China, Sumo Wrestling, Sriracha, Blow flies

Chinese President Xi Raises the Stakes on Economic Espionage Guest: Robert Daly, Director, Kissinger Institute on China and the U.S., Wilson Center At the same time that we’re seeing a pause in escalation of the trade war between the US and China, we’re also seeing US official more openly condemn China for hacking and stealing American trade secrets. A massive breach of 500 million Marriott customer records is likely China’s doing, we learned last week. Top White House, trade and justice officials have recently called out China for conducting economic espionage. Dozens of America’s top China scholars issued a report recently on the many ways China is interfering with American society and government. Sumo Wrestling in the United States Guest: Andrew Freund, Founder, Director, US Sumo Open Did you know Sumo has a following in the US? Andrew Freund is the founder and director of the US Sumo Open.  The Rise of Sriracha Guest: Griffin Hammond, Filmmaker and Creator of the Sriracha Documentary Scan the aisles at the grocery store and you’ll find sriracha flavored chips, nuts, tuna, even ketchup. So if the quintessential American condiment - Heinz ketchup - now comes with sriracha, that’s a pretty good sign the red chili sauce with the tongue-twister name is firmly entrenched in America’s culinary culture.  How Climate Change Could Complicate the Job of a Murder-solving Fly Guest: Christine Picard, Associate Professor in the Biology Department and Forensic & Investigative Sciences Program, Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis. A blue-green insect with a killer sense of smell has long been a homicide detective’s best friend. Blow flies are a bit larger than your typical housefly, but they’re more particular when it comes to food. They find dead bodies within minutes and their larvae can help forensic scientists accurately estimate time of death. But rising temperatures in the U.S. are causing different species of blow flies to migrate to new areas – which could complicate future murder investigations.   Using Plant-based Plastic to Help Fight Climate Change Guest: Joseph Rollin, Postdoctoral Researcher, US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory Most of the plastic that surrounds us, fills our landfills and floats in giant trash islands on the ocean is made from oil. And most of that plastic doesn’t recycle all that well. Plastics made from plants may be the solution in the long-run. They biodegrade faster and can also be recycled more completely than traditional plastic. There’s also the intriguing possibility that plant-based plastics could be used to permanently trap harmful greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. What’s Better than an Antibiotic? A Virus That Kills Bacteria Guest: Julianne Grose, Professor of Microbiology and Molecular Biology, BYU; Richard Robison, Professor of Microbiology and Molecular Biology, BYU; Mike Alder, Director, BYU, Technology Transfer Office BYU Unless we find a way to deal with antibiotic resistance, health experts predict that thirty years from now bacterial infections will be killing as many people as diabetes and cancer do. Inventing new antibiotics to tackle so-called superbugs that are resistant to the current arsenal is a top international health priority. Here at BYU, the focus is on finding viruses that kill deadly bacteria. Instead of pumping a patient full of antibiotics, doctors might instead pump that patient full of viruses – but nice ones.