This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bigbiology.substack.com Is there a role for agency in evolution? Do organismal efforts to maintain homeostasis represent a form of biological intentionality? On this episode of Big Biology, we talk with Scott Turner, a physiologist and emeritus professor of Biology from the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry. Scott’s book, Purpose and Desire , discusses how holes in standard evolutionary theory might be productively fi...
Feb 27, 2020•46 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bigbiology.substack.com What led to a recent series of research paper retractions in behavioral ecology? How do scientists trust the data their collaborators share? Earlier this year, several journals retracted papers using data collected by the biologist, Jonathan Pruitt, data that upon inspection were found to have several problems. On this episode, we talk with Dan Bolnick, Editor-in-Chief of The American Naturalist, one of the jou...
Feb 17, 2020•15 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bigbiology.substack.com What is sensory drive, and how has it affected the evolution of communication? How do surf perch and other animals sense and signal in noisy environments? On this episode of Big Biology, in front of a live audience at the Society of Integrative and Comparative Biology Annual Meeting, we talk with Molly Cummings, a professor of integrative biology at the University of Texas at Austin. We discuss the balance anim...
Feb 13, 2020•19 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bigbiology.substack.com What is Maxwell's demon, and what is its role in biology? How do molecular demons underpin life? Does life really defy entropy? On this episode of Big Biology, we talk with Paul Davies, a cosmologist at Arizona State University and the Director of the Beyond Center for Fundamental Concepts in Science. His recent book, "The Demon in the Machine," tackles Schrodinger's big question "What is life?," arguing that i...
Jan 30, 2020•33 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bigbiology.substack.com How is declining biodiversity affecting the occurrence and spread of Lyme disease? Is there a way to reduce the transmission of tick-borne diseases using ecological approaches? On this episode of Big Biology we talk with Felicia Keesing and Rick Ostfeld, two disease ecologists working at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook, New York. Felicia is a professor at Bard College, and Rick is a staff s...
Jan 16, 2020•21 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bigbiology.substack.com If natural selection is constantly ridding lineages of detrimental traits, why do all organisms wear down with age? Why does restricting the diet slow down the aging process? On this episode of Big Biology we talk with Jenny Regan and Dan Nussey, scientists at the University of Edinburgh who study why some organisms age at different rates and what phenotypic plasticity might have to do with this with variation....
Dec 30, 2019•33 min
Make a donation to Big Biology through Patreon at Patreon.com/bigbio or at bigbiology.org This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bigbiology.substack.com/subscribe
Dec 14, 2019•7 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bigbiology.substack.com What can direct-to-consumer genetic companies tell us about our health and ancestry? How do scientists figure out which genes affect particular traits? Is Art related to a Nigerian prince? Is Marty a Neanderthal? On this episode of Big Biology we talk with Samantha Esselmann and Ruth Tennen, product scientists at 23andMe, about how the company uses its massive trove of data to help people learn about the geneti...
Dec 06, 2019•24 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bigbiology.substack.com How important are pathways other than DNA for transmitting traits from one generation to the next? On this episode of Big Biology, we talk to neuroscientist Frances Champagne from the University of Texas at Austin. Using rodents, Frances studies how early-life experiences affect epigenetic marks and how those marks are passed from one generation to the next. We asked her how those marks influence rat behaviors,...
Nov 22, 2019•25 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bigbiology.substack.com How do new species form? How long does it take for evolution to happen? What can hybrids tell us about the process of speciation? On this episode we talk with Peter and Rosemary Grant, two Princeton biologists who spent decades studying finches on the Galapagos Islands. Their work on bird beaks provides some of the strongest evidence for how fast natural selection can occur and more recently the genes involved....
Nov 08, 2019•22 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bigbiology.substack.com Why did conventional thinking in aerodynamics fail to explain how insects fly? What can robots teach us about how insects do it? How do insect brains direct their incredible aerial feats and get around in the world? Michael Dickinson is a biologist at Caltech who uses robots to study how insects fly. More recently, he has focused on insect neurobiology and behavior. On this episode, Art and Marty talk with Mich...
Oct 24, 2019•35 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bigbiology.substack.com How does a tiny insect migrate thousands of miles from Canada to Mexico each year? What does the decline of monarch butterflies tell us about the ecological health of our continent? How are scientists using gene editing to understand how insects have evolved to tolerate poisonous plants? Anurag Agrawal is a biologist at Cornell University who studies plant-insect interactions, including monarch butterflies. He ...
Oct 10, 2019•36 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bigbiology.substack.com What does neuroscience have to say about morality, politics, and cross-cultural communication? How are neurobiology and philosophy connected? Pat Churchland is a neurobiologist and philosopher at UC San Diego, where she has spent years studying connections between mind and brain. Tune into this episode to hear Marty and Art discuss these questions as well as Pat's new book "Conscience: The Origins of Moral Intu...
Sep 26, 2019•38 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bigbiology.substack.com Why hasn’t natural selection eliminated human diseases? Are bad feelings like anxiety and depression adaptive? Can we use evolutionary biology to improve medicine? Randy Nesse is a doctor and a scientist at Arizona State University who uses evolutionary biology to inform the practice of medicine. In his latest book, “Good Reasons for Bad Feelings,” he discusses how natural and sexual selection may have shaped o...
Sep 13, 2019•35 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bigbiology.substack.com Why are animals loud and conspicuous when that increases their risk from predators? How does noise pollution affect mating behaviors? How can robots help biologists study complex topics such as sexual selection and mate choice? Gail Patricelli is a behavioral ecologist at UC Davis, where she studies how individual variation in animal signaling and communication affects mate choice and reproductive success. Gail...
Aug 29, 2019•32 min
Season two of Big Biology starts on August 29. On this preview, Art and Marty talk about some of the guests they’ll be interviewing and some of the topics they’re most excited to discuss. This season we’ll be featuring scientists who study talking plants, consciousness and epigenetics, and much more! Hold on to your pipettes folks, Big Biology is back! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bigbiology.substack.com/sub...
Aug 15, 2019•14 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bigbiology.substack.com Is intelligence similar in humans and dolphins? Do dolphins and whales have their own culture and language? How do they perceive the world around them? Janet Mann is a biologist at Georgetown University, where she studies how dolphins form social groups, use tools, and communicate with one another. Tune into this episode to hear Marty and Art talk to Janet about these topics and Janet’s book, Deep Thinkers: Ins...
May 30, 2019•32 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bigbiology.substack.com Why do some rove beetles look like ants? Why do living things evolve similar solutions to common problems? Is there predictability within the evolutionary process? On this episode, Art and Marty talk with Joe Parker, an entomologist at Caltech. Joe has been collecting beetles since the age of 16, when he first became amazed by their incredible diversity. He now focuses on rove beetles and studies their evolutio...
May 09, 2019•25 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bigbiology.substack.com In this episode, we've taken a break from our regular format to answer some of your questions such as what's the chance of human-like intelligence on another planet and if we had the technology, what organism would we want to bring back, Jurassic Park style? Tune in to this episode to hear Marty and Art answer questions like these and what goes into making our podcast! Have a question you want answered? Reach o...
Apr 19, 2019•26 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bigbiology.substack.com How does our indoor, modern lifestyle affect our microbiome? How does this novel microbiome affect our health? On this episode, Marty and Art talk with Rob Dunn, an applied ecologist at North Carolina State University. Rob studies the organisms that we come into contact with every day, from the microbes in our bodies to the insects in our homes. Tune into this episode to hear Marty and Art talk to Rob about the...
Apr 04, 2019•22 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bigbiology.substack.com How can cicadas eat nothing but tree sap for 17 years? How do endosymbiotic relationships evolve? What do bacteria-insect symbioses teach us about the evolution of mitochondria and chloroplasts? On this episode, Art and Marty talk with John McCutcheon, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Montana. John studies symbioses between bacteria and cicadas—exploring what each partner provides for the other, h...
Mar 21, 2019•22 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bigbiology.substack.com How did sex evolve? Why are there sexes at all? what are the evolutionary costs and benefits of sex? On this episode, Art and Marty talk with Hanna Kokko, an evolutionary ecologist at the University of Zurich. Hanna studies the evolution of sex and the vast panoply of strategies that organisms use to reproduce. Check out this nice graphical illustration of her work on her website!...
Mar 07, 2019•30 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bigbiology.substack.com What role does one part of the federal government, the National Science Foundation, play in biological research in the US? How will their new funding initiative help us discover Rules of Life? On this episode, Art and Marty talk with two NSF directors, Joanne Tornow. the head of the Biological Sciences directorate, and Arthur “Skip” Lupia, the head of the Social, Behavioral and Economic Science directorate. The...
Feb 21, 2019•16 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bigbiology.substack.com How is climate change affecting the distribution of animals? How will these changes in species distribution affect us? Tune in to hear Marty and Art talk with physiological ecologist Jenn Sunday about how climate change is affecting the distribution of life on Earth. Jenn is a professor at McGill University who attempts to answer these questions at a global scale....
Feb 01, 2019•34 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bigbiology.substack.com Does plasticity always help organisms adapt? What happens if it doesn't? Could it speed up evolution Tune in to hear Art and Marty talk with evolutionary ecologist Cameron Ghalambor about the role of non-adaptive plasticity in evolution. Cam is a professor at Colorado State University who tackles these questions by studying guppies. We interviewed Cam at a bar in Tampa, FL during a conference for the Society fo...
Jan 17, 2019•41 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bigbiology.substack.com Do single genes cause variation in traits or are gene effects more complex than that? How do genes interact with one another, and how do those interactions alter the pace and direction of evolution? Do those interactions constrain or facilitate evolution? Tune in to hear Art and Marty talk with Mihaela Pavlicev about these questions and more! Mihaela is a geneticist at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical...
Dec 20, 2018•14 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bigbiology.substack.com Will cancer ever become just another chronic but manageable disease? What can a squirrel biologist teach us about treating cancer? In this episode, Marty and Art talk with Joel Brown about how to contain cancer using basic ideas from ecology and evolution. To Joel, cells in tumors are like organisms in ecosystems, and fighting cancer means using what we know about species in nature to tilt the playing field aga...
Dec 06, 2018•30 min
Why do some animals have weird genitalia? Why is there conflict between males and females when it comes to producing offspring? Tune into this podcast to hear Art and Marty talk with Patty Brennan about how sex in the animal kingdom is not always about love and cooperation; often it's also about conflict. And, this conflict can lead to some pretty crazy genitalia. Patty is an evolutionary biologist at Mount Holyoke College. Her research shows that the birds and the bees aren't so simple for the ...
Nov 15, 2018•21 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bigbiology.substack.com How has the Tree of Life changed since Darwin? How do genes jump from one species to another? Why do we have viral genes in our DNA? Tune into this podcast to hear Art and Marty talk with David Quammen about his new book “The Tangled Tree: A Radical New History of Life.” In this podcast, they discuss how recent advances in genetics has changed our way of thinking about evolution and the relatedness of plants, a...
Oct 18, 2018•30 min
What is life? How did life arise from non-life? What did life look like at its origin? Tune into this podcast to hear Art and Marty talk with Sara Walker, an expert in astrobiology and theoretical physics at Arizona State University. They discuss how life might have arisen on Earth and why biologists and physicists should work together to find a theory of life. Her ideas could help decide what to do about artificial intelligence (SPOILER: The robots will take over, but it’s going to be OK). They...
Sep 22, 2018•16 min
