meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
Science Friday

Breast Cancer Cultural History, Butterfly Wings. Jan 31, 2020, Part 2

Science Friday

Science Friday and WNYC Studios

Science, Life Sciences, Wnyc, Natural Sciences, Friday

4.4 • 6.3K Ratings

🗓️ 31 January 2020

⏱️ 47 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

‘Radical’ Explores The Hidden History Of Breast Cancer  Nearly 270,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer every year, along with a couple thousand men. But the disease manifests in many different ways, meaning few patients have the same story to tell.  Journalist Kate Pickert collects many of those stories in her book Radical: The Science, Culture, and History of Breast Cancer in America. And one of those stories is her own. As she writes about her own journey with breast cancer, Pickert delves into the history of breast cancer treatment—first devised by a Scottish medical student studying sheep in the 1800s—and chronicles the huge clinical trials for blockbuster drugs in the 80s and 90s—one of which required armies of people to harvest timber from the evergreen forests of the Pacific Northwest.  She joins Ira Flatow to tell her story, and the surprising cultural history of breast cancer.  With Butterfly Wings, There’s More Than Meets The Eye  Scientists are learning that butterfly wings are more than just a pretty adornment. Once thought to be made up of non-living cells, new research suggests that portions of a butterfly wing are actually alive—and serve a very useful purpose.  In a study published in the journal Nature Communications, Naomi Pierce, curator of Lepidoptera at the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology, found that nano-structures within the wing help regulate the wing’s temperature, an important function that keeps the thin membrane from overheating in the sun. They also discovered a “wing heart” that beats a few dozen times per minute to facilitate the directional flow of insect blood or hemolymph.  Pierce joins Ira to talk about her work and the hidden structures of butterfly wings. Plus, Nipam Patel, director of the Marine Biological Laboratory, talks about how butterfly wing structure is an important component of the dazzling color on some butterfly wings.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

This is Science Friday. I'm Ira Flato. A bit later in the hour. The mystery is uncovered on the surface of a butterfly's wing. It's really some really interesting stuff. But first, nearly 270,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer every year and a couple of thousand men too. But the disease manifests in many different ways,

0:22.6

meaning few patients have the same story to tell. My next guest collects many of those stories

0:28.3

in her book, Radical, the Science Culture and History of Breast Cancer in America. And in one of those

0:34.6

stories is her own. And she writes, as she writes about her own journey with breast cancer, author Kate Pickert

0:41.5

details the history of breast cancer treatment as first advised by a Scottish medical student

0:47.3

studying sheep in the 1800s.

0:50.3

That is a really interesting story in the book.

0:53.0

And hopefully we'll get to talk about it with Kate.

0:55.0

And she also chronicles the huge clinical trials for blockbuster drugs in the 80s and 90s,

1:00.8

one of which required armies of people to harvest timber from the evergreen forests of the Pacific Northwest.

1:09.1

And she writes about current targeted personalized treatments and the

1:13.4

surprising East Coast, West Coast divide among breast cancer doctors, each one favoring their

1:19.7

own medicine.

1:20.3

We'll talk about all of that, and a question for you, listeners, if you or a loved one

1:25.0

have had breast cancer, please share what your experience was like

1:28.7

and what you wish you knew before you started treatment.

1:32.6

Our number 844724-8255, or you can tweet us at SciFri.

1:38.3

Also, we're doing a live stream of Science Friday over on our website at Science Friday.com.

1:44.3

Kate Pickard is former staff writer at Time Magazine, a journalism professor at Loyola

1:49.3

Marrymount University, and the author of Radical, the science, culture, and history of breast

1:54.6

cancer in America.

1:55.5

We have an excerpt from her book on our website at ScienceFriday.com slash radical.

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Science Friday and WNYC Studios, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Science Friday and WNYC Studios and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright Š Tapesearch 2026.