The Science Pawdcast

Episoade

• 
  Season 8 Episode 16: Annoying People Are Cutting Your Life Short and Cats Yell at Men 06.09.2026 27min

  Send us Fan Mail Someone in your life has a special talent for raising your blood pressure in under 10 seconds. The uncomfortable question we chase today is whether those “hasslers” just ruin your mood or whether they might be linked to measurable changes in your body over time. We break down a large study of 2,345 adults that mapped social networks and paired those reports with saliva-based DNA methylation data. That lets researchers estimate biological aging using epigenetic measures like ...
• 
  Season 8 Episode 15: Kids vs Tech, Dogs vs Emotions, and Dr. Jen Golbeck author of Think like a Dog 25.08.2026 1h 4min

  Send us Fan Mail A pet medicine mishap kicks things off as we relive “Pilgate,” the moment Brik knocked arthritis meds off the counter and Bernoulli and Beaker ate a truly scary number of pills. Once everyone is safe, we shift to a bigger question that hits home for parents and teachers: are we asking kids to learn on devices that are built to distract them? We break down the changing screen time recommendations in schools, including major limits like those adopted by Los Angeles Unified, an...
• 
  Season 8 Episode 14: Blame Canada(?) and Tarantula Emotional Support Animals 29.07.2026 29min

  Send us Fan Mail Smoke turns the sky orange and suddenly everyone wants a simple villain. We get why that’s tempting, but we care more about what the evidence says about Canadian wildfires, boreal forest fire behavior, and the real drivers behind those brutal smoke days that drift into the U.S. Midwest and East Coast. We walk through just how massive Canada’s boreal forest is, why so many ignitions happen far from roads and crews, and why lightning-caused wildfires account for so much of the ...
• 
  Season 8 Episode 13: Canadian Dangers, Cute Snakes, and Kathy Pobloskie About the Science of Lost Dogs 12.07.2026 1h 1min

  Send us Fan Mail The animal that causes the most aggressive wildlife incidents in Canada is probably not the one you’re picturing. We break down a Frontiers in Conservation Science study that tracks thousands of encounters and lands on a surprising culprit: elk, especially around campgrounds. We talk through why “cute” and “safe” are not the same thing, how seasonality can change animal behavior, and the simple hiking habits that lower the odds of a scary surprise on the trail, whether you’re...
• 
  Season 8 Episode 12: NASA gets a boost from Swift and Pets vs Serious Mental Health Issues 05.07.2026 21min

  Send us Fan Mail A space telescope is quietly slipping toward Earth, and the rescue plan sounds like science fiction: send up an autonomous robotic spacecraft, match speed in low Earth orbit, grab the aging observatory, and gently push it higher before it burns up. We walk through the attempted save of the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, why Swift is so important to astronomy, and how it acts like NASA’s first responder for gamma ray bursts that vanish in minutes but can outshine entire galax...
• 
  Season 8 Episode 11: Brix, the ICU, FIP, and a Spooky Cat Fungus 29.06.2026 26min

  Send us Fan Mail A kitten can look “a little off” on Sunday and be fighting for his life by Monday morning, and that reality changes how you read the science headlines. We breakdown Brix’s terrifying ICU stay, what we learned from the veterinary team, and why we’re still watching his recovery like a hawk. First, we dig into a genuinely spooky health threat: Sporothrix brasiliensis, a cat-associated fungal disease that can spread to humans and other animals. We talk through what symptoms can ...
• 
  Season 8 Episode 10: Screw Worms, Selfish Cats, and Dr. Laci Brock on Space Art! 07.06.2026 1h 8min

  Send us Fan Mail A parasite that lays eggs in wounds and eats living tissue sounds like something from a horror movie, but it is real and it is making headlines right now. We break down the New World screw worm outbreak in Texas, what it does to animals, and why ranchers and veterinarians treat it as an urgent livestock health emergency. We also talk through the bigger picture: how infestations spread through everyday cuts and bites, why wildlife can make control harder, and how trade disrupt...
• 
  Season 8 Episode 9: Winged Flight, Rile up The Dog, and Melly the Science Geek! 31.05.2026 58min

  Send us Fan Mail Your brain is way more flexible than your body. We start with a wild virtual reality study that asks a simple sci-fi question: could humans learn to fly if we had wings? After a week of VR training with motion tracking, participants don’t just get better at flying through rings and hovering over cliffs, their brains begin responding to wings the way they respond to arms. We unpack what that says about neuroplasticity, body perception, and why “embodiment” is the real magic be...
• 
  Season 8 Episode 8: Hantavirus High Seas, Pets for Stress, and Comedian Matt Koff the Catman 23.05.2026 57min

  Send us Fan Mail A cruise ship, a rare virus, and a big question: when you hear “hantavirus outbreak,” what’s the real risk and what’s just scary headlines? We start by unpacking the MV Hondius hantavirus story, why hantaviruses can be so dangerous, and how infections usually happen through rodent exposure in dusty enclosed spaces. We also talk through what public health officials look for during an outbreak, including long incubation windows, fast testing, and why person-to-person transmissi...
• 
  Season 8 Episode 7: Stiff Person Syndrome, Cat's Kidneys and Dr. Vikram Baliga on the Wonder of Plants! 03.05.2026 53min

  Send us Fan Mail A rare autoimmune disorder can feel invisible until it steals someone’s movement, and stiff person syndrome is one of the starkest examples. We break down what’s happening in the nervous system when GABA-driven “calm down” signals get disrupted by autoantibodies, why symptoms can escalate into severe spasms and rigidity, and why the condition has captured public attention through Celine Dion’s story. Then we shift from symptoms to source: an experimental CAR T-cell therapy d...
• 
  Season 8 Episode 6: A.I. Issues, Tick Meds, and Dr. Mitchell on Volcanoes 19.04.2026 1h 1min

  Send us Fan Mail AI chatbots are everywhere now, and the real problem is not cheating or convenience. It is what happens to your brain when a tool offers a confident answer before you have wrestled with the evidence. We break down a fascinating study on generative AI and critical thinking that puts people in a city council scenario, forces a decision under time pressure, and tests how early versus late AI access changes argument quality, memory, and bias. The takeaway is practical for student...
• 
  Season 8 Episode 5: Medical Cannabis Falls Short and Dog Diabetes 21.03.2026 23min

  Send us Fan Mail The most convincing health claims are the ones that feel personal, and few topics are as personal as medical cannabis for mental health. We take on a huge Lancet meta-analysis that pulled together 54 trials and thousands of participants to ask a simple question: does medical cannabis actually help anxiety, depression, and PTSD more than placebo? The answer is uncomfortable, especially given how common “medical marijuana for mental health” has become, and we walk through what ...
• 
  Season 8 Episode 4: Teen Sleep, Mushing Dogs, and Dr. Alex Dainis on Tasting Every Single Amino Acid 15.03.2026 1h 3min

  Send us Fan Mail Seventy thousand digits of pi is impressive, but the number that stuck with us is much scarier: about one in four high school students now reports sleeping five hours or less. We dig into the latest teen sleep deprivation data, what it means for learning, mental health, and emotional regulation, and why “just go to bed earlier” ignores adolescent circadian rhythm biology. When melatonin shifts later during puberty, early school start times can become a daily clash between the...
• 
  Season 8 Episode 3: Project Hail Mary Science and Swedish Cat Laws 07.03.2026 26min

  Send us Fan Mail Think space is fast? Try outrunning time. We kick off with a clear-eyed breakdown of Project Hail Mary’s core science. Using the Parker Solar Probe as our real-world speed limit, we map the math of interstellar distances to compare to the ability for Ryan Gosling to get to Tau Ceti in Project Hail Mary. Then we turn to biology’s unforgiving rules. Could a years-long medically induced coma carry a crew through deep space? We explain how coma differs from sleep, why weeks mark...
• 
  Season 8 Episode 2: Punch the Monkey and Bad News About Flat Faced Dogs 01.03.2026 22min

  Send us Fan Mail A baby macaque clutching an orange plush shouldn’t teach us this much about biology, but Punch does. His quiet hold on a stuffed orangutan opens a door into attachment science, stress, and how primate societies enforce rules we often mistake for cruelty. We walk through why zookeepers reached for a surrogate object, how tactile comfort supports motor development and emotional regulation, and what happens when a first-time mother and a heat wave collide with the unforgiving ma...
• 
  Season 8 Episode 1: Baby Rhythm, Senior's Pet Challenges, and Dr. Raven Baxter on Science Communication 21.02.2026 50min

  Send us Fan Mail A newborn brain can feel the pulse before it knows the tune—and that single insight opens a door into how early our minds start to organize the world. We kick off the new season by exploring two studies that hit close to home: one revealing that infants build visual categories and detect musical rhythm far earlier than many assumed, and another mapping the real‑world challenges older adults face when caring for pets they deeply love. The data is surprising, the implications a...
• 
  Episode 36 Season 7: Seahorse Dads, Dogs vs Horses, and Smarter Health with Dr. Shazma Mithani 13.12.2025 56min

  Send us Fan Mail A father that gives birth, a horse that says “no,” and an ER doctor who wants to keep you out of the hospital—this episode brings science and everyday choices into sharp focus. We start with a mind-bending dive into seahorses, where males carry the pregnancy and build a placenta-like environment from skin. New research shows familiar pregnancy genes at work inside the brood pouch, but with an unexpected hormonal switch: androgens, not estrogens, drive gestation. It’s evolutio...
• 
  Episode 35 Season 7: Coffee, Cats, And The Science Between 06.12.2025 20min

  Send us Fan Mail Coffee may nudge biology, but only within limits. We dig into new research suggesting that three to four cups a day align with longer telomeres for people with severe mental illness, then challenge the hype with the caveats that matter: observational design, smoking as a confounder, wildly different cup sizes and brew methods, and the reality that more caffeine can erase potential benefits. We translate the science into practical guidance—why moderation beats megadoses, how 4...
• 
  Episode 34 Season 7: Brain Wash, Golden Genes, and The Chief Bubble Dude to chat BUBBLES! 29.11.2025 46min

  Send us Fan Mail When the brain gets knocked, it fights back—at least for a while. We open with new research that uses ALPS MRI to watch the glymphatic “waste rivers” of the brain as they surge after repeated head impacts and then falter when the system is pushed too far. That real-time look at fluid flow explains why early symptoms can be misleading and why rest, recovery windows, and better sideline calls aren’t just policy—they’re neuroprotection. We talk sports protocols, long-term risk, ...
• 
  Episode 33 Season 7: Cancer Clues, Dog Socialization, and Interview with Author Melanie Kaplan on Lab Dogs 21.11.2025 57min

  Send us Fan Mail A vaccine built for a virus might be whispering a powerful message to cancer care. We dig into a new Nature paper suggesting that mRNA COVID shots could enhance the effectiveness of checkpoint inhibitor immunotherapy—especially in non‑small cell lung cancer and melanoma—by acting as an immune alarm that sharpens anti‑tumor responses. The data is retrospective, not causal, so we break down why the signal is exciting, where confounders can hide, and what the next generation of ...