Gin and Topic

CRISPR! No, it’s nothing to do with crisps… What is it, you ask? Well, that’s what this week is all about.We’re joined by Soren Hough, a writer and a scientist who completed a PhD in Biochemistry at Cambridge. He has been working with, and writing about, CRISPR since 2014 and is currently a Visiting Scientist in the DNA repair laboratory of Prof Sir Steve Jackson. So really there’s nobody better to answer: CRISPR: What is it, why is it both amazing and scary, and what does this new technological power mean for society?Sit back, relax, grab a gin and get ready to have your mind boggled. Cheers!

Welcome to the Gin & Topic tasting roomThis week we’re tasting Everleaf Marine with our guest Soren HoughCheers! 

What environment do you like to listen to us in? We hope you haven’t got kids around, there’s an explicit warning for a reason! Although maybe this week, you should at least keep them in mind.We’re joined by Pia Hardelid, a Professor of Epidemiology at the University College London. Pia is leading a project called the Kids’ Environment and Health Cohort which is setting up a new national data resource for research into how the local environment affects children’s health as they grow up in England. She’s going to help us answer the question: how can we understand the relationship between children’s health and the environments they grow up in? Join us to find out more. Cheers! 

Welcome to the Gin & Topic tasting roomThis week we’re tasting Clean G with our guest Pia HardelidCheers! 

We’ve talked sharing science this series but how do you know that the science you’re reading isn’t as fake as a love island star’s teeth? This week we’re joined by Dr Simone Cuff, a biomedical researcher who currently works with a major scientific publisher checking scientific papers for research integrity issues and signs of fraud. She’s going to tell us all about the incentives that mean people who have dedicated their lives to the pursuit of truth… twist it. We promise, this is all true. Cheers! 

This week we’re making some airtime for a less represented animal (thank you for that joke, Sarah). We’re going to be chatting all things flying squirrel! Our expert is Jeremy Howard, PhD student at the University of Missouri St. Louis. He’s currently studying bumblebees but we’re dragging him back to his previous work as we chatted all things bee way back in series one with Hamish. So, flying squirrels. Why should we research and protect them? Join us to find out. Cheers! 

Welcome to the Gin & Topic tasting roomWe’re doing something a bit different this week… we’re tasting tonic waters. Join us as we try Fever Tree, Schweppes and Double Dutch with our guest Jeremy Howard.Cheers!

We chat a lot about science on this podcast but this week we’re going a bit meta and chatting about sharing science. Although, in a much more academic sense… We’re joined by Emma Smith, a Journal Development Editor at eLife, an independent nonprofit committed to improving the way scientific research is reviewed and communicated. They’re going to be answering the questions: How do we know what science to trust and does that process work? What can we do to improve it?Cheers!