This week Sam and I sat down with Dr. Zoë Waller to talk about her research into alternative forms of DNA, what inspired her to be a scientist (I seriously enjoyed her answer to that question), and the "CSI effect".
Give it a listen, it's great stuff! As always, if you have someone you want to hear from on the podcast please let us know. You can do that here in the comments, by e-mailing chad (at) thecollapsedwavefunction.com, or find me on Twitter ().
Timestamps for this episode (all approximate)
1:30 - Zoë gives the basic idea behind her research: Alternative structures of DNA.
12:20 - What is your day to day like?
15:30 - What did Watson and Crick think about their research? (Here's a link to a version of the paper with some interesting commentary. Original paper found here).
19:00 - What are the big unanswered questions in your field?
21:00 - The Fortnightly Scientist: What scientist has been the greatest inspiration to Zoë?
24:30 - People around you in science are important; inspiration can come from many types of sources.
26:00 - How Chad became a chemist. The impostor syndrome. The best science comes from being able to doubt yourself correctly. Here's the article Sam is talking about.