This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bigbiology.substack.com What makes a mammal a mammal? How did mammals survive the KT event when dinosaurs mostly went extinct? And why did mammals become so dominant? When we think of the Cretaceous, or the Jurassic, we immediately think of dinosaurs. But mammals were there too! Although they weren’t the mammals you would recognize today. So what is it that makes a mammal a mammal? On this episode of Big Biology, we talk with Steve Br...
Jun 09, 2022•27 min
Is there a constant battle between our immune system and pathogens? Does the fighting ever end? Does the immune system do more than just provide defense against pathogens? On this episode, Art and Marty talk to Fred Tauber , a professor emeritus of medicine and philosophy at Boston University, about how the immune system does more than just protect our bodies from pathogens. Fred has published a number of books on immunity and philosophy. In his most recent book, "Immunity: The Evolution of an I...
May 26, 2022•1 hr
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bigbiology.substack.com What do plants, animals and even river systems have in common? Branching networks are a universal element of life on Earth. Networks of veins, roots, xylem, phloem, and nerves – they all have large components that branch, usually repeatedly, into smaller and smaller components. The networks transport energy, materials, and information throughout the bodies in which they occur. Our guest today, Van Savage , is a...
May 12, 2022•28 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bigbiology.substack.com How does one of the most diverse groups on the planet, the ants, interact with the extremely diverse group of microbes that live on and inside them? On this episode, we talk to Corrie Moreau , a professor of entomology at Cornell University, about the diversity and influence of microbes in ants. For Corrie, these microbes are a sort of internal rainforest, whose presence directly impacts the lives of the ants w...
Apr 28, 2022•30 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bigbiology.substack.com Can selection act on ecosystems, societies, or planets such that some persist and others disappear? Must such systems reproduce to evolve? On this episode of Big Biology, we talk to Tim Lenton , Director of the Global Systems Institute ( @GSI_Exeter ) and a Professor of Climate Change and Earth System Science at the University of Exeter. In his 2021 Trends in Ecology & Evolution paper “Survival of the Syste...
Apr 22, 2022•32 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bigbiology.substack.com Why shouldn’t we think of living things as machines? What is and what isn’t an organism? In this episode, we talk to Dan Nicholson , a philosopher and biologist from George Mason University about his new edited volume, "Everything Flows: Toward a Processual Philosophy of Biology" . In it, he and colleagues argue that biological systems more resemble flames and tornadoes and other dynamically stable systems than...
Apr 14, 2022•43 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bigbiology.substack.com Why are tropical mountain passes ‘higher’ than temperate ones? Why do some organisms regulate their temperature better than others, and what effect does this have on evolution? On this episode, we talk with Martha Muñoz , a professor in Yale’s Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology . We frame the chat in terms of two big ideas in thermal physiology – Janzen’s hypothesis and the Bogert Effect. Dan Janzen...
Mar 31, 2022•32 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bigbiology.substack.com What is the link between climate change, declining wildlife populations and conflict between animals and humans? And how should scientists, governments and individuals manage declining populations of wildlife, especially when humans rely on them? On this episode, we explore the interface of biology and resource management with Briana Abrahms , from the Department of Biology and the Center for Ecosystem Sentinel...
Mar 17, 2022•25 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bigbiology.substack.com Does our DNA matter for our life outcomes? Can and should we use it for better social policy? And why have these questions caused such a stir? On this episode of Big Biology, we talk with Kathryn Paige Harden , a professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin where she leads the Developmental Behavior Genetics lab . Paige is the author of a new book, The Genetic Lottery: Why DNA ...
Mar 03, 2022•30 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bigbiology.substack.com What roles does plasticity play in evolution? Where does novelty come from, and how does it become widespread in populations? On this episode, we talk all things plasticity with David Pfennig , a professor at the University of North Carolina, and Nick Levis , a postdoc at Indiana University. Their research focuses on something they call plasticity-led evolution. Building on older ideas, David and Nick argue tha...
Feb 17, 2022•34 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bigbiology.substack.com How did life on Earth get from its humble beginnings to the dazzling array of forms we see now and in the fossil record? On this episode, we talk with paleontologist Henry Gee about his latest book, A (Very) Short History of Life on Earth . The book offers a kaleidoscopic tour through the roughly 4 billion year history of life on Earth in just 288 pages. Gee is a longtime editor at Nature , and a master writer ...
Feb 03, 2022•15 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bigbiology.substack.com Do animals dance to the beat? When is birdsong music for a bird? Humans hear music in everything, but what about other species? On this episode we talk with Henkjan Honing , professor of music cognition at the University of Amsterdam, about the biology of musicality. Among diverse species, he and his collaborators now study how and why some animals perceive elements of music but others do not. We also discuss t...
Jan 20, 2022•30 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bigbiology.substack.com What rules dictate trade in symbiosis? How did the complex relationship between plants and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi evolve? What’s really going on in the world beneath our feet? On this episode, we talk to Toby Kiers , an evolutionary biologist at VU University Amsterdam, about the massive networks of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) that inhabit the soil beneath our feet. Toby studies the symbiotic relat...
Jan 06, 2022•32 min
Happy Holidays from Big Biology! In our year end wrap-up episode, meet the team behind the podcast and hear our picks for favorite episodes and moments from the last year of the show. We also look forward to what’s in store for 2022. Thanks for your support, and we will see you in the new year! Music on the episode is from Podington Bear. 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 30, 2021•23 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bigbiology.substack.com How and when did early humans domesticate the plants that we use today? Did these ancient farmers purposefully select traits, or did they domesticate unconsciously? In the future, can breeders and farmers grow more nutritious and robust food using genomics? In this episode, we talk to Michael Purugganan , an evolutionary biologist at NYU, about some of our favorite foods, where they came from, and what to do to...
Dec 16, 2021•35 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bigbiology.substack.com Are genes the primary units of selection and main drivers of adaptation? How does a gene’s-eye view of evolution fit into modern biology? On this episode, we talk with Arvid Ågren , an evolutionary biologist and Wenner-Gren Fellow at Uppsala University, about his new book , “The Gene’s-Eye View of Evolution”. The book chronicles the history of gene-centric views of evolution, which burst onto the scene in 1976 ...
Dec 02, 2021•42 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bigbiology.substack.com Why is the Serengeti such a special ecosystem? Why does it support so many different species, and what ecological processes regulate the enormous population sizes of its dominant large-bodied herbivores? On this episode, we talk with Tony Sinclair , professor emeritus of zoology at the University of British Columbia, about his new book “A Place Like No Other: Discovering the Secrets of Serengeti” . Since the 19...
Nov 11, 2021•46 min
How do diseases spread from animals to humans? Is it possible to forecast where disease outbreaks will occur and when they will blow up into major health crises? In one of the earliest episodes of Big Biology, Marty and Art talk to Barbara Han , a disease ecologist at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, about her research on zoonotic disease, how we track the spread of infectious diseases and whether we'll ever be able to predict outbreaks. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss...
Oct 28, 2021•52 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bigbiology.substack.com What causes Alzheimer’s disease? Why are some people more at risk than others? What are the prospects for a cure and the best options for slowing the onset of symptoms? On this episode of Big Biology, we talk with Daniel Gibbs , a retired neurologist, about his new book: “A Tattoo on My Brain: A Neurologist’s Personal Battle Against Alzheimer’s Disease”. A few years back, Dan discovered his genetic predispositi...
Oct 14, 2021•34 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bigbiology.substack.com What is the free energy principle? How do our brains use active inference to manage uncertainty and stress? On this episode, we talk with Karl Friston , world-renowned neuroscientist at University College London , about his free energy principle. In order for the human brain or any other self-evidencing system (be it Earthly or alien) to exist, they must be able to make inferences about their environments, and ...
Sep 30, 2021•57 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bigbiology.substack.com What does the world look like through insect eyes? What biological mechanisms make their vision different from our own? And how might those differences influence their evolution? On this episode, we talk with UC Irvine evolutionary biologist Adriana Briscoe ( @AdrianaBriscoe ) about color vision in insects, particularly Heliconius butterflies. We discuss how their perception of the world has led to such massive...
Sep 16, 2021•32 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bigbiology.substack.com What do we mean by ‘extreme ecological events’? What’s more important to a population, more frequent extremes or changes to average conditions? How should we link the performance of individuals to the success or failure of entire populations? On this episode, we talk with Mark Denny , Stanford University professor of marine science and former director of the Hopkins Marine Station. In his 2019 paper , “Performa...
Sep 02, 2021•33 min
Season 4 of Big Biology will kick off at the end of August. Before then, Art and Marty have a few updates to share: We're looking for new interns to join our team and help produce the show! Also, we're hiring an executive producer to help with management and episode production. The application is available on the USF career page for a limited time - please consider applying! Please send us an email at [email protected] with any questions. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this...
Jul 27, 2021•6 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bigbiology.substack.com Is artificial light at night partly responsible for insect declines? How does it affect nocturnal insects, especially fireflies and other species that need darkness to thrive? On this episode of Big Biology, we talk with Avalon Owens ( @avalonceleste ), a PhD candidate at Tufts University whose research aims to better understand the effects of artificial light at night (or ALAN) on insects. We discuss what ligh...
Jul 01, 2021•26 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bigbiology.substack.com What has COVID-19 taught us about preparing for future epidemics? Can we trigger innate immune responses – our first lines of defense - to mitigate novel infections? Can we use live-attenuated vaccines (LAV) meant for other infections to protect us while we develop specific vaccines for new pathogens? On this episode, we talk to virologists Konstantin Chumakov and Robert Gallo about their recent paper entitled ...
Jun 17, 2021•16 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bigbiology.substack.com What is agency? How does it evolve? Do non-living things have agency? On this episode of Big Biology, we talk with Tufts University professor Michael Levin about his recent article in Aeon magazine called ‘Cognition all the way down’. In it, Mike and Dan Dennett discuss the phenomenon of agency and what it means for biology, basic to medical. We discuss with Mike what it means to be an agent - whether you’re a ...
Jun 03, 2021•31 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bigbiology.substack.com How do organisms cope with long periods of tough conditions where regular life is impossible? How do some animals turn down their metabolism to levels so low that they can appear dead? How do animals emerge from such deep, low activity states? In this episode of Big Biology, we talk with Jason Podrabsky , a professor of biology at Portland State University, about diapause – a remarkable physiological state in w...
May 20, 2021•36 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bigbiology.substack.com Can selection act on ecosystems, societies, or planets such that some persist and others disappear? Must such systems reproduce to evolve? On this episode of Big Biology, we talk to Tim Lenton , Director of the Global Systems Institute ( @GSI_Exeter ) and a Professor of Climate Change and Earth System Science at the University of Exeter. In his 2021 Trends in Ecology & Evolution paper “ Survival of the Syst...
May 06, 2021•32 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bigbiology.substack.com Are genes the prime movers in evolution, or is causality distributed across multiple levels of organization? What role do organisms play in evolution? Could organismal agency , the propensity to respond actively to selective forces, affect standard evolutionary theory? On this episode, we talk with Denis Walsh , a professor and philosopher of biology at the University of Toronto, about his book Organisms, Agenc...
Apr 22, 2021•37 min
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bigbiology.substack.com What is CRISPR? Who are the key players behind its discovery? And what does it mean for science both now and in the future? On this episode of Big Biology, we talk to renowned author Walter Isaacson ( @WalterIsaacson ) about his new book, Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race . We break down the rich history of the gene editing CRISPR-Cas9 system--from its initial discove...
Apr 08, 2021•31 min
