Ask a Scientist

Hello again, this is the second video I’ve posted today, but its only because I have a backlog of videos to edit. Today, we meet Dr. Murray, a professor in the Chemistry Department at UF, but also the director of graduate research here. We discuss his research on cooperative catalysts and how they make pathways have a much higher reactivity. These cooperative catalysts have applications in almost every field, specifically in dinitrogen to ammonia, which could greatly increase crop yields in more rural areas. I hope you enjoy!

Hi everyone! In this episode Dr. Butcher, a professor at UF in the Chemistry Department, discusses her research on nematodes, a type of round worm parasite. She teaches us about how she stumbled upon this haven of interesting production of natural products after her PhD. We also learn about the many pathways in nematodes, some of which might have applications in anti-cancer drugs. I hope you enjoy the episode!

On the very first virtual episode, we meet Dr. Guzman, a professor in the Department of Entomology at Cornell. In this episode, we discuss the reason for the striking decline in insect populations across the globe. She also explains her community centric methods of collecting data to get the full picture of insect populations, specifically pollinators. I’ve been looking forward to filming this episode, so I hope you all enjoy!

Today I was joined by Dr. Emilio Bruna, a professor in the Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation. Unfortunately, the recording malfunctioned so I lost the last 10 minutes of the recording. We discussed Dr. Bruna’s research about the interactions between different habitat fragments. Despite the technical difficulties, I had a great time recording this episode. I hope you all enjoy!

In this episode we meet Dr. Eddy, a professor in the Chemistry Department at UF. He researches how the cell environment can affect drugs that bond to receptor proteins that sit on the outside of the cell. Additionally, we discusses how biologics, a new protein based drug, could be used despite its trouble existing in the human body. I hope you all enjoy!

In this episode we meet Dr. Kleiman, a professor in the Chemistry Department. She researches how effective different transition metal complexes are at transferring light from one molecule to another; the goal is to implement these in photovoltaic solar panels. We also discussed the use of Ultrafast Spectroscopy, which allows her to effectively measure the distance the light travels. I had a lot of fun in this episode, so I hope you all enjoy!

In this episode, we meet Dr. Rudolf, a professor in the Chemistry Department, who researches natural product discovery and biosynthesis. He explains how he found terpenoids, a compound responsible for the scent of many spices, in bacteria, instead of its usual location - plants. I really enjoyed filming this episode, so I hope you enjoy!

In this episode we meet Dr. Matthew Cohen a hydrologist in the UF School of Forest, Fisheries, and Geomatics Sciences. In this episode, Dr. Cohen explains a major flaw in the Clean Water Act when it was defining the idea of a body of water that needs to be protected. We also discussed the degradation of the springs in Florida. I hope you enjoy this episode.

In this episode, we meet Dr. McDaniel, who is a professor in the Biology Department at University of Florida. He specifically studies bryophytes also known as moss. He explained the complex sex chromosomes of certain types of mosses, which is vastly different that ours. We also discussed the role of bryophytes in carbon cycling in the Arctic. I hope you enjoy!

In this episode, we meet Dr. Perez, who is a professor in the Chemistry Department at UF. He revealed the ways in which he uses physics based methods and AI to study molecular interactions of proteins. We also discussed the qualities that make a teacher exemplary and what he looks for in students that want to work in his research lab. I hope you enjoy!