Tiny Matters

In this episode of Tiny Show and Tell Us, we trace the history of Turner Syndrome — from early clinical observations to the discovery of its chromosomal cause — highlighting how scientists began connecting symptoms to genetics long before DNA was fully understood. Then we follow up on a listener note about lab safety by explaining, at a molecular level, why dimethylmercury and prions are so dangerous to the human body. Ending on something more hopeful, we explore new research showing how engineered yeast could help give honey bees the nutrients they need to thrive. Team bees!
Check out American Medieval here or wherever you listen to podcasts!
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A transcript and references for this episode can be found at acs.org/tinymatters.
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In the heart of The Hague, Netherlands, the museum Mauritshuis displays some of the world’s most iconic art in its Royal Cabinet of Paintings, including ones from Rembrandt and Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring. But there’s another oil painting by Vermeer that is also quite famous, called View of Delft — it's of his hometown, created around 1660.
The painting is a cityscape — the only one Vermeer ever painted — a snapshot of the Dutch city of Delft from across the Schie River. In it you see the city’s beautiful architecture on full display, including buildings with striking red roofs. Well, at least they used to be red. Today they have a pink-ish hue and if you looked at the painting up close, you’d see that they are covered in white spots. And what may come as a surprise is that they are, in fact, soap. In today’s episode of Tiny Matters, we’re going to talk about the weird chemistry of soap, what ancient soap was like, and why scientists are finding soap in old oil paintings.
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All Tiny Matters transcripts and references are available here.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We want to recommend a new podcast called The Interface. It's the BBC's fiercly informed, fast and funny take on how tech is impacting all of us. We have become regular listeners and hope you enjoy it too!

In this episode of Tiny Show and Tell Us, we explore the strange world of camelid antibodies—tiny, heavy-chain-only immune molecules that turned out to be incredibly useful for research and medicine. Then we chat about archaeochemistry and how pristine white Greco-Roman statues were once "garishly" painted. Using modern chemical techniques, scientists are revealing traces of vivid pigments like Egyptian blue. But how definitive are these reconstructions? Drama!
Check out Wow if True here or wherever you listen to podcasts!
We need your stories — they're what make these bonus episodes possible! Write in to [email protected] *or fill out this form* with your favorite science fact or science news story for a chance to be featured.
A transcript and references for this episode can be found at acs.org/tinymatters.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We want to recommend a new podcast called The Interface. It's the BBC's fiercly informed, fast and funny take on how tech is impacting all of us. We have become regular listeners and hope you enjoy it too!