What is herd immunity? How do individual choices affect population health? Can we eradicate infectious disease? Join Levannia and Lindsay as they wrap up our vaccine mini-series with a deep dive into herd immunity. Come learn how herd immunity is calculated and how it relates to the R naught of a virus. For a real world example of the magic of herd immunity, come learn about how the the world rid itself of smallpox.

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Sound Editing/Original Music by Julian Bertino Sound info@julianbertinosound.com

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Tags: vaccines, Rnaught, COVID-19, virus, public health, global health, disease dynamics, pandemic, statistics, STEM, women in science, women in STEM, medicine

How well do vaccines work? How do we measure vaccine efficacy and effectiveness? What are some common vaccine myths? Join Levannia and Lindsay as they offer an evidence based overview of how vaccines work and how we gauge how well they work. If you've ever wondered why the percent effectiveness of a vaccine is lower in practice than it was in clinical trials this episode is for you. Even more, come learn about the real answers to some common vaccine myths including mercury content in vaccines, vaccines and autism, and whether the infant vaccine schedule is appropriate. 

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Sound Editing/Original Music by Julian Bertino Sound info@julianbertinosound.com

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Tags: research methods, clinical trials, vaccines, vaccines cause adults, vaccines and autism, evidence-based medicine, thimerosal and vaccines, mercury and vaccines, women in STEM, science communication, sci comm

Since the COVID 19 pandemic, epidemiology and virology terms have entered our everyday language, but what do they really mean? What’s the reproductive number of a virus and what can it tells us about disease dynamics? And why have we been following an arms race between rabbits in Australia and a virus for over 70 years now? Join Levannia and Lindsay as they dive into disease dynamics. Come learn the math behind the numbers we’ve heard all too often during the COVID-19 pandemic. We’ll explain how Rnaught is calculated and how we factor in transmissibility, contact rate, and more. For a real world example NOT related to the COVID-19 pandemic, we share the century long story of the arms race between rabbits in Australia and bio contral with the myxoma virus.

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Sound Editing/Original Music by Julian Bertino Sound info@julianbertinosound.com

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Tags: Rnaught, COVID-19, virus, public health, global health, disease dynamics, pandemic, statistics, STEM, women in science, women in STEM, medicine

How many times do you wear an item of clothing before letting it go? Can old clothing be recycled into new? Is renting clothing the secret to solving our craving for new style without destroying the environment? Join Levannia and Lindsay as they dive into fast fashion, textile recycling, and the true cost of fast fashion. Listen along to a lifecycle analysis of the different ways of buying and using clothing, including a comparison of the environmental impact of buying new versus thrifting versus renting clothes.

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Sound Editing/Original Music by Julian Bertino Sound info@julianbertinosound.com

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Tags: fast fashion, fashionphile, thrifting, second-hand clothing, overconsumption, climate change, global warming, climate crisis, zero waste, eco anxiety, climate science, women in STEM

In November 2021, The United Nations Climate Change conference was held in Glasgow, Scotland. Parties from all over the world descended on the conference with the goal of tackling climate change. Pledges were made. Agreements signed. But is it enough? Can the world avoid global warming of 1.5 degrees? Join Levannia and Lindsay for a deep dive into how we got into the climate crisis and where we go from here. You’ll hear about how we actually measure surface temperatures, weather, and climate. Come listen to the latest research offering opinions on the chance of limiting climate change. And finally, what does a 1.5 degree world look like?

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Sound Editing/Original Music by Julian Bertino Sound info@julianbertinosound.com

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Tags: climate change, global warming, climate crisis, zero waste, eco anxiety, climate science, women in STEM

Are you ever confused by jargon? Does it sometimes feel like you are reading or listening to an alien language? How accessible is your own writing? In this episode we end our Science Communication Mini Series with a discussion of jargon and readability. If you’ve ever wondered what makes some writing accessible and other writing not so accessible, or if you find jargon to be the bane of your existence, you’ll find something new in this episode.

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Sound Editing/Original Music by Julian Bertino Sound info@julianbertinosound.com

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Tags: research methods, research toolkit, how to do research, research literacy, science literacy, how to be a scientist, science communication, women in STEM, readability, jargon, jargon garden

So you completed a research project… now what? Or are you curious about what the fuss is with publishing research? What is a journal’s impact factor and why does it matter? In this episode, Levannia and Lindsay dive into the research process further to share how we communicate scientific findings. If you’ve ever wondered what peer review is and why it is important for research integrity, or wondered why some scientific journals are regarded more highly then others, this episode is for you. Further, if you’re wondering what makes a journal trustworthy and what’s behind the rise of predatory journals, you will not want to miss this.

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Sound Editing/Original Music by Julian Bertino Sound info@julianbertinosound.com

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Tags: research methods, research toolkit, how to do research, research literacy, science literacy, how to be a scientist, science communication, women in STEM, science publishing, nature, science, cell, publishing research, peer review, predatory journals