Born to Do Science

Fungus Among Us! Saturday May 19!

btds@montyharper.com (Monty Harper) — Fri, 18 May 2012 09:54:40 PDT

Yes, our last scheduled Born to Do Science is tomorrow!!

May 19, 2012

The Fungus Among Us!

When Fungi Attack, Science Fights Back

Stephen M. Marek PhD from the Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology at Oklahoma State University will speak about his use of molecular tools to investigate "who done it" and how to stop it when important crops suffer damage from pathogenic fungi.

We will have microscopes on hand with lots of fungi to observe!

10:00 AM at the Stillwater Public Library. I hope to see you there!

Predators and Prey this Saturday!

btds@montyharper.com (Monty Harper) — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 13:20:08 PDT

Yes, we are having a Born to Do Science tomorrow!!

April 21, 2012

Predators, Prey, and the Games They Play!

Computer Models Reflect Real-World Animal Behavior

Dr. Barney Luttbeg from the Oklahoma State University Department of Zoology will speak about his research using tadpoles, dragonfly larvae, and computer simulations to understand the complex interactions between predators and their prey.

If you can, please bring a chess board, chess pieces (or any game pieces you like), checkers (or any flat tokens with two colors), and a coin to flip or dice to role.

We will also have live tadpoles and dragonfly nymphs to observe!

New Music Video - Science Frontier!

btds@montyharper.com (Monty Harper) — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 11:24:55 PDT

I'll get caught up soon with photos from the last to BTDS events. In the meantime, please enjoy this brand new video for my song "Science Frontier!" Many thanks to Brian Collins, who wrote, produced, and directed it!!

This Saturday - My One and Only Vole!

btds@montyharper.com (Monty Harper) — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 19:22:16 PST

Don't forget we're meeting a week early this month! Saturday March 10. I hope to see you there! We're working on setting up a live vole-cam in the lab! Here's what the program is about:

--

Vole pups! I borrowed this photo from a Mother Nature
Network article, 11 Animals that Mate For Life.

Zoology student Tomica Blocker will share the science of "voles in love" in a program for children Saturday at the Stillwater Public Library.

Blocker, a master's student in zoology at Oklahoma State University, will present "My One and Only Vole" at Monty Harper's "Born to Do Science." "Born to Do Science" is a monthly program that gives students a chance to meet scientists and learn about their research. The series is hosted by Monty Harper, a local children's musician who composes a song for each program inspired by his guest scientist's work.

Three brother voles moved nesting material
one mouthful at a time from one end of
their tub to the other while I interviewed
Tomica about her research.

"Prairie voles are a fascinating species to study," said Harper. "It's a rare mammal that sticks with a single mate for life. It's even rarer to find a mammal species where mothers and fathers both care for their young. That's why certain types of prairie voles are useful model species for investigating human behavior and physiology; they are rodents with family values. We can learn a lot about ourselves by studying these cute little monogamous mammals."

The presentation will include hands-on activities for the participants. "This one will be a lot of fun," said Harper. "We'll have kids up acting out vole social recognition using olfactory cues, analyzing vole behaviors in videos from the lab, and even designing their own vole research!"

One of the voles gets a sunflower seed treat.

"Born to Do Science" is free and open to students in at least third grade. Parents are encouraged to attend, participate, and learn along with their children. It will begin at 10:00 a.m. in Room 119 of the library. Registration is requested at (405) 377-3633 or askalibrarian@stillwater.org.

For more information about "Born to Do Science" or to listen to podcast interviews with past guest scientists, visit www.BornToDoScience.com. Stillwater Public Library is at 1107 S. Duck St.

BTDS Podcast Episode 3: "Stargazer"

btds@montyharper.com (Monty Harper) — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 10:07:33 PST

This is a double-wide episode with two NASA astrobiologists! Kid host Aaron and I speak with Dr. Nader Haghighipour about his work finding extrasolar planets (including Gliese 581 c!) and we speak with Dr. Vikki Meadows about how we might detect signs of life on extrasolar planets. Featuring a new song, "Stargazer"!

Listen / Download the Podcast

Subscribe on iTunes

Aaron's World!
My co-host this week is Aaron from Aaron's World, a fantastic science podcast for kids which I highly recommend you check out now! The "Stargazer" song is also featured in Aaron's World episode 28, "Plesiadapis."

Feedback, please!
Please post comments below or write to btds at montyharper.com - What worked for you? What didn't?
I will incorporate your feedback as I tweak the format over the next few episodes.

Also, please post your questions about the science!! They will be answered!

Get the song: &amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://montyharper.bandcamp.com/track/stargazer"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Stargazer by Monty Harper&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;gt;

Digesting Sunshine

btds@montyharper.com (Monty Harper) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 13:26:47 PST

This Saturday morning at 10:00am, Born to Do Science presents... Dr. Rob Burnap, a microbiologist at Oklahoma State University, who will share with us his research on photosynthesis.

So you think you know photosynthesis? We all learn about it in grade school, right? It's easy to get the impression that photosynthesis is all figured out. If that's the case, why aren't we efficiently using the sun's energy to run our world, just like plants do? It turns out there's a lot more to know and Dr. Burnap is one of the many scientists around the world who research this important topic!

We are planning wall-to-wall demonstrations and activities on Saturday to help you understand why photosynthesis is so complex, amazing, and tough to untangle. Please join us at the Stillwater Public Library! The program is designed for kids in 3rd-7th grade and their adults to enjoy together. See you there!!

Photos from the lab:

Green algae are a convenient species to use to study photosynthesis. It is also hoped that we can eventually use algae to produce clean fuel for transportation on a commercial scale.

This equipment measures the Oxygen output from photosynthesis to an incredible degree of accuracy. Such data can be used to better understand how photosynthesis works.

Here is Dr. Burnap, looking a bit green. He often has to work under green lighting in the lab. Can you think why that would be? Be sure and ask on Saturday!

Here is a short video showing the strobe light. Each strobe triggers a photosynthetic reaction which can be measured by the oxygen detectors.

BTDS Podcast Episode 2: "It's Not Fair"

btds@montyharper.com (Monty Harper) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 19:44:39 PST

Dr. Jennifer Byrd-Craven shares her research into whether teenagers who co-ruminate increase their stress, with kid host Evalyn, featuring the song "It's Not Fair (When Your Mother is a Scientist)."

Listen / Download the Podcast

Subscribe on iTunes

Feedback, please!
Please post comments below or write to btds at montyharper.com - What worked for you? What didn't?
I will incorporate your feedback as I tweak the format over the next few episodes.

Also, please post your questions about the science!! They will be answered!

Get the song:
&amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://montyharper.bandcamp.com/track/its-not-fair"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;It's Not Fair by Monty Harper&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;gt;

Left Brain, Meet the Right Brain!

btds@montyharper.com (Monty Harper) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 19:04:48 PST

Our first program of the new year was Dr. Shelia Kennison, "This is Your Brain on Words!"

If you really think about it, it's an amazing thing that we can get lost in a book the way we humans often do. I mean, look at a page and what do you see? Black squiggles on a white background. Somehow we turn those squiggles into words and those words into sentences and those sentences into stories that envelop us like waking dreams. What exactly are our brains doing to make that happen?

I performed a new song called "Left Brain" in which Left Brian thinks he can read on his own but in the end he has to admit that Right Brain helps.

Lisa and Evalyn joined me on the stage for the ending which involves three overlapping musical parts for the left brain, right brain, and corpus callosum. Thanks to Dr. Kennison for sending this photo!!

If brain scanners were faster, we might be able to just watch a person's brain light up as they read. But we decode words way too quickly for any current brain scanning technology to record the process. Dr. Kennison uses an ingenious method that brings us baby-steps closer to understanding what goes on inside when we read. She peeks into the workings of our brains - with grammar.

When we see a singular noun that might not make sense in a sentence, this doesn't bother us much because singular nouns are often used as adjectives.

For example, "Sally married the computer..." might not seem so weird once you read the entire sentence: "Sally married the computer repairman."

However, if we make the noun a plural, that's different!

"Sally married the computers..."

There's really no way to finish that sentence so that it makes good sense.

Dr. Kennison investigates whether these types of grammar glitches can tell us anything about how the brain is working, and she has uncovered some very intriguing patterns.

Dr. Kennison

To understand what Dr. Kennison discovered we need to know about the corpus callosum. This is the part of the brain that connects the left and right sides together. It's the only pathway by which the left side of the brain can "talk to" the right side, and visa versa.

Just like an internet connection has a particular data transfer rate (or speed), so does a corpus callosum. We call that speed the interhemispheric transfer time, or IHTT. We can measure a person's IHTT at a given moment by having them respond to flashes on a computer screen.

Here our first volunteer measures the speed of his corpus callosum.

For a long time we've known that various different language functions are handled by the left brain. However over the past ten years or so the role of the right brain in language has become more apparent. Dr. Kennison believes that the two halves of our brains are probably always working together to decode language.

She gave her subjects a whole bunch of sentences to read. Some of them had trick plural nouns in them that didn't make sense. Others had weird singular nouns. Others were just regular sentences. She measured if and when each reader slowed down, and by how much. (We're talking about milliseconds here - very small differences in time!)

Here our second volunteer measures his reading speed. He was a quick - I couldn't keep up!

This is what the reading software looks like (projected on our screen). We only get to see one or two words at a time as we move through a sentence. This way the computer can measure our reading speed at each word, and can tell exactly where we might slow down. The software is less detailed than tracking eye movements, but much easier, and gives essentially the same results for the purpose of this experiment.

Then Dr. Kennison measured each of her subject's interhemispheric transfer time. Remember, that's the speed of their corpus collasum. And guess what she found?

The speed of a person's corpus callosum corresponds to the amount they slowed down when reading weird singular nouns.

What this might suggest is that when we come to an unexpected singular noun in a sentence, the left brain consults with the right brain (via the corpus callosum) to try to make meaning out of the strange word combination. Maybe the right brain is telling the left brain to go ahead and consider the next word because this unexpected noun might make sense as an adjective.

Of course as with any new study, the results are tentative. Dr. Kennison plans to run many more experiments to see if she will continue to observe this interesting effect! And hopefully many more similar experiments will help us better understand how we make meaning out of all those squiggles on a page!

Brain Science This Saturday!!

btds@montyharper.com (Monty Harper) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 19:17:30 PST

Howdy, Science Fans!

Our next BTDS program is about studying the brain! How does your brain work?? You might know that it's separated into two halves - the left brain and the right brain, and that the two halves generally specialize in different types of thinking. The two halves are connected by a thick cord of neurons called the corpus callosum.

Most of what we know about which half does what we've figured out from brains that aren't functioning normally. For example if a person's brain is injured and they lose the ability to speak, then we know that the part of the brain that was injured must have something to do with speaking. Studies on people whose corpa callosa has been severed (for other reasons) can tell us a lot about how the left brain functions without the right and how the right brain functions without the left.

But it's a lot harder to find out anything about how the brain works when it's whole and healthy and functioning properly. We can't just watch it do its thing! How and when and why do the two halves "talk" to one another? What does each half contribute when they are working properly together?

Our guest scientist this month has an ingenious way of studying these aspects of our brains!

Dr. Shelia Kennison is a psychologist who uses glitches in language as windows into how our brains function. By carefully studying how people make meaning out of written words, she can reveal communication between the two sides of the brain!

We will get to experience what it's like to be one of Dr. Kennison's subjects, and as always we'll get to "think like a scientist" and explore other ways the mysterious workings of the brain might be understood.

The program starts Saturday morning at 10:00 at the Stillwater Public Library, room 119.
I hope to see you there!!

In the meantime, check out these related websites!

- For a quick overview of left and right brain functions check out this chart from funderstanding.com

- The Split Brian Game - you become a researcher studying "Mr. Split Brainy." See if you can figure out what's going on in his head!

- To find out how left or right brained you are, take this test!

Here are my results - please post yours!

Thank you for taking the Creativity Test. The results show your brain dominance as being:

Left Brain	Right Brain
53%	47%

Popular Teens, Friendly or Mean?

btds@montyharper.com (Monty Harper) — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 12:08:26 PST

This past Saturday Dr. Lara Mayeau, a developmental psychologist, came in from Norman to speak to us about her research on teenage popularity.

Dr. Mayeau explains that being popular is not the same thing as being well-liked.

We had a smaller than usual group - maybe the last weekend before Christmas Break people are busy? - BUT, it was a great group of kids and parents, full of really good questions and insights, as usual!

Dr. Mayeau's research has verified what many of us observed in school - that the popular kids are not necessarily well-liked. She also uses the mathematics of statistics to uncover some unexpected patterns, or correlations in teen popularity.

For example, popular boys have an easier time staying well-liked than popular girls. Also, popular kids sometimes use physical or social aggression against other kids. These behaviors seem mostly to come about after popularity is achieved. Perhaps it's part of how they stay popular - or perhaps being popular, they can just get away with it more than other kids. (More studies are needed to really understand this!)

Yours truly, pontificating about something.

How does Dr. Mayeau uncover these patterns of teenage life? By asking! We all got to fill out a survey similar to the one she used in a longitudinal study of kids as they went from fifth grade through 9th. The survey includes a roster of names attached to codes. For each question we listed the codes of the kids who fit. The questions included: Who do you like? Who is popular? Who do you not like? Who pushes other kids? Who excludes other kids?

The difference with our survey was that the names on our roster were not fellow students, but famous actors, characters, athletes, musicians, etc - just for fun. Guess who was most often selected as popular but not well-liked? Justin Bieber. Ouch.

My usual photographer and lovely wife Lisa couldn't be with us on Saturday, so my daughter Evalyn stepped into the role. Thank you Evalyn, for taking photos!!

Really, Evalyn? Really?

Popular Teens This Saturday

btds@montyharper.com (Monty Harper) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 15:00:37 PST

Dr. Lara Mayeux

Howdy Friends!

You do not want to miss our next Born to Do Science program, because it's all about you! This Saturday the 17th, 10:00 am at the Stillwater Public Library: "Popular Teens, Friendly or Mean?"

Our guest scientist is coming all the way from Norman. She is Dr. Lara Mayeux, a developmental psychologist from the department of psychology at OU.

Dr. Mayeux will speak about her research on social status among teens. We'll discuss a study she ran following students from 5th through 9th grades to determine what kinds of kids become popular.

Her research explores many questions, including: Is there a difference between being popular and being well-liked? What are the benefits and risks to being popular? How do teens' social status change over time? What role does aggression play in gaining and keeping popularity? Does all this work differently for boys than it does for girls?

We'll be asking what methods Dr. Mayeux uses to study teens, and what further questions might she explore. We'll take a survey similar to the kind used in actual research, and with Dr. Mayeux's guidance we'll design our own research on teenage popularity.

As always, I'll kick things off with a brand new song, and I've been having a lot of fun writing this one. It's called "I Wanna Be Popular!"

Please register with the library if you plan to come. Even if you've registered before - they want to know how many to expect. The program is open to kids in 3rd-7th grade and their adults. It's a rare opportunity to enjoy something with your tween-ager! We hope to see you there!

For more information about Dr. Mayeux you can check out her blog: Mayeux Research: Conversations about Peer Relations, Popularity, Developmental Psychology, and Aggression.

Second Podcast Episode Recorded

btds@montyharper.com (Monty Harper) — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 20:56:33 PST

Many thanks to everyone who has downloaded BTDS Podcast Episode One - more than twelve hundred so far! And extra thanks to those who let me know they liked it! We are off to a great start!

I recorded Episode Two on Saturday with kid host, Evalyn, and guest scientist, Dr. Jennifer Byrd Craven, a developmental psychologist. I'm editing now and I will post the new episode here sometime this week! Please tell your friends!

Kid Host, Evalyn

Dr. Jennifer Byrd-Craven

Evalyn, Monty, Jennifer - photo by Eli

Podcast Episode 1: "My Molecular Eye"

btds@montyharper.com (Monty Harper) — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 18:37:55 PST

Dr. Wouter Hoff shares his research into how bacteria sense light, with kid host Liza, featuring the song "My Molecular Eye."

Listen / Download the Podcast

Subscribe on iTunes

Feedback, please!
Please post comments below or write to btds at montyharper.com - What worked for you? What didn't?
I will incorporate your feedback as I tweak the format over the next few episodes.

Also, please post your questions about the science!! They will be answered!

Get the song:
<a href="http://montyharper.bandcamp.com/track/my-molecular-eye">My Molecular Eye by Monty Harper</a>

btds@montyharper.com (Monty Harper) — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 12:32:04 PST

Podcast Launch - 11/28!
The first episode of the Born to Do Science Podcast has been recorded!

I will post it here on Monday, November 28, for free download.

I want to gather the biggest audience possible for Episode 1.

Please Help!

These are my goals for November 28, updated every day:

- 100 supporters on Causes.com (need 46 more!)

- 52 subscribers to the podcast email list (need 43 more!)

- 100 likes on the BTDS facebook page (need 59 more!)

- 75 followers on Twitter (need 54 more!)

Please share with your friends:

Rewards For All!

If we reach any of the above goals by November 28, then along with the podcast I will also post the featured song, "My Molecular Eye," as a FREE download for one day!

But wait there's more! If we double any one of these goals, OR if we reach all four goals - I will post the entire Songs From the Science Frontier CD as a free download for one day!!!

Please tell your friends! Thanks!!

Guest Scientist, Dr. Wouter Hoff, Host Monty Harper, Kid Host Liza

Discussing the "script."

Setting up microphones.

Muons, Electrons, and Quarks, Oh My!!

btds@montyharper.com (Monty Harper) — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 20:03:14 PST

We had a great program Saturday! (I always say that, but it's true.)

My song was called "Quarks and Electrons." Everything we can touch or see in the universe is made of quarks and electrons. Yet that represents only 4% of what we know is out there!

For the first hour Dr. Flera Rizatdinova spoke with us about the Large Hadron Collider - the world's largest machine! - and the Atlas Detector. We also explored the Standard Model of particle physics and learned about some mysteries of the universe such as: What is dark matter? and How do particles get their mass? These are questions the LHC was designed to help answer.

Dr. Rizatdinova describes the superconducting magnets inside the ATLAS detector.

Then we took a break to look for muons! Muons are elementary particles similar to electrons, but heavier. They are formed when high energy protons (cosmic rays) smash into the Earth's upper atmosphere. A shower of particles are created. This is basically the same thing that happens inside the ATLAS detector! Muons happen to live a relatively long time, so they are the ones that make it all the way down to the Earth's surface. There are thousands of muons passing through your body every second. They are way to small for us to see or feel them.

Peering into the cloud chamber looking for muon trails!

So if they are too small to see, how were we looking for them? With a detector of our own - a cloud chamber. This is a tank filled with alcohol vapor. The vapor is cooled at the bottom of the tank by dry ice until it's almost ready to condense. The cooled vapor is so unstable that a muon passing through it triggers the condensation. What you see then is a cloud of alcohol droplets. Each cloud appears spontaneously, taking the shape of the path of the muon that triggered it - usually a straight line - then drifting to the bottom of the tank.

It takes a while for your eyes to adjust their focus to the right area of the tank, near the bottom.

We could see two or three events happening every second or so!

It isn't hard to make your own cloud chamber. You can find instructions on YouTube.

After our break, for those who were interested in learning more, Dr. Rizatdinova spoke about her particular role in the LHC and the research that's being done there. The ATLAS detector is like a giant camera that records each proton collision, tracking all the hundreds of particles that fly out. There are about six hundred million collisions per second to record, and the data fills 15 million gigs of hard drive space every year!

Dr. Rizatdinova's team designed a piece of electronics that converts electric signals from passing particles into light, which is piped out of the detector in fiber optic cables and then converted back to electric signals. Why is this necessary? There are 80 million channels of data coming out of each pixel module! If these were each carried out by wire, well you can imagine the mess - there isn't room for it!

Dr. Rizatdinova's team also wrote the software to interpret these signals, determining whether top quarks are present. Top quarks are heavy particles that might indicate the presence of a Higg's Boson.

The Higg's Boson is one of the reasons the LHC was built. It's the last of the fundamental particles in our Standard Model of the universe that hasn't actually been observed yet. If it really exists, as we think it does, the LHC will find it. The Higg's is important because it is thought to explain how particles get their particular masses.

Here's how the searching works. The LHC accelerates protons to very close to the speed of light and then smashes the together and records all the particles that come out. Even though protons are relatively lightweight, much heavier particles can pop out when you collide them at such high energies. This is due to the conversion of that energy into mass.

The heavy particles that are formed don't stay around very long at all - nearly instantly they decay into a shower of smaller particles, which also decay into showers and on down the line. The detector isn't fast enough to actually "see" a Higg's Boson before it decays, but it can see the top quarks and other particles that it decays into. If the right pattern is detected, we'll know the Higg's was there!

As I said, it was a great program! Everybody's head got stretched a bit, and many great questions were asked. As I reminded the audience several times, it's natural to have trouble picturing all this! Sub-atomic particles are unlike anything in our human-scale experience. Even particle physicists have trouble visualizing what's going on down there in the quantum world! I sure enjoy trying, though, and I think the kids yesterday did as well.

Our next program is about something almost as difficult to fathom: Teenager Psychology!! Please join us December 17!

Pieces of Protons - Coming Saturday 11/19/11

btds@montyharper.com (Monty Harper) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 15:00:57 PST

The proton-accelerating tube underground
at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC)

Howdy friends! I've been looking forward to this coming Saturday's program for a long time! Here is the official description, then I'll tell you more about why I'm so excited...

Ramping Up the World's Greatest Physics Experiment

Dr. Flera Rizatdinova from the Oklahoma State University Department of Physics will speak about her work on the ATLAS detector at CERN's Large Hadron Collider. The ATLAS is a marvel of technology built to explore dark matter, gravity, the standard model, and other deep mysteries of the universe!

We will be talking about the fundamental building blocks of the universe! Did you know that everything you see and feel around you is basically made out of super tiny particles called quarks and electrons? Those are two of the fundamental particles that make up our Standard Model of the universe.

Dr. Rizatdinova was kind enough to drive all the way to Texas and back to pick up a piece of equipment called a cloud chamber that detects other fundamental particles called muons. Muons are similar to electrons. They are generated by cosmic rays and they are zipping around us all the time - we just can't see them.

But when they zip through the cloud chamber - we will see their trails!

That's one reason I'm so excited. Another is that the ATLAS detector and the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) are FAMOUS!! If you listen to any science news then you will hear them mentioned a lot.

The ATLAS is like a gigantic microscope, for looking at the tiniest things! And it's the world's largest physics experiment!

There are several new things physicists might discover with the ATLAS. One of them is the famed Higg's Boson, which is the last missing piece in our Standard Model of the universe. If they find it, we'll have a complete understanding of how the universe is put together. If they don't, then our Standard Model is wrong, and we'll have to come up with a new one to explain how things work.

Either way is exciting! And the Higg's could literally be discovered any day now. So we are witnessing history in the making!

I've been studying particle physics to get ready for this program, and let me tell you, it's weird! If you don't understand everything on Saturday, don't feel bad. Even the physicists who study this stuff don't really quite understand it. But that's what makes it so much fun!

If you want to prepare for Saturday, here are some websites to visit. In fact PLEASE visit these sites and learn all you can! I think you'll enjoy them...

CERN

The Particle Adventure

Have fun exploring and I'll see you Saturday, 10:00 AM at the Stillwater Public Library!

The Intrepid White-Footed Mouse

btds@montyharper.com (Monty Harper) — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 21:05:41 PST

Dr. Karen McBee is an environmental toxicologist at OSU. She and her students study the area of Northeast Oklahoma known as Tar Creek, a superfund site where 100 years or so of mining left huge piles of chat everywhere. (See the previous post!)

The basic question she asks is, how does this affect the wildlife?

We began the program with a new song, as usual - "What Goes On?" which asks:

What goes on - after we’ve left such a mess?

What goes on - how does nature handle stress?

Humans come to alter every corner of the land

Yet we rarely come to understand

Once we're gone, what goes on?

Then we learned some background about the Tar Creek site and the animals that live there, and animals that live in nearby less altered habitats. We talked about different tools and methods scientists use to study populations in the wild. Then I asked the kids to think about what kind of research questions they might ask.

We had so many great questions and ideas that the conversation went long beyond our usual ending time. I think everyone enjoyed speculating about why the white-footed mouse is so adept at living in the affected area, while other small rodents have disappeared, and thinking of ways to try to figure it out.

Photos below...

Dr. Karen McBee, Curator of Vertebrates with the Department of Zoology at Oklahoma State University.

Voucher specimens from the collection.

Thinking!

Gathering round to see the mice!

Hands on!

The Intrepid White-Footed Mouse

btds@montyharper.com (Monty Harper) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 15:01:24 PST

Coming this Saturday, October 15!

The Intrepid White-footed Mouse

How Toxic Waste Affects Animal Populations and Diversity

Dr. Karen McBee, Curator of Vertebrates with the Department of Zoology at Oklahoma State University, will speak about her research into what makes some animal species more resilient than others at the Tar Creek Superfund Site.

Here's a view of Picher, OK from the air - all those white blotches are mounds of chat left over from 100 years of lead and zinc mining! During our program you'll get to think like a scientist and help design a study to try and understand how area wildlife is affected by this.

See you Saturday!

Dr. Karen McBee

The White-Footed Mouse

These voucher specimens are a research tool that allows biologists to compare populations in the wild with animals from different times and places.

The mammal collection is getting a new home! The mice were still packed away when I visited, but Dr. McBee will bring some samples for us to look at on Saturday.

This was one huge armadillo - see the pen by its tail? That gives you an idea of its size!

Vaccination Innovation

btds@montyharper.com (Monty Harper) — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 16:50:55 PDT

This Saturday was our first Born to Do Science program of the season! We had a good turnout with 28 people to see Abbie Smith, a graduate student (of ERV blog fame) at the OU Health Services Center speak about viruses, vaccines, why there is no HIV vaccine, and how we might be able to make one.

Basically vaccines work because they mimic actual pathogens (viruses, bacteria, etc - anything that makes us sick). These fake pathogens fool our immune systems into making antibodies, which we can use to fight off the real germs if they ever show up.

Normally when we get sick it takes about two weeks of trial and error for our systems to evolve effective antibodies against the disease. But if we've been immunized so that we've already made those antibodies once, or immune systems remember how to make them again, and we can fight off the disease right away.

All of this works because our bodies can recognize a particular virus and call up the proper antibody to fight it off.

The problem with a virus like HIV is that it keeps changing. If you have HIV virus in your body, and it takes two weeks to come up with an antibody, by the end of that time you'll have hundreds of new HIV variations and the new antibody will not be able to fight them off. Basically your immune system can never catch up with all that rapid change!

Abbie's idea for getting around this seems pretty simple on the surface. Just put lots of variations of fake HIV into a vaccine, so that our systems will learn how to make lots of different HIV antibodies!

But here's the rub: in order to cover all the possible HIV variations in one vaccine, you would need to put in a mind-boggling number of different fake viruses. That number is something like a one with 61 zeros after it! (And that's only one way of counting them - other types of variation are possible too!)

If you were to get a vaccine shot containing just one of each possible variation of fake HIV in it, you would need to use a gallon-sized syringe!

Luckily if you can make an antibody for one type of HIV, your system can quickly come up with antibodies for similar types. That means we don't need ALL the possibilities to go into one vaccine, just a relatively small portion of them.

Abbie is working on how to create a mixture of fake HIV types that might work as a vaccine. She has been testing her methods to make sure that all the different variations she put in actually work to produce different antibodies. She is just about ready to start testing the vaccine on mice to find out if it really provides protection against HIV.

Maybe we'll be able to get her to visit again one day and let us know how that turned out!

Since Abbie's work involves a lot of time spent manipulating DNA (to create and test all those different fake HIVs!), we ended the program with a hands-on activity that lets you actually see your own DNA in a test tube!!

You can do this yourself at home - it's really easy. Here are instructions (thanks to the Science Museum of Minnesota).

And here are photos from our program. We hope to see YOU at the next one!

Abbie Smith explains how viruses work.

Me swishing water vigorously to dislodge cheek cells. This is the first step in our activity, which allowed each participant to extract and view their own DNA!

Second step - add soap and mix gently. This bursts open the cells and sets the DNA free.

The third step is to add some chilled alcohol. This forces the DNA out of solution.

See that cloudy bit dangling beneath the cap? That's a glob of my very own DNA!

Show us your DNA! Cheers!

Abbie is extracting the DNA from the top of the test tube to put it in a small capsule for safekeeping. It lasts longer if you freeze it.

Our next program:

October 15

The Intrepid White-footed Mouse

How Toxic Waste Affects Animal Populations and Diversity

See you then!

Vaccination Innovation - This Saturday!

btds@montyharper.com (Monty Harper) — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 17:00:21 PDT

I'm getting excited and I hope you are too - our first program for the new school year is coming up this Saturday, 9/12/11, at the Stillwater Public Library at 10:00 AM!

Our guest scientist is Abbie Smith, a brilliant young virologist. I've seen her speak, and she's a lot of fun. She'll be talking about a new approach to vaccines that may lead to protection against viruses that evolve rapidly, such as HIV (parents, don't worry - we won't really talk about the disease, just the virus itself) and the flu virus. (Imagine only having to get the flu shot once and you're good for life!)

I'm working on a new song, so hopefully we'll get to kick things off with that. Then after a bit of background information we'll give the kids a chance to think like scientists and share their ideas. All the programs are very interactive, so you get some real face-time with a real scientist!

The library has provided me with an awesome flyer to help with promotion. If you are planning to participate, please print a flyer and stick it on the fridge to help you remember. (Plus maybe your friends and neighbors will see it too!) Feel free to print extra copies and post them anywhere people might see them. Thanks!! Here it is:

Announcing the 2011/2012 Season of Born to Do Science!

btds@montyharper.com (Monty Harper) — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 10:06:11 PDT

Born to Do Science brings kids face to face with scientists to learn about their research. Programs begin at 10:00 AM usually on the third Saturday of each month, and run about one hour. They are located at the Stillwater Public Library. Attendance is free and open to kids in 3rd-7th grade and their parents. Participants should register ahead of time with the library when possible.

The program is hosted by children's songwriter Monty Harper, who introduces each topic with a brand-new song. Guest scientists include zoologists, physicists, psychologists, and biologists from OSU and OU. The line-up for 2011/2012 includes nine programs with topics ranging from teenage behavior to the nature of the universe.

Born to Do Science 2011/2012 Schedule

September 17
Vaccination Innovation
Helping Our Bodies Combat Quickly Changing Viruses
Abbie Smith, doctoral student in immunology at the University of Oklahoma, will speak about her work on a new approach to vaccination that may provide protection against unpredictable viruses such as seasonal flu and HIV.

October 15
The Intrepid White-footed Mouse
How Toxic Waste Affects Animal Populations and Diversity
Dr. Karen McBee, Curator of Vertebrates with the Department of Zoology at Oklahoma State University, will speak about her research into what makes some animal species more resilient than others at the Tar Creek Superfund Site.

November 19
Pieces of Protons
Ramping Up the World's Greatest Physics Experiment
Dr. Flera Rizatdinova from the Oklahoma State University Department of Physics speaks about her work testing the ATLAS detector at CERN's Large Hadron Collider. The ATLAS is a marvel of technology built to explore dark matter, gravity, the standard model, and other deep mysteries of the universe!

December 17
Popular Teens - Friendly or Mean?
The Role of Aggression in Teen Popularity
Developmental psychologist Lara Mayeux PhD from the Department of Psychology at the University of Oklahoma will speak about her research into the underpinnings of social status among teenagers.

January 21
This Is Your Brain On Words!
How We Pull Meaning Out of Written Language
Do you understand this sentence? How? Shelia Kennison, PhD, from the Department of Psychology at Oklahoma State University will speak about her research into how our left and right brain hemispheres work together to create meaning while we're reading.

February 18
Digesting Sunshine
How Mother Nature Converts Light Into Chemical Energy
Dr. Robert L. Burnap from the Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics at Oklahoma State University will speak about his study of the enzyme plants use to split water into hydrogen and oxygen and how a better understanding of photosynthesis may lead to more efficient production of biofuels.

March 10
My One and Only Vole
Pair Bonding in Monogamous Prairie Voles
Tomica Blocker, master's student in Zoology at Oklahoma State University and recent recipient of an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship grant, will speak about her investigations into the mating habits of these amorous rodents and how they may be affected by human industrial activity.

April 21
Predators, Prey, and the Games They Play!
Computer Models Reflect Real-World Animal Behavior
Dr. Barney Luttbeg from the Oklahoma State University Department of Zoology will speak about his research using tadpoles, dragonfly larvae, and computer simulations to understand the complex interactions between predators and their prey.

May 19
The Fungus Among Us!
When Fungi Attack, Science Fights Back
Stephen M. Marek PhD from the Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology at Oklahoma State University will speak about his use of molecular tools to investigate "who done it" and how to stop it when important crops suffer damage from pathogenic fungi.

Calling all scientists! Please help connect kids with science!

btds@montyharper.com (Monty Harper) — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 12:36:44 PDT

Are you a scientist in or near Stillwater, Oklahoma?

Would you like to share your research with a curious and appreciative audience?

Would you like your work to inspire a new generation of scientists and science supporters?

Would you like your work to inspire a brand new song?

If so, please participate in "Born to Do Science!"

*** Our 2011/2012 season is scheduled!! But you can still respond to this post to participate in the 2012/2013 season. Thanks! ***

This is a program for kids (3rd-6th grade) and families which I present at the Stillwater Public Library. Each month I bring in a volunteer guest scientist to share their research with the kids. I think it's important for kids to meet scientists face to face, find out what they do, and learn something about the process of scientific investigation!

If you haven't presented your work to kids before, don't worry. It's my job as host to learn about your research and figure out how to present it to our audience. I have a Master's degree in mathematics, a deep interest in science, and more than 20 years experience communicating to kids as a children's musician. My past guests and I have successfully presented some very sophisticated topics, including bacterial biofilms, wheat genomics, x-ray crystallography, luminescence dating, stress hormones, phototaxic bacteria - you get the idea!

You can see photos and descriptions of past programs on the website: http://www.borntodoscience.com/

I will also write and perform a brand new song inspired by your research to help introduce the topic. You can check out some past songs here: http://montyharper.bandcamp.com/album/songs-from-the-science-frontier

If you aren't sure that your research topic will work for kids, please don't rule yourself out. Talk to me first, and maybe we can find a way to present it.

Your time commitment would include the following:

1. A 30-45 minute phone conversation with me sometime soon to help decide the focus of our program, title, and description, for publicity purposes.

2. A one to two hour interview with me about your research, one month before the program date. This is to get me started on a song and a plan for the program.

3. As much time as you choose to spend preparing hands-on materials and/or visuals and answering follow-up questions between the interview and the program.

4. About 90 minutes for the program itself.

Below is the schedule for our fourth season. Please contact me if you'd like to participate in season five!

Programs will be held the following Saturdays at 10:00 AM at the Stillwater Public Library.

(tentative titles)

September 17 - Vaccination Innovation

October 15 - The Intrepid White-Footed Mouse

November 19 - Secrets of the Universe

December 17 - Popular Teens - Friendly or Mean?

January 21 - This is Your Brain on Words

February 18 - Digesting Sunshine

March 10 - My One and Only Vole

April 21 - Predators, Prey, and the Games They Play!

May 19 - The Fungus Among Us!

If you are interested, please contact me! I'll be happy to answer any questions you might have, hear about your research and help you decide if it would make a good "Born to Do Science" program.

Thank you!!

Contact:

Monty Harper

(405) 624-3805

monty@montyharper.com

Citizen Science and "Bee Buffet"

btds@montyharper.com (Monty Harper) — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 11:39:44 PDT

Our last program of the Spring 2011 season, May 21, was "Bee Buffet," with Dr. Janette Steets from the OSU Botany Department. She spoke about her research on pollinators in vegetable gardens.

Dr. Steets is interested in finding out how gardens are effected when food plants (like tomatoes and okra) are intermixed with ornamentals (flowers). The hypothesis is that ornamental plants will attract a greater variety of insects, including pollinator and predator species, and that this will result in more healthy food plants with higher yields, and will reduce the need for pesticides.

Dr. Steets has run a couple of preliminary studies that showed promising results. We talked about how one would go about designing a larger study that might help verify the higher yields she saw in her mixed gardens. Dr. Steets is preparing a study now that will incorporate help collecting data from "citizen scientist" volunteers.

I debuted a new song, "Citizen Scientist" - see below for lyrics.

Studying bees and flowers close up, to see how pollen gets moved around when plants are pollenated.

Dr. Steets brought seeds and planters so we could plant our own samples to grow at home.

Planting seeds.

Me, Dr. Steets, and Brook Bonner. Brook is a PHD student who works with Dr. Steets. She came along to help with the presentation.

The "citizen scientist" aspect of Dr. Steets work is part of what makes her excited to be doing what she's doing. She loves the idea of involving regular folks like you and me in the scientific process. So do I! There are lots of citizen scientist projects out there that you can take part in! That's why I chose "Citizen Scientist" as the title and focus for my song this time around.

Citizen Scientist

My garden this year is a jumbled-up kind

My cow peas and daisies are all inter-twined

My botanist friend had me plant 'em just so

She's collecting the data that may help her show

How a good mix of plants brings more insects afield

And maybe more bugs means a healthier yield

And I jumped at the chance to take part in her plan

Cause I'm happy to help when I can

I'm a citizen scientist

Citizen scientist

Joining the planet-wide dance

That helps human knowledge advance

I've weighed my tomatoes and measured the plants

I've counted the cutworms and spiders and ants

My botanist friend takes the data all down

She'll compare it with gardens from all over town

And maybe the numbers will show us the way

Toward gardening well without pesticide spray

But whether or not her study bares any fruit

It has still been a worthwhile pursuit

repeat chorus

And when the garden has been tilled,

What new project will I do?

I can help explore the cosmos

For the Galaxy Zoo

I can sift through tiny fossils from mastodon times

I can try to fold some proteins with Fold.it online

In the Great Backyard Bird Count I can help keep track of birds

I’ll download SETI@home and search for alien words

And for more exotic projects I don't know about yet

I'll visit science for citizens dot net

repeat chorus

Here are links to the projects I mention in the song:

Galaxy Zoo
Mastodon Matrix Project
Fold.It
The Great Backyard Bird Count
SETI@home
Science For Citizens

Psychology

btds@montyharper.com (Monty Harper) — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 10:49:09 PDT

Dr. Lack took this video at his January 15, 2011 Born to Do Science program, "Tangling With Twisters," and I thought I'd share it here.

Psychology

song lyrics by Monty Harper

Psychology, can you tell me what’s wrong with me?

I see eyes looking at me and I get distressed
I feel uptight and anxious, mad and depressed
I hear voices behind me that whisper and mock
No one smiles when I smile; no one listens when I talk
I don’t sleep well at all cause I think of my job
And I dream I’m attacked by an unruly mob
Is there some kind of name for the trouble I’ve got?
Can science explain? Am I crazy or what?

Psychology, can you tell me what’s wrong with me?
Psychology, can you tell me what’s wrong with me?

I’ve been looking in books for some self-diagnosis
I’ve read about phobias, fears, and neurosis
Obsession, repression, fixation, and trauma
Was it nature or nurture that caused all this drama?
I set out to measure the person I am
And I filled out a long psychometric exam
I wanna understand but I’m losing my nerve
I’m afraid I won’t land on the bell of the curve

Oh, yes the human mind is acutely arcane
Couched in the convoluted human brain
It comes without a manual or a guarantee
So we study that puzzle with Psychology

Psychology, can you tell me what’s wrong with me?
Psychology, can you tell me what’s wrong with me?

Gotta go now - my day is about to begin
My seventh grade students are jostling in
I see eyes looking at me and I get distressed
I feel uptight and anxious, mad and depressed
I hear voices behind me that whisper and mock
No one smiles when I smile; no one listens when I talk
I’ll be teaching all day with this chalk in my hand
And tonight two more lessons will need to be planned
But with every spare moment I happen to find
I will ponder the question that’s still on my mind

Psychology, can you tell me what’s wrong with me?

Head Boppin Lizard Talkin

btds@montyharper.com (Monty Harper) — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 21:22:14 PDT

Continuing my retroactive posting on past programs...

On March 19 we had what may have been our most popular program to date. Dr. Matt Lovern from the OSU Zoology Department spoke about his research on green anoles in "Head Boppin Lizard Talkin!"

The anoles communicate to one another by nodding their heads in particular patterns. Dr. Lovern has identified three distinct head bobs, which he calls A B and C. One might think this would give the lizards a three-word vocabulary. But careful observation shows that the lizards' use of the patterns is more subtle than that. Males and females use the same pattern to mean different things in different contexts. And, when it comes right down to it there are only two things the lizards need to say to one another; "This is my territory. Go away," or "Hey, baby! Come over here!"

So why has nature preserved three different signals when it seems like only one or two would do? Maybe there is more to this than meets the eye! Dr. Lovern will likely continue watching lizards bob their heads for as long as it takes to decode the true motivation behind this unique animal behavior.

Dr. Lovern and one of his anoles (I'm not saying which is which) in front of a bank of lizard tanks in the biology building. I took this photo after our interview, preparing for the program.

We started the program by watching films of lizards to see what we could observe.

After the program kids gathered around Dr. Lovern for an up-close and personal lizard encounter.

Since the anoles use head-bopping to indicate interest in - shall we say "hooking up," I decided to look to the early Beatles love songs for inspiration. The result was a super-fun song, which my wife, Lisa, and daughter, Evalyn, helped perform with backing vocals, egg shakers, hand claps - the works!

Anole in Love

When I put my dewlap out

I’m hoping you will see

How my head bobs up and down

To make you think of me

I’m an anole in love with you

Why don’t you show you love me too?

My head nods so fervently

When I see you there

Won’t you nod yours back to me

Show me that you care

I’m an anole in love with you

Why don’t you show you love me too?

I’m a green anole

You’re a green anole

We both know the language of love

Little things you said

With your bobbing head

Let me know that I’m the green anole you’re dreaming of

So I will approach you now

My dewlap is on fire

We will be together now

As long as I desire

doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doot

Repeat bridge

Well I’ve got to go for now

Lovely as it’s been

In about a week or so

Why don’t you come around again

I’m an anole in love with you