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SciWorks Radio Podcast – Educational and Scientific Narration

Voiceover Nerd Productions, Inc. remains committed to science learning and accessibility. I am therefore refurbishing many of my SciWorks Radio Podcast episodes and making them available for anyone (students, teachers, science enthusiasts) to listen to and/or read. These educational science podcasts were created between 2014 and 2017 when I worked at SciWorks, now called Kaleideum. Located in Winston-Salem, NC, Kaleideum is an interactive museum of arts, sciences, and exploration formed by the merger of The Children’s Museum of Winston-Salem and SciWorks in July 2016. The two museums merged into a single organization to reimagine learning and better meet the needs of our diverse community by providing more access to informal science discovery and cultural experiences.

Duke university

The Virus That Kills Cancer

November 12, 2021 by Shawn Fitzmaurice

Shawn Fitzmaurice
Shawn Fitzmaurice
The Virus That Kills Cancer
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Shawn Fitzmaurice Professional Voice Actor Virus Kills Cancer

(Audio returning soon)

The cure for cancer is the brass ring everyone in healthcare fights to achieve. Radiation therapy and chemotherapy have been the standard treatment, yet success is inconsistent, and the side effects are terrible. These treatments can’t tell the difference between normal and cancer cells, so they kill both. Cancer cells are aggressive, so triggering the body’s immune system to fight back just as hard is the key. That’s called Immunotherapy. Associate Professor of Neurology at Duke University Medical Center Dr. Annick Desjardins and a team led by Dr. Matthias Gromeier are working on this.

We’ve known for a long time that the polio virus clings to every solid cancer cell, so we want to make that work to our advantage. First, we need to tame the virus, so the Team at Duke is genetically modifying it and giving it a cold.

The first trial was a patient with a brain tumor. The Sabin vaccine contains active, though weak, poliovirus. Then they removed part of the virus’s gene that is toxic to the spinal cord, nervous system, and gut. The cold virus is inserted in its place, so the body cannot detect the modification. It is injected into the tumor, where it infects a few of those glioblastoma cells. The immune system thinks it is killing the polio virus, but it is actually targeting the cancer cells in the tumor. This process has been used with varying success.

The first patient was treated at the beginning of 2012. It was a young woman diagnosed when she was 20 years old. She had surgery and radiation. The tumor came back nine months later, and her expected survival rate was less than one year. In January 2012, we injected her with the poliovirus; three years later, there was no sign of cancer in her brain. Several other patients had similar results, and others did not. This result leaves us with questions such as:

  • Is it because of the dose? 
  • Was it because of the size of the tumor? 
  • Is it their immune system or the different treatments they were on? 
  • Did something else interfere with the poliovirus?  

The possibility of curing brain cancer is exciting. So what about other kinds of cancer? Finding the optimal dose that triggers an immune response is critical. Once the right dose is determined, we can test it on other types of cancer. Waking up the immune system is something we have worked on for many years, and the reality is inspiring. 

Caution is still essential because there are always new factors to consider with new treatments. The cancer cells may react unexpectedly and learn how to survive the treatment. Each time brings us closer to understanding the immune system.

This Time Round, the theme music for SciWorks Radio, appears as a generous contribution by the band Storyman and courtesy of UFOmusic.com.

Filed Under: SciWorks Radio Tagged With: boston, cancer, cure, doctor, Duke university, educational, educational narration, elearning, glioblastoma #duke university #duke university medical center, instructional, interview, kaleideum, learning, ma, massachusetts, museum, narration, NC, North Carolina, phd, podcast, podcast intro, podcast narration, polio, providence, science, scientific, scientific narration, scientist, sciworks, virology, voice over, voiceover, winston-salem

Papa Wasn’t A Rolling Stone, Otherwise he would have Obeyed The Law…s Of Physics

November 2, 2021 by Shawn Fitzmaurice

Shawn Fitzmaurice
Shawn Fitzmaurice
Papa Wasn't A Rolling Stone, Otherwise he would have Obeyed The Law...s Of Physics
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If your papa was actually a rolling stone, his whereabouts would be predictable.

If a boulder and a small rock are rolled down a hill together, logic, instinct, and all the insight you have will tell you that the boulder will travel further than the stone. What you might not have realized is that both objects, generally, rolled the same number of times. Based on this, the rolling stone’s travel distance is predictable!

This same principle applies to smoke plumes, river systems, migrating animals, your veins and arteries, tree branches, and even evolution.

Credited with defining a newly understood law of physics called the constructal law, Dr. Adrian Bejan, Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Duke University, published his findings in the journal Nature Scientific Reports. He refined the constructal law to include forces shaping the earth’s surface, rolling rocks, and turbulent eddies in water and air. (Read about it here).

Have a listen to this episode of SciWorks Radio Podcast to hear more. How often can you personally relate to a new law of physics? Listen now.

Hear the Broadcast version of this program here:
Audio Player

First aired Aug 12, 2016

Filed Under: SciWorks Radio Tagged With: boston, Constructal Law, doctor, Duke university, educational, educational narration, elearning, engineering, evolution, instructional, interview, kaleideum, learning, ma, massachusetts, museum, narration, NC, North Carolina, phd, physics, podcast, podcast intro, podcast narration, providence, science, scientific, scientific narration, scientist, sciworks, voice over, voiceover, winston-salem

Investigating the Purpose of Female Beauty in Animals *

October 29, 2021 by Shawn Fitzmaurice

Shawn Fitzmaurice
Shawn Fitzmaurice
Investigating the Purpose of Female Beauty in Animals *
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investigating the purpose of female animal beauty - Sciworks Radio - Courtney FitzpatrickIn this episode of Sciworks Radio, Shawn spoke with Dr. Courtney Fitzpatrick, former postdoctoral fellow at Duke University and a co-author of a paper in the journal Evolution investigating the purpose of female animal beauty. And it’s not as straightforward as you might expect.

Male animals are often more “attractive” than their female counterparts – think about the large mane on a lion, the beautiful feathers of a peacock, or the majestic antlers of an elk.

But what about the females?

The females of many species lack such vibrant features, so researchers are studying more subtle aspects of what qualifies as female beauty.

A goal for the males of many species is to pass his DNA onto as many offspring as possible, often through different mates. This might not be as common a goal for the females of those species, according to one mathematical model. Females might not be looking for a quantity of mates, but rather a superior quality. At the same time, however, they still need to attract the male that possesses such quality.

Standing out in the wild, instead of blending into the environment, can lead to increased predation. Though, there might be trade offs: having a mate to watch your back, a suitor that brings you food, or a partner that can build a protective shelter. Females are often less likely to be seen without a mate than males.

So why does this research matter?

Basic, seemingly non-urgent research like this is one of the building blocks for more advanced research and applied sciences – like medical cures and even space habitation. While this one area of exploration might not have a direct impact on humanity, it is important to understand the patterns we see in the living world so that, as we expand our knowledge, there is a solid foundation beneath it.

This Time Round, the theme music for SciWorks Radio, appears as a generous contribution by the band Storyman and courtesy of UFOmusic.com.

First aired Feb 17, 2017

Filed Under: SciWorks Radio Tagged With: biology, boston, doctor, Duke university, educational, educational narration, elearning, instructional, interview, kaleideum, learning, ma, massachusetts, museum, narration, NC, North Carolina, phd, podcast, podcast intro, podcast narration, providence, science, scientific, scientific narration, scientist, sciworks, voice over, voiceover, winston-salem

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