Podcast: Nematodes in Space

We thank Tim Hammerich for preparing  this amazing podcast for AstroNematodes.

Interview with Dr. Fatma Kaplan and Cameron Schiller, founders of Pheronym, which is an agricultural biotech company that provides safe, non-toxic, and innovative solutions to solve numerous agricultural problems. They also recently become involved in the development of space nematodes under the project AstroNematode. AstroNematode seeks to establish interstellar agriculture for Earth. The first agriculture biocontrol experiment will launch on December 4, 2019, and provide data to pave the way for sustainable agriculture on and outside of Earth.

• How the project got started and where they found funding.

• The best qualities of the project and what it can provide data scientists.

• Their contingencies when the project doesn’t work as planned.

• The kind of animals NASA plans to take to Mars.

• Why they think nematodes can survive and reproduce in space.

• The upcoming launch and how the nematodes will be packaged.

• Making sure the experiments are running smoothly while they remain on Earth.

• How they manage to run a startup and the nematode project at the same time.

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