In this final episode of Season One of YS, guest co-host Dr. Valerie O’Brien joins the Yackers to take on conniving cuckoos, fake blood, and electrolysis in space. (Just imagine...so many bald astronauts!) Matt devotes his Chemical Minute to phosphorus and thereby explains why "phossy jaw" might not be as much fun as it sounds. Finally, the trio metaphorically snorts some spice and stops by Arrakis to explore the confusing biology of hungry-hungry sandworms.
Got a question, comment, or correction? You can yack right back at us at YacketyScience@gmail.com.
Episode art: Image modified from “Cuculus canorus chick1” by vladlen666 (C0 1.0 Universal). Theme music: “Funky Machine” (ID874) by Lobo Loco (Accessed through FreeMusicArchive.org.; CC BY-NC-ND 4.0). Production help provided by PRT's Scott Gregory.
Yackety Science is recorded at the studios of Public Radio Tulsa, Kendall Hall, The University of Tulsa, and at the Center for Creativity at Tulsa Community College.
Guest Co-Host: Valerie O’Brien, Ph.D., is a former Associate Professor and Faculty Department Chair of Life Sciences at Tulsa Community College. Valerie’s research interests lie in Behavioral Ecology, Entomology, and Virology. Her most recent publication is "Nonrandom Weather-Related Mortality in a Purple Martin (Progne subis) Roost."
Links:
Cuckoo Birds:
⦁ Genomic data reveal the complexity of egg mimicry evolution in cuckoos by Michael D. Sorenson and Claire N. Spottiswoode (Science 30 Oct 2025).
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aec1973
Fake Blood:
⦁ First-in-human phase 1 trial of hemoglobin vesicles as artificial red blood cells developed for use as a transfusion alternative by Azuma H et al. Blood Adv. 2022 Nov 8;6(21):5711-5715.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35939788/
Electrolysis in Space:
⦁ Magnets could improve oxygen production in space: Forces that go unnoticed on Earth could help move bubbles in orbiting spacecraft by Carolyn Wilke, special to C&EN (Chemical and Engineering News, Aug. 20, 2025).
⦁ A magnetic push for electrolysis in space by Vensaus, P. Nat. Chem. 17, 1632–1633 (2025).
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41557-025-01964-z
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