Experiment Q

Meet a Queer Scientist: Matt Davis

Wed, 29 Jan 2020 08:00:12 +0000

Matt Davis is currently completing a PhD in Biology at the University of New South Wales but landed in Australia from California via the UK and various stints in South Africa and Thailand.

His thesis is looking at the movement and water resource usage of kangaroos and wild goats in Western NSW near Broken Hill and how these water resources can be best managed.

In this interview with Hamish, Matt talks about his research, the devastating effects of the bush fires to Australian wildlife, and being a self-described “herbivore ecologist AND a fabulously gay queen who kills the selfie game”.

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Meet a Queer Scientist: Faelan Mourmourakis

Wed, 22 Jan 2020 08:00:35 +0000

Faelan Mourmourakis has always wanted to be a zoologist and is currently completing a Master of Research in bee cognition at Macquarie University.

With a brain the size of less than a grain of rice, you’d be forgiven to think that bees don’t have the cognitive ability to solve problems. But in their research, Faelan has found that this is not true and they have has been blown away by how bees are able to make decisions even when given conflicting information.

As an open transgender person, Faelan told Hamish how they experienced transphobia and discrimination during their undergraduate studies, but has found working on their masters has been a more accepting and welcoming environment.

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Meet a Queers Scientist: Dr Brad Clarke

Wed, 15 Jan 2020 08:00:16 +0000

Dr Brad Clarke is currently a Senior Lecturer in Environmental Science and Analytical Chemistry at the University of Melbourne and lead researcher of the “Australian Laboratory for Emerging Contaminants”. Brad’s research focusses on assessing the risk to public health and the environment of human made chemicals and micro plastics.

There are over 140 million unique human made chemical compounds with over 150,000 of these are routinely used for industrial applications, which is astounding. In some cases there is little or no understanding on the impact of these chemical to the human body or the environment, but they are still being used in consumer products.

Hamish sat down with Brad to understand this problem a bit more and also find out what we can possibly do to protect ourselves and the environment.

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We Need Diversity in STEM

Wed, 08 Jan 2020 08:00:18 +0000

Having a lack of diversity in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) leads to blind spots in the development of new technologies that can negatively affect end users.

Hamish Blunck talks with Jo Foster from the Institute of Engineering and Technology about some of the reasons we might be seeing a lack of diversity in STEM and how STEM can change to be more inclusive to people from diverse backgrounds.

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How to Spot Dishonest Science

Wed, 01 Jan 2020 08:00:22 +0000

There are many people and organisations out there who spread misinformation in the guise of science. How are we supposed to tell the real science from the junk science?

We speak to Nobel Prize Laureate Prof. Peter Doherty and founder of DeSmogBlog James Hoggan about how people with political agendas can make their opinions appear scientific, and how you can stop yourself from being fooled.

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Same-sex attraction and Evolution

Wed, 25 Dec 2019 08:00:13 +0000

Same-sex attraction is something that seems at first like it should be selected against by evolution, and yet we see it, not only in humans, but also in many other animals as well. Clearly, there’s more to this story than simply inheritance and natural selection.

Last week we talked about the genetic architecture that may contribute to same-sex attraction in humans, however we didn’t talk much about environmental factors, or how those genes would propagate in a population that undergoes evolutionary pressures.

This week we’re talking to Dr Bob Wong, an expert on animal reproductive behaviours at Monash University, to learn more about same-sex attraction in an evolutionary context.

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Meet a Queer Scientist: Dr Aaron Fairweather

Wed, 25 Dec 2019 08:00:08 +0000

Dr Aaron Fairweather is an entomologist (insect scientist) at the University of Guelph in Canada. They identify as non-binary and specialise in the role of ant colonies in agricultural ecosystems.

We spoke to Dr Fairweather about their experience coming out in their science field, the support of their university, their research into ants, and their work in science communication.

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GWAS into Same-Sex Attraction Factors

Thu, 19 Dec 2019 09:21:53 +0000

Same-sex attraction is something that exists in humans and other animals. But why? People can often be confused about why we see same-sex behaviour in an evolutionary biological system.

Earlier this year, a team of geneticists performed a GWAS (Genome-Wide Association Study) in which the genomes of over 477,000 individuals were sequenced and they identified 5 genetic markers that have a very high correlation with same-sex behaviour.

This is not a “gay gene”. Same-sex behaviour has multiple non-deterministic factors, both genetic and environmental. However, this study does shed some insight into the genetic architecture of same-sex attraction, and we talk to one of the paper’s authors, Dr Andrea Ganna, to learn more about it.

You can also find more information on their website.

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Meet a Queer Scientist: Mary Mansilla

Wed, 18 Dec 2019 08:00:26 +0000

Mary Mansilla is a PhD candidate studying placental development biology at the Hudson Institute of Medical Research. She self-identifies as bisexual, she’s from a migrant background, and she’s an activist for mental health issues.

We spoke to Mary Mansilla about her experience as a queer person of colour in her field in Australia and about her role in research into a pregnancy-related disorder called pre-eclampsia.

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Meet a Queer Scientist: Dr Mohammad Taha

Wed, 18 Dec 2019 08:00:18 +0000

Dr Mohammad Taha is an engineer and scientist at the Melbourne School of Engineering. They have a Bachelor of Engineering specialising in Electrical and Electronics Engineering and also have a PhD from RMIT.

In 2019, Mohammad was named one of Australia’s 30 most innovative engineers by Engineers Australia. This was on the back on inventing a new material that can potentially change how we consume energy in our daily lives. They believe that tackling climate change needs to happen at a systemic level and this invention could go a long way in achieving that.

Being an engineer and scientist is only one aspect of Mohammad. As a person of colour and a member of the LGBTIQA+ community, their advocacy and creative output centres around queer and trans people of colour and their place in different societies. Not to mention that they are also a spin instructor, writer and poet, and also have a keen interest in kimonos and bow ties.

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Transgender Voice Training

Wed, 18 Dec 2019 08:00:08 +0000

Many transgender and non-binary people are choosing to modify their voices for various reasons related to their gender expression. Voice modification can be a safe, non-invasive process for many people seeking to change their voice for gender-related reasons.

Some trans and non-binary people choose to get surgery as a form of voice modification, however this can be expensive, not give you the results that you want, and is much less reversible than non-invasive methods of voice modification.

We spoke to two voice therapists from the LaTrobe Communication Clinic, a clinic under Monash Health that offers free training courses for people seeking voice training for gender-related reasons: Emma Ball and Sterling.

We also spoke to transman voice actor Jesse Nowack, and transwoman radio star Michelle “Mama Mish” Sheppard, to get the experience of two transpeople who are going through voice changes.

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