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The Science Pawdcast
The Science Pawdcast breaks down the latest science happening in the human world AND the pet world.
Each episode will also bring you a guest to enthral you with their area of knowledge.
You'll learn, be captivated, and laugh along with host Jason Zackowski.
Pets and Science, it's the pawfect mix.
You'll also get episodes of PetChat which are the live shows from social audio.
PetChat is a live community gathering updates about the animals in our life, but also the animals in the wonderful community that supports us!
Heart and Hope.
Science and Shenanigans.
Episodes
499 episodes
Episode 8 Episode 4: Teen Sleep, Mushing Dogs, and Dr. Alex Dainis on Tasting Every Single Amino Acid
Seventy thousand digits of pi is impressive, but the number that stuck with us is much scarier: about one in four high school students now reports sleeping five hours or less. We dig into the latest teen sleep deprivation data, what it means fo...
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Season 8
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Episode 4
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1:03:56
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Season 8 Episode 3: Project Hail Mary Science and Swedish Cat Laws
Think space is fast? Try outrunning time. We kick off with a clear-eyed breakdown of Project Hail Mary’s core science.Using the Parker Solar Probe as our real-world speed limit, we map the math of interstellar distances to compare to the...
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Season 8
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Episode 3
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26:44
Season 8 Episode 2: Punch the Monkey and Bad News About Flat Faced Dogs
A baby macaque clutching an orange plush shouldn’t teach us this much about biology, but Punch does. His quiet hold on a stuffed orangutan opens a door into attachment science, stress, and how primate societies enforce rules we often mistake fo...
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Season 8
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Episode 2
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22:45
Season 8 Episode 1: Baby Rhythm, Senior's Pet Challenges, and Dr. Raven Baxter on Science Communication
A newborn brain can feel the pulse before it knows the tune—and that single insight opens a door into how early our minds start to organize the world. We kick off the new season by exploring two studies that hit close to home: one revealing tha...
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Season 8
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Episode 1
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50:19
Episode 36 Season 7: Seahorse Dads, Dogs vs Horses, and Smarter Health with Dr. Shazma Mithani
A father that gives birth, a horse that says “no,” and an ER doctor who wants to keep you out of the hospital—this episode brings science and everyday choices into sharp focus. We start with a mind-bending dive into seahorses, where males carry...
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Season 7
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Episode 36
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56:28
Episode 35 Season 7: Coffee, Cats, And The Science Between
Coffee may nudge biology, but only within limits. We dig into new research suggesting that three to four cups a day align with longer telomeres for people with severe mental illness, then challenge the hype with the caveats that matter: observa...
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Season 7
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Episode 35
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20:01
Episode 34 Season 7: Brain Wash, Golden Genes, and The Chief Bubble Dude to chat BUBBLES!
When the brain gets knocked, it fights back—at least for a while. We open with new research that uses ALPS MRI to watch the glymphatic “waste rivers” of the brain as they surge after repeated head impacts and then falter when the system is push...
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Season 7
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Episode 34
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46:07
Episode 33 Season 7: Cancer Clues, Dog Socialization, and Interview with Author Melanie Kaplan on Lab Dogs
A vaccine built for a virus might be whispering a powerful message to cancer care. We dig into a new Nature paper suggesting that mRNA COVID shots could enhance the effectiveness of checkpoint inhibitor immunotherapy—especially in non‑small cel...
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Season 7
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Episode 33
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57:02
Episode 32 Season 7: Pumpkins That Clean The Earth and Pets That Heal The Heart
Ever wonder how a pumpkin could help clean a toxic field—and why your dog might boost your mood as much as a wedding ring? We unpack both, starting with fresh research from Kobe University that reveals how a small amino acid tag on major latex-...
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Season 7
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Episode 32
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25:56
Episode 31 Season 7: Polar Bears Leftovers, And Dog Judgments
A top predator that “wastes” food and ends up feeding an entire ecosystem? That paradox sits at the heart of our latest exploration into polar bear behavior and the hidden scaffolding of the Arctic food web. We unpack new research estimating th...
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Season 7
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Episode 31
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18:41
Episode 30 Season 7: How A Solar Eclipse Changed Bird Behaviour And What Kids Get Wrong About Dogs
The sky went dark at midday, the temperature dipped, and a continent held its breath. We chased the total solar eclipse to Texas and came back with more than a memory—fresh science on how birds react when day vanishes and returns a few minutes ...
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Season 7
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Episode 30
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29:32
Episode 29 Season 7: Baby Brains, Play Wild Dogs, and Vet Chat with Dr. Nancy Kay
A newborn with higher pTau217 than an adult with Alzheimer’s—what would that mean for how we detect, define, and treat dementia? We dive into a startling new finding that reframes tau phosphorylation as a dynamic, reversible process rather than...
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58:17
Episode 28 Season 7: Bone, Printed While You Wait and The Giving Mood
Imagine fixing a fracture with a steady hand and a smart pen. We open the lab door on a handheld “bone printer” that lays down bio‑ink directly at the injury site, promising faster healing, fewer imaging steps, and the chance to customize stren...
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Season 7
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Episode 28
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21:54
Episode 27 Season 7: Huntington's Disease Hope and Smart Dogs
After a two-week hiatus dealing with shipping challenges and postal strikes, Jason and Chris return with exciting scientific breakthroughs and heartwarming pet insights. Their absence was filled with stuffy reshipping adventures and a memorable...
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Season 7
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Episode 27
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19:49
Episode 26 Season 7: The Cold-COVID Connection and Chonky Dogs
Fascinating new research reveals how catching a common cold may provide surprising protection against COVID-19, reducing infection risk by 50% and viral load by tenfold. We explore the science behind this finding and why children might experien...
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Season 7
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Episode 26
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24:12
Episode 25 Season 7: Meat Eater Wins, Cat Dementia, and Cydian Kauffman on Water Quality
The Science Podcast explores surprising research that challenges conventional wisdom about dietary protein and cancer mortality while also examining how cats with dementia could unlock mysteries of human Alzheimer's disease. Water expert Cydian...
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Season 7
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Episode 25
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53:52
Episode 24 Season 7: Ant Apartments and Facility Dogs
We explore fascinating examples of mutualism in nature and therapeutic relationships between humans and animals through two distinct scientific studies.• Squamillaria plants in Fiji function as apartment buildings for up to five differe...
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Season 7
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Episode 24
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21:27
Episode 23 Season 7: Megaquake Tsunamis and Hungry Hungry Dog Breeds
On this episode we look at the tsunamis that weren't from the Russian megaquake, and which dog breeds are super super hungry all the time.• Earthquake occurred in the Kural Kamchatka subduction zone where the Pacific plate slides under ...
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Season 7
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Episode 23
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25:03
Pet Chat July 26th: Saving Wildlife - Inside a Small Sanctuary's Mission
Pet Chat today has a special guest: Wildlife rehabilitator Janie Girardin who shares her experiences caring for orphaned and injured animals at Spicy Paws Wildlife Sanctuary, explaining the delicate process of rehabilitation and eventual releas...
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1:08:34
Episode 22 Season 7: 10,000 steps, Same Sex Clusters, and Dogs Watching T.V.
In this episode we explore scientific findings about optimal daily step counts, genetic predispositions for having children of the same sex, and how dogs perceive and interact with television.• Research shows 7,000 steps per day is the ...
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Season 7
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Episode 22
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26:10
Pet Chat July 20th: The Art of Johnny Heim Bringing Pet Stories to Life
Johnny Heim, pet artist extraordinaire, shares his journey from childhood drawings of Snoopy to creating art that has raised thousands of dollars for animal rescues worldwide.• Started drawing as a child in Winnipeg, perfecting his Snoo...
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1:00:19
Episode 21 Season 7: The Environmental Price of A.I. and Touching Pets
We dive into the environmental impact of AI technologies and explore the science behind how pet touch affects human well-being.• Generative AI consumes significant energy with a ChatGPT query using approximately 10 times more energy tha...
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Season 7
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Episode 21
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32:46
Episode 20 Season 7: Exoplanet Pics, Plastic to Painkillers, and Dogs Detecting Pregnancy
We explore groundbreaking science developments from space discovery to environmental innovation and canine intuition. The James Webb Space Telescope has directly imaged an exoplanet for the first time, marking a pivotal moment in our quest to u...
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Season 7
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Episode 20
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23:57