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Science Magazine Podcast

Doubts about the drought that kicked off our latest geological age, and a faceoff between stink bugs with samurai wasps

Science Magazine Podcast

Science Podcast

News, News Commentary, Science

4.3 • 842 Ratings

🗓️ 9 August 2018

⏱️ 23 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

We now live in the Meghalayan age—the last age of the Holocene epoch. Did you get the memo? A July decision by the International Commission on Stratigraphy, which is responsible for naming geological time periods, divided the Holocene into three ages: the Greenlandian, the Northgrippian, and the Meghalayan. The one we live in—the Meghalayan age (pronounced “megalion”)—is pegged to a global drought thought to have happened some 4200 years ago. But many critics question the timing of this latest age and the global expanse of the drought. Staff writer Paul Voosen talks with host Sarah Crespi about the evidence for and against the global drought—and what it means if it’s wrong. Sarah also talks to staff writer Kelly Servick about her feature story on what happens when biocontrol goes out of control. Here’s the setup: U.S. Department of Agriculture researchers wanted to know whether brown marmorated stink bugs that have invaded the United States could be controlled—aka killed—by importing their natural predators, samurai wasps, from Asia. But before they could find out, the wasps showed up anyway. Kelly discusses how using one species to combat another can go wrong—or right—and what happens when the situation outruns regulators. This week’s episode was edited by Podigy. Download a transcript of this episode (PDF) Listen to previous podcasts. [Image: Melissa McMasters/Flickr; Music: Jeffrey Cook] 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,

0:04.0

the academic arm of the Mount Sinai health system in New York City,

0:07.5

and one of America's leading research medical schools.

0:10.7

What are scientists and clinicians working on to improve medical care and health for women?

0:15.5

Find out in a special supplement to Science magazine prepared by the Icon School of Medicine

0:20.0

and Mount Sinai in partnership

0:21.6

with science. Visit our website at www.combe at www.combe-science.org and search for Frontiers

0:27.0

of Medical Research-Dash-Womeness Health. The Icon School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, we find a way.

0:33.3

Morgan State University, a Baltimore, Maryland-Karnege R2 doctoral research institution,

0:39.2

offers more than 100 academic programs and awards degrees at the baccalaureate,

0:44.0

master's, and doctoral levels, is furthering their mission of growing the future, leading

0:48.7

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

0:54.4

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

0:59.4

and eight new National Centers of Excellence, Morgan is positioned to achieve Carnegie R1 designation in the next five years.

1:07.4

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

1:17.6

Welcome to the science podcast for August 10, 2018. I'm Sarah Crespi. In this week's show, staff writer Paul Voussin joins us with a debate about the newly named

1:30.8

Megalion Age.

1:32.3

That's the latest division of the Holocene Epic.

1:35.6

Yes, there is a new name for what the time that we live in.

1:39.5

And staff writer Kelly Serfick is here to talk about using one bug, the samurai wasp, to control another

1:45.3

book, the marmaladed stink book. And what happens when this type of biocontrol goes out of control?

1:51.6

And don't forget to tweet to us or write to us about this month's book segment. We'll be reading

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