Surviving Rabies
Some people in the remote Peruvian Amazon have developed antibodies to rabies.
Earth Microbiome
The Earth Microbiome Project is an unprecedented effort to study microbial communities around the world.
Podcast for 10 August 2012
Dad's diversity and perilous parenthood.
Dad’s Diversity
Sequencing the DNA of individual sperm helps explain why siblings are often so different.
Parroting Genes
Birds and people have similar genes for learning and producing vocalizations.
Podcast for 20 July 2012
HISTORY MEETS SCIENCE - Dairy detectives discover ancient milk, the historical practice of bloodletting gets a second look, and revisiting failed ideas for saving lives. Also: What migraine headaches and the Mutiny on the Bounty have in common.
Tasteless Tomatoes
Scientists discover the biochemistry behind tasteless supermarket tomatoes.
Grandfathers & Telomeres
Men that sire children later in life may pass on an advantage to their grandchildren.
Mutiny on the Migraine
Descendants of “The Mutiny on the Bounty” are providing new clues to the genetics of migraine headaches.
Inheriting Anxiety
The great-grandchildren of rats given a fungicide were more stressed-out and anxious than other rats.
Food Chemistry Roundup
New studies reveal why black pepper fights fat cells, and why caffeine could help dry eye syndrome.
Social Status Genes
When a female monkey’s rank changes, thousands of her genes are affected.
Baby Goat Accents
Baby goats’ baas may contain a hidden message for their herdmates.
Art Roundup
What caused Leonardo da Vinci’s famous self-portrait to yellow with time, and the genetics behind Vincent Van Gogh’s mutant sunflower paintings.
Monkey Miscarriages
Wild gelada monkeys spontaneously abort pregnancies when a new male takes over the group.
Australian Extinction
Human hunters drove Australia’s largest animals to extinction around 40,000 years ago.
Podcast for 23 March 2012
EVOLUTION & EXTINCTION - What really happened to Australia's missing megafauna, how carnivores lost their sweet tooth, why lovelorn fruit flies resort to alcohol, strategic miscarriages in monkeys, and a new frog species is discovered in plain sight.
Other Blood Types
New research adds 2 more rare blood type systems to a surprisingly long list.
Extremely Tiny Horses
Ancient horses shrank when global temperatures rose.
Cancer & Diabetes Resistance
A rare genetic mutation makes people very short, but also resistant to cancer and diabetes.
Boosting Photosynthesis
Researchers are trying to boost the efficiency of photosynthesis in crops like soybeans, rice and potatoes to feed the world’s growing population.