PODCAST · science
RadioBio
by RadioBio
RadioBio is a podcast where UC Merced biology graduate students talk with scientists about biological systems, from molecules to ecosystems.
Episodes
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Jay Stachowicz: Small Samples, Big Discoveries - The Secrets of Seagrass
We talked with Dr. Jay Stachowicz about his research on seagrasses, their microbiome, and the surprising role of genetic diversity in marine ecosystems. Learn how local discoveries, creative fieldwork, and international collaboration help scientists answer big questions on a global scale. This...
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Dr. Iswar Hariharan: Fruit Flies, Regeneration, and the Future of Medicine
Today we talk to Dr. Iswar Hariharan about his research studying the genetic regulation of growth and regeneration using fruit flies. Learn about how the same genes that control organ size during development are often the ones mutated in human cancers, and what this means for the future of...
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Dr. Jeffrey Fredberg: Cell Jamming and the Mechanics of Disease
Today we talk to Dr. Jeffrey Fredberg about his research studying the physical mechanics of how cells move together in the lungs. Learn about how the surprising physics of jamming, the same phenomenon behind traffic jams, helps explain diseases like asthma and pulmonary fibrosis. This podcast was...
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Dr. Zackary Graham: Crayfish, Crawfish & Crawdads
Listen in as we talk to Dr. Zackary Graham about his upcoming book, Crayfish, Crawfish & Crawdads: The Biology and Conservation of North America’s Favorite Crustaceans, out January 6th. We dive into how this diverse group of arthropods makes a living and learn about some interesting life history...
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Dr. Anya Brown: Coral, Seaweed, and Bacteria, Oh My!
Today we talk to Dr. Anya Brown about her research studying the impacts of microbial communities on seaweeds and corals. Learn about how rich diverse ecosystems can survive and thrive in nutrient poor waters. This podcast was recorded in Spring 2024.
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Dr. Jonelle Basso: Rooting for Microbiomes
For this episode, we sat down with Dr. Jonelle Basso, a research scientist at the Joint Genome Institute. She discussed how bacteria and viruses team up with their hosts to provide mutual benefits, and how her team uses genomic approaches to decode these underground partnerships. From…
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Dr. Emma Wilson: Brain Parasites, Cats, and Their Relationships With Humans
Today on RadioBio, we talk with Dr. Emma Wilson about Toxoplasma, a microscopic parasite that makes mice love the smell of cat pee, can live in your brain forever, and might just make you more likely to take risks. This podcast was recorded in Fall 2022.
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Dr. Spencer Nyholm: Squids that Light Up the Night and How They Protect Their Eggs
We chat with Dr. Spencer Nyholm about the symbiotic relationship between the Hawaiian Bobtail Squid and the bioluminescent bacteria Vibrio fischeri (now called Aliivibrio fischeri), and how they use bacteria to protect their eggs. If you liked our interview with Dr. Nishiguchi, you'll also love...
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Dr. Catalina Cuellar-Gempeler: Leaves Like Islands
We interviewed Dr. Catalina Cuellar-Gempeler, a professor of microbial ecology at Cal Poly Humboldt about her work on microbial community ecology on pitcher plants
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Dr. Shannon Bennett: From the Field to the Museum
The California academy of sciences is one of California’s oldest operating museums and research institutions. It is an invaluable repository of knowledge about the natural sciences, is home to 47 million specimens, and has hundreds of thousands of visitors per year. This week, on Radiobio, we had...
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Dr. Folashade Agusto: The Math Behind Outbreaks
We’ve all heard of COVID-19, saw its impact on society, and probably even faced the respiratory illness itself. But is there… math behind this disease? And if so, can we use math to help fight COVID and other infectious diseases? It turns out that our collective behavior during outbreaks can...
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Dr. Ruben Michael Ceballos: The Shocking Truth about Heat Shock Proteins
Imagine you are at a hot springs. The water is boiling and bubbling, there’s the smell of sulfur and other acrid chemicals in the air, and it is unbelievably hot. Is it possible that life can exist in these unforgiving conditions? It turns out yes! There are microbes, called thermophiles, that…
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Dr. Chrissy Hernandez: There are plenty of otoliths in the sea
There are plenty of fish in the sea… this week, we take that saying to a whole new level! Fish are incredibly diverse and their life cycle is complex; this week on Radiobio we talk with Dr. Chrissy Hernandez about her research on fish population dynamics. Dr. Hernandez applies math to complicated...
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Dr. Monica Dus: You are what you eat!
Nature versus nurture, the eternal question. We usually think of our genes as permanent, a part of our nature, something that is passed down to us and that’s it. But how much of our genes change as a results of our actions today? How much do our genes change because of what we have been eating…
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Dr. Virginia Weis: Panic! At The Coral Reef
We live in a microbial world. From our own gut to the corals in the ocean, microbes are key players in the existence of so many organisms. Did you know that corals are not just single organisms, but exist in symbiosis with millions of single celled algae? This symbiosis is currently threatened by...
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Dr. Diane Campbell: Diversity from Adversity
Life finds a way. Even in the face of incredible pressure from other organisms, climate change, and pollution, species still find ways of persisting. Sometimes this pressure is too much, and populations go extinct. Why are some species able to survive, and others able to persist? How much…
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Dr. Michele Nishiguchi: Ink-redible Squids
Imagine you're a squid, yeah okay its weird but just imagine it, you are a squid swimming at night. It's a dark night except for the light from the moon, and there is a predator roaming around looking for its dinner. Now imagine you are a squid who can camouflage yourself to match the light from...
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Dr. Kanaka Rajan: Computational Neuroscience
We are still discovering the mysteries of the brain and one way to do that is to use tools such as computers. On this episodes of RadioBio, we speak with Dr. Kanaka Rajan, a computational neuroscientists at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
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Dr. Lauren Hale: Life Beneath Your Feet
Have you ever thought about the soil beneath your feet? Let's take it one step further... have you ever thought about everything that lives in the soil beneath your feet? Well, prepare yourself, because this week we interview Dr. Lauren Hale, a researcher from the US Department of Agriculture…
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Dr. Ehab Abouheif: Ant Antics!
Ants, they are everywhere if you look for them! Ants engage in all the things that we associate with our own society, like farming and policing, and have complex social structures. This week on Radiobio, we talk to Dr. Ehab Abouheif, a professor from McGill University, about his research on...
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Dr. Mary K Salcedo: Expanding Wings
This week on RadioBio, we explore insect wings. Did you know insect wings are more than just beautiful appendages? They are a part of an amazing circulatory network. We discuss the biomechanics of insect wings and what makes them so amazing with Dr. Mary Salcedo, a postdoc at Virginia Tech. Link…
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Dr. Amelia Lindsey: The Microbial World (with Wolbachia)
What if I were to tell you that you had hundreds, if not thousands of microbes living on you hands, you would probably respond with ewwwwww...gross and immediately want to sanitize or wash our hands. If I were to tell you that not all of them are bad, but rather most of them are good, you might...
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Dr. Alexa Sadier: Fantastic Bats and Where They Live
Bats are vital for maintaining balance in the ecosystems they are a part of: Bats keep insect populations in check, pollinate flowers, and disperse seeds. Bats are also an incredibly diverse group of species that come in all shapes and sizes! Did you know, that if you randomly picked a mammal…
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Dr. Arun Sethuraman: Population genomics
Imagine the world 430,000 years ago. What were our ancestors like? What if there was a population of people that no one ever knew about? Can we unravel the mystery of our history? Now imagine, your garden at home is full of aphids. Did you go buy some ladybugs at your local home depot? Have you...
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Chapter 5: Mental Health w/ Dr. Gonzalez
Throughout this historic pandemic, there have been many changes to our social and work environments that have been far from our baseline. Work from home, has led to greater isolation and less ability to socialize with our coworkers and friends. This has undoubtedly affected the mental health of...
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Chapter 4: Public Health w/ Dr. Allen
All over the news, we hear about drug development and vaccines, masks wearing, and being in a red or purple tier, but have you considered how this is affecting communities, maybe your community? In this interview with Dr. Kristina Allen, Deputy Director of Public Health from Mariposa county, we...
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Chapter 3: Doctors in the Pandemic w/ Dr. Zweifler
COVID 19 has changed so many things about the world we live in, but few things have changed as much as our perceptions of public health and its role in our modern society. How has the US reacted to COVID 19, and what things could we have done better? What if our social services and health…
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Chapter 2: Doctors in the Pandemic w/ Dr. Gaeta
This past year, we have been in the midst of a historical pandemic that has touched the lives of everyone around us. As part of our interview series on COVID-19, our team was interested in gaining the perspective of a medical doctor and how this pandemic has affected healthcare workers. For this...
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Chapter 1: Vaccines & Drug Development w/ Dr. Davey
Vaccines and drugs to mitigate sickness have become a central part of modern life, and they have become a central topic right now as the COVID 19 pandemic has progressed. But how are vaccines developed? What is the difference between a vaccine and therapeutic drugs? And could we actually one day...
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Dr. Ashkaan Fahimipour: Ecological networks
Life is complicated. Breaking down the living world into understandable pieces requires good experiments AND good theories. Science thrives on the feedback between theory and data. Our guest today specializes in connecting theories and models to empirical data from experiments. Join us for a...
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Dr. Orion Weiner
It can be hard to make decisions, but do you know that your cells makes decisions too? What is even more amazing is that we can actually watch cells do this. This week we discuss cells and how they communicate and understand each other with Dr. Orion Weiner from the UCSF Cardiovascular Research...
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Dr. Noah Whiteman: Coevolution and Insects
Have you ever wondered what's the difference between a bug and an insect? Are spiders even an insect? Wait are lobsters and crabs related to bugs? Why do we even care about these insects and parasites? Well, we all know that bees are important for our food because they pollinate many of our…
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Dr. Rima McLeod
Have you ever wondered why pregnant women shouldn't change the litter box? How about why your meat should always be well cooked? Well, one of those reasons is Toxoplasma gondii. Over 2 billion people are infected with this brain parasite. However, our understanding of the effects of Toxoplasma on...
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Dr. Rachel Bay
Humans might be the worlds greatest evolutionary force. From pollution to deforestation, human induced changes have a huge impact on the environment around us. But how are animals adapting to the changes in their environment? This week on RadioBio, we talk with Dr. Rachel Bay from the University…
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Richard Locksley: Allergies and Immunity
Achoo! Ah, allergies, the first sign of spring or also a sign that the barista accidentally did make your coffee with whole milk instead of soy. But what is your body doing during an immune response? Particularly, an allergy immune response. And why are your cells causing you so much misery?…
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Dr. Rachel Meyer
DNA is all over the place. It sheds from everything, everywhere, throughout time. What if you could just scoop it up and figure out what it is... well, we can! Environmental DNA, or eDNA, is DNA that's left over in the environment and is an important tool we can use to understand life as we know...
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Dr. Devavani Chatterjea
Spring and Fall are often accompanied by a chorus of sneezes-- allergies are the bane of this beautiful time! Allergies, our immune system’s response to foreign substances, can be more than uncomfortable-- long term exposure to allergens can be linked to chronic pain. This week on RadioBio We…
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Fire and Fungi: Dr. Sydney Glassman
Ever wonder what it takes for a forest to regenerate after a devastating wildfire? Turns out microscopic fungi in soils play a big role in that recovery. These fungi partner up with all kinds of plants, helping out in many environments and industries, from helping crops to flourish to restoring...
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Dr. Roberto Andresen Eguiluz: Molecular Machines and Mechanisms
From gummy bears to cars we learn the importance of adhesion and lubricants for everyday life. Whether you're a muscle on a rock trying to hold on during high tide, or you're a runner and relying on the lubricants to keep your knees moving. The research that is conducted to understand these...
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Dr. Roberta Pelanda
The immune system is complex, full of lairs of communication and strict regulation, all to keep us healthy and alive. But what happens when those checkpoints break down? In this weeks episode, we learn about how B-cells can turn against us and what that means. We talk to Dr. Roberta Polenda from...
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Homeostatic Regulation in the Brain: Dr. Dion Dickman
Have you ever thought about brains? Our brains are seriously important, that's not news, but how do they actually work? There is a delicate balance between order and chaos. RadioBio this week is all about stability in the brain. Hopefully by the end you'll know a little bit more about how your...
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The Good, The Bad, and The Embryos: CRISPR with Dr. Joe Bondy-Denomy
CRISPR. You may have heard about it in the news. It's arguably the biggest discovery of the 21st century, and could possibly be a cure for some of the genetic disorders that have plagued humans throughout our history. It was initially identified in the early 1990s and more recently it was...
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ARC, A Gene to Remember: Dr Jason Shepherd
Have you ever been curious about how our brains "learn" and why only somethings seem to "stick" and others seem to fade away as time goes on? I know I have. How are memories stored? Today we are going to explore the brain's amazing ability to learn and store information over a lifetime, as well…
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Immunity by Community: Dr. Kathryn Milligan-Myhre
You and I .... are completely different.... Not just because we like different music or have different parents, but because we are more than individuals. We contains multitudes of microbial communities and, believe it or not, my community is different than yours. Today, we are talking with Dr....
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Tracking Foodborne Pathogens: Dr. Ruth Timme
Do you grow your own food or butcher your own meat? Many of us don't. We get our food from a lot of different places in our modern society and we have a global network of food import and export. But what happens when there is contamination in our food supply? How do we know where the…
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The Genomic Saga Within: Dr. Nitin Phadnis
Have you ever thought about how weird hybrids actually are? Some hybrids seem to be a contradiction: they can't reproduce! How could nature allow this? Today we discuss the evolutionary conflict of speciation, hybrids, and sterility.
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From Molecules to Behavior: Dr. Todd Holmes
Have you ever thought about how light affects your behavior on a day to day basis? Now think about how light would affect you on a molecular scale? Molecules have a direct influence on behavior from sleep cycles to depression and motivation. Today we discuss molecules, how they affect animal...
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The Pulse of Plants: Dr. Sara Baguskas
It's getting warmer and drier, but there may be an untapped natural resource that can offer fresh water: fog! Fog is more than just one way your beach day can be ruined-- Coastal fog has the potential to be a major contributor to future sustainable agricultural practices. Today we discuss fog and...
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Science Abroad and Home: International Education Week Stories
This week is a special edition of RadioBio, put on for UC Merced's International Education Week. In this episode, we hear from five different researchers and their unique experiences with international research: Dr. Asmeret Asefaw Berhe, Dr. Felipe Zapata, Dr. Gregory Mutumi, Dr. Samuel Wasser…
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Dr. Joanne Emerson: Underground Viruses
What is a virus? Why are they important? Viruses can cause disease and mortality, and they also significantly influence ecosystem ecology and environmental chemistry. Today we discuss viruses and their role in biogeochemical cycles and agricultural systems with Dr. Joanne Emerson from UC Davis.
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
RadioBio is a podcast where UC Merced biology graduate students talk with scientists about biological systems, from molecules to ecosystems.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does RadioBio have?
RadioBio currently has 92 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is RadioBio about?
RadioBio is a podcast where UC Merced biology graduate students talk with scientists about biological systems, from molecules to ecosystems.
How often does RadioBio release new episodes?
RadioBio has 92 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to RadioBio?
You can listen to RadioBio on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts RadioBio?
RadioBio is created and hosted by RadioBio.
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