When you look up at the night sky, it’s easy to think of it as static and permanent, like the stars are painted on up there and never change. But if you look really carefully, sometimes you can catch something dramatic unfolding. Andy Tzanidakis is a PhD candidate in astronomy at the University of Washington. His job is to look through massive amounts of data produced from telescope sky surveys to search out anomalies in space. One time, when he was going through the data he discovered something amazing. It was a rare catastrophic event…two planets colliding.

Pocket Science is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. It is hosted by Gabriel Spitzer, edited by Jim Gates and produced by Shane Mehling.

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Scientists have learned how to edit DNA and reprogram cells to fix a mutation and fight diseases. But the process requires a lab, is expensive and involves rounds of chemotherapy that are grueling for the patient. But Dr. Hans-Peter Kiem is working on a new technology with the goal of delivering the gene therapy directly into the body with a syringe. It has the potential to make the procedure far more accessible especially for those living far from hospitals and in need of the therapy most.

More resources:

• Hans-Peter Kiem
• Kiem Lab

Pocket Science is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. It is hosted by Gabriel Spitzer, edited by Jim Gates and produced by Shane Mehling.

We can only make Pocket Science because listeners support us. Tap here to make a gift and keep Pocket Science in your feed.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Therapy with psychedelic drugs has shown remarkable promise in treating depression, PTSD and the terminally ill. But scientists are still unsure how it works – why going on a single psychedelic journey could help to rewire a person’s brain. Dr. Anthony Back is an oncologist who found his way to this research through his work in palliative care. As part of his training, he took his own psychedelic journey and wrote about it in a medical journal. We talk about what captivates him about this therapy, what his own experience was like and how it’s made him think differently about the human mind and body.

More resources:

Anthony L. Back MD

Pocket Science is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. It is hosted by Gabriel Spitzer, edited by Jim Gates and produced by Shane Mehling.

We can only make Pocket Science because listeners support us. Tap here to make a gift and keep Pocket Science in your feed.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our immune systems have evolved to overcome all kinds of flus, plagues and poxes, but the process of adaptation is slow. Harmit Malik is a Professor and Associate Director of the Basic Sciences Division at Fred Hutch. He is part of a team that is working on a way to put evolution into overdrive to fight future diseases. The novel approach uses the remains of dead viruses that have built up in our bodies over the millennia to help quickly create millions of genetic variants in order to find the right combination that can target the next big virus.

More resources:

• Harmik Malik
• Malik Lab

Pocket Science is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. It is hosted by Gabriel Spitzer, edited by Jim Gates and produced by Shane Mehling.

We can only make Pocket Science because listeners support us. Tap here to make a gift and keep Pocket Science in your feed.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Moons get no respect. People think of them as dead and cold, often overshadowed (literally) by the superstar planets they orbit around. But planetary scientist Baptiste Journaux would disagree. He’s fascinated by moons and the growing research that has shown that moons are far more active than we used to think. In fact, they contain heat and ice and essential components needed for life. Pocket Science host Gabriel Spitzer talks with Journaux about the latest discoveries of frozen planets and the upcoming NASA mission to explore Titan, the moon orbiting Saturn.

GUEST:

Baptiste Journaux is an astrobiologist, mineral physicist, planetary scientist … and rock collector. He’s an Assistant Professor at the University of Washington.

Pocket Science is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. It is hosted by Gabriel Spitzer, edited by Jim Gates and produced by Shane Mehling.

We can only make Pocket Science because listeners support us. Tap here to make a gift and keep Pocket Science in your feed.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Discovery is happening all around Seattle… if you know where to look. On Pocket Science, we dig into the fascinating, weird, and groundbreaking research happening right here in our backyard—and meet the scientists in the thick of it.

From lab benches to tidal mudflats, it all starts with one simple question: what are you working on? The answers might surprise you. Take your curiosity with you on Pocket Science.

Pocket Science launches July 6 with new episodes available every other Monday.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.