The humble spider-mite is a cousin of the spider with an incredibly diverse diet, letting them live and feast on plants all over the world. In their talk with master's student David Letwin - hosts Connor Chato and Nikol Posnov get down to the genetic code that makes these tiny critters and what it's like to share a lab with thousands of them. We learn about the evolutionary factors that allow animals to eat what they eat and how certain expansions in the genome may make Spider Mites frustratingly good at eating all the veggies we try and grow. To find out more about David's work you can email him at [email protected]

Hosts: Connor Chato & Nikol Posnov

Produced by Ariel Frame