Anecdotal Evidence

The Hidden Stories of Science Coreen Forbes is a PhD student at UBC studying how climate change will affect eelgrass ecosystems off the coast of British Columbia. Her story today was recorded in 2015 while she was doing her MSc and, in her words, spending too much time in front of a computer wishing she was out in the field. In her story, Coreen shares with us her favourite section of a research article: the methods. As she describes, the methods is where you find where the true science is being done, and possibly more importantly, where many of the hidden stories can be found. These hidden stories tell the tales of hardship, humility, and humanity present in every study, and help to make the world of science a beautiful place. Coreen mentions the twitter handle Overly Honest Methods, a fantastic science outreach platform. Here you can find some of these hidden stories of science boiled down to their most pure essence in a mere 250 characters or less. We highly recommend checking them out: twitter.com/overlyhonestly.   The post Mother of Worms- Coreen Forbes appeared first on Anecdotal Evidence.

No Breakfasts = Weak Knees Theresa Lao is currently the Communications Coordinator for the Deparment of Physics and Astronomy at UBC. This means she is usually busy planning conferences, writing or editing stories, or creating activities for physics summer camps (not to mention managing the department’s website and social media!).  Before her Science Communication career, she studied biochemistry and did research about type 1 diabetes and transplantation. In all of this work she is driven by finding new approaches to spark people’s curiosity about science. In her story, Theresa explores the idea that the things we do can have a great impact on our own and others lives. This is the case when you’re research is helping to save lives, as well as when you get up late and decide to skip breakfast in the morning… In 2015, Theresa co-founded Curiosity Collider, a BC non-profit organization whose emphasis is on creating innovative ways to experience science. They put on amazing events that strive to include art, technology, culture, and humanity, all while exploring the world of science. Check out their website below for more info on their upcoming events! http://www.curiositycollider.org/       The post You Can’t Do That On An Empty Stomach- Theresa Lao appeared first on Anecdotal Evidence.

From the Infinite Cosmos to a Farm in the Fields of France Taylor Brown-Evans is a writer, illustrator, and cartoonist. He teaches courses on creative writing and graphic novels at UBC, and he has a spicy pepper hotness rating on ratemyprofessors.com. In this story, Taylor shares his fears and struggles with the universal feeling of loneliness. He frames his story through the loneliest cartoon in the history of humanity which you can see below. Taylor show us that while loneliness is something we all feel, sometimes it’s good to stick it out on your own and face the fact that we may be alone in this universe. The comic Taylor talks about is by Alan Dunn and was published in the New Yorker in 1950. It portrays a hypothesis for why so many trash cans were disappearing from the city of New York that year: aliens. This comic spurred scientists into thinking about what is now called the Fermi Paradox. In short the question is this: if the universe is so ridiculously large, there should be a high probability that extraterrestrial life exists. So if that’s the case, where are all the aliens? Alan Dunn’s comic from the New Yorker in 1950   The post The Loneliest Comic in the History of Humanity- Taylor Brown-Evans appeared first on Anecdotal Evidence.

I’ve Eaten a Lot of Weird Things But… Recent MSc graduate Julien St. Amand was born in southern Quebec. The first time he came to Vancouver was on a bike from the east coast to see how far west he could get. He studied Williamson sapsucker, a type of woodpecker endangered in British Columbia through UBC’s Forestry department. He has conducted research on wild animals in the Maritimes, northern Canada, and Argentina, and describes himself as one who prefers the scenic route over the highway. In this week’s story, Julien shares some of the stories that came out of a research trip to Argentina. Here he helped with an ethnobotany project which aimed to understand the medicinal used of plants. This eventually led to learning Spanish, partying like an Argentinian, and living the gaucho lifestyle. From his experiences, Julien learned the value of research not just as a way to collect data, but to collect life experiences as well. The post It Tastes Like Jellyfish and Old Cottage Cheese- Julien St. Amand appeared first on Anecdotal Evidence.

Staying True to Your Alien Loving Self Elizabeth Hand is the digital engagement specialist at Science World in Vancouver BC. She loves to write so she pursued a MFA in Creative Writing from UBC. She also excels in other forms of writing as well including blogs, code, and science  fiction. In this story Elizabeth shares the challenges she faced moving from a non-science family into the realm of science communication. Moving from a wonderful world of numerology and aliens to one of giraffes and office work forced Elizabeth to find what her place is in this new space, and to try to remain true to herself. In her story Elizabeth references an interview she did with a giraffe. You can find that interview (and maybe learn a thing or two) by following the link here! The post From Aliens to Office Work- Elizabeth Hand appeared first on Anecdotal Evidence.

On Board the Hudson Madeline Cashion is a MSc student at UBC with the Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries. There she studies the exploitation of sharks and it’s effect on marine ecosystems. Throughout her career she has worked with plankton in Nova Scotia, sharks in South Africa, and as is the subject of this story, deep sea coral reefs in the Atlantic. Madeline’s story comes from her time on board the CCGS Hudson, the first and oldest research vessel in Canada. She tells us about the amazing story of two different search and rescue missions her boat took part in out in the cold waters of the Atlantic.  Below you can see some pictures of these missions taken by Madeline and other members of her crew. The bow of the CCGS Hudson (Photo by- Madeline Cashion) Lowering the camera used for surveying (Photo by- Madeline Cashion) The burning boat (Photo by- Gabrielle Tompkins-MacDonald) The ship without power rocking in the waves (Photo by- Madeline Cashion) When they weren’t rescuing other boats, Madeline and the research crew on board the Hudson conducted a deep sea study of cold water corals far off the coast of Newfoundland. Katie was blown away to hear about these deep sea reefs, so we’ve also posted some pictures of these incredible organisms below. Scleractinian coral (Lophelia pertusa) Coral – Paragorgia arborea Coral – Primnoa resedaeformis   The post Science, Search, and Rescue- Madeline Cashion appeared first on Anecdotal Evidence.

A Film Set and Grad School Have Nothing in Common Mika McKinnon is a geophysicist and is a bit too giddy about catastrophes. She uses her Masters of Disaster to try to keep our planet from killing us all and doesn’t mind getting muddy to do it. Not only that, but she is also a science writer and educator. She describes herself as being unrepentantly curious and unabashedly scientific in all situations, certainly traits to aspire to! Here Mika tells us about her time working as a science consultant on the TV shows Stargate Atlantis and Stargate Universe. Through her time there she soaked up the glory of working on set, struggled through some rather odd requests, and saw where the magic comes from when science and entertainment are brought together. Here’s a photo of some of her handiwork on set. Can’t say I can read much of it… Mika McKinnon’s hall of equations from Stargate   The post Go On…Do Science at Them!- Mika McKinnon appeared first on Anecdotal Evidence.

When Art Meets Science Armin Mortazavi is a science cartoonist with a BSc in Microbiology and a Master in Digital Media. His last project was an interactive comic about mental health and wellness for the new BC curriculum. He currently works at Science World and sometimes spends too much money at Wendy’s. Numerous science oriented groups have sported Armin’s art including SciCATS and Nerd Nite Vancouver. Armin is very passionate about science communication and its power to shape society. Armin’s story comes from an experience he had in Iran as a child. There he learned that the world can be a complex place and figured out how he can approach it as a science-minded artist. You can find out more about Armin and see some of his work here or by following him on Instagram- @armin.scientoonist One of Armin’s many projects in the webcomic Biased Cat. Here you can follow the adventures of various nerdy, sarcastic, and hilarious characters and their forays into everyday life and the absurd. You can find his comics at www.biasedcat.com. Here’s one of Aaron’s favourites: Family Tradition by Carlos Duralde and Armin Mortazavi   The post That’s Not an Accurate American Flag- Armin Mortazavi appeared first on Anecdotal Evidence.

Zoop Zoop Hooray! Natalie Mahara is a Masters student in biological oceanography at UBC. She loves all things related to the ocean with a particular fondness for charismatic microfauna. Her research focuses on the BC coast from the Strait of Georgia up into Johnstone Strait, which means she’s seen some of the most amazing sights BC has to offer. She strongly believes that everyone should know that a group of sea stars is called a galaxy. Natalie’s story is about how she came to find herself in her field. As a child, she always imagined herself as a marine biologist, studying something grand like whales. Instead, she wound up studying tiny animals almost nobody has ever heard of. Her story takes us through the steps that took her down an unexpected path, and the lessons we can learn from zooplankton, or “zoops” as she likes to call them. Below you can see some pictures of these weird and wonderful animals, taken by Natalie herself! Amphipod (Primmo abyssalis)   Jellyfish (Euphysa sp.)   Pelagic polychaete (Tomopteris septentrionalis)   Copepods (Calanus mashallae & Calanus pacificus)   Baby crab (Cancer sp.) The post Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost- Natalie Mahara appeared first on Anecdotal Evidence.

Amy Coghlan is a marine biologist from Australia, where she started her career studying fish abundance at the University of Western Australia. She moved on to the University of Otago in New Zealand, and then to Vancouver where she now works with the Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries at UBC. She is a dive master, has worked on the Great Barrier Reef, and has a great love of the ocean. Despite that, her story has nothing to do with the sea. Instead she shares with us the unfortunate events that can occur when you’re flying down the road on a bike in the back country of Australia. Also, as it is relevant to the story, we have attached a picture of a quokka below. Despite its obvious cuteness, please don’t get too attached… Image by jim2001sg (2014) The post Quokka Quokka Quokka- Amy Coghlan appeared first on Anecdotal Evidence.

Stacey Hrushowy is a Masters student in biology at Simon Fraser University. She studies  the role of microparasites like bacteria and viruses in wild populations of salmon and trout, and just completed her third field season on the beautiful Central Coast of BC in the unceded territory of the Oweekeno First Nation. Before this, Stacey studied archaeology and biology at UVic and has spent time working with seabirds in Alaska, steelhead in California, and school children at the Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre. Over the past ten years she has worn a diversity of hats ranging from science educator to cider maker and spanning a lot in between. Stacey suffers from chronic anxiety about public embarrassment, and feels that nothing is better medicine than telling an embarrassing story in public. Here she explores the trials and tribulations of working the field, and the lengths at which we go to complete what needs to be done, no matter how crappy the situation is! This story comes from September 2016 at an collaborative event called Et al. This fun filled evening included Nite Vancouver, Curiosity Collider, Cafe Scientifique, and us and took place in celebration of Science Literacy Week. The post My Dirty Little Secret- Stacey Hrushowy appeared first on Anecdotal Evidence.

Katie Macintosh is the founder of Anecdotal Evidence and studies Geolog… I mean Geography at UBC. In this story she shares with us the psychedelic way she found her way into science. We hope you enjoy our new format with hosts Katie and Aaron! This story comes from September 2016 at an collaborative event called Et al. This fun filled evening included Nite Vancouver, Curiosity Collider, Cafe Scientifique, and us and took place in celebration of Science Literacy Week. The post Maps, Naps, & Storytelling- Katie Macintosh appeared first on Anecdotal Evidence.

Chris is a marine ecologist at UBC who studies climate change. He was once accidentally injected with sponge urine, so now has all the powers of a sponge! His favourite pie is strawberry rhubarb. The post Chris Harley appeared first on Anecdotal Evidence.

Kat is an American who was raised in the Netherlands and the Czech Republic. She is a PhD student at the University of British Columbia and one of the organizers for Anecdotal Evidence. She loves bourbon, hiking, yoga, and knitting. This is her second story at AE. The post Kat Anderson appeared first on Anecdotal Evidence.

Devyani arrived from India in 2005 to pursue a career in corporate finance. She holds an MBA (finance) from the University of Iowa, after which she worked as a senior finance officer for various multinational fortune 200 companies in the United States. Her true passion, however, lay in the environmental sciences and, in 2010, she finally decided to switch careers by enrolling for a M.Sc. in Environmental Science at The Ohio State University. Feeling highly motivated in the research environment she decided to continue on to a Ph.D. in Environmental Finance at the Faculty of Forestry, UBC in 2012, which has been her home ever since. In her free time, Devyani plays Ultimate Frisbee on the competitive Vancouver women’s club team. She can be seen hiking over the weekends or running along the seawall on the way to UBC each morning. The post Devyani Singh appeared first on Anecdotal Evidence.

Lizzy has a BFA, and now works in IT where she solve other people’s software problems all day long. She’s on Vancouver’s queer women’s dragonboat team. She was once defriended by 8 pro-deathers/anti-vaccers with a single Facebook comment. The post Lizzy Swan appeared first on Anecdotal Evidence.

Karen is a biology lab instructor at Douglas College; she loves being outside enjoying everything that BC has to offer. She has a Bachelor’s degree from SFU and Master’s degree from University of Guelph. The post Karen Rickards appeared first on Anecdotal Evidence.

Michael is the Program Coordinator at the H.R. MacMillan Space Centre.  He’s also one of the co-founders of Nerd Nite Vancouver, a bar lecture series. The post Michael Unger appeared first on Anecdotal Evidence.

Amy is a marine biologist from Australia, she works at the Institute for Oceans and Fisheries at the university of British Columbia. The post Amy Coghlan appeared first on Anecdotal Evidence.

Mau Lozano is a Food Engineer, married to an architect and they are starting up a brewery. He loves to apply science to optimize and fix things. The post Mau Lozano appeared first on Anecdotal Evidence.