Feathery gills! Adorable smiles! Cultural icons! Habitat ecology! And superhuman limb regeneration? It’s an entire episode on axolotls. You either love these aquatic salamanders, or you’ve never heard of them. Clap your tiny slimy hands for Ambystomologist Dr. Jessica Whited of Harvard Medical School’s Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology who raises and studies these beautiful creatures — including the biomedical marvels being discovered. Also discussed: their narrow niche, the ecology movement to save them from wild endangerment, pet care ethics, color morphs, green glowing genetically modified ones and so much more. And of course: Minecraft.

Follow Jessica on Instagram

Visit the Whited Lab and browse Dr. Whited’s papers on ResearchGate

Pre-order her children’s book: Axolotl (Young Zoologist): A First Field Guide to the Amphibian That Never Grows Up (October 1, 2024)

A donation went to ADOPTAXOLTL via Instituto de Biologia de la UNAM

More episode sources and links

Smologies (short, classroom-safe) episodes

Other episodes you may enjoy: Stem Cell Biology (CELLS MAKING CELLS), Molecular Biology (PROTEINS), Evolutionary Biology (DARWINISM), Bufology (TOADS), Dipterology (FLIES), Diplopodology (MILLIPEDES & CENTIPEDES), Planariology (VERY COOL WORMS, I PROMISE)

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Editing by Mercedes Maitland of Maitland Audio Productions and Jacob Chaffee

Managing Director: Susan Hale

Scheduling Producer: Noel Dilworth

Transcripts by Aveline Malek 

Website by Kelly R. Dwyer

Theme song by Nick Thorburn