What's So Bad About Plastic?
426 views · Published 5 October 2018 · 46:11 · Indexed 1 October 2026
Channel: This Week in Science (TWIS) · 2018 · Science & Technology
Interview w/ Dr. Susanne Brander of Oregon State University & The Brander Lab - Watch Episode 690 addendum of the This Week in Science Podcast (TWIS) with host Dr. Kiki! Listen to the full episode in audio or check out the show notes at our website: http://www.twis.org ! Support us on Patreon! http://patreon.com/ThisWeekinScience Follow us on Twitter!@TWIScience Subscribe to us on YouTube! http://youtube.com/ThisWeekinScience View more videos like this: https://goo.gl/4luU1E -------------------------------- (0:00) - Recording Start - Am I a robot? (0:48) - Show Start, Intro - Dr. Kiki (1:37) - Interview w/ Dr. Susanne Brander - make-up interview due to previous interwebz problems. Dr. Brander is an ecotoxicologist working as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Environmental and Molecular Toxicology at Oregon State University in Corvallis, OR. She also holds an adjunct position in the Department of Biology and Marine Biology at the University of North Carolina. According to her lab website, "The Brander lab’s research encompasses the fields of toxicology, endocrinology, and ecology; integrating molecular approaches with measurements at the organism and population level. Our main focus is on the effects of stressors such as emerging pollutants, plastics, and changing climate on aquatic organisms, but our work spans the links between ecological and human health." (2:45) - How did you get to where you are now as an Ecotoxicologist? (4:29) - What exactly IS the field of Ecotoxicology? (6:15) - How does the health of the aquatic ecosystem feedback to effect us? (7:48) - What are endocrine disrupting chemicals? (12:22) - How do they effect individuals versus populations? Dr. Kiki (14:55) - Do we know how this is happening? Is it an epigenetic effect that causes it to effect over generations? (17:56) - Do you know how long your study is going to take? See also - Combined effects of increased temperature and endocrine disrupting pollutants on sex determination, survival, and development across generations - https://go.nature.com/2QpZB8H (18:13) - How is this evolutionarily sustainable? Why would a organism need to control the regenerative effect of their offspring? (20:30) - This lines up with the current situation of adapting to climate change, where populations are potentially methylating but down the line, their offspring might not adapt well. (21:30) - Suddenly, we're at a point where these compounds we're releasing into the environment are effecting generations down the line and that's a striking change in perspective in the questions we would be able to ask. (22:34) - What compounds, such as PCB, are we concerned about right now? (25:19) - Do you think these environmental concerns are on the minds of material scientists and chemists now as they create new materials? In the 1960s it was — plastic everything! Are we teaching the next generation of chemists these awareness? (28:00) - At this point in your study, are you at the point of saying, "these classes of chemicals all have the same basic structure, so we'll just lump them all together?" (29:20) - How much could big data super computers that can crunch huge data sets, can be used to look at these molecular structures and how they line up with what we all ready know about ecological and environmental impacts? (30:44) - What is your role in the NOAA Marine Debris Program? Dr. Kiki See also - The NOAA Marine Debris Program Awards Funding to Four New Projects to Research Marine Debris The NOAA Marine Debris Program Awards Funding to Four New Projects to Research Marine Debris - http://bit.ly/noaa-marine-debris (35:19) - We know plastics have no nutritional value to sea animals that ingest them, but what other effects do they have on these creatures? (38:14) - What can and is being done to clean up these plastics and micro plastics? Should I be worried about the fleece i wear or my sports fabrics? (39:42) - That's something I think we don't talk about enough, a precautionary principle — knowing our effect, if these are the worst things that can happen, do you want to be involved in making a terrible thing happen, or do you want to limit your impact on it? (41:03) - So even if it's just ourselves as individuals, and we might say, well what impact can I have as just one person, making these better choices can impact the environment as a whole. (42:01) - If people want to follow you and your methylation research, where can they find you online? http://branderlab.net/ https://agsci.oregonstate.edu/users/susanne-brander https://twitter.com/smbrander (43:07) - If people are interested in supporting the research you do, how can they help? Environmental Working Group - https://www.ewg.org/ (44:58) - Interview wrap-up & thank yous.
