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cover of episode Extracting Brains ... For Science

Extracting Brains ... For Science

2025/2/25
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Short Wave

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A
Ari Daniel
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Regina Barber
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Regina Barber: 我对Camila想要鲸鱼的大脑感到惊讶,这听起来像是在进行一场奇特的寻宝游戏。 Ari Daniel: 研究鲸鱼和海豚的大脑非常重要,因为关于南美洲中南部水域鲸鱼和海豚的大脑知之甚少。研究它们可以帮助我们了解这些动物的内部运作、行为以及它们如何适应水下生活,还能帮助我们了解像阿尔茨海默病这样也会影响人类的疾病。 Camila Souza: 我致力于收集和研究来自世界这一地区鲸豚的大脑,并取得了真正的进展。我们对圭亚那海豚的行为进行了大量研究,但对它们大脑的研究却很少。我热衷于这项工作,并希望在巴西培养更多的人才从事这项研究,我们不必总是依赖其他国家,我们可以自己做到,向世界展示我们也能做好科学研究。 Daniela Telles: Camila是一位不知疲倦的科学家,她能够在各种恶劣条件下找到并研究这些大脑,这令人惊叹。 Hector Mincing: 我作为一名博士生,正在开发一种先进的工具来对鲸豚大脑进行3D建模,我也希望能够为这项事业做出贡献。 Regina Barber: 我对Camila在巴西进行鲸豚脑研究的经历感到好奇,这其中充满了挑战和惊喜,也体现了她对科学事业的热爱和奉献。 Ari Daniel: Camila的工作面临着许多挑战,例如巴西炎热的天气加速了鲸豚尸体的腐烂,因此获取新鲜大脑进行研究非常紧迫,有时她甚至需要在海滩上直接提取大脑。但这并没有阻止她,她始终坚持不懈地收集样本,并取得了显著的成果,建立了拉丁美洲最大的鲸豚大脑样本库。 Camila Souza: 我对自己的工作和为国家做出的贡献感到满意,能够在巴西从事这项研究,这对我来说意义非凡,这让我感到快乐和自豪。 Daniela Telles: Camila的毅力和奉献精神令人钦佩,她能够克服各种困难,最终取得了令人瞩目的成就。 Hector Mincing: 我们应该在巴西培养更多的人才,这样我们就能在自己的国家进行高质量的科学研究,而无需依赖其他国家。

Deep Dive

Chapters
Neuroscientist Kamilla Souza and her team race against time to extract the brain of a deceased baby humpback whale in southeastern Brazil, facing challenges like the whale washing ashore on a tiny island and the accelerating decomposition in the heat. The successful extraction marks a significant step in her research on whale and dolphin brains.
  • Kamilla Souza, a Brazilian neuroscientist, extracts the brain of a deceased baby humpback whale.
  • The extraction is challenging due to the whale's location and the rapid decomposition in the Brazilian heat.
  • The brain is brought to her lab, adding to the largest collection of whale and dolphin brains in Latin America.

Shownotes Transcript

A year and a half ago, neuroscientist Kamilla Souza got the call she'd been waiting for: A baby humpback whale had died just offshore. She wanted its brain. That's because scientists know little about the brains of whales and dolphins off the Central and South American coasts. Studying them, like Kamilla is doing, can teach scientists about the inner workings of these animals — about their behavior and how they're adapted to living underwater. So, she has to race against time to save the brains. The heat in this area of Brazil accelerates decomposition. Minutes matter. **This episode was reported by Ari Daniel. ****Read more **)**of Ari's reporting.***Curious about other biology research happening around the world? Let us know by emailing [email protected])!*Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices)NPR Privacy Policy)