Linking violence in Myanmar to fossil amber research, and waking up bacterial spores

<p>On this week’s show: A study suggests paleontological research has directly benefited from the conflict in Myanmar, and how dormant bacterial spores keep track of their environment</p> <p>First up on the podcast this week, Staff Writer <a href="https://www.rodrigoperezortega.com/">Rodrigo Pérez Ortega</a> joins host Sarah Crespi to discuss links between <a href="https://www.science.org/content/article/violent-conflict-myanmar-linked-boom-fossil-amber-research-study-claims">violent conflict in Myanmar and a boom in fossil amber research</a>.</p> <p>Also on the show this week, we hear about how bacterial spores—which can lie dormant for millions of years—decide it’s time to wake up. <a href="https://www.kaito.co/">Kaito Kikuchi</a>, an image analysis scientist at Reveal Biosciences, joins Sarah to discuss how dormant <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abl7484">spores act a bit like neurons</a> to make these decisions.</p> <p>In a sponsored segment from the <em>Science</em>/AAAS Custom Publishing Office, Sean Sanders, director and senior editor for the Custom Publishing Office, interviews <a href="https://icahn.mssm.edu/profiles/ramon-parsons">Ramon Parsons</a>, director of the Tisch Cancer Institute at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, about his institute’s innovative approach to cancer treatment.</p> <p>This week’s episode was produced with help from <a href="https://podigy.co/">Podigy</a>.</p> <p>[Image: (public domain); Music: Jeffrey Cook]</p> <p>[alt: micrograph of the bacterium <em>Bacillus subtilis</em> with podcast overlay symbol]</p> <p>Authors: Sarah Crespi; Rodrigo Pérez Ortega</p> <p>Episode page: <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adf2050">https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adf2050</a></p> <p>About the Science Podcast: https://www.science.org/content/page/about-science-podcast</p><p>See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.</p>