The Science and Cocktails Podcast

Polarization is spreading through the world wide web in the political arenas as well as in the rest of society. But is polarization a new thing or is it embedded in human nature as a part of a primitive survival instinct? When does polarization become a problem and what can we do to decrease the polarization forces embedded in social media platforms. This episode of the Science and Cocktails P...

The secrets of the mind have been investigated at all times, by most people and in most scientific disciplines from philosophy, social science and psychiatry to biology, chemistry and physics. What is it that makes us who we are? And how does the mind change as we learn and develop through life? This episode of the Science and Cocktails Podcast is a guided tour through the brain following syna...

Coral reefs occupy less than 1% of the ocean but are home to 25% of the ocean's species. Unfortunately, nowadays the corals are bleaching. This is because the corals, due to rising sea temperatures, have to expel the tiny algae that live in their outer tissues, which give them their brilliant colors and make their food. When the algae are expelled, the corals turn pale, and sooner or later they...

A while ago Simon Baron-Cohen filled up the big concert hall at the Danish National Broadcasting Corporation with curious and excited Science and Cocktails participants when he gave his talk on How Autime Drives Human Invention. And after the talk, there were more than a hundred questions from the audience.  We picked out some of them and met Simon Baron-Cohen on zoom on Friday afternoon. Th...

The amount of data we are leaving behind is expanding as apps, smartphones and general interaction with the internet have become more and more integrated into our daily lives and the monitoring and selling of our personal data are increasing as the development of machine-learning progress. The possible future scenarios this development will bring are many and consequences unknown. It all dep...

This episode of the Science and Cocktails Podcast is about the biology behind violent and psychopathic behaviour.  If homicide and other violence are caused by biological brain functions and dysfunction can we then, -firstly detect predisposition for violent behaviour, -secondly, can we treat it and at last - can we blame it all on the violent offender. Those are questions raised by Professor o...

This episode of the Science and Cocktails Podcast is dicking deeply into philosophy searching for an answer to one of the big questions: “what is self” and to answer that question we have Professor in philosophy, Dan Zahavi. Dan Zahavi is a kind of rockstar within phenomenology and he has some very interesting perspectives on what is self. He gave a talk at a Science and Cocktails event this s...

Gender inequality within academia and science is an issue all over the world. Even though more than half of the undergraduates and even more master students are women only 29% of the employees at the universities are and only 5% of the professors. These numbers are the global average. But gender equality is an issue in academia in all countries even those that er considered pioneers within gend...

The rainforest is a unique ecosystem in a delicate balance. If a larger part of the forest is destroyed the balance will be tipped resolving the whole forest area to turn into a savanna because the ecosystem won’t be able to cycle all the water it needs. The whole ecosystem will collapse.  Global deforestation has been an issue of public concern for more than 50 years. Still, the primary fores...

The Greenland Ice Sheet is melting much faster than predicted due to several amplifying processes. Jason Box has seen the environmental changes with his own eyes as he has been investigating the Greenland Ice Sheet for decades. In this episode, he will tell us about how bad it is and what needs to be done to slow down the acceleration of climate disasters. Contributing scientist; Jason Box, Pr...

The Birth Control Pill has liberated women by making it possible to control when to have children. But using the pill is not without a prize, for many, who experience several side effects to its use. Recently scientific studies have shown that using the pill, and other kinds of hormonal contraceptives increase the risk of depression, doubles the suicide rate and change the serotonin receptors r...

CRISPR is an adaptive immune system found in a bacterium and archaea, which is now used as a tool for human genome modification. And technology is developing fast. This episode is about what CRISPR is, how it can be used, and what ethical dilemmas are involved. And how CRISPR is more than a tool for genetic engineering, it is a tool for understanding the interaction between the bacteria and vir...

The development of Quantum Computers is moving and it is moving fast. Charles Marcus is one of the scientists pushing things forwards and holding the strings. He is telling us that this is a huge step for humanity and it might change the world. A Science and Cocktails production. Funded by The Novo Nordisk Foundation Contributing Scientist; Charles Marcus, Professor at The Niels Bohr Institu...

As global climate change leads to rising temperature and increasing rainfall vectors, like mosquitoes and ticks, carrying deadly diseases, are increasing numbers and moving from the south to the north.   A Science and Cocktails production. Funded by The Novo Nordisk Foundation Contributing Scientist; Flemming Konradsen. Professor of Global Environmental Health and head of the School of Globa...

The global interventions to protect populations from the Corona pandemic has had enormous side effects in relation to the general mental health. Because one of the interventions has been social isolation many, especially young people, have suffered from loneliness, which is a threat to both mental and physical health. A Science and Cocktails production. Funded by The Novo Nordisk Foundation ...