid, why adults are always badmouthing the next generation, and the limits on human endurance. Something for everyone.
  1. Overheard at National Geographic Each week, the presenters ‘dive into one of the curiously delightful conversations they’ve overheard around National Geographic’s headquarters. You’ll be introduced to the explorers, photographers and scientists at the edges of our big, bizarre, and beautiful world.’ Hear about zombie mice, the hidden cost of the perfect selfie, and how beavers work as carbon releasers of the permafrost environment. The National Geographic website has lots of other wonderful things to explore.
  1. Scientific American  If your attention span is short, these podcasts might suit you. They are short, snappy and always interesting. Learn about worm-like creatures which are our ancient ancestors, puffins using tools, COVID-19 updates and fungi on flaky scalps. Delightful !

Hopefully this list of science podcasts inspires you to tune in, get inspired and practise the art of listening. Remember that podcasts are also available through itunes, spotify, iHeart radio, Google Podcasts and radio network websites like the BBC, ABC, RNZ and our own local Dunedin based OAR FM:  Science Academy(OUASSA) Student Podcasts and University of Otago Science Notes.

Are ALL Viruses Bad?

Thursday, March 26th, 2020 | STEPHEN BRONI | No Comments

graphic of sausage-shaped bacteria with pin-like viruses attachedWith all that is going on  around us,  all across this beautiful planet of ours and the word `virus’ dominating everything we see, hear, read in the media at the moment I found myself thinking “Are all viruses bad? Are there any useful, beneficial viruses? And  why  ARE bats  such good carriers  off so many nasty diseases – over 60 of them!”

It seems highly likely that viruses do play a substantial part in maintaining a healthy body.  You have probably heard of our `microbiome’ but what about our ‘virome’
Read more here:
How ‘good’ viruses may influence health 
Here:
Not All Viruses Are Bad For You. Here Are Some That Can Have a Protective Effect
And here:
Viruses Don’t Deserve Their Bad Rap: They’re The Unsung Heroes You Never See
[In  the embedded Ted-X talk in this link, the always engaging, Peter Pollard also  illustrates some illuminating facts about how much C02 freshwater ecosystems pump into the atmosphere, due in part to viruses… everything is linked! ]

And on the question of why bats are such good carriers of disease.Brown bat in flight
Check out:
Why Do Bats Transmit So Many Diseases?

BEFORE YOU CLICK-  Spend a minute thinking about what you know of bat behaviour and basic physiology …. (The answer may take flight in your head…(hint))

 

However, when all is said and done our thoughts are all on one virus at the moment.

Ever wondered how the tests for Coronavirus work?
May you never have to take one!

P.S.
Need a refresher on just exactly what viruses are and how they work?
Check out this great Khan Academy Tutorial on Viruses and the  text Q&A that follows.

Stay safe
Be patient

Mind Mapping – Why you should be doing this.

Thursday, March 12th, 2020 | Petrina Duncan | No Comments

You might have heard of mind mapping. Perhaps one of your teachers or lecturers asked you to make one for a complicated topic. Maybe you scribble them on paper regularly when you’re trying to make sense of something complicated. Or it’s even possible that you’ve missed the mind mapping bus altogether. In this month’s blog, you can learn about what mind maps are, why they could be useful to you and how research has proven their benefits for higher education.

What is a mind map?

We can define a mind map simply as ‘a graphical way to represent ideas and concepts’(1) or ‘a creative and logical means of note-taking and note-making that literally “maps out” your ideas’(2). Both of these descriptions should paint a picture in your mind of words and ideas splayed out across a page in a meaningful visual way. Mind maps also comprise a network of connected and related concepts(3). They are not just random words thrown together on a page. At the core of a mind map is a central idea, topic or issue. Splaying out from that central topic are a number of subtopics, and branching off those are more notes or diagrams. Lines may also be used to connect different branches of the map to show links between ideas, concepts or subtopics.

Example of a mind map about how to stay focused in a digital world:

Example of mindmap on how to focus in age of distraction

Image from: http://learningfundamentals.com.au/resources/ (4)

As you can see in the mind map above, the creator(4) has chosen a cartoon-like approach with colours, graphics and words to illustrate their ideas about how to stay focused. This mind map would be useful to refer to regularly as a good reminder when you’re not focused.

The most important thing to remember is that a mind map is yours, not anyone else’s. You create it in your own way to visually represent information that is in your mind. No one can tell you that your mind map is wrong, because they can’t see inside your brain where your thoughts and neurons are firing rapidly during the mind mapping process. This map is made by you, for you, in order to safely navigate the often confusing situation of being swamped with too much information. By the time you have made a mind map, you will probably find that your brain has done a download of some (or all) of that information, leaving you free to focus on other things or to take action.

As a demonstration of how mind mapping can work, at least for me and my mind, I decided to choose a topic that I haven’t had to think about for 26 years but which most senior school students will be thinking about all the time: going to university. It’s completely normal to start thinking about university in your last year or two of school. The problem is, as soon as you think ‘university’ you start to think about all these other things like degrees, money, deadlines, careers, scholarships, applications, hostels, etc. All of a sudden, you may start to feel a little overwhelmed because you know almost nothing about anything related to university, yet you feel like you should know more. It may all become too hard, so you do nothing, hoping it all sorts itself out. But it won’t. No one else is going to do the work for you this time. Getting to university is up to you. So instead of sticking your head in the sand, take a deep breath, pick up a pen and try making a mind map.

Here is a rough draft of a mind map that I made in about 20 minutes, as if I was thinking about going to university for the first time next year, in 2021:

Mind map on How to a organise going to University

If I was making this mind map for my future use, next I would colour it in and draw lines between parts that link together, but I didn’t want to make it too messy for you. The only resource I used to make this map was a University of Otago Undergraduate Prospectus booklet(5) which contains essential reading for about-to-be-first-year students.Image of front cover of 2020 Undergraduate prospectus

Back in the 1990’s, before internet searches existed, the Prospectus booklet was the only source of information for planning a university degree. Now, there is so much information out there online that it can be confusing, but the Prospectus should still be your go-to booklet for university planning because it has everything in one place. If I was heading to university next year, I would keep referring to my mind map and work my way through all the things I needed to research and do. I could even make other mind maps which branch off from this one, focusing on ways to make money for university, the pro’s and con’s of each university or which course to take.

The sky is the limit with mind maps!

So, are there other advantages of using mind maps to organise information, other than just to do a ‘download’ from your busy mind? Yes. Here are some of the additional benefits:

  1. Mind maps can help you to break down complex information and issues, making them easier to understand.(4,6)

When something seems really complex, a mind map helps you to simplify information into some kind of logical picture that your brain can make sense of. Think about a topic which you struggled with in your last year at school. If you’d made some mind maps, could you have presented the information to yourself in a way that was less confusing and more clear? Would that have made it easier to see links between topics and subtopics, or between different concepts?

For example, climate change and global warming are complex issues facing our planet and society at the moment. The simple mind map below(4) shows one way of organising some of the key science ideas about global warming in a way which looks interesting and less complex. You can also see clear links between certain aspects, such as the different greenhouse gas emitters or before/after the 1750 industrial revolution. From this simple outline of the main ideas, you could do more research then write a report or essay about the whole topic.

Image from:  http://learningfundamentals.com.au/resources/ (4)

  1. Mind maps improve memory and recall(6)

Our brains easily remember images that we have seen which can then link to other memories. How often have you looked at an old photo of yourself, then suddenly remembered lots of other things which happened during that event? It is generally easier to remember a diagram than a description(3). For example, in an exam, you could quickly sketch the global warming mind map again which you had made earlier in the year or when you were studying. The diagrams and lines in the mind map would then jog your memory of the main ideas for a well-structured essay. Easy!

As a trial, try taking a topic that you have already studied this year and creating a mind map of it. You could either do this using notes or just from memory. Afterwards, pull out your textbook and see what you’ve missed. Add more content, links, diagrams, colour etc, until it summarises all the important key things for that topic. Use it regularly to remind yourself of what was covered during that topic and again for revision.

  1. Mind maps are a more engaging style of learning(6)

Have you ever spent a whole class period copying notes off the whiteboard or projector screen? If yes, did that method help you to learn? Some learners would say yes. However, a different style would be to create a mind map to brainstorm student ideas of what you already know about a topic or issue, to connect ideas together and work in a group to share ideas between students. This active process would engage everyone in the group, whether they are sharing their ideas or writing on the paper. Talking would generate more ideas. Between you, a whole-page mind map could be created and then shared with the teacher and class. This would be collaborative and engaging, much more so than copying down notes. And you’d be more likely to remember it all too! A scan or photocopy of the final mind map could be taken and shared.

  1. Mind maps help to show connections between existing knowledge and new learnings

This process is sometimes called ‘meaningful learning’ – making links between prior knowledge and new knowledge(6,7). This process doesn’t always happen by itself, especially when you are young. Mind mapping can help to create meaningful learning if students are forced to find connections between their existing knowledge and new learnings.

For example, take a topic like micro-organisms. If you had to make a mind map now, based on your current knowledge of micro-organisms, what would it look like? How much do you know and how would you organise those ideas on a page in a visual way? Next, imagine if you did a week or two of learning about micro-organisms, either in biology class or doing your own research. If you then took your original mind map and had to add some of your new knowledge to it, the process of doing so would force you to think about integrating and connecting the old and new information in a meaningful way(7) so that the mind map still made sense to you.

Along comes a pandemic like COVID-19 (novel coronavirus). How could you connect that into your micro-organisms mind map? Is it a virus, bacteria or fungi? Will it be helpful or harmful to humans? How and why does it spread? You can see how having one mind map is a good starting point but soon your mind will want to make more of them, branching off the first one. This is a visual representation of you learning and processing new information. Imagine if you took your original mind map to your teacher and said “I decided to add my new knowledge about the novel coronavirus to the mind map that we made in class last week – can you please give me some feedback?” You would make your teacher’s day!

In summary, mind maps are a meaningful learning tool and are definitely worth trying out if you haven’t already. There are lots of free mind mapping websites which are fun to try out: simplemind.eu, mindmeister.com, mindmup.com, sciencemindmaps.com, xmind.net, coggle.it, mindmapping.com and there are some instructions at simplemind.eu which are worth reading(8). Try drawing your own mind map on paper first. The creativity feels great and you won’t be constrained by using any particular template. Good luck – enjoy the mind mapping journey ahead!

Links to references:
 

Petrina Duncan- Science Teaching Coordinator