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Science Magazine Podcast

Brickmaking bacteria and solar cells that turn ‘waste’ heat into electricity

Science Magazine Podcast

Science Podcast

News, News Commentary, Science

4.3842 Ratings

🗓️ 20 February 2020

⏱️ 34 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

On this week’s show, staff writer Robert F. Service talks with host Sarah Crespi about manipulating microbes to make them produce building materials like bricks—and walls that can take toxins out of the air.   Sarah also talks with Paul Davids, principal member of the technical staff in applied photonics & microsystems at Sandia National Laboratories, about an innovation in converting waste heat to electricity that uses similar materials to solar cells but depends on quantum tunneling.   And in a bonus segment, producer Meagan Cantwell talks with online news editor David Grimm on  stage at the AAAS annual meeting in Seattle. They discuss how wildfires can harm your lungs, crime rates in so-called sanctuary states, and how factors such as your gender and country of origin influence how much trust you put in science.   This week’s episode was edited by Podigy.   Listen to previous podcasts   About the Science Podcast   Download a transcript (PDF) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

This podcast is supported by the Icon School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, one of America's leading research medical schools.

0:07.8

Icon Mount Sinai is the academic arm of the eight hospital Mount Sinai health system in New York City.

0:13.9

It's consistently among the top recipients of NIH funding.

0:18.0

Researchers at Icon Mount Sinai have made breakthrough discoveries in many fields vital to

0:23.0

advancing the health of patients, including cancer, COVID and long COVID, cardiology, neuroscience, and

0:30.4

artificial intelligence. The Icon School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, we find a way. Morgan State

0:37.3

University, a Baltimore, Maryland,

0:39.4

Carnegie R2 doctoral research institution, offers more than 100 academic programs and awards

0:45.4

degrees at the baccalaureate, master's, and doctoral levels, is furthering their mission of

0:50.4

growing the future leading the world. Morgan continues to address the needs and challenges of the modern urban environment.

0:57.4

With a four-year quadrupling of research, more than a dozen new doctoral programs,

1:02.4

and eight new national centers of excellence, Morgan is positioned to achieve Carnegie R1

1:07.8

designation in the next five years.

1:10.4

To learn more about Morgan and their ascension to R1, visit morgan.edu.

1:15.3

combe.

1:22.3

Welcome to the science podcast for February 21st, 2020.

1:26.3

I'm Sarah Crespi.

1:28.9

First up this week, I talk with science news writer Robert Service about bacteria, engineer to make bricks and keep the indoor

1:34.4

environment clean. Next, we hear from Paul Davids about his research into making electricity

1:40.0

from waste heat emitted by cars. Finally, we have a special segment featuring online news editor David Grimm and producer Megan

1:47.3

Cantwell.

1:48.0

They give us a rundown of the news published at the AAAS meeting in Seattle.

...

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