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A Biology Podcast for Everyone
You have been reading about the biologists behind the Ask A Biologist website. Now you can listen to them in our popular biology podcast show. Dr. Biology has been speaking with many of the biologists that are discovering new worlds and exploring new frontiers in biology. There are over 100 episodes and we continue to add more interviews. Each show includes a full written transcript and content log. Be sure to subscribe using your streaming service of choice. The Ask A Biologist Podcast can be found on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, Youtube, and most podcast apps.
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If you missed it, we have our own YouTube channel where we have a large collection of videos that you can watch. We list some of them under our watch section on this website, but there are many more. Be sure to check them out and just like our podcast, don't forget to subscribe!
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High Flying Science
Ask A Biologist Podcast, Vol. 99
Guest: Greg Asner
For hundreds of years, scientists have explored life on Earth with their feet firmly planted on the ground. Doing research was either in the laboratory, or out in the field. But in recent years exploring our planet has taken to the air. Dr. Biology gets to spend some time with ecologist Greg Asner to learn about his flying laboratory that is giving us a new view of our planet and new insights into many of our biomes.
Why We Get Sick
Ask A Biologist Podcast, Vol. 98
Guest: Randy Nesse
What can evolution teach us about getting sick and how do we make use of what we are learning? Dr. Biology gets over a cold while visiting with Randy Nesse, Founding Director of the ASU Center for Evolution & Medicine. The two talk about why we get sick and some of the amazing things our body can do to repair itself. All of this is part of the study and practice of evolutionary medicine.
Virus Quest
Ask A Biologist Podcast, Vol. 97
Guest: Arvind Varsani
One of the benefits of being a biologist can be travel. There are some researchers who travel the globe as part of their work. Arvind Varsani is a molecular virologist who studies viruses found around the world. Dr. Biology was able to catch Arvind between trips to talk about his work, including his research in the Antarctic and the mystery about some penguins that are missing their feathers.
Microbes Living Inside Us
Ask A Biologist Podcast, Vol. 96
Guest: Rosa Krajmalnik Brown
In this program we talk a lot about cells. In particular plant, animal, and microbial cells. But did you know there is a world of microbes that make their home inside and on our bodies? Before you start to worry, you need to know most of these microbes are important for us to live. In fact, without them we would not be here. This tiny world is the focus of Rosa Krajmalnik-Brown’s research. It spans the microbes that live with us and those that are helping us clean up our environment.
History, Rabbits, and a Deadly Virus
Ask A Biologist Podcast, Vol. 95
Guest: Grant McFadden
This is the story of wild rabbits, humans, and a virus that might lead to a treatment for cancer. It is also a lesson about learning from history and how a virus that is deadly to some rabbits could become a new cancer-fighting tool for humans. Twice humans moved wild rabbits from Europe to other parts of the world with dramatic consequences. In this episode, Dr. Biology has the opportunity to learn about the myxoma virus, its history, and the work of virologist Grant McFadden.
Who Do You Trust?
Ask A Biologist Podcast, Vol. 94
Guest: Joe Palca
The evening news, your local paper, online websites, blogs, twitter, Facebook, and yes podcasts all are communicating the latest science news. In this mix of messages are often conflicting stories about what is good and bad for you. It also seems that every other day there is a cure for cancer or some other disease. With all this messaging, who do you trust? Dr. Biology has a chance to talk with Joe Palca, a longtime science correspondent, about who we should trust and science communication.
Are Your Cells Cooperating or Cheating?
Ask A Biologist Podcast, Vol. 93
Guest: Athena Aktipis
Cooperation is something that humans and animals are known to do. It turns out that the 30 trillion cells in our body also need to cooperate. Like some humans, there are cells that are cheaters when it comes to cooperation. They do not do their share of the work and cause a lot of other problems. These are cancer cells. Cooperation theorist Athena Aktipis talks with Dr. Biology about her research and how it might help us learn more about cancer cells.
Life 3.0
Ask A Biologist Podcast, Vol. 92
Guest: Max Tegmark
Life in the year 2050, what will it look like? Will it be the age of intelligent computers? Could this happen even sooner? Physicist and author Max Tegmark talks about the future of artificial intelligence and how it might impact biological life on this planet. Dr. Biology learns about the future of smart computers. Will they become too smart for humankind? What precautions should we put in place to secure our place on Earth and our future?
Hacking Nature
Ask A Biologist Podcast, Vol. 91
Guest: Klaus Lackner
Hacking is a word that is often tied to something bad. However, there are times when hacking can be for something good. Think of it as a tool that can be put to use for good or bad. We also think of hacking as something only done with computers, but can we hack other things? Dr. Biology has the opportunity to sit down with scientist Klaus Lackner to talk about how he is hacking the environment in order to pull carbon dioxide (CO2) out of the air. If he succeeds, it could help reduce CO2 in the atmosphere and redirect it towards better uses.
Drawn to Bones
Ask A Biologist Podcast, Vol. 90
Guest: Catyana Falsetti
Television portrays the lives and work of forensic artists, but what is it like to really be a forensic artist? Are the tools you see on the big and little screen really used by the people who recreate the face of someone when there might only be a skull or parts of a scull to use as a starting point. Dr. Biology visits with forensic artist and author Catyana Falsetti to learn the answers to these questions and a lot more.
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