Tiny Matters

Cheetahs carry the genetic scars of an Ice Age bottleneck, red wolves are so rare that every egg matters, and harlequin frogs need their natural toxins restored before they can thrive in the wild again. But avoiding extinction requires far more than protecting habitat alone. In this episode, we talk with scientists at Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute to explore cutting-edge science helping these animals not just survive but thrive, including innovative reproductive technologies like ‘ovary-on-a-chip.’

Similar episodes you may enjoy:

• Extinction: Rethinking the dodo's demise, and could a supervolcano threaten humanity's future?
• What is de-extinction, really? Conservation, genetics, and lessons from 'dire wolves'

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In this episode of Tiny Show and Tell Us, we first discuss funnel-web spiders, who are among the most venomous spiders on Earth. Maybe somewhat paradoxically, their toxins are being studied to treat human disease and chronic pain. Then we talk with historian Claire Aubin about J. Willard Gibbs’ grave at Yale, where she’s a professor. Gibbs was a quiet scientific genius whose work transformed chemistry. He was also seemingly a very cool dude, and today his gravesite is decorated by students seeking good luck before exams. 

Check out This Guy Sucked wherever you get podcasts!

We need your stories — they're what make these bonus episodes possible! Write in to [email protected] or fill out this form with your favorite science fact or science news story for a chance to be featured.

A transcript and references for this episode can be found at acs.org/tinymatters.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Biofilms are everywhere: your teeth, your kitchen sponge, and even medical implants. Scientists are uncovering how these highly organized microbial communities protect bacteria from antibiotics and the immune system, and how understanding their hidden lives could help us fight some of the scariest infections, particularly those that disproportionately impact people with cystic fibrosis.

Learn more about CALM here.

Check out Wow If True wherever you listen to podcasts!

A transcript and references for this episode can be found at acs.org/tinymatters.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode of Tiny Show and Tell Us, we explore the fascinating history of embalming, from ancient mummies to arsenic-laced funeral practices (that weren’t all that long ago!). Then we chat about cadaver dissection, the importance of Leonardo da Vinci's anatomical drawings, and whether virtual reality could someday replace anatomy labs. Plus, what's the real story behind those creepy iron cages found above burial plots in old cemeteries?

Learn more about CALM here.

We need your stories — they're what make these bonus episodes possible! Write in to [email protected] or fill out this form with your favorite science fact or science news story for a chance to be featured.

A transcript and references for this episode can be found at acs.org/tinymatters.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this special bonus episode, we join American Medieval with host Matthew Gabriele, a professor of medieval studies and who knows about a LOT of history that we don’t. We're there to chat with Matt about some new science research surrounding the Turin Shroud — a cloth that many Christians believe was used to wrap Jesus after he was killed. The debates over this artifact are fascinating and the science only adds to it! So if you like science, history, and a little controversy, you’re going to love this episode. 

American Medieval is a podcast about the Middle Ages, but with an American twist. Each week, Professor Matthew Gabriele is joined by expert guests to explore either some fascinating part of the medieval world, or some way Americans have used this period to help them understand themselves.

Matthew Gabriele is a professor of Medieval History and an elected Fellow of the Royal Historical Society (UK). In addition to hosting the podcast "American Medieval," he’s the co-author of the books The Bright Ages: A New History of Medieval Europe (Harper Books, 2021), and Oathbreakers: The War of Brothers that Shattered an Empire and Made Medieval Europe (Harper Books, 2024). His new book, Violence: A Christian History, will be out with WW Norton in late 2027/ early 2028.

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Single-celled marine organisms called foraminifera may be microscopic, but they've had a massive impact on life on Earth. They also leave behind intricate shells that have become part of a fossil record stretching back more than 500 million years. Today, they're one of the most powerful tools scientists have for reconstructing Earth's past climates, helping us put the current (alarming) state of our warming planet into context.

Learn more about CALM here.

Check out Pale Blue pod here or wherever you listen to podcasts!

A transcript and references for this episode can be found at acs.org/tinymatters.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode of Tiny Show and Tell Us, we discuss new blood tests and research into blood biomarkers that could make diagnosing endometriosis faster and less invasive. Next, we unpack subsynchronous resonance, a phenomenon that can damage power infrastructure, and is gaining new attention with so many AI data centers being built across the country. Then we hear from guest Emily Schneider who shares some delicious (maybe? You be the judge!) new research where scientists have engineered yeast to convert plastic waste and agricultural leftovers into cookies.

We need your stories — they're what make these bonus episodes possible! Write in to [email protected] or fill out this form with your favorite science fact or science news story for a chance to be featured.

A transcript and references for this episode can be found at acs.org/tinymatters.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Scientists spent decades searching for viruses by filtering out anything too large to be one. That strategy seemed to work well... until it didn't. When researchers discovered a microbe living inside an amoeba that looked like a bacterium but behaved like something else entirely, they uncovered a hidden world of giant viruses with massive genomes, unusual genes, and even their own viral parasites. In this episode, we dive into the discoveries that forced scientists to rethink what viruses are, how they evolve, and whether the rules historically used to define them still hold up.

Check out Dreaming Against the Machine here or wherever you listen to podcasts!

A transcript and references for this episode can be found at acs.org/tinymatters.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode of Tiny Show and Tell Us, we explore how scientists are using evolutionary methods to reconstruct the history of folktales like Little Red Riding Hood, Beauty and the Beast, and Jack and the Beanstalk. Then guest Matt Gabriele, professor of medieval studies and host of the podcast American Medieval, shares his fascination with Greenland sharks, leading us into the science of radiocarbon dating, longevity genetics, and the ongoing debate over whether these elusive deep-sea predators truly live for 400 years or more.

We need your stories — they're what make these bonus episodes possible! Write in to [email protected] or fill out this form with your favorite science fact or science news story for a chance to be featured.

A transcript and references for this episode can be found at acs.org/tinymatters.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.