Metin čaj, 21. julij 2015 ― Philosopher Jernej Sever discusses martial arts, acquiring complex experience and cognitive science. #MetaPHoDcast Subscribe to Meta PHoDcast via iTunes or our RSS feed.   JERNEJ SEVER has recently obtained a PhD in Cognitive Science from the Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana. His research combines kinesiology, psychology and philosophy. He studies neurophysiological processes in acquiring complex experience, such as experience in martial arts or meditation, focusing primarily on taijiquan (or tai chi, as it is known colloquially). He has performed a number of experiments that offer insight into the different ways in which various groups of people move, and designed massage equipment that enables you to effectively learn new patterns of motion. With nearly 30 years of experience in teaching and competing in karate and other martial arts, his holistic approach to movement is new to science. You can read the abstract of his rather lengthy thesis or an overview of some of his experiments in Slovene or English. When not training or spending time with his family, Jernej enjoys reading science fiction and watching films.   Author: LUKA AUSEC, holds a doctorate in biosciences and can fluently read DNA – and sometimes literature. Enthusiastic about bending the body and the mind in all directions – and sometimes inwards. Enjoys spreading inspiring ideas – sometimes as tweets.   Translated by: Urša Klinc.  

Metin čaj, 21. julij 2015 ― Sociologist Irena Makivić talks about studying the biopsychosocial approaches of family physicians. #MetaPHoDcast Subscribe to Meta PHoDcast via iTunes or our RSS feed.   IRENA MAKIVIĆ is an analytical sociologist and a Junior Researcher at the Chair of Family Medicine at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana. Her research focuses on studying the attitude of family physicians towards patients – she wants to know whether they take a holistic, i.e. biopsychosocial approach. Despite the fact that this approach is a must in theory, Irena Makivić is aware of its limitations, ranging from the physician’s character and the unpopularity of family medicine among physicians to a system in which a patient has on average a mere seven minutes to consult with a physician. Irena has been developing a method that will make it possible to determine whether physicians take a strictly biomedical approach or consider psychosocial sensibility to be a job requirement. Despite the study’s apparent significance for the medical profession and the general public as such, it may not be possible to carry out the study without some “reward” for participating physicians…. Irena also practices and teaches yoga and swears by a vibrant lifestyle and a healthy diet.   Author: LUKA AUSEC, holds a doctorate in biosciences and can fluently read DNA – and sometimes literature. Enthusiastic about bending the body and the mind in all directions – and sometimes inwards. Enjoys spreading inspiring ideas – sometimes as tweets.   Translated by: Urša Klinc.

Metin čaj, 21. julij 2015 ― Pharmacist Mitja Pišlar discusses the modelling of active substance release in a pill making its way through the digestive system. #MetaPHoDcast Subscribe to Meta PHoDcast via iTunes or our RSS feed.   MITJA PIŠLAR is a pharmacist and a Junior Researcher at the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Ljubljana. Statistics, a subject he teaches at the Faculty, is both a hobby of his and part of his profession. He studies active substance release in solid pharmaceutical dosage forms (tablets in particular) and tries to predict the release of the substance into the bloodstream in the human body using a statistical model. He prefers statistics to the laboratory, but his biggest love might as well be film; he suggests watching Boyhood, Force Majeure or Nightcrawler. He is also a MOOC enthusiast – besides statistics courses, he recommends Harari’s Brief History of Humankind and Ariely’s Beginner’s Guide to Irrational Behavior.   Author: LUKA AUSEC, holds a doctorate in biosciences and can fluently read DNA – and sometimes literature. Enthusiastic about bending the body and the mind in all directions – and sometimes inwards. Enjoys spreading inspiring ideas – sometimes as tweets.   Translated by: Urša Klinc.

Metin čaj, 21. julij 2015 ― On metallurgy with engineer Jaka Burja. #MetaPHoDcast Subscribe to Meta PHoDcast via iTunes or our RSS feed.   JAKA BURJA  holds a BSc in metallurgy and materials from the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Engineering, University of Ljubljana, and currently works as a researcher at the Institute of Metals and Technology in Ljubljana. He studies and optimises processes in the steel industry and seeks to reduce the leaching of chromium from slag. He patiently explains even the most basic terms because he is well aware that the average person knows next to nothing about the hundreds of types of steel, the world’s most popular manufactured material after concrete. He looks radiant when describing failed experiments in which temperatures in the furnace rose well over 1600°C, melting both the metal and the furnace itself in the process. To him, metallurgy isn’t dirty, and he hopes to own a small metallurgy workshop in his backyard in the distant future.   Author: LUKA AUSEC, holds a doctorate in biosciences and can fluently read DNA – and sometimes literature. Enthusiastic about bending the body and the mind in all directions – and sometimes inwards. Enjoys spreading inspiring ideas – sometimes as tweets.   Translated by: Urša Klinc.

Metin čaj, 21. julij 2015 ― Sociologist and statistician Ana Slavec discusses the quality of questionnaires. #MetaPHoDcast Subscribe to Meta PHoDcast via iTunes or our RSS feed.   ANA SLAVEC (her Twitter handle is @aslavec) is a sociologist and Junior Researcher at the Centre for Social Informatics at the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ljubljana. Her research is concerned with improving the wording of questionnaires, with statistics and language corpora as her weapon of choice. She carries out experiments on students and writes for Udomačena statistika, a blog set up by the students of the interfaculty PhD programme in Statistics. She is currently reading up on the daily rituals of famous artists and recommends you go see Foxcatcher. She likes to imagine a world with clearly formulated questionnaires and would encourage you to ask her how to write one while you are still drafting it rather than during the final analysis. And remember: when conducting an online survey, keep the 1KlikAnketa service in mind.   Author: LUKA AUSEC, holds a doctorate in biosciences and can fluently read DNA – and sometimes literature. Enthusiastic about bending the body and the mind in all directions – and sometimes inwards. Enjoys spreading inspiring ideas – sometimes as tweets.   Translated by: Urša Klinc.

Metin čaj, 21. julij 2015 ― Biologist Jernej Bravničar talks about the conservation genetics of freshwater fish. #MetaPHoDcast Subscribe to Meta PHoDcast via iTunes or our RSS feed.   JERNEJ BRAVNIČAR is a biologist and a researcher at the Chair of Genetics, Animal Biotechnology and Immunology at the Department of Animal Science at the Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana. His passion for fishing led him to study and work towards conserving fish species in different catchment areas at home and abroad. In his work, he uses advanced genetic typing methods for individual fish and fish populations, having swapped his fishing rod for electrofishing and digging through the archives of major natural history museums. His research focuses on populations of salmonids and he hopes to catch the Adriatic grayling in the River Soča again before he retires. You can find more information on the research and conservation measures for trout species in the Balkans here.   Author: LUKA AUSEC, holds a doctorate in biosciences and can fluently read DNA – and sometimes literature. Enthusiastic about bending the body and the mind in all directions – and sometimes inwards. Enjoys spreading inspiring ideas – sometimes as tweets.   Translated by. Urša Klinc.

Metin čaj, 21. julij 2015 ― We discuss medieval manuscripts and Slovenian chansons with art historian Miha Zor. #MetaPHoDcast Subscribe to Meta PHoDcast via iTunes or our RSS feed.   MIHA ZOR is currently enrolled in the interdisciplinary Humanities and Social Sciences PhD programme specialising in Art History. His thesis focuses on the legend of the Holy Grail as told and illustrated by illuminated French manuscripts circa 1300. Having studied Slavic Studies and Comparative Literature, he is interested in the interaction between image and text, while his art-historian side is more drawn to the graphic elements of the illustrations and their wider historical context and the globetrotter within welcomes the excuse to travel to some of Europe’s most beautiful manuscript libraries. Miha is also a (young and promising!) radio presenter at Radio Slovenia and a connoisseur of Slovenian chansons. His recommended reading includes Memoirs of Hadrian (Marguerite Yourcenar), Guest the One-Eyed (Gunnar Gunnarsson) and The Day Lasts More than a Hundred Years (Chingiz Aimatov). In light of his love of art in his professional and private life, we cannot hold it against him that he is wholly indifferent to both cats and dogs.   Author: LUKA AUSEC, holds a doctorate in biosciences and can fluently read DNA – and sometimes literature. Enthusiastic about bending the body and the mind in all directions – and sometimes inwards. Enjoys spreading inspiring ideas – sometimes as tweets.   Translated by: Urša Klinc.

Metin čaj, 21. julij 2015 ― Psychologist Martina Starc discusses studies on spatial working memory and other experiments performed on live human subjects. #MetaPHoDcast Subscribe to Meta PHoDcast via iTunes or our RSS feed.   MARTINA STARC is a psychologist working as a Junior Researcher and Teaching Assistant at the Department of Psychology at the Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana, in the Laboratory for Cognitive Science. Her experimental research includes luring people into soundproof rooms where they play computer games while she takes precise measurements of their left pupil. Things get complicated as she employs non-invasive brain imaging (fMRI, EEG), which affords her some insight into the processes involved in spatial working memory in neurotypical individuals and those suffering from schizophrenia. When not working, she enjoys Irish dancing and daydreaming about combing llamas as a form of therapy. She recommends reading Murakami’s What I Talk About When I Talk About Running.   Author: LUKA AUSEC, holds a doctorate in biosciences and can fluently read DNA – and sometimes literature. Enthusiastic about bending the body and the mind in all directions – and sometimes inwards. Enjoys spreading inspiring ideas – sometimes as tweets.   Translated by: Urša Klinc.

Metin čaj, 21. julij 2015 ― Chemist Aljoša Bolje explains what coordination complexes are and what methods are employed in organic chemistry. #MetaPHoDcast Subscribe to Meta PHoDcast via iTunes or our RSS feed.   ALJOŠA BOLJE is a chemist working as a Junior Researcher at the Chair of Organic Chemistry at the Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Technology, University of Ljubljana. He is a renowned researcher whose work has been published in leading journals on organic chemistry. He uses the opportunity to explain why his treasured triazolium salts are fascinating and useful, and offers some constructive criticism on why more researchers at the faculty could use these salts if only there were more cooperation between research groups. After obtaining his PhD, he wants to try his luck at laboratories abroad. In spite of this, he makes no secret of the fact that music (Temperaband, Pizzaconnection) already completes his life in many ways, and that his long-term plans involve olive trees, a vineyard and a pub.   Author: LUKA AUSEC, holds a doctorate in biosciences and can fluently read DNA – and sometimes literature. Enthusiastic about bending the body and the mind in all directions – and sometimes inwards. Enjoys spreading inspiring ideas – sometimes as tweets.   Translated by: Urša Klinc.

Metin čaj, 21. julij 2015 ― Microbiologist Anna Oslizło discusses the social life of bacteria. #MetaPHoDcast Subscribe to Meta PHoDcast via iTunes or our RSS feed.   ANNA OSLIZŁO is a biotechnologist, a microbiologist and a Junior Researcher at the Chair of Microbiology at the Department of Food Science, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana. Anna Oslizło insists that, contrary to widespread public perception, bacteria are social organisms able to engage in complicated forms of cooperative behaviour by communicating through chemicals. Her research explains why cheats don’t prevail over cooperating cells, while she leaves potential causes of different bacteria languages and dialects within the same species of bacteria to philosophy fans to ruminate over. She believes the lessons learned from chatty bacteria may find their way into communications study books at social sciences faculties in the next 50 years.   Author: LUKA AUSEC, holds a doctorate in biosciences and can fluently read DNA – and sometimes literature. Enthusiastic about bending the body and the mind in all directions – and sometimes inwards. Enjoys spreading inspiring ideas – sometimes as tweets.   Translated by: Urša Klinc.

Metin čaj, 21. julij 2015 ― Biologist Anka Kuhelj on communication with and among insects. #MetaPHoDcast Subscribe to Meta PHoDcast via iTunes or our RSS feed.   ANKA KUHELJ holds a BSc in Biology and is currently a Junior Researcher at the Department of Entomology at the National Institute of Biology. Her work includes listening and occasionally talking to shield bugs and cicadas. These insects communicate via substrate vibrations. Research into their behaviour has revealed interesting strategies for coping with hunger and competition in male specimens as well as ongoing evolution – a population of cicadas in the Slovene Littoral has recently developed a new dialect. The podcast features a couple of proclamations of love by two cicada species, shown along with the waveforms of their songs in the image below.   Author: LUKA AUSEC, holds a doctorate in biosciences and can fluently read DNA – and sometimes literature. Enthusiastic about bending the body and the mind in all directions – and sometimes inwards. Enjoys spreading inspiring ideas – sometimes as tweets.   Translated by: Urša Klinc.

Metin čaj, 21. julij 2015 ― Computer scientist Timotej Lazar discusses artificial intelligence and a computer that teaches people to code. #MetaPHoDcast Subscribe to Meta PHoDcast via iTunes or our RSS feed. TIMOTEJ LAZAR holds a BSc in Computer Science and is a Junior Researcher at the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at the Faculty of Computer Science and Information Technology, University of Ljubljana. He doesn’t really see his time at work as “work”. He is currently writing an intelligent system that will teach people to code in the Prolog programming language. Although artificial intelligence is all around us, Timotej denounces it as mere “algorithms”, something completely separate from human intelligence, admitting that his early romantic vision of a robot passing the Turing test in the near future has been more or less quashed. If you’re old school, you may find him on #fri @ irc.freenode.net or while playing Nethack. He recommends reading the classic Gödel, Escher, Bach or this web portal with engaging content on human and artificial intelligence. He would also like to draw your attention to an app recently developed by his lab that allows users to identify symptoms of Parkinson’s disease and other tremors.   Author: LUKA AUSEC, holds a doctorate in biosciences and can fluently read DNA – and sometimes literature. Enthusiastic about bending the body and the mind in all directions – and sometimes inwards. Enjoys spreading inspiring ideas – sometimes as tweets.   Translated by: Urša Klinc.

Metin čaj, 21. julij 2015 ― Cultural anthropologist and communications graduate Polona Sitar talks about consumerism under Socialism. #MetaPHoDcast Subscribe to Meta PHoDcast via iTunes or our RSS feed. Polona Sitar is a graduate in cultural anthropology and communications currently pursuing a PhD at the Department of Ethnology and Cultural Anthropology, Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana. She works as a Junior Researcher at the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research at the Research Centre of the Slovene Academy of Sciences and Arts. Her research focuses on everyday life of Slovene women under Socialism, from shopping for jeans in Trieste to the revolution brought about by the arrival of washing machines to their homes. She has written about Cockta, known as the drink of Yugoslav youth, and the music group Laibach and has become the undisputed reality TV queen by attentively sitting through Ljubezen na seniku (Love in the Hay), a popular reality TV dating show – twice.   Author: LUKA AUSEC, holds a doctorate in biosciences and can fluently read DNA – and sometimes literature. Enthusiastic about bending the body and the mind in all directions – and sometimes inwards. Enjoys spreading inspiring ideas – sometimes as tweets.   Translated by: Urša Klinc.

Metin čaj, 21. julij 2015 ― Geographer Jernej Tiran on city life and trips to the River Iška. #MetaPHoDcast Subscribe to Meta PHoDcast via iTunes or our RSS feed. Jernej Tiran is a geographer. He is currently a Junior Researcher at the Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts. He studies the objective and subjective quality of life in Slovene towns and is an unrelenting proponent of cyclists’ rights. He and his colleagues received an accolade for their work on 2Bparks, a European project that sought to provide information to the general public on the Ljubljana Marshes and the River Iška . They also created the Marsh Bank, a free website containing fieldwork assignments for pupils of all age groups and their teachers and parents that promote spending quality time outdoors. He thinks you should see the Margaret Thatcher film and would like to draw your attention to the Ljubljana Citizens’ Initiative service.   Author: LUKA AUSEC, holds a doctorate in biosciences and can fluently read DNA – and sometimes literature. Enthusiastic about bending the body and the mind in all directions – and sometimes inwards. Enjoys spreading inspiring ideas – sometimes as tweets.   Translated by: Urša Klinc.

Metin čaj, 21. julij 2015 ― Ethnologist Ambrož Kvartič talks modern folklore and urban legends. #MetaPHoDcast Subscribe to Meta PHoDcast via iTunes or our RSS feed. Ambrož Kvartič is an ethnologist. He is interested in folklore – not the kind where you carry a tape recorder around and record folk singers in remote villages, but the kind involving modern folktales and urban legends and all the usual stories about pigeons being sold as street meat. He is no regular mythbuster, as he cares little for the veracity of the stories overheard in hair salons; he studies what some of the ever-present narrative elements stick to and why. He is a no-nonsense man who, in his free time, enjoys dancing and singing, and cultivates academic excellence by maintaining the Baba iz Hude luknje [the Hag of Huda luknja] Facebook page. (Read up on her here [Slovene only]). He occasionally tweets. You are sure to brighten up Ambrož’s day by writing down any modern tales (urban legends) you may have heard or come across online and sending them to ambroz.kvartic@gmail.com.   Author: LUKA AUSEC, holds a doctorate in biosciences and can fluently read DNA – and sometimes literature. Enthusiastic about bending the body and the mind in all directions – and sometimes inwards. Enjoys spreading inspiring ideas – sometimes as tweets.   Translated by: Urša Klinc.

Metin čaj, 21. julij 2015 ― Biologist Matjaž Deželak stops by to discuss the biochemistry behind diabetes and beer-like beverages. #MetaPHoDcast Subscribe to Meta PHoDcast via iTunes or our RSS feed.   Matjaž Deželak is a biologist whose PhD involved research both at the Faculty of Medicine in Ljubljana (Molecular Biology and Biochemistry) and the Slovenian Institute for Hop Research and Brewing (Biotechnology). He finds it equally easy to discuss glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor antagonists and gluten-free beer-like beverages, hoping to bring the joys of beer drinking to those suffering from coeliac disease. He recommends reading Evolution in Four Dimensions.   Author: LUKA AUSEC, holds a doctorate in biosciences and can fluently read DNA – and sometimes literature. Enthusiastic about bending the body and the mind in all directions – and sometimes inwards. Enjoys spreading inspiring ideas – sometimes as tweets.   Translated by: Urša Klinc.

Metin čaj, 21. julij 2015 ― #MetaPHoDcast Subscribe to Meta PHoDcast via iTunes or our RSS feed.  Ana Koren is a biotechnologist at Golnik Clinic studying the onset and progression of lung cancer. She would have no problem explaining the epithelial-mesenchymal transition to Jon Bon Jovi over pizza, she considers The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks a good intro into cell lines and would pick The Summer Without Men as her go-to summer read. Let us also link to the abstract of Ana’s paper on lung cancer stem cells (Ana Koren et al., 2013).   Author: LUKA AUSEC, holds a doctorate in biosciences and can fluently read DNA – and sometimes literature. Enthusiastic about bending the body and the mind in all directions – and sometimes inwards. Enjoys spreading inspiring ideas – sometimes as tweets.   Translated by: Urša Klinc.

Metin čaj, 21. julij 2015 ― On the use of new technologies in teaching physics with Bor Gregorčič, physics teacher and teaching assistant at the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, University of Ljubljana.#MetaPHoDcast Subscribe to Meta PHoDcast via iTunes or our RSS feed. BOR GREGORČIČ is a teacher of physics currently working as a junior researcher and teaching assistant at the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, University of Ljubljana. He researches the potential for active learning in physics classes, prefers to think of problems as challenges and draws inspiration from history and the spark in his students’ eyes. In the podcast, we discuss interactive whiteboards, a classroom resource that most teachers fail to use to their full potential. At any rate, whiteboards are only a tool; the real question is how to introduce active learning into the classroom so that instead of teachers transplanting their knowledge into the students’ heads, students can actively apply what they have learned. Bor Gregorčič’s must-reads include The Making of the Atomic Bomb, a book expertly weaving together history and physics, and Bloodlands, which discusses Europe caught between Hitler and Stalin. Bor Gregorčič’s PhD supervisors are: Prof. Dr. Gorazd Planinšič, at the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, University of Ljubljana, and Prof. Dr. Eugenia Etkina, , at the Graduate School of Education, Rutgers University. Find Bor Gregorčič on Facebook.   Author: LUKA AUSEC, holds a doctorate in biosciences and can fluently read DNA – and sometimes literature. Enthusiastic about bending the body and the mind in all directions – and sometimes inwards. Enjoys spreading inspiring ideas – sometimes as tweets.   Translated by: Urša Klinc.