The discovery of sex hormones in the 1930s led to the development of female birth control, a widely used class of drugs that reshaped cultural norms surrounding fertility and bodily autonomy. But contraception remains largely the responsibility of women. On today’s episode: the evolution of birth control and the future of male contraception. Listen to Chain Reaction by ACS wherever you get podcasts and at acs.org/chainreaction.

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Why do humans have red blood, while other animals have green, purple, or even yellow blood? In this episode of Tiny Show and Tell Us, we explore the surprisingly colorful world of animal blood, from Antarctic ice fish with nearly transparent blood to green-blooded skinks and purple-blooded peanut worms. Then we enter tick territory and investigate how a tick bite leaves some people unable to eat red meat and other animal products. The answer involves a condition known as alpha-gal syndrome, where a tick bite can trigger an immune response to the alpha-gal sugar found in many mammals.

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Through a few serendipitous discoveries, antibiotics changed the course of history by turning deadly infections into manageable sicknesses. But it didn’t take long for  bacteria to begin outsmarting these wonder drugs. On today’s episode: The fascinating world of antibiotics and the efforts to tackle antibiotic resistance, including using AI to come up with new drugs that will only become more essential. Listen to Chain Reaction by ACS wherever you get podcasts and at acs.org/chainreaction.

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We'll be publishing a 4-episode miniseries from our sister podcast Chain Reaction over the course of the next 4 weeks! Where Tiny Matters episode span all the scientific fields, Chain Reaction has more of a chemistry focus — but it’s also packed with fascinating history and societal relevance that we know will appeal to our listeners. So we wanted to bring over a recent miniseries about the drugs that have shaped humanity.

You’ve likely relied on a drug at one point or another, whether it be a prescribed medication or something over the counter. So this miniseries explores the history, impact, and future of major drug classes. The first episode is on including antibiotics, followed by birth control, then antidepressants including SSRI and we bring it all home with the very trendy highly impactful, and GLP-1s. You’ll hear from experts about the scientific breakthroughs behind these medicines and the ongoing research that could shape the next generation of drugs. Be sure to tune in! You can get all of Chain Reaction's episodes wherever you listen to podcasts and at acs.org/chainreaction

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For centuries, ghostly lights floating over bogs have appeared in folklore. Known by names including will-o'-the-wisp, corpse candles, and ‘Lantern Jack,’ they’ve inspired stories of supernatural tricksters leading travelers astray, sometimes to their doom. But in 2024, scientists finally uncovered the chemistry behind the phenomenon. From there, we travel deep into the strange world of bogs. These waterlogged landscapes help cool the planet and have preserved ancient artifacts — including human bodies — for thousands of years, helping teach us about what life was like many millennia ago, but also providing insight into some of the diseases that plague humanity today, including Alzheimer's.

Related episodes you may enjoy: 

• Biofilms: The sticky, slimy communities behind some of medicine's toughest infections
• Foraminifera: The one-celled predators that shaped our planet (and kept the receipts)

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Why does your brain sometimes react to a stressful meeting or traffic jam like you’re being hunted by a lion on the savannah? In this episode of Tiny Show and Tell Us, we explore the evolutionary roots of anxiety, why our internal alarm system sometimes misfires, and how treatments can help some people. Then paleontologist and author Riley Black joins the show to talk about her new book Tyrant Lizard Queen: The Love, Life, and Terror of Earth’s Greatest Carnivore. She shares why T. rex is a much more complicated dinosaur than the movie monster we’re used to seeing. We hear about how T. rex grew, hunted, weathered dramatic environmental changes, and fit into her ecosystem. 

Related episodes you may enjoy: 

• Decoding dinosaur colors and the failure of postpartum care: Tiny Show and Tell Us #57
• Treating Depression: Then versus now and the SSRI debate

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For decades, coal miners relied on canaries to warn them about deadly carbon monoxide underground. Canaries were retired from that work at the end of the 20th century, but today scientists still rely on certain organisms, referred to as sentinels, to reveal hidden environmental threats. In this episode, we trace the history of the canary in the coal mine to today and explore how researchers use songbirds, mussels, and oysters to monitor mercury, industrial pollution, and other contaminants that can linger in ecosystems for generations. 

NOAA's Mussel Watch program is celebrating 40 years! Learn more here: https://coastalscience.noaa.gov/news/a-legacy-of-coastal-health-celebrating-40-years-of-noaas-national-mussel-watch-program/

Related episodes you may enjoy: 

• How do you save a species?: Breakthroughs from cheetahs, red wolves, and 'spicy' toads
• Deep sea mining: Environmental uncertainty, ‘Law of the Sea,’ and shark potatoes

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In this episode of Tiny Show and Tell Us, a listener asks why maternal mortality rates in countries like the U.S. and Canada have risen while many other wealthy nations have seen them plateau or even decrease. We talk about postpartum health, racial disparities, access to care, and why support after birth can be just as important as care during pregnancy and delivery. Then we switch gears and discuss how we know the colors of some dinosaurs. The answer lies in tiny fossilized structures called melanosomes, which allowed researchers to reconstruct some of the colors of dinosaurs.

Related episodes you may enjoy: 

• The Mothers of Gynecology: The centuries that led to today’s Black maternal mortality crisis
• Dinosaur Fossils: Inspiring Jurassic Park and helping us predict Earth's future

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Cheetahs carry the genetic scars of an Ice Age bottleneck, red wolves are so rare that every egg matters, and harlequin frogs need their natural toxins restored before they can thrive in the wild again. But avoiding extinction requires far more than protecting habitat alone. In this episode, we talk with scientists at Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute to explore cutting-edge science helping these animals not just survive but thrive, including innovative reproductive technologies like ‘ovary-on-a-chip.’

Similar episodes you may enjoy:

• Extinction: Rethinking the dodo's demise, and could a supervolcano threaten humanity's future?
• What is de-extinction, really? Conservation, genetics, and lessons from 'dire wolves'

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In this episode of Tiny Show and Tell Us, we first discuss funnel-web spiders, who are among the most venomous spiders on Earth. Maybe somewhat paradoxically, their toxins are being studied to treat human disease and chronic pain. Then we talk with historian Claire Aubin about J. Willard Gibbs’ grave at Yale, where she’s a professor. Gibbs was a quiet scientific genius whose work transformed chemistry. He was also seemingly a very cool dude, and today his gravesite is decorated by students seeking good luck before exams. 

Check out This Guy Sucked wherever you get podcasts!

We need your stories — they're what make these bonus episodes possible! Write in to [email protected] or fill out this form with your favorite science fact or science news story for a chance to be featured.

A transcript and references for this episode can be found at acs.org/tinymatters.

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Biofilms are everywhere: your teeth, your kitchen sponge, and even medical implants. Scientists are uncovering how these highly organized microbial communities protect bacteria from antibiotics and the immune system, and how understanding their hidden lives could help us fight some of the scariest infections, particularly those that disproportionately impact people with cystic fibrosis.

Learn more about CALM here.

Check out Wow If True wherever you listen to podcasts!

A transcript and references for this episode can be found at acs.org/tinymatters.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.