Pint of Science – Exploring Nature’s Mysteries

Show Description:

Professor John Lyons

“Wisconsin’s weirdest fish: the paddlefish”

Professor Simon Gilroy

“Living in space: do we really need air, water and gravity?”

Where: Gamma Ray Bar

When: Wednesday, May 21st doors @ 630 PM

show @ 700 PM

With its canoe-paddle snout, the Paddlefish (Polyodon spathula) is surely Wisconsin’s weirdest fish.
Early naturalists initially thought it to be a made-up mythical beast and then later, when its existence
was confirmed, an odd type of shark. But now we know that it is an ancient species related to the
sturgeons whose ancestors swam while dinosaurs ruled the earth. For centuries, people have
speculated on what the paddle is for, and now we finally know. I’ll talk about the amazing
paddlefish, where you can see it in Wisconsin, and reveal the function of that crazy snout. You’ll be
surprised!

Space is a truly alien environment but how does our Earth-bound biology cope with the
weightless environment of spaceflight? We will explore what happens to the astronauts, and the
plants and microbes that accompany them as we venture beyond the protection of our home
planet.