Monday, September 24, 2007

Free Radicals - Targetting a Gene to Enhance Memory

On today's show, Emma Duerden, PhD candidate in neuroscience at the University of Montreal, and David Crane, Master's candidate in neuroscience at McGill, discuss new research into how our long-term memory works. They explain how we make memories at a cellular level and how new research into genetics may be able to enhance memory function.

Emma and David spoke with three Montreal researchers who are the authors of a breakthrough paper published in April in Cell, a highly regarded journal of experimental biology. Their paper details the discovery of a gene that can be targetted to enhance memory in people with memory deterioration due to Alzheimer's disease or other neurological factors, including the natural process of aging.

Listen to today's show on CKUT 90.3 fm!

Free Radicals - "Why Can't We Grow New Body Parts?"

On our September 17, 2007 show, I broadcast a talk originally on ted.com by Alan Russell entitled "Why Can't We Grow New Body Parts?" (from the spring of 2006). Alan Russell is a professor of surgery and of chemical engineering and researches regenerative medicine at the University of Pittsburg, McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine.

Listen to the show on CKUT 90.3 fm

Sunday, September 16, 2007

Free Radicals - Sex Differences in Pain

On our September 10, 2007 show, Free Radicals correspondent and PhD candidate in Neuroscience, Mona Lisa Chanda, talks with Dr. Jeffrey Mogil, of McGill University's Pain Genetics Lab, about research into the differences between men and women in sensitivity to pain. These differences are being attributed not only to "core" biological factors but to psycho-social factors as well, and overall point to the importance of recognizing human diversity in scientific and health care research and treatment.

Listen to the show!

Wednesday, September 5, 2007

Free Radicals - Redpath Museum Science Outreach Program

It's kind of amazing that when you really start to look, science is everywhere. Well, that's what Free Radicals is about, and science being not so hard to find, especially in a town like Montreal, makes my job a bit easier. Within a stone's throw of the CKUT studios is the Redpath Musuem, one of Canada's oldest museums, located right smack in the middle of the McGill campus. This week I talk to the coordinator of the Redpath Museum's Science Outreach Program and two recent McGill science graduates who were a part of it over the past few years.

Ingrid Birker organizes activities, events and talks for anyone who's interested, whether or not you have a science background. The purpose of the program is to connect with the public and share what's going on in the sciences at McGill. Helen Bovy and Dana Murchison share some of their experiences working at the program's summer camp and being a part of the Redpath Museum Club.

A couple of upcoming Outreach events include:
- Stones and Beer Bike tours - September 13 and October 11, 2007
- Climate Change and What We Can Do About It presentation - October 14, 2007
- A series of Friday afternoon talks that run throughout the year

Another Redpath event happening September 10-14 is the Soup and Science series of lunchtime mini-lectures.

Listen to the show!