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Donna Nelson On The Science Of "Breaking Bad"

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Even pop culture needs to be scientifically accurate. At least, that’s what Donna Nelson believes.

She’s a chemistry professor at the University of Oklahoma, and she acts as "meth consultant" for the Emmy Award-winning show "Breaking Bad."

The show is about a high school chemistry teacher who starts cooking up crystal meth in order to pay for his cancer related medical bills. Donna Nelson says it's important to have scientific details represented as accurately as possible, especially on a fictional TV show. Not only because people are becoming more science literate, but because a failure to get details right can be distracting and misleading.

Nelson talked with the CBC's Jian Ghomeshi about how she got the job, and what she does as a science advisor for "Breaking Bad."

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