Episodios

  • [BONUS] Marfan syndrome and plant pathogens eating DNA: Tiny Show and Tell Us #23
    May 21 2025

    In this episode of Tiny Show and Tell Us, we hear from a listener who has Marfan syndrome and dive into the complexities of the disease. Then we talk about pathogens that eat — or infiltrate! — plant DNA.

    We need your stories — they're what make these bonus episodes possible! Write in to tinymatters@acs.org *or fill out this form* with your favorite science fact or science news story for a chance to be featured.

    A transcript and references for this episode can be found at acs.org/tinymatters.

    See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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    13 m
  • How a little-known vaccine project and decades of HIV research made "Operation Warp Speed" possible
    May 14 2025

    Over the last 200 years or so, vaccines have come a long way, for a number of viruses. We’ve made so much progress, in fact, that in 2017 scientists began the early stages of vaccine development for some virus families they believed could pose a future pandemic threat. One of those families was Coronaviridae: coronaviruses. Not many people know that before SARS-CoV-2 started making its way into people in 2019, there was already a project underway in the U.S. to create a vaccine for a looming coronavirus (we didn't!), but even that would not have been possible without the decades of vaccine and drug research that came before it, particularly for HIV.

    Send us your science facts, news, or other stories for a chance to be featured on an upcoming Tiny Show and Tell Us bonus episode. And, while you're at it, subscribe to our newsletter!

    Link to the Tiny Show & Tell stories are here and here. All Tiny Matters transcripts and references are available here.

    See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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    37 m
  • [BONUS] Time limits for anesthesia and stunning bioluminescence: Tiny Show and Tell Us #22
    May 7 2025

    In this episode of Tiny Show and Tell Us, we break down what limits on anesthesia could mean, both for doctors and patients. Then we hear from a listener who’s on a research trip in Puerto Rico and went kayaking in a bioluminescent bay. What is bioluminescence? And what are the perfect conditions to try to see it?

    We need your stories — they're what make these bonus episodes possible! Write in to tinymatters@acs.org *or fill out this form* with your favorite science fact or science news story for a chance to be featured.

    A transcript and references for this episode can be found at acs.org/tinymatters.

    Check out this Journey to the Microcosmos video, "The Algae That Saved an Astronaut's Life"

    See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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    13 m
  • The placenta: A disposable organ we can’t live without
    Apr 30 2025

    The placenta is essential for life, but so much of its function is unknown. In this episode, we talk about how this disposable organ’s development within the early weeks of pregnancy shapes so much of what happens months later. We tackle what makes the human placenta so unique, what other animals like reptiles are teaching us about it, and how scientists are turning to evolution and computer models to see if we can better understand it.

    Check out the IVF episode of Tiny Matters.

    Send us your science facts, news, or other stories for a chance to be featured on an upcoming Tiny Show and Tell Us bonus episode. And, while you're at it, subscribe to our newsletter!

    Link to the Tiny Show & Tell stories are here and here. All Tiny Matters transcripts and references are available here.

    See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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    35 m
  • [BONUS] An inspiring pharmacist grandma and orcas wearing dead salmon hats: Tiny Show and Tell Us #21
    Apr 23 2025

    In this episode of Tiny Show and Tell Us, we hear from a listener about her incredible grandma who’s a pharmacist in Venezuela (still, at 92 years old!) and has inspired her love of science and current lab work. We then talk about orcas spotted wearing dead salmon as hats, and what this fishy behavior may mean.

    We need your stories — they're what make these bonus episodes possible! Write in to tinymatters@acs.org *or fill out this form* with your favorite science fact or science news story for a chance to be featured.

    A transcript and references for this episode can be found at acs.org/tinymatters.

    See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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    15 m
  • How glaciers safeguard Earth’s future and hold clues to our ancient past
    Apr 16 2025

    The reason many of us hear about glaciers has to do with sea level rise — which makes sense! If all of the glaciers on Earth melted, sea levels are predicted to increase by about 230 feet (70 meters), which would flood coastal areas, envelope a number of islands, and seriously impact human infrastructure, including our current water resources. But glaciers do more than safeguard Earth’s future — buried within them is our ancient past. In January of this year, a team of scientists drilled nearly 2 miles down into an Antarctic glacier. The 1.7 mile long cylinder of ice they pulled up, called an ice core, holds the equivalent of 1.2 million years of climate history. In this episode of Tiny Matters, we talk about what glaciers mean to us today, their importance for the future of our planet, and what they tell us about Earth’s ancient past.

    Send us your science facts, news, or other stories for a chance to be featured on an upcoming Tiny Show and Tell Us bonus episode. And, while you're at it, subscribe to our newsletter!

    Link to the Tiny Show & Tell stories are here and here. All Tiny Matters transcripts and references are available here.

    See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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    29 m
  • [BONUS] Evolutionary adaptations to high altitudes and e-cigs vs. dry herb vaporizers: Tiny Show and Tell Us #20
    Apr 9 2025

    In this episode of Tiny Show and Tell Us, we discuss the differences between e-cigarettes (vapes) and far-less-studied dry herb vaporizers. Then we talk about some of the incredible evolutionary adaptations of populations of people living at high altitudes.

    We need your stories — they're what make these bonus episodes possible! Write in to tinymatters@acs.org *or fill out this form* with your favorite science fact or science news story for a chance to be featured.

    A transcript and references for this episode can be found at acs.org/tinymatters.

    See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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    13 m
  • How 18th and 19th century 'race science' still has deadly medical consequences today
    Apr 2 2025

    In the 1700s and early 1800s scientists from Europe and the Americas were studying what they called "race science," a pseudoscientific field of study promoting the idea that humans could be divided into separate and unequal races. Biases stemming from race science have influenced medicine for hundreds of years, and still have deadly consequences today. In this episode of Tiny Matters, we tackle some of these consequences, where they get their roots, and what people like our guest — physician and science communicator Joel Bervell — are doing to raise awareness and incite change.

    Send us your science facts, news, or other stories for a chance to be featured on an upcoming Tiny Show and Tell Us bonus episode. And, while you're at it, subscribe to our newsletter!

    Link to the Tiny Show & Tell stories are here and here. All Tiny Matters transcripts and references are available here.

    See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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    28 m
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