Why muon magnetism matters, and a count of all the Tyrannosaurus rex that ever lived

Science Magazine Podcast

Science Podcast

News, News Commentary, Science

4.3 • 842 Ratings

🗓️ 15 April 2021

⏱️ 39 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Host Sarah Crespi talks with Staff Writer Adrian Cho about a new measurement of the magnetism of the muon—an unstable cousin of the electron. This latest measurement and an earlier one both differ from predictions based on the standard model of particle physics. The increased certainty that there is a muon magnetism mismatch could be a field day for theoretical physicists looking to add new particles or forces to the standard model. Also on this week’s show, Charles Marshall, director of the University of California Museum of Paleontology and professor of integrative biology, joins Sarah to talk about his team’s calculation for the total number of Tyrannosaurus rex that ever lived. In a sponsored segment from the Science/AAAS Custom Publishing Office, Sean Sanders interviews Imre Berger, professor of biochemistry at the University of Bristol, about his Science paper on finding a druggable pocket on the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 and how the work was accelerated by intensive cloud computing. This segment is sponsored by Oracle for Research. This week’s episode was produced with help from Podigy. Listen to previous podcasts. About the Science Podcast Download a transcript (PDF). [Image:Lewis Kelly/Flickr; Music: Jeffrey Cook] Authors: Adrian Cho; Sarah Crespi Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Introducing Peak Scientific. With over 25 years of expertise, Peak leads the industry in providing
0:06.8	reliable, high purity gas generators for LCMS and GCMS. Whether you're in the lab conducting
0:13.2	groundbreaking research or pushing the boundaries of science, trust Peak Scientific to supply
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0:30.8	Choose the solution that is tested, validated, and approved by leading instrument manufacturers globally. Visit PeekScientific.com and quote Science Podcast to receive special offers.
0:45.9	Welcome to the science podcast for April 16, 2021.
0:47.3	I'm Sarah Crespi.
0:51.5	Each week, we feature the most interesting news and research published in science and the sister journals.
0:52.7	First up, staff writer Adrian Cho joins me to discuss
0:55.8	how a recent measurement of a muon's magnetism has the potential to turn into a field day for a
1:01.7	theoretical physicist. Then I talked with researcher Charles Marshall about his project to calculate
1:07.5	the total number of Tyrannosaurus rexes that ever lived. Finally, in a sponsored
1:12.4	segment, Director of Custom Publishing, Sean Sanders, talks with researcher Imra Berger about a 2020
1:18.5	science paper that describes finding a drugable pocket on SARS-CoB-2's spike protein and a ligand
1:25.8	that jams it shut.
1:36.3	First up this week, we have staff writer Adrian Cho. He's going to tell us about a new measurement of the magnetism of a muon that differs from predictions made by the standard model
1:42.6	and whether this difference upends physics,
1:45.5	introduces new forces, new particles, lots of hype. But Adrian, you're here to tell us how real it all is.
1:51.4	How are you doing?
1:52.2	Very good. How are you, Sarah?
1:53.5	Good. Okay, the basics here. What is a muon? And why might it be a dowsing rod for unknown forces and particles?
	...

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