Better Than Human Jennifer and Amber

The monarch is a common butterfly, found in the Americas that is considered a poster species of pollinating insects. The monarch butterfly is easily recognizable because of its bright black, orange, and white patterns. Monarch butterflies are a parasite to their caterpillars’ only food source, milkweed. This plant itself is toxic to thwart insects from consuming its plant body, this includes an attempt to be toxic to monarchs. This has resulted in an evolutionary arms race between the two spe...

In this episode, Jennifer and Amber explore the history of the potatoes. Or as a hobbit would say, "Po-tay-toes! Boil 'em, mash 'em, stick 'em in a stew." However you like them, potatoes have changed the world. Jennifer insists potatoes are not roots or stems, but they’re tubers. Amber insists they are technically a specialized stem called a stolon. These tubers evolved to store food for potato plants when resources were scarce. The Native Americans living in what is now Peru quickly realized...

Most widely known as the 'feel good chemical,' dopamine is a neurotransmitter in the pleasure area of the brain's reward system that plays a role in many important body functions, including movement, memory, and pleasurable reward and motivation. But do you really know what Dopamine really is, and what it actually does in your brain? Or how it works in other parts of your body, or even how other life forms use it?Dopamine is made up of a benzene ring, which is one of the most important c...

Dragonflies are some of the fastest flying insects in the world. With 360-degree vision, they can eat hundreds of insects per day, including those pesky mosquitoes and other biting insects. Their adaptations for flying are unique among insects and so precise that humans can only dream of being able to someday make machines that fly as well as dragonflies.Dragonflies are similar in structure to an ancient group of insects informally called Griffinflies, which contains some of the largest flyin...

Goblin Sharks are a species of rare sharks found in the deepest oceans throughout the world. The goblin shark gets its name from its terrifying unhinged mouth that is full of razor sharp teeth. These sharks use a stealth attack to float through the ocean until close enough to swallow their prey. (Its low-density and large liver make it buoyant, allowing it to drift towards its prey with minimal motions to avoid detection). Which mean, what the goblin shark wants to eat, will not see it coming...

Penguins are flightless aquatic birds that are almost exclusively found in the Southern Hemisphere. Penguins are evolved to catch fast-swimming prey and to live in cold temperatures. Their bodies have densely packed feathers, heavy muscles and huge fat supplies. Because of these adaptations penguins have lost their ability to fly, and while they might not look graceful on land, they are incredibly agile in the water. There was a penguin-like bird living in the Northern Hemisphere, the Gr...