Everybody Poops #426

June 16, 2017

This week on Science for the People, everybody poops! And everybody pees. But we probably don't spend a lot of time thinking about exactly how that works. Well, put down your lunch and listen up. We're talking with David Chu, a pediatric urological surgeon about urine. Then we'll hear from his brother, Daniel Chu, who's a colorectal surgeon, about poop. Finally, we'll hear from IgNobel prize winner Patricia Yang about her work studying the flow rate of mammal pee, and why all mammals pee and poop at the same rate.

This episode is hosted by Bethany Brookshire, science writer from Science News.

Guests:

  • David Chu
  • Daniel Chu
  • Patricia Yang

Guest Bios

David Chu

David Chu, MD, is a pediatric urology fellow in the Division of Urology at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

Daniel Chu

Daniel Chu joined the UAB Department of Surgery in July 2014 as an assistant professor in the Division of Gastrointestinal Surgery, and is double board-certified by the American Board of Surgery and the American Board of Colon and Rectal Surgery. In addition to his clinical interests in colorectal diseases, he is a dedicated researcher and educator. He is the associate director for the medical student clerkship in surgery at UAB and serves on national committees, including the Association for Academic Surgery (AAS) and the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons (ASCRS).

Patricia Yang

Patricia Yang is a PhD student in Mechanical Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology. She studies how animals urinate, defecate and digest. Her dream is to continue working with animals as a professional scientist. She is a winner of the 2015 IgNobel Prize in biology for her study on the urination rate of mammals.