Tiny Living Beings

Julia Van Etten
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Tiny Living Beings is a weekly podcast where listeners get to know a scientist, a weird microorganism they like, and why they think it's interesting. Our planet is full of billions of different microscopic organisms, most of which are still unknown to science. The ones we do know are diverse and strange. Microbiology knowledge is often gatekept by scientists who discuss this information in exclusive professional circles, but more of these topics need to be shared with the public! Although generally upbeat and fun, conversations often tangentially address frustrations with society or become existential, which, because of the time we are living through, is inherently connected to any discussion of topical scientific information. Content is geared toward all ages and backgrounds, anyone who is scientifically curious.

  1. 22.12.2025

    Introducing the Fire Amoeba - with Angela Oliverio and Beryl Rappaport

    Eukaryotes are "complex" organisms with nuclei and membrane-bound organelles: plants, animals, fungi, and protists. Protists include many understudied lineages of fascinating organisms that challenge our understanding of cell biology, and so many protist species remain undiscovered. This week Dr. Angela Oliverio and Beryl Rappaport come on the podcast to discuss a new amoeba species called Incendiamoeba cascadensis that lives and reproduces at the highest temperature ever described for a eukaryote, earning the title of "fire amoeba". Angela and Beryl take us through their research and discovery process, highlighting the collaborative nature of their groundbreaking work. You can read about the structure, function, behavior, and genome of I. cascadensis in their recent preprint. On the episode, we discuss what this amoeba looks like, how it moves, its relatives, the volcanic lake it was found in, and current hypotheses for how it is able to survive in such hot temperatures. Angela explains how studying a novel species like this can leave us with more questions than answers which means that there is more exciting work to come!  Angela Oliverio is an assistant professor of Biology at Syracuse University and Beryl Rappaport is a PhD student studying microbial eukaryote evolution and occasionally fermented foods in the Oliverio lab. You can follow them on Bluesky at @oliverio.bsky.social and @hbrappap@bsky.social, and learn more about their research at http://oliveriolab.org/ and their Google Scholar pages (Angela, Beryl).  They've also provided some links and photos for further reading, and make sure to read their preprint! A great thread by Beryl A geothermal amoeba sets a new upper temperature limit for eukaryotes preprint Extreme environments offer an unprecedented opportunity to understand microbial eukaryotic ecology, evolution, and genome biology perspective paper  Lessons from Extremophiles: Functional Adaptations and Genomic Innovations across the Eukaryotic Tree of Life article Popular media articles about the fire amoeba in Nature and Scientific American More about amoebozoan amoebas: Wikipedia Brief history about Thermus aquaticus (bacteria) and the advent of PCR from USGS For more info on microbes and to follow updates of this podcast, find @couch_microscopy on Instagram or visit www.couchmicroscopy.com/store for merch! The views and opinions expressed on this program are those of the host and guests and do not reflect the views of any institution.

    1 Std. 5 Min.
  2. Parasites in our pets' poop - with Ben Alverson

    26.05.2025

    Parasites in our pets' poop - with Ben Alverson

    Microbes are everywhere, including inside our pets! This week, Ben Alverson comes on to give us a crash course in veterinary parasitology. He discusses the variety of worms and protists that can live inside mammals and cause problems ranging from being a mild nuisance to causing death. We talk about the different types of animals that get tested for these parasites including cats and dogs, zoo animals like big cats, and farm animals. Ben does a great job explaining how diagnoses are made from examining poop samples, what that process looks like, how identifications of different eggs and and parasites are made using microscopy, and treatment options. This episode showcases a non-academic career path in microbiology that's absolutely fascinating! (But it is not for the squeamish!) Ben Alverson is a microbiologist with experience in the veterinary field. He runs the brilliant Instagram account @veterinary_parasitology_ where he posts photos of ova (eggs) and parasites found in his work. I HIGHLY recommend following him! You can also find him on Twitter. Resources from this episode: Textbook recommendation: Diagnostic Parasitology for Veterinary Technicians (I posted the link from the publisher but I recommend looking for this used or free online) Vetpocket app For more info on microbes and to follow updates of this podcast, find @couch_microscopy on Instagram or visit www.couchmicroscopy.com/store for merch! The views and opinions expressed on this program are those of the host and guests and do not reflect the views of any institution or funder.

    1 Std.
  3. Is science political? - with Kevin Bird

    05.05.2025

    Is science political? - with Kevin Bird

    American science has been under attack since this Trump administration began. Tens of thousands of scientists and federal workers have lost their jobs and the effects are starting to permeate through society. This week I have Dr. Kevin Bird on to explain the events of the last 3 months, how science is funded in the United States, why it is being attacked so aggressively, and the ideologies behind these attacks. He also gives us a history lesson on movements of the past that sought to protect the scientific enterprise. It is really important to protect science. Publicly-funded research benefits us all! (Also, sorry for the choppy editing on this episode; I wanted to get this one out quickly!) Kevin is a NSF Plant Genome Postdoctoral Research Fellow at UC Davis studying the evolutionary impact of structural variation in plant genomes. He also researches scientific racism and posts lots of interesting stuff on his Bluesky account. You can also learn more about his work on his website or Google Scholar page. Here are some articles Kevin recommends: Brand new article about the NSF freeze Article about the impacts on US science Article about US brain drain USDA and food security US-AID labs that were cut Article on the admin's resegregationism and Project 2025 Article about TESCREAL Article about neoreaction Radical science movements from the past For more info on microbes and to follow updates of this podcast, find @couch_microscopy on Instagram or visit www.couchmicroscopy.com/store for merch! The views and opinions expressed on this program are those of the host and guests and do not reflect the views of any institution or funding agency.

    1 Std. 30 Min.
  4. The Diatom Detective - with Kirstie Scott

    14.04.2025

    The Diatom Detective - with Kirstie Scott

    If you tuned in last week, you'll know that diatoms produce one quarter of the air we breathe (and they produced this podcast's logo), but did you know that they can also be used to solve crimes???! Rather than spoiling too much by writing a long caption here, you should just press play to hear from Dr. Kirstie Scott, a forensic diatomist and one of the most interesting people I've spoken with. In this episode we discuss how certain environments have certain cells and how these cells can travel on clothes and in bodies. We also talk about different types of evidence, testifying in court, and many ways in which trace signatures of organisms in the environment can be used in to answer diverse research questions. If you like Dexter or Bones or true crime, this episode is for you! Kirstie is a senior lecturer in forensic bioscience at Liverpool John Moores University in the UK where she specializes in diatom analysis. You can find her on Linkedin, Google Scholar, X, and Bluesky. Here are some resources Kirstie recommends: How microscopic algae are helping forensic teams catch criminals Research article on marine diatoms as trace evidence indicators Dead bodies can reveal details of their death through microscopic diatoms For more info on microbes and to follow updates of this podcast, find @couch_microscopy on Instagram or visit www.couchmicroscopy.com/store for merch! The views and opinions expressed on this program are those of the host and guests and do not reflect the views of any institution.

    58 Min.
  5. Diatoms and dinoflagellates and dinotoms, oh my! - with Brittany Sprecher

    07.04.2025

    Diatoms and dinoflagellates and dinotoms, oh my! - with Brittany Sprecher

    Diatoms are beautiful (and weird). Dinoflagellates are weird (and beautiful). They are completely different organisms but both are protists that can both support whole ecosystems or cause devastating environmental hazards. However, only one of them inspired Alfred Hitchcock to make his famous movie, The Birds (listen to find out which). Both organisms can produce oxygen to help us breathe, and diatoms alone produce over 20% of the oxygen in the atmosphere. And sometimes dinoflagellates will ingest diatoms and use their innards to steal photosynthesis, creating a new type of organism called a "dinotom"! That was a very chaotic group of sentences but luckily this week we have Dr. Brittany Sprecher on the podcast who is an expert at diatoms, dinoflagellates, AND dinotoms. What a combo! We discuss a lot on this episode and you will come away learning all about the amazing research going on with these funky microbes. Brittany Sprecher is a postdoctoral researcher at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. You can follow her work on Google Scholar. Here are some links Brittany recommends to learn more about these protists: Short Klaus Kemp diatom arranging documentary Phytoplankton Identification guide (California coast) Microorganisms PARODY video "The algae that saved an astronaut's life" video Wiki for Amoebophrya, the dinoflagellate parasite that infects other dinoflagellates Bioluminescent waves in Monterey Bay Bioluminescence vs. fluorescence video For more info on microbes and to follow updates of this podcast, find @couch_microscopy on Instagram or visit www.couchmicroscopy.com/store for merch! The views and opinions expressed on this program are those of the host and guests and do not reflect the views of any institution.

    1 Std.
  6. Sharks of the plankton - with Matt Johnson

    31.03.2025

    Sharks of the plankton - with Matt Johnson

    Did you know that some organisms, from protists to sea slugs, steal photosynthesis? This week Dr. Matt Johnson is on the podcast to talk about his work on kleptoplasty, the process by which organisms steal plastids (photosynthetic organelles) from other organisms to become photosynthetic. These special cells with stolen plastids are mixotrophs, that is, they can both eat food and produce their own from solar energy. Matt discusses why kleptoplasty and mixotrophy are special processes that aren't as rare as we might think and how they affect the ocean and planet. He also talks about ciliates, a very enigmatic group of protists that he uses to study mixotrophy. And listen all the way through for a crash course on the Grateful Dead! Matt is an associate scientist with tenure at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. You can follow his work on his Google Scholar page or website. To learn more about ciliates, other protists, and kleptoplasty: Foissner user-friendly guide to ciliate identification (1996) Open source protist illustrations by Keeling and Eglit (2023) Nat Geo "Solar-Powered Sea Slugs" article For more info on microbes and to follow updates of this podcast, find @couch_microscopy on Instagram or visit www.couchmicroscopy.com/store for merch! The views and opinions expressed on this program are those of the host and guests and do not reflect the views of any institution.

    1 Std. 10 Min.
  7. Urine for a treat - with Owen Hale

    24.03.2025

    Urine for a treat - with Owen Hale

    Newsflash! Urine is not sterile! This week we have Owen Hale on the podcast to talk about the urinary tract microbiome, which is really understudied. We discuss which bacteria live inside us, what they do, why so many people get UTIs, and what urinary tract bacteria can tell us about evolution more broadly. Owen also points out that because UTIs affect women so frequently, this is one of the few systems in biomedical science where females have been studied more than men, and what we can learn from these types of studies. He also explains why UTIs are political and some surprising results from his own research. Owen is a PhD candidate at Vanderbilt University. You can follow his work on X (@owenmicro) or Google Scholar. Here are some resources relevant to this episode: A 2020 review paper called "Advances in Understanding the Human Urinary Microbiome and Its Potential Role in Urinary Tract Infection" by Neugent et al. "Mutation Rates: How Low Can You Go?" by Sniegowski and Raynes Tee wikipedia page for the drift-barrier hypothesis. This link is easier to read than the journal articles... For more info on microbes and to follow updates of this podcast, find @couch_microscopy on Instagram or visit www.couchmicroscopy.com/store for merch! The views and opinions expressed on this program are those of the host and guests and do not reflect the views of any institution.

    1 Std. 9 Min.
  8. Where did plants come from? - with Blair Young

    17.03.2025

    Where did plants come from? - with Blair Young

    Bryophytes are an ancient group of plants that include hornworts, liverworts, and mosses. They are the evolutionary link between land plants and the green algal ancestors that plants evolved from. But bryophytes are also really interesting in their own right and they are very understudied so it is lucky that I got to chat with an expert bryologist! This week, Blair Young discusses what bryophytes look like, where to find them, and why we study them. Blair is a PhD student at Rutgers University in the Struwe lab. She is also the assistant curator at the Chrysler herbarium and a field surveyor for the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. You can follow her on instagram (@polarblairx). If bryophytes are interesting to you, check out these useful resources Blair has provided that will help you get started exploring these unusual plants! Bryophyte Ecology e-book mentioned on the episode Moss identification key Liverwort identification key Glossary of bryophyte-specific terminology For more info on microbes and to follow updates of this podcast, find @couch_microscopy on Instagram or visit www.couchmicroscopy.com/store for merch!

    1 Std.
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Tiny Living Beings is a weekly podcast where listeners get to know a scientist, a weird microorganism they like, and why they think it's interesting. Our planet is full of billions of different microscopic organisms, most of which are still unknown to science. The ones we do know are diverse and strange. Microbiology knowledge is often gatekept by scientists who discuss this information in exclusive professional circles, but more of these topics need to be shared with the public! Although generally upbeat and fun, conversations often tangentially address frustrations with society or become existential, which, because of the time we are living through, is inherently connected to any discussion of topical scientific information. Content is geared toward all ages and backgrounds, anyone who is scientifically curious.

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  • Erstellt von
    Julia Van Etten
  • Jahre aktiv
    2022 - 2025
  • Folgen
    28
  • Bewertung
    Unbedenklich
  • Copyright
    © Julia Van Etten 2021-2025
  • Sendungswebsite
    Tiny Living Beings

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