Big Picture Science

Explore the evolution of multicellular organisms, from laboratory experiments on E.coli bacteria and yeast to the creation of fractal tree-like clusters. Learn about the significance of multicellularity, embryogenesis, and our current understanding of complexity in animal development. Discover the potential insights into the origins of multicellular life forms in the universe and the possibility of life on other worlds.

Extreme heat is taking its toll on the natural world. We use words like “heat domes” and “freakish” to describe our everyday existence. These high temperatures aren’t only uncomfortable - they are lethal to humans, animals, and crops. In search of an answer to our episode’s question, we discuss the dilemma of an ever-hotter world with an author who has covered climate change for more than twenty years. Guest:Jeff Goodell – author of “The Heat Will Kill You First: Life and Death on a Scorched Planet.”Featuring music by Dewey Dellay and Jun MiyakeBig Picture Science is part of the Airwave Media podcast network. Please contact advertising@airwavemedia.com to inquire about advertising on Big Picture Science.You can get early access to ad-free versions of every episode by joining us on Patreon. Thanks for your support! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Guests discuss the scientific inquiry into near-death experiences, exploring their prevalence, physiological aspects, and emotional impact. They highlight the tension between science and spirituality, discuss mapping the neural correlates of consciousness, and acknowledge unanswered questions. The speakers also explore the biological origin of near-death experiences, their potential evolutionary significance, and share personal stories and beliefs.

Have you ever heard worms arguing? Deep-sea scientists use hydrophones to eavesdrop on “mouth-fighting worms.” It’s one of the many ways scientists are trying to catalog the diversity of the deep oceans — estimated to be comparable to a rainforest.But the clock is ticking. While vast expanses of the deep sea are still unexplored, mining companies are ready with dredging vehicles to strip mine the seafloor, potentially destroying rare and vulnerable ecosystems. Are we willing to eradicate an alien landscape that we haven’t yet visited?Guests:Craig McClain - deep-sea and evolutionary biologist and ecologist, Executive Director of the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium.Steve Haddock - senior scientist at the Monetary Bay Aquarium Research Institute, and co-author of a New York Times op-ed about the dangers of mining.Emily Hall - marine chemist at the Mote Marine Laboratory, Sarasota, FloridaChong Chen - deep sea biologist with the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC)*Originally aired November 23, 2020Big Picture Science is part of the Airwave Media podcast network. Please contact advertising@airwavemedia.com to inquire about advertising on Big Picture Science.You can get early access to ad-free versions of every episode by joining us on Patreon. Thanks for your support!  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brace yourself for heatwave “Lucifer.” Dangerous deadly heatwaves may soon be so common that we give them names, just like hurricanes. This is one of the dramatic consequences of just a few degrees rise in average temperatures.Also coming: Massive heat “blobs” that form in the oceans and damage marine life, and powerful windstorms called “derechos” pummeling the Midwest. Plus, are fungal pathogens adapting to hotter temperatures and breaching the 98.6 F thermal barrier that keeps them from infecting us?Guests:Kathy Baughman McLeod – director and senior vice president of the Adrienne Arsht-Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Center at The Atlantic CouncilPippa Moore – Marine ecologist at Newcastle University in the U.K.Ted Derouin – Michigan farmerJeff Dukes – Ecologist and director of Purdue Climate Change Research Center at Purdue University.Arturo Casadevall – Molecular microbiologist and immunologist at the Johns Hopkins School of MedicineOriginally aired October 19, 2020Big Picture Science is part of the Airwave Media podcast network. Please contact advertising@airwavemedia.com to inquire about advertising on Big Picture Science.You can get early access to ad-free versions of every episode by joining us on Patreon. Thanks for your support!  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why haven't space colonies been built? Can billionaire space entrepreneurs revive our dreams? Is living off-Earth a solution or an escape? Visionary physicist Gerard O'Neill's rotating structure concept. Building a utopian space colony. Impact of science fiction. Motivations for space colonization. Perceived realities of future worlds. Simulation hypothesis and time travel. Relocating to a space colony. Challenges of Biosphere 2. Importance of including biological systems. Creating permanent habitats in space. Preservation of Earth. Gratitude towards NASA's support.

Discover the surprising ability of fish to walk on land and the hunting strategies of the T-Rex. Explore the benefits of walking on our bodies, brains, personality, and health. Learn about the mechanics of walking and the relationship between brains and movement. Dive into the world of walking fish and uncover the connections between walking and our aquatic ancestors.

Your daily mucus output is most impressive. Teaspoons or measuring cups can’t capture its entire volume. Find out how much your body churns out and why you can’t live without the viscous stuff. But slime in general is remarkable. Whether coating the bellies of slithery creatures, sleeking the surface of aquatic plants, or dripping from your nose, its protective qualities make it one of the great inventions of biology. Join us as we venture to the land of ooze!Guests:Christopher Viney - Professor of materials science and engineering at the University of California, MercedKatharina Ribbeck - Bioengineer at MITAnna Rose Hopkins - Chef and partner at Hank and Bean in Los AngelesRuth Kassinger - author of “Slime: How Algae Created Us, Plague Us, and Just Might Save Us” *Originally aired January 27, 2020Big Picture Science is part of the Airwave Media podcast network. Please contact advertising@airwavemedia.com to inquire about advertising on Big Picture Science.You can get early access to ad-free versions of every episode by joining us on Patreon. Thanks for your support!  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“Diversity or die” could be your new health mantra. Don’t boost your immune system, cultivate it! Like a garden, your body’s defenses benefit from species diversity. Find out why multiple strains of microbes, engaged in a delicate ballet with your T-cells, join internal fungi in combatting disease. Plus, global ecosystems also depend on the diversity of its tiniest members; so what happens when the world’s insects bug out?Guests: Matt Richtel – Author, most recently, of “An Elegant Defense: The Extraordinary New Science of The Immune System” Rob Dunn – Biologist and professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at North Carolina State University. Author of “Never Home Alone” David Underhill – Professor of medicine, Cedars-Sinai Hospital, Los Angeles, California Anne Sverdrup-Thygeson – Professor in conservation biology at the Institute for Ecology and Nature Management at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences. Author of “Buzz, Sting, Bite: Why We Need Insects” Originally aired August 12, 2019Big Picture Science is part of the Airwave Media podcast network. Please contact advertising@airwavemedia.com to inquire about advertising on Big Picture Science.You can get early access to ad-free versions of every episode by joining us on Patreon. Thanks for your support!   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

UFOs are back. This time they’ve landed on Capitol Hill in the form of a public, congressional hearing. We watched the hearing with great interest, but felt dissatisfied when it came to evidence. Claims that the government has alien technology are obviously tantalizing. So tantalizing, in fact, that it’s easy to overlook logical fallacies in how these claims are presented. We identify a few of the missteps. But what would convince you that the government is aware of alien visitation? Is the word of an authority figure all we need to accept that “they’re here?” Guests:Benjamin Radford - Research fellow with the Committee for Skeptical InquiryNadia Drake - Science journalist and member of NASA’s UAP groupJames McGaha - Retired military pilot and astronomer he's a longtime investigator of UFO reports and claims and he's a scientific consultant to the Committee for Skeptical InquiryMick West - A skeptical investigator who looks at claims of UFOsFeaturing music by Dewey Dellay and Jun MiyakeBig Picture Science is part of the Airwave Media podcast network. Please contact advertising@airwavemedia.com to inquire about advertising on Big Picture Science.You can get early access to ad-free versions of every episode by joining us on Patreon. Thanks for your support!  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices