Guest: Basem Al-Shayeb

Special Co-Host: Elise Cutts

Scientists recently announced the discovery of Borgs (yes, Borgs), which they describe as giant genetic elements that assimilate DNA from their archaeal hosts. We speak to the lead author of the Borg paper—UC Berkeley graduate student Basem Al-Shayeb—about finding the Borgs, their global implications, and, of course, the story behind their naming.

Basem's paper, "Borgs are giant extrachromosomal elements with the potential to augment methane oxidation": https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.07.10.451761v1

Two recent science news articles by Elise:

"Desert Life Conjures Organic Carbon from Thin Air" in EOS: https://eos.org/articles/desert-life-conjures-organic-carbon-from-thin-air

"Missing Antarctic microbes raise thorny questions about the search for aliens" in Science News: https://www.sciencenews.org/article/antarctica-microbes-habitability-aliens-extraterrestrial

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