Net Neutrality, Too Much Beef, Don't Swat that Fruit Fly. Say "Thanks"

Guest: Clark Asay, JD, Associate Professor of Law, J. Reuben Clark Law School, Brigham Young University Net neutrality is on its last legs – set to be officially repealed by the FCC any day now, pending some final bureaucratic paper-pushing. But there are also a number of lawsuits in process to try and block the Trump administration from killing net neutrality. Congress could also get in on the action. What is it and why should you care?

Guest: Mark D. Faries, PhD, Adjunct Associate Professor of Behavioral and Lifestyle Medicine, Texas A&M University College of Medicine We love a good health shortcut. The one exercise that’ll blast your belly fat. The one food that’ll help you lose weight.  The one vitamin that will ward off the flu. And nine times out of ten, they’re myths. Exercise physiologist and health psychologist Mark Faries runs a website dedicated to debunking this stuff. Learn more here.

Guest: Martin Heller, PhD, Research Specialist at the Center for Sustainable Systems, University of Michigan Eating a lot of red meat is not good for your health, but did you know that it’s also not good for the environment? In fact, if you’re a big beef eater and you worry about greenhouse gas emissions, reducing your meat consumption will do more for the environment than driving your car less. Martin Heller’s recent work looks at just how much the typical American diet contributes to greenhouse gas emissions.

Guest: Stephanie Mohr, PhD, Lecturer in the Department of Genetics, Director of the Drosophila Screening Center, Harvard School of Medicine and Author of “First in Fly: Drosophila Research and Biological Discovery”   Rather than swatting that cloud of fruit flies buzzing around the ripe bananas on your kitchen counter, maybe you should step back and offer a reverent “thank you.”  Research on the humble fruit fly has unlocked countless secrets about human genetics and disease, earned scientists at least five Nobel Prizes and continues to reveal crucial insight for our health.

Guest: Dr. Sanjiv Kaul, MD, Director of the Knight Cardiovascular Institute and Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine, Oregan Health and Science University There are almost 4,000 people in the U.S. currently waiting for a heart transplant, but only about 3,400 human donor hearts were transplanted in 2017. That leaves hundreds of people without a good option: the only artificial heart currently available is just a temporary fix until a donor organ – hopefully – is found. Oregon Health and Science University is working on developing an artificial heart that could stay in the patient permanently. If they succeed, it’ll be a first.