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.
Podcast for 20 January 2012
ANIMALS & PEOPLE - Levitating flies, what dogs and babies have in common, how oxytocin makes kinder, gentler monkeys, a fish that mimics an octopus that mimics a fish, and how bats hear with both sides of the brain.
Mimic Mimic
When an Indonesian octopus mimics poisonous fish, a smaller fish takes advantage.
Bat Brains
Like humans, bats process some types of sounds on the right side of their brains and other sounds on the left side of their brains.
Critter Chemicals Roundup
Some of the most potent antibiotics and insecticides come from animals. Researchers have identified some promising new candidates, derived from ants and frogs.
Podcast for 16 December 2011
BEHAVIOR, ECOLOGY & ENVIRONMENT - why dirty laundry could be damaging the environment, how to make wine growing compatible with wildlife, what the Monarch butterfly genome can tell us about their epic migrations, and how wasps see faces.
DNA Fingerprint Roundup
New uses for DNA fingerprinting include tracking deadly tse-tse flies and identifying species from ancient soil samples.
Wine & Wildlife
Wildlife often suffer from our insatiable need for agricultural land. But researchers in California are finding that birds and vineyards can actually benefit each other.
Critters & Climate Roundup
Could the swimming of sea creatures be influencing climate change?
Podcast for 11 November 2011
ANIMALS & HEALTH - Why one insect's mating habits could lead to its downfall, why predators are literally scaring dragonflies to death, and pythons reveal the benefits of having a big heart. Also: why animals swimming in the ocean may be affecting the global climate.
Endangered Stem Cells
Stem cell research could help bring drill monkeys and northern white rhinos back from the brink of extinction.
Marine Roundup
A fish out of water makes a name for itself, and how corals avoid sunburn.
Six Butterflies in One
One species of butterfly mimics six different species to avoid predators.
Contagious Stress
Early stress in a zebra finch’s life not only cuts its life short, but takes a serious toll on its mate’s life as well.
Podcast for 9 September 2011
MARVELS OF EVOLUTION - A prehistoric pregnancy clears up a Mesozoic mystery. The economics of plant-fungi cooperation. How to get six butterflies in one. Counting up the species on earth. And how your stress could be bad news for your mate if you're a finch.
Species Roundup
A new study documents the rate at which species are moving toward the poles or up the sides of mountains to escape climate change.
Podcast for 5 August 2011
BATS & DOLPHINS: Dolphins that heal themselves, and dolphins that use electroreception in addition to echolocation. Also, How vampire bats find their prey, and how a Cuban plant takes advantage of a bat's ability to echolocate.
Backyard Roundup
Opossums and snakes are locked in a battle of evolutionary proportions.
Podcast for 29 July 2011
REPTILES & AMPHIBIANS - Fossil anatomy sheds light on whether dinosaurs were warm-blooded, why some lizards are smarter than you think, opossums and snakes locked in a deadly arms race, and why frogs don't lose their grip.
Killer Whale Microphone
An underwater microphone takes inspiration from the ears of killer whales.