How are cephalopods like us, but also completely alien? How can they become so intelligent when they have such short lives? How do they coordinate a distributed set of brains?In this episode, we talk with Danna Staaf, a science communicator and marine bi

Does biological plasticity have a cost? Are there evolutionary consequences of plasticity and of organisms acting on their environments?In this episode, we talk with Sonia Sultan, the Alan M. Dachs Professor of Science in the Department of Biology at Wes

How do small, founding populations establish and thrive in new places? What is biocontrol, and how is it carried out responsibly?In this episode, we talk with Ruth Hufbauer, a Professor of Applied Evolutionary Ecology at Colorado State University about t

How do biologists categorize species? Whats the best and quickest way to describe millions of unknown species?On this episode, we talk with Michael Sharkey, an entomologist and taxonomist who spent much of his career at the University of Kentucky, and i

How do living things exert agency in a world of strict physical and chemical laws? Do humans have free will?In this episode, we talk with Kevin Mitchell, an Associate Professor of Genetics and Neuroscience at Trinity College Dublin. The question of free

How has evolutionary biology evolved over time? What does it take to study evolution in natural populations?On this episode, we talk with Erik Svensson, an evolutionary biologist at Lund University, Sweden. Historically, evolutionary theory has focused

Can we predict evolutionary outcomes if we know starting conditions? Do the products of evolution in nature differ from those studied in well-controlled lab experiments?On this episode, we talk to Katie Peichel, head of the Division of Evolutionary Ecolo

Season 6 of Big Biology will kick off at the beginning of September - woohoo! Before then, we have a quick message to share:Were looking for a new producer to join the Big Biology team! If you are a passionate team player with experience in podcast prod

Why can some animals regrow limbs while others cant? Will understanding regeneration in other vertebrates help us regrow arms one day?Our intern team has taken over the channel to talk about one of their favorite biology topics, limb regeneration! In th

Where does biological innovation come from? Why do some innovations wait millions of years for their spotlight?Life must constantly innovate for evolution to occur, but many forms of biological innovation often lie dormant, sometimes for millions of year