A Year in Space, Dementia, Cancer and Virtual Reality

Guests: Scott Kelly, NASA Astronaut, Engineer and a Retired U.S. Navy Captain; Mark Kelly, Brother to Scott Kelly, Twins Study participant and Former NASA Astronaut; Julie Robinson, International Space Station Program Chief Scientist; John Charles, Human Research Program Associate Manager for International Space 

Guest: Kenneth M. Langa, MD, PhD, Professor at the University of Michigan in the Center on the Demography of Aging  Here’s a little brain teaser to start of this next conversation. What do the following have in common: an educated mother, a vibrant social life, and delayed retirement? All three are factors that can lower your risk of developing Alzheimer’s or dementia in old age. Research suggests your own education level and the amount of exercise you get are also influential in preventing or delaying dementia.

Guest: Natasha Slesnick, PhD, Professor of Human Sciences at Ohio State University  There are anywhere from half a million to two million homeless youth in America today. The estimates range widely because young people are notoriously difficult to track on the streets. They tend to steer clear of the traditional shelters and service centers set up to help the homeless community. Youth feel so unsafe in those settings, they’ll opt to stay in cars, on benches or in abandoned buildings.

Guest: Olivier Elemento, PhD, Specialist in Precision Medicine at the Meyer Cancer Center at Weill Cornell  Virtual reality—seeing electronic images in an immersive 3D experience—is changing how we view movies and play video games, but cancer researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College think its uses go far beyond entertainment. They’ve developed a software that allows them to examine and manipulate 3-D models of DNA proteins to help pinpoint the exact location of cancer-causing mutations.

Guest: Rod Gustafson, Film Reviewer at ParentPreviews.com  We discuss the films “Zootopia,” Disney’s latest, and “Eddie the Eagle.”

Guests: Spencer Rogers, BYU Tech Transfer Office; Alan Parkinson, Dean of BYU’s Fulton College of Engineering and Technology  Demand for young people with engineering and technology degrees is on the rise. So, too, is the scrutiny of college engineering programs for how well they serve women and minority students.