#201 Dark Matter and the Search for Elusive Evidence | WeAreSTS

Children as young as eight are targeted by influencers and advertisers towards anti-aging products, from skin creams and anti-wrinkle devices to “baby botox”. Maddy Ross (Human Sciences ’25) investigates how influencers and social media algorithms drive anti-aging anxiety to ever increasing levels while industry advertising markets solutions to ever younger people, especially girls. She identifies increasing concerns over risks that are physical, psychological, and social. Are young people being exploited without even knowing it?Influencers play a key role in these processes, especially impacting children’s consumption behaviours. Algorithms on social media platforms seek engagement by moving to increasingly extreme representations – anything to keep us connected and scrolling.Should we be worried about “baby botox” and its promotion? Yes, Ross argues. Its increase in popularity is only symptom of powerful industries who are constantly looking to sell you something. It seems such products have no serious resistance, regulation, or consumer protection and growing evidence suggests hidden costs and runaway risks.This is a report from the STSNewsRoom 2024.FeaturingInterviewer and researcherMaddy Ross (Human Sciences BSc) https://uk.linkedin.com/in/madeline-ross-4188b2287IntervieweesDr Caitlin Shaughnessy (Researcher at UCL Department of Information Studies)Professor Afshin Mosahebi (Professor at UCL Department of Surgical Biotechnology and Consultant Plastic Surgeon)HostProfessor Joe Cain https://ucl.ac.uk/sts/cainMusic credits“Rollin At 5,” by Kevin MacLeodhttps://filmmusic.io/song/5000-rollin-at-5Podcast informationWeAreSTS is a production of the Department of Science and Technology Studies (STS) at University College London (UCL). To find out more, or to leave feedback about the show:https://ucl.ac.uk/sts/podcast

Ian Urbina’s 2019 book, Outlaw Ocean, brilliantly investigates hidden worlds of human activity on the high seas. From modern day pirates and traffickers to gargantuan fishing fleets to “freedom-loving” recluses and entrepreneurs, his stories build on the idea of oceans as lawless spaces well beyond the awareness of most people. He documents extremes of human behaviour. He also describes the extraordinary scale of extraction and exploitation that takes place off shore. In this world, who’s “free” and what are the consequences of “lawless” spaces?Outlaw Ocean is this year’s selection for the STS1Book programme. In this episode, Dr Michel Wahome talks about why she recommended the book for our community. She points to some of the many ways it can be used to explore key concepts in STS, such as actor-network theory and social-technical imaginaries. She also considers the relationship between lawlessness and entrepreneurship as a key theme in innovation studies and science policy.For more about the STS1Book programme:https://www.ucl.ac.uk/sts/about-sts/sts1book-programme FeaturingIntervieweeDr Michel Wahome, UCL Lecturer in Science and Technology Studieshttps://profiles.ucl.ac.uk/86440HostProfessor Joe Cain, UCL Professor of History and Philosophy of Biologyhttps://ucl.ac.uk/sts/cain Music credits“Rollin At 5,” by Kevin MacLeodhttps://filmmusic.io/song/5000-rollin-at-5Ecossaise in E-flat by Kevin MacLeodhttps://filmmusic.io/song/3700-ecossaise-in-e-flat-woo-86- Podcast informationWeAreSTS is a production of the Department of Science and Technology Studies (STS) at University College London (UCL). To find out more, or to leave feedback about the show:https://ucl.ac.uk/sts/podcast

What is dark matter? Mary Westover investigates, featuring insights from Dr. Joe McLaughlin and Dr. Marcello Messina. She visits the Gran Sasso Laboratory in Italy to understand how a research lab sunk deep into a mountain and holding a giant tank of liquid Xenon holds the promise of evidence for this most elusive substance. From the lab's mountain setting to the complex physics involved, this episode provides a deep dive into one of physics’ most perplexing questions. This episode is a practical project submitted by Mary Westover as part of her UCL degree, MSc Science Communication. She wrote, researched, produced, and starred in the production. For more about UCL’s Science Communication MSc, visit: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/prospective-students/graduate/taught-degrees/science-communication-msc Featuring Interviewer and researcher Mary Westover https://uk.linkedin.com/in/mary-westover Interviewees Joseph McLaughlin https://www.hep.ucl.ac.uk/people/mugshot.shtml?id=joemcl Marcello Messina https://www.gssi.it/people/professors/lectures-physics/item/12461-messina-marcello Host Professor Joe Cain, UCL Professor of History and Philosophy of Biology https://ucl.ac.uk/sts/cain Music credits Mary used copyright-free music from Pixabay. WeAreSTS Music credits “Rollin At 5,” by Kevin MacLeod https://filmmusic.io/song/5000-rollin-at-5 Podcast information WeAreSTS is a production of the Department of Science and Technology Studies (STS) at University College London (UCL). To find out more, or to leave feedback about the show: https://ucl.ac.uk/sts/podcast

Well, the wait is over. The time has come. Season 2 of WeAreSTS is on its way. This season we’ll feature some cracking projects from STS students. And we’ll have conversations with all sorts of folks here in the department. I’m gonna sneak in a few bonuses too, just to add that tiny bit of sparkle. WeAreSTS is your window into science and technology studies. You know that science and technology don’t live inside isolated bubbles. You know they’re shaped by all sorts of forces and constraints. STS explores that interplay between science and context. For some, it’s money and politics. For others, it’s geography and imagination. For others still maybe it’s social and cultural biases; the role of age, class and gender; or the way ideas give us certain world views that can be hard to shake. It’s a complex subject “science in context”. That gives us huge amounts to explore. WeAreSTS is designed to help you join us in what we do. Maybe that’s science policy, innovation studies, or communication. Maybe it’s the hunt for social justice. Maybe you’re fascinated with history, or philosophy, or sociology and you’re looking for big themes to give it all some focus. For me, what works is “Darwin and Dinosaurs” but my-oh-my the big themes are changing fast, and let me tell you, some of those new ideas are mind-blowing. Season 2 of WeAreSTS begins soon. Listen out for the first episode in early September. Now’s the time to charge your batteries. To tap that subscribe button. And to tell your friends. Hey, even tell your mum: WeAreSTS Season 2 is on its way.

Hollywood chooses to portray experts in particular – sometimes peculiar – ways. Those choices have profound impacts on how audiences think about subjects as diverse as dinosaurs, robots, and climate catastrophes. But do those portrayals also change the way we think about the experts themselves and the process of expertise? Does Hollywood play some kind of under-the-table role in teaching us which experts to trust? That’s the theme for today’s podcast. Today, we listen in on a conversation between three experts here in STS who study science policy making as a process. They talk about a couple of films in which experts play starring roles. To get things going, they concentrate on two films: “Films like Don’t Look Up,” the star-studded 2021 Netflix film directed by Adam McKay. And, “2012,” the 2009 Sony Pictures apocalypse film directed by Roland Emmerich. In some ways, these films are very different. But in key ways, they’re remarkably similar. The conversation you’ll hear was organised and led by Haes Seung Chung, one of the students in this year’s STSNewsRoom. She keeps things moving, and she keeps our panellists on their toes. In fact, she’s ready to go. So, I’m just hand the microphone over to her, and I’ll see you on the other side.   Featuring   Interviewer and researcher Haes Seung Chung, STS 2023 student in our integrated BSc programme   Interviewees Professor Jack Stilgoe, UCL Professor of Science and Technology Policy Dr Saheli Datta Burton, UCL Lecturer (Teaching) in Science Policy (Responsible Research and Innovation) Dr Stephen Hughes, UCL Lecturer in Science, Technology and Society   Host Professor Joe Cain, UCL Professor of History and Philosophy of Biology https://ucl.ac.uk/sts/cain   Music credits   Intro and Exit music “Rollin At 5,” by Kevin MacLeod https://filmmusic.io/song/5000-rollin-at-5 License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0   Music within the episode Endless Dessert- Steven Beddall: Endless Desert by Steven Bedlam | Artlist.io   Podcast information   WeAreSTS is a production of the Department of Science and Technology Studies (STS) at University College London (UCL). To find out more, or to leave feedback about the show: https://ucl.ac.uk/sts/podcast

Ever heard of climate change comedy? Here’s the idea. The climate crisis dominates our news. But more and more, messages about action are ignored. Fatalism is growing. People seem frozen with the scale of the problem. It’s clear we need new ways to tackle these tough conversations. In this episode, STS’s very own Grace Tyrrell explores the growing niche of climate change comedy. With her guest Dr Matt Winning, an environmental researcher and comedian, Grace shows us how climate change comedy works and she explores the question of how these two ideas can fit together. Grace is finishing her master’s degree in science communication with us. After interviewing Matt Winning about the theory, Grace asks a set of fellow students about the practice. Does climate change comedy work? Do it inform the head? Does it engage the heart? Does it lead keep up momentum in climate action? Thanks to her guest, Dr Matt Winning and to fellow STS students Joe Woof, Steph Hawes, Megan Thomas, Gusti Ayu Ismayanti, Annabel Bourne for their time. Grace completed this podcast episode as part of the Podcast Sprint 2023, run by Professor Joe Cain for STS students.   Further information on climate change comedy Is climate change a laughing matter? (Carroll-Monteil 2021) https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13504622.2022.2113764 Climate Strange - Dr Matt Winning, TEDx Talk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPCEqPdEY1A&t=281s   Featuring Interviewer and researcher Grace Tyrrell, UCL Science Communication MSc Class of 2023 https://www.linkedin.com/in/gracetyrrell/ @gracescicomm   Interviewees Dr Matt Winning, Senior Research Fellow at UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources https://www.ucl.ac.uk/bartlett/sustainable/people/mr-matthew-winning https://mattwinning.com/about/   Science Communication MSc Class of 2023 Joe Woof, Steph Hawes, Megan Thomas, Gusti Ayu Ismayanti, Annabel Bourne   Host Professor Joe Cain, UCL Professor of History and Philosophy of Biology https://ucl.ac.uk/sts/cain   Music credits (show) “Rollin At 5,” by Kevin MacLeod https://filmmusic.io/song/5000-rollin-at-5   Music credits (within the episode) “Accralate,” by Kevin MacLeod https://filmmusic.io/song/3336-accralate License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0   Podcast information WeAreSTS is a production of the Department of Science and Technology Studies (STS) at University College London (UCL). To find out more, or to leave feedback about the show: https://ucl.ac.uk/sts/podcast Editing by Grace Tyrrell Post production by Professor Joe Cain   Listen to Science Refresh Science Refresh is a bi-weekly podcast bringing you a fresh take on the latest in science and technology. Join hosts Grace, Meg and Dom as they take you through the stories that you won’t have seen in the headlines. https://open.spotify.com/show/0aS44BehxWXfFLpm5FgrcM?si=fe84b76444ce45d2&nd=1

Mandy dives optimistically into the world of artificial intelligence (AI) and its impact on education as we know it. Think ChatGPT and all those related tools called generative AI. Along the way, we touch on some fundamental and relevant concepts from science and technology studies - including the Turing Test and technological determinism - that can help us gain a more nuanced understanding of emerging technology and big tech. With insights from UCL experts and others in Silicon Valley, we explore the incredible potential of AI to enhance university education, plus we dip into some of the challenges AI ultimately poses to human value. This is an episode from the STSNewsRoom 2023.   Featuring Interviewer and researcher Mandy Huynh https://www.linkedin.com/in/mandyhuy/   Interviewee Dr Rich Osborne https://www.ucl.ac.uk/mathematical-physical-sciences/education/meet-team/richard-osborne   Host Professor Joe Cain, UCL Professor of History and Philosophy of Biology https://ucl.ac.uk/sts/cain   Resources Designing assessment for an AI-enabled world (latest assessment modification suggestions from UCL) What if… we really wanted to prepare young people for the age of artificial intelligence?(Rose Luckin, UCL IOE, speaks on a panel) AI in the Classroom | Greylock (Reid Hoffman’s interview with ChatGPT) Inside OpenAI, the Architect of ChatGPT | The Circuit (Emily Chang interview with Reid Hoffman) How AI Could Save (Not Destroy) Education | Sal Khan | TED Is AI Our Future Teacher? | AI IRL   Music credits (episode) Chasing by NEFFEX Lawrence by TrackTribe From the YouTube Music Library   Music credits (show) Music credits “Rollin At 5,” by Kevin MacLeod https://filmmusic.io/song/5000-rollin-at-5   Podcast information WeAreSTS is a production of the Department of Science and Technology Studies (STS) at University College London (UCL). To find out more, or to leave feedback about the show: https://ucl.ac.uk/sts/podcast   Correction Mandy said she took Professor Agar’s module in 2023. In fact, she took it in 2022.  

The assignments students do in STS modules today are nothing like what they used to be. These days, they build portfolios with all sorts of things: short writing, long writing, posters, blogs, in-class presentations. Add to these, projects like podcasts, film clips, campaign strategies, briefing papers, debates, and full-on project proposals. Research of different kinds. They all require hard work, creativity, and rising to the challenge. We diversify our curriculum because we know the future holds work as varied as we do ourselves each day. We want our students skilled up, practiced, and ready to go. Today’s episode samples from this year’s student-made podcasts. You’ll hear projects from our undergraduate science journalism module, run by Dr Jean-Baptiste Gouyon. The assignment is straightforward: create a three-minute news feature about a recent piece of research at UCL. The piece must be suitable for use on as a news segment for radio or podcast. Students start with a recent press release, and they go from there. The piece must include a short interview segment with a researcher. They have a tight deadline, and they have to work pretty much with the tools they have through a laptop and their phone. This is real world work and pace as a freelance journalist. For you, I’ve brought together eight of the ones I like a lot. They’re varied, and they deliver the assignment is different ways. We’ll take a quick break in the middle, but I want to leave the students to deliver their work as they presented it. Links to all the detail are in the show notes. The whole syllabus for HPSC0107 Science Journalism: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/sts/sites/sts/files/hpsc0107-science_journalism-syllabus_2022-23.pdf Tracks TRACK 1. People Over 50 Often Sleep Better | Lydia Yallop TRACK 2. Natural Language Modelled and Printed in 3D | Daphne Sarkany TRACK 3. Link Between Daily Active Movement and Better Cognition in Mid-life | Emile Stuglyte TRACK 4. We’re Ignoring Impact of Long Covid | Mandy Huynh TRACK 5. Importance of Breastmilk Bacteria for Healthy Gut in Babies | Omar Al Hashimi TRACK 6. Time in Nature Can Improve Wellbeing | Isobel Hutt TRACK 7. Fast-lived Invasive Species Pose Greatest Challenge | Federico Citterich TRACK 8. Doctors of the Earth: Seismologists Sense the Earth’s Pulse | Andrea Lekare Details about each track are available on the episode page: https://profjoecain.net/27-top-stories-in-science-journalism-from-sts-students-wearests Host Professor Joe Cain, UCL Professor of History and Philosophy of Biology https://ucl.ac.uk/sts/cain/ Music credits Intro and Exit music “Rollin At 5,” by Kevin MacLeod https://filmmusic.io/song/5000-rollin-at-5 “Silly Intro,” by Alexander Nakarada https://filmmusic.io/song/4786-silly-intro Both are available on the website: filmmusic.IO Music in intervals is a loop created in GarageBand. Podcast information WeAreSTS is a production of the Department of Science and Technology Studies (STS) at University College London (UCL). To find out more, or to leave feedback about the show: https://ucl.ac.uk/sts/podcast

Women in the History of Science brings together primary sources that highlight women’s involvement in scientific knowledge production around the world. Drawing on texts, images and objects, each primary source is accompanied by an explanatory text, questions to prompt discussion, and a bibliography to aid further research. Arranged by time period, covering 1200 BCE to the twenty-first century, and across 12 inclusive and far-reaching themes, this book is an invaluable companion to students and lecturers alike in exploring women’s history in the fields of science, technology, mathematics, and medicine. While women are too often excluded from traditional narratives of the history of science, this book centres on the voices and experiences of women across a range of domains of knowledge. By questioning our understanding of what science is, where it happens, and who produces scientific knowledge, this reader is an aid to liberating the curriculum within schools and universities. In this episode, Professor Joe Cain talks with the sourcebook’s FIVE co-editors. Each recently completed a PhD in UCL Department of Science and Technology Studies. We talk about the book, how readers might use it in teaching, what their favourite chapters are, and how they’re using their own skills to improve the subject of history for everyone.   Book information Women in the History of Science: A sourcebook Edited by Hannah Wills, Sadie Harrison, Erika Jones, Rebecca Martin, and Farrah Lawrence-Mackey 2023 UCL Press ISBN 9781800084155 Open Access PDF Free Download; Print also available https://www.uclpress.co.uk/products/211143   Featuring Interviewees Hannah Wills is R&D Producer at Royal Holloway, University of London. https://royalholloway.academia.edu/HannahWills   Sadie Harrison is Honorary Research Associate at the Department of Science and Technology Studies, UCL and works in the environment sector.   Erika Lynn Jones is Curator of Navigation and Oceanography at Royal Museums, Greenwich.  https://erika-jones.org   Farrah Lawrence-Mackey is re-training to practice law.   Rebecca Martin has been Research Fellow in the Centre for History in Public Health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) and Caird Research Fellow at National Maritime Museum, Royal Museums Greenwich. https://dr-rebecca-martin.com   Each also is an Honorary Research Associate in UCL Department of Science and Technology Studies (STS).   Host Professor Joe Cain, UCL Professor of History and Philosophy of Biology https://ucl.ac.uk/sts/cain   Music credits Music credits “Rollin At 5,” by Kevin MacLeod https://filmmusic.io/song/5000-rollin-at-5 “Silly Intro,” by Alexander Nakarada https://filmmusic.io/song/4786-silly-intro   Podcast information WeAreSTS is a production of the Department of Science and Technology Studies (STS) at University College London (UCL). To find out more, or to leave feedback about the show: https://ucl.ac.uk/sts/podcast  

Chances are you’ve had something to do with “mindfulness” recently. Maybe you’ve been sent to “mindfulness” training. Or, perhaps you’ve been listening to a mindfulness podcast. Or, perhaps you’re using a “mindfulness” app, such as HeadSpace. In this episode, Franziska Link investigates the growing use of mindfulness therapies at universities, such as UCL, in their provision for student support and welfare. What good are they? What do they involve? What are the pros – and the cons – of this approach. Franziska interviews four people with quite different relationships to mindfulness therapies. She works to separate the hype from the research. This episode is part of the STSNewsRoom 2021. Franziska also contributed to STSAlchemy2021. Additional Sources on Mindfulness UCL Student Support and Wellbeing UCL self-guided materials on mindfulness Ronan Mccoy (2022). Mindfulness. UCL School of Management Mindful Society, Student’s Union UCL UCL Hospital NHS has mindfulness advice For UCL staff: UCL HR has mindfulness advice and training Featuring Interviewer and researcher Franziska Link, UCL Class of 2023 https://www.linkedin.com/in/franziska-link-0701b1171 Interviewees Bodhilila Young, Chair of the West London Buddist Centre https://westlondonbuddhistcentre.com/teachers/bodhilila/ Professor Andrew Steptoe, Professor of Psychology and Head of the Research Department of Behavioural Science and Health https://www.ucl.ac.uk/obesity-policy-research-unit/andrew-steptoe Professor Miguel Farias, Associate Professor Experimental Psychology, Coventry University https://pureportal.coventry.ac.uk/en/persons/miguel-farias https://miguelfarias.co.uk David “Davy” Tennison, doctoral student, UCL Department of Science and Technology Studies (STS) https://www.linkedin.com/in/avy-tennison Host Professor Joe Cain, UCL Professor of History and Philosophy of Biology https://ucl.ac.uk/sts/cain Music Credits “Rollin At 5,” by Kevin McLeod https://filmmusic.io/song/5000-rollin-at-5 “Ecossaise in E-flat,” by Kevin MacLeod https://filmmusic.io/song/3700-ecossaise-in-e-flat-woo-86- Podcast Information WeAreSTS is a production of the Department of Science and Technology Studies (STS) at University College London (UCL). To find out more, or to leave feedback about the show: https://ucl.ac.uk/sts/podcast This