A surprise email leads a biologist to NASA. Dr Karen James (@kejames on Twitter) is a biologist at the MDI Biological Laboratory, where she combines DNA-based species identification ('DNA barcoding'), with public participation in scientific research ('citizen science') to meet environmental research, conservation, and management needs. She is a co-founder and director of The HMS Beagle Project, a UK charity that aims to retrace the Voyage of the Beagle aboard a tall ship in support of science education and outreach. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices">podcastchoices.com/adchoices</a>

Tara Lagu: Quitting The Lab To Save The World

Whether we wear a lab coat or haven't seen a test tube since grade school, science is shaping all of our lives. And that means we all have science stories to tell. Every year, we host dozens of live shows all over the country, featuring all kinds of storytellers - researchers, doctors, and engineers of course, but also patients, poets, comedians, cops, and more. Some of our stories are heartbreaking, others are hilarious, but they're all true and all very personal. Welcome to The Story Collider!