Breaking Bio

In episode 54 we chat with the talented Upulie Divisekera, molecular biology PhD student at Monash University.  It's a free-wheeling interview covering everything from nanotech for cancer to science communication to Cordyceps fruiting bodies erupting out of human heads! Come on, you know you want to hear about the grey goo. All the cool kids are doing it.

In episode 53, we’re joined by the awesome and funny Jessica Light to talk lice. That’s right, lice. More generally, though, it’s host-parasite interaction and it’s pretty fascinating stuff. You’ll learn things. Interesting things. Dark things. Ever wondered how to collect lice from a dead rat? We guarantee that you’ll never look at a Home Depot the same way.

Epsiode 52: ants and careers!  We chat with Magdalena Sorger on cool trapjaw ants, unusual career paths in academia, and getting into field work when you’re not prepared for it.

In episode 51, we chat with the inspiring Karen James:  geneticist, innovator in citizen science, co-founder and director of the Beagle project, and she nearly went into space.  Frankly, after we post this episode, we’re all heading out to make something of ourselves.

Episode 50!  For this episode, we had the chance to chat with amazing author and National Geographic contributor David Quammen (Spillover, Song of the Dodo).  This episode was so packed full of awesome that we recorded for double the length and split it into two parts (this is part 2).  No word of a lie, this is one of the best episodes we’ve recorded.

Episode 50!  For this episode, we had the chance to chat with amazing author and National Geographic contributor David Quammen (Spillover, Song of the Dodo).  This episode was so packed full of awesome that we recorded for double the length and split it into two parts (this is part 1).  No word of a lie, this is one of the best episodes we’ve recorded.

In episode 49, we talk with William Gunn (@mrgunn), Head of Academic Outreach at Mendeley!  We chat with him about Mendeley, replicating studies, open access, and Elsevier.  Did you #mendelete?  One of the hosts did! Come see us dish out the hardhitting journalistic questions for which our podcast is not at all famous.

In episode 48, we talk with academic poster design guru (and all-around science guy) Zen Faulkes, also known as @doctorzen.  Come for the Captain Canuck, stay for the design tips!

In episode 47, we chat with Andrew Jackson of The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, or Trinity College Dublin, for short.  This time, we're talking evolution of cooperation, we're talking self-deception and creationism, we're talking visual processing (why do flies live in the Matrix?), and we're talking math.  Feel the modelling.  Live the modelling.  Love the (mathematical) modelling.

Episode 46 finds us chatting with Emily McTavish, postdoc at the University of Kansas, about the Open Tree of Life project!  No idea what that is (http://opentreeoflife.org)?  Hear about the project, data collection, and why *you too* should be a programmer in biology!