Local Podcasts
The Joy of Why: How Is Cell Death Essential to Life?
by
December 11, 2024
Quanta Magazine’s The Joy of Why is a special addition to WCNY Community FM. It’s hosted by Cornell mathematician Steven Strogatz, and senior produced by Genevieve Sponsler (also a producer here at WCNY Community FM). Steve and his co-host, astrophysicist Janna Levin, take turns at the mic, interview leading researchers about the great scientific and mathematical questions of our time.
In this episode: Death might seem like a pure loss, the disappearance of what makes a living thing distinct from everything else on our planet. But zoom in closer, to the cellular level, and it takes on a different, more nuanced meaning. There is a challenge in simply defining what makes an individual cell alive or dead. Scientists today are working to understand the various ways and reasons that cells disappear, and what these processes mean to biological systems. In this episode, cellular biologist Shai Shaham talks to Strogatz about the different forms of cell death, their roles in evolution and disease, and why the right kinds and patterns of cell death are essential to our development and well-being.
