The first part (of 2) of a brief conversation with Dr. Louise Rollins-Smith, Co-principle investigator for a new National Science Foundation grant to study amphibian population declines in Central and South America. Why, one might ask? Well, Dr. Rollins-Smith and her team are hard at work investigating the medicinal powers of frog-secreted "antimicrobial peptides" that our little green friends use to fight off bacteria, fungi and viruses. Already findings indicate that these might be highly effective against the AIDS pandemic's manifestation, HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus). If the team's efforts on both fronts converge just right, there may be developments on the horizon that will bring hope to the previously hopeless. Listen to Dr. Rollins-Smith describe the paths and enjoy a visit with this charming and highly motivated scientific pioneer! Download the first 8 minute show here! And look forward to the conclusion next week, as Dr. Rollins-Smith describes how she got into this "bizness" in the first place! Links: Environment News Service 9/30/05 Vanderbilt Reporter 9/30/05 Nashville Tennessean 10/21/05 Frog Sounds used in the show courtesy of Frogsonice

After a very long delay we are finally listed in the original-very-first directory for podcasts, ipodder.org . It's amazing to be in such good company, and I'd heartily recommend ya'll checking out any and all of the listening programs on that list. Good timing: I'm happy to announce that this week's offering will be an interview with Louise Rollins-Smith, whose recent Tennessean article detailed (in layman's terms) her team's efforts to discover a cure for HIV utilizing the secretions of Aussie frogs. Yep, I said frogs. From Australia. Cool!

You are a fly! Okay, there really aren't any flies in the lab of dynamic Biomedical Engineer Jerry Wilmink; but if there were, you would be one (as in, "a fly on the wall") as we sit in on a prep session for the CSO's Tuesday IVC with schools all over the country. These Glenn McCombs-designed "virtual lab tours" are definitely bringing students into the exciting and fascinating environment of a cutting-edge scientist's workspace. This S4theB! paints a quick sketch of the work it takes to make the interaction valuable, concise, and effective. Download the podcast here and enjoy a few pics from the recording session right heah!

And whilst we're at it, here's the program description from the CSO Videoconferences page:

Jerry Wilmink, a Biomedical Engineer at Vanderbilt University presents Science Rocks.This first program will cover the following topics: introduction to cells, growing cells in a petri dish, incubating cells, putting cells to sleep with liquid nitrogen, and how to make human skin!!!!Jerry plans to offer a second and third program to cover the basics of light and bioluminescent light. Lasers will also be introduced and medical laser applications will be demonstrated.

This S4theB! engages CSO Associate Director Vicki Metzgar in a conversation about what it is she does at this teeming hotbed of Science Outreach. She discusses the summer camps and the GK12 Program we touched upon previously in our conversation with Jeannie Tuschl. Amongst her many other services of excellence in her educational career, Vicki has served as chair for the Tennessee State Department of Education's Science Standards Writing Committee and as Coordinator of Science for Metro Nashville Public Schools. She's fun and interesting and always excited about helping students learn science. Download the conversation here. Listen, ya'll. We're runnin' out of staff! Staff profiles will be ending soon and I have it on good authority (yeah, I talked to the guy who records these things!) that scientist interviews--and they WILL be fantabulous!--will be coming soon. Just today, I recorded some fine audio whilst Associate Director Glenn McCombs and Technology Coordinator Jeff Hazelton went through the paces to set up Biomedical Engineer Gerry Wilmink for a mind-blowing virtual lab tour. See the signups page at CSO for more info. And expect the goods, here, next time, on Snacks4theBrain!

I know I said we'd visit some Keystone Conference audio this week, but in the service of timeliness I instead offer a brief intro to my recently/currently published article, Videoconferencing K-12: The State of the Art." Innovate journal of online education has been kind enough to welcome me into its community of academics and others interested in using technology to further the education of students worldwide. Hear what the article's about here and then go read the durned thing! Heck, I worked a year and a half on this, my first peer-reviewed paper; and the least you can do is to go dedicate 20 minutes reading it (smiley face goes here). To further the cause, this S4theB! installment is less than 5 minutes long and it features my guitar work! 'Til next time!

The last morning of the Keystone Conference in Indianapolis, Indiana I took another short jog around the Indianapolis Canal, carrying my Dell Axim handheld in my hand (of all things!) and narrating my first little soundseeing tour. Though the narration is somewhat short of breath, I hope you enjoy it! Listen here. The Keystone Conference is a small gathering locally, only around a hundred and twenty souls, but heavy-hitters they are--the leaders and advocates for Interactive Videoconferencing. AND please take a look at "Videoconferencing K-12: The State of the Art," a peer-reviewed article just published at Innovate journal of online education. Just to prove that I was really running, here's a very small and brief Quicktime movie. He hee, he hee, he hee.