crisscrossing Science Episode 017: If a Tree Falls in the Woods . . .

In this episode, Chris Gaiser (professor of biology at Linfield College) and Mike Crosser (professor of physics at Linfield College) argue about the age-old question: If a tree falls in the woods while no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound? Gaiser and Crosser disagree on the answer, so they discuss sound and how our ears are able to perceive it

crisscrossing Science Episode 011: Shock the Monkey

In this episode, Chris Gaiser (professor of biology at Linfield College) and Mike Crosser (professor of physics at Linfield College) discuss the differences between AC and DC voltage, as well as the historical debate about which is better to use. This debate involved Nikola Tesla and George Westinghouse (Team AC) against Thomas Edison and a bunch of dead dogs and cats (Team DC)

crisscrossing Science Episode 044: New Buds of Spring (A Very Northern Hemisphere Episode)

In this episode, Chris Gaiser (professor of biology at Linfield College) and Mike Crosser (professor of physics at Linfield College) discuss how plants prepare for winter and what happens once spring begins again. Plants have developed many techniques for preparing for wintertime, including storing all their sugars in their roots, in bulbs, or in their trunks. These stores of food allow them to jump-start growth as soon as conditions become favorable again for photosynthesis to occur

crisscrossing Science Episode 029: Hurricanes: Death from the Sea

In this episode, Chris Gaiser (professor of biology at Linfield College) and Mike Crosser (professor of physics at Linfield College) discuss the science behind hurricanes. They discuss which factors contribute to a hurricane, why hurricanes have \u27seasons,\u27 and why hurricanes usually form in the same region of the globe

crisscrossing Science Episode 003: Central Dogma

In this episode, Chris Gaiser (professor of biology at Linfield College) and Mike Crosser (professor of physics at Linfield College) discuss the Central Dogma of biology. This intimidating name is the idea for how the DNA, RNA, and proteins interact with each other inside of cells

crisscrossing Science Episode 047: Live at the UFO Festival 2018

In this special live episode, Chris Gaiser (professor of biology at Linfield College) and Mike Crosser (professor of physics at Linfield College) bring a little science to the UFO Festival at McMenamins Hotel Oregon in McMinnville, Oregon. This festival occurs each year in honor of a famous photograph from 1950 that purportedly showed an alien spacecraft flying above Oregon. On the assumption that this photograph actually showed alien life visiting Earth, Gaiser and Crosser consider the implications of such a visit. Specifically, they consider what might the aliens look like and what technological advances would need to have occurred in order to allow these aliens to travel across the galaxy to visit us

crisscrossing Science Episode 002: Superconductors

In this episode, Chris Gaiser (professor of biology at Linfield College) and Mike Crosser (professor of physics at Linfield College) discuss the phenomenon of superconductivity, in which the electrical resistance of certain materials will disappear at very low temperatures. Resistance determines the amount of energy that is lost as current flows through a material and is the reason that wires will warm up when current flows through them

crisscrossing Science Episode 026: The Eclipse Is Coming, Baby!

In this episode, Chris Gaiser (professor of biology at Linfield College) and Mike Crosser (professor of physics at Linfield College) talk about solar and lunar eclipses: how they work, why they are infrequent, and why people should not look directly at the sun. This episode is all in preparation for the great solar eclipse on August 21, 2017, visible (at least in part) to most of North America. A special note from the Podcasters: Partial solar eclipses are amazing events. However, if you have the means to experience totality, you should take advantage of it. Anyone we have ever talked to who has experienced it became passionate about seeing another one

crisscrossing Science Episode 032: What We Knows about GMOs

In this episode, Chris Gaiser (professor of biology at Linfield College) and Mike Crosser (professor of physics at Linfield College) discuss genetically modified organisms, specifically with two examples in plants: Roundup Ready® crops and Golden rice. It turns out that every living organism uses the same genetic language for making proteins. This means that it is possible to transfer instructions from one organism into another and make both produce the same proteins. This trick has been used in a handful of crops for varying purposes. Crosser and Gaiser discuss how this process is done, as well as some pros and cons to the practice