エピソード

  • Space Seed

    Space Seed
    2026/09/30
    Could you really grow food on Mars? In this episode of Schrödinger's Chats, Cathy and Brad take a trip to the Red Planet to ask whether The Martian's famous pooptatos are actually scientifically plausible. They explore what makes Martian regolith such a terrible substitute for soil, how plants could be engineered to survive in extreme environments, and why the future of space farming might involve plants that are less about eating and more about making medicines. Cathy introduces Brad to the strange world of molecular farming, where a plant can become a biological factory for producing complex proteins—and all you need is a blender. Expect potatoes, algae, astronauts, questionable space toilets, and the usual scientific squabbling as two professional nerds ask whether solving problems on Mars could also help solve problems here on Earth.
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    53 分
  • Monster Mash

    Monster Mash
    2026/09/30
    What would zombies and vampires actually look like if biology had to do the heavy lifting? In this episode of Schrödinger's Chats, Cathy and Brad sink their teeth into the science behind two of fiction’s favourite undead predators. From rabies, parasitic mind control and prion diseases to vampire bats, porphyria and the nutritional nightmare of surviving on blood, they ask whether either creature could actually work. And if a vampire needs several litres of blood a day… exactly how many victims would that make? The answers are surprisingly gross, occasionally horrifying, and definitely not good news for your ankles.
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    49 分
  • Space Anatomy

    Space Anatomy
    2026/09/30
    Everyone knows the Xenomorph from the movie ‘Alien’ is terrifying—but does it actually make biological sense? In this episode of Schrödinger's Chats, Cathy and Brad attempt to explain the Alien franchise's perfect organism using real science. Along the way they argue over explosive growth rates, acid blood, parasitic life cycles, hyper-aggressive metabolism, and whether one lone Alien could really found an entire hive. Expect bees, naked mole-rats, stomach acid, a surprising amount of evolutionary biology, and the usual friendly bickering as two professional nerds try to answer the question nobody at Weyland-Yutani bothered to ask: How on Earth does this thing actually work?
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    50 分
  • Ethics and Aliens

    Ethics and Aliens
    2026/09/30
    Can science fiction tell us what's right and wrong? In this episode of Schrödinger's Chats, Cathy and Brad dive into three classic ethical dilemmas with a distinctly sci-fi twist. How do you decide if an alien species deserves human rights? Is it ever acceptable to steal a life-saving drug? And if everyone can't survive, who gets the lifeboat? Armed with science, philosophy and an unhealthy knowledge of science fiction, the hosts argue, interrupt, challenge and occasionally even agree as they work their way through Star Trek, Blade Runner, Futurama, The Merchant of Venice, and more. Expect spirited debate, philosophical rabbit holes, and plenty of nerdy banter.
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    52 分