Biopedia Vince's Podcasts

Bee declines feature prominently in the news today. But what are the causes for it? Using the example of the UK, we follow the Woodland Trust to explore this issue. Plus, we also discuss two papers which hold differing viewpoints about the pollination crisis generally...



Sources for this episode:


Briggs, H., BBC News (2019), Bees: Many British pollinating insects in decline, study shows (online) (Accessed 05/03/2024).
Engel, M. S., Rasmussen, C. and Gonzalez, V. H. (2021), Bees. In: Starr, C. K. (ed.), Encyclopedia of Insects. Springer Nature Switzerland.
Ghazoul, J. (2005), Buzziness as usual? Questioning the global pollination crisis. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 20(7): 367-373.
Hine, R. S. (2019), Oxford Dictionary of Biology. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Kennedy, P. J., Ford, S. M., Poidatz, J., Thiéry, D., & Osborne, J. L. (2018). Searching for nests of the invasive Asian hornet (Vespa velutina) using radio-telemetry. Communications Biology, 1, 88.
Lima, C. G., Sofia Vaz, A., Honrado, J. P., Aranha, J., Crespo, N., & Vicente, J. R. (2022). The invasion by the Yellow-legged hornet: A systematic review. Journal for Nature Conservation, 67, 126173.
Paxton, R. J. (2010), Does infection by Nosema ceranae cause “Colony Collapse Disorder” in honey bees (Apis mellifera)? Journal of Apicultural Research 49(1): 80-84.
Rader, R., Bartomeus, I., Garibaldi, L. A. and Woyciechowski, M. (2015), Non-bee insects are important contributors to global crop pollination. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 113(1): 146-151.
Renner, S. S. and Zohner, C. M. (2018), Climate Change and Phenological Mismatch in Trophic Interactions Among Plants, Insects and Vertebrates. Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution and Systematics 49: 162-182.
Takahashi, J., Okuyama, H., Kiyoshi, T., Takeuchi, T., & Martin, S. J. (2019). Origins of Vespa velutina hornets that recently invaded Iki Island, Japan and Jersey Island, UK. Mitochondrial DNA Part A, 30(3), 434–439.
Van Engelsdorp, D., et al. (2009), Colony Collapse Disorder: A Descriptive Study. PLOS ONE 4(8): e6481.
Varela, C. (2023), Why are bees important? And how you can help them (online) (Accessed 01/03/2023).
Vogel, G. (2017), Where have all the insects gone? Science 356(6338): 576-579.
Author unknown, Climate Action Tracker (date unknown), The CAT Thermometer (online) (Accessed 05/03/2024).

Time for a common ecological term to get the treatment it deserves. Today, we're exploring the biome. Not only that, but the term ecoregion is getting thrown in as an extra...



Sources for this episode:


Clennett, C., Locke, J. and Jackson, T. (editorial consultants) (2023), How Biology Works. LonondM Darling Kindersley Ltd.
Hine, R. S. (2019), Oxford Dictionary of Biology (8th edition). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Rundel, P. W., Arroyo, M. T. K., Cowling, R. M., Keeley, J. E., Lamont, B. B. and Vargas, P. (2016), Mediterranean Biomes: Evolution of Their Vegetation, Floras, and Climate. Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution and Systematics 47: 383-407.
Whittaker, R. J. and Fernández-Palacios, J. M. (2007), Island Biogeography: Ecology, Evolution and Conservation (2nd edition). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Climate change as a topic is a well-known one. However, we are going to be dissecting a paper published recently which deals with the potential economic impact of a warming world...



Sources for this episode:

TBA

Today's episode is going to feature one of the later monarchs from the Hellenistic era- Mithridates VI of Pontus. This is because his practice of trying to make himself immune to poison- called mithridatism- is biologically relevant and and continues to be influential until the 18th century.



Sources for this episode:


Jarcho, S. (1972), Medical Numismatic Notes, VII: Mithridates IV. Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine 48(8): 1059-1064.
Kaberopoulos, D., Karamanou, M. and Androutsos, G. (2012), The art of medicine: The theriac in antiquity. The Lancet 379: 1942-1943.
Karamanou, M., Androutsos, G., Hayes, A. W. and Tsatsakis, A. (2018), Toxicology in the Borgias period: The mystery of Cantarella poison. Toxicology Research and Application 2: 1-3.
Valle, G., Stanislao, M., Facciorusso, A., Carmignani, M. and Volpe, A. R. (2010), Mithridates VI Eupator, father of the empirical toxicology. Clinical Toxicology 47(5): 433.
Author unknown, Wikipedia (date unknown), Antiochus III the Great (online) (Accessed 28/07/2023).
Author unknown, Wikipedia (date unknown), Demetrius I Soter (online) (Accessed 28/07/2023).
Author unknown, Wikipedia (date unknown), Laodice IV (online) (Accessed 28/07/2023).
Author unknown, Wikipedia (date unknown), Laodice VI (online) (Accessed 28/07/2023).
Author unknown, Wikipedia (date unknown), Mithridates VI Eupator (online) (Accessed 29/07/2023).
Author unknown, Wikipedia (date unknown), Seleucus II Callinicus (online) (Accessed 28/07/2023).

The Black Death in the 14th century is engrained in the popular consciousness. But how familiar is the first wave of the disease that happened in the 500s? In this episode, we explore what plague is, its evolution, strains and impact on the world of the 6th century according to Procopius.



Sources for this episode:


Achtman, M., Zurth, K., Morelli, G., Torrea, G., Guiyoule, A. and Carniel, E. (1999), Yersinia pestis, the cause of plague, is a recently emerged clone of Yersinia pseudotuberculosis. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 96(24): 14043-14048.
Dai, R., He, J., Zha, X., Wang, Y., Zhang, X., Gao, H., Yang, X., Li, J., Xin, Y., Wang, Y., Li, S., Jin, J., Zhang, Q., Bai, J., Peng, Y., Wu, H., Zhang, Q., Wei, B., Xu, J. and Li, W. (2021), A novel mechanism of streptomycin resistance in Yersinia pestis: Mutation in the rpsL gene. PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases 15(4): e0009324.
Dewing, H. B. (1960), Procopius in Seven Volumes. Volume VI: The Anecdota or Secret History. Cambridge, Massachusetts and London: Harvard University Press and William Heinemann Ltd.
Dewing, H. B. (1961), Procopius in Seven Volumes. Volume II: History of the Wars: Books III and IV. Cambridge, Massachusetts and London: Harvard University Press and William Heinemann Ltd.
Dull, R. A., Southon, J. R., Kutterolf, S., Anchukaitis, K. J., Freundt, A., Wahl, D. B., Sheets, P., Amaroli, P., Hernandez, W., Wiemann, M. C. and Oppenheimer, C. (2019), Radiocarbon and geologic evidence reveal Ilopango volcano as source of the colossal ‘mystery’ eruption of 539/40 CE. Quaternary Science Reviews 222: 105855.
Dykhuizen, D. E. (2000), Yersinia pestis: An instant species? Trends in Microbiology 8(7): 296-298.
Ke, Y., Chen, Z. and Yang, R. (2019), Yersinia pestis: mechanisms of entry into and resistance to the host cell. Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology 3(106): 1-9.
Kousoulis, A. A., Karamanou, M., Tsoucalas, G., Dimitriou, T. and Androutsos, G. (2012), Alexandre Yersin’s Explorations (1892-1894) in French Indochina before the Discovery of the Plague Bacillus. Acto Medico-Historica Adriatica 10(2): 303-310.
Mikaty, G., Coullon, H., Fiette, L., Pizarro-Cerdá and Carniel, E. (2021), The invasive pathogen Yersinia pestis disrupts host blood vasculature to spread and provoke hemorrhages. PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases 15(10): e0009832.
Mordechai, L., Eisenberg, M., Newfield, T. P., Izdebski, A., Kay, J. E. and Poinar, H. (2019), The Justinianic Plague: An Inconsequential Pandemic? Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 116(51): 25546-25554.
Moseley, J. E. (1981), Travels of Alexandre Yersin: Letters of a Pastorian in Indochina, 1890-1894. Perspectives in Biology and Medicine 24(4): 607-618.
Norwich, J. J. (2013), A Short History of Byzantium. London: The Penguin Group.
Procopius (1985), The Secret History (translated by Williamson, G. A.). Harmondsworth: Penguin Books Ltd.
Rogers, K., Encyclopedia Britannica (2023), Yersinia pestis (online) (Accessed c.01/03/2024).
Rosen, W. (2008), Justinian’s Flea: Plague, Empire & the Birth of Europe. London: Pimlico.
Sarris, P. (2023), Justinian: Emperor, Soldier, Saint. London: Basic Books UK.
Author unknown, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (date unknown), Protect yourself from plague.
Author unknown, Wikipedia (date unknown), Plague of Justinian (online) (Accessed 01/03/2024).

1-2% of the world's population have red hair. So, we're giving the phenomenon its own episode! Today, we discuss the gene/protein that causes red hair, as well as its psychological and possible medical effects...



Sources for this episode:


Bryant, NIH Research Matters (2021), Study finds link between red hair and pain threshold (online) (Accessed 12/01/2024).
Gradwohl, S. C., Aranake, A., Abdallah, A. B., McNair, P., Lin, N., Fritz, B. A., Villafranca, A., Glick, D., Jacobsohn, E., Mashour, G. A. and Avidan, M. S. (2015), Intraoperative awareness risk, anesthetic sensitivity, and anesthetic management for patients with natural red hair: a matched cohort study. Canadian Journal of Anesthesia 62: 345 355.
Massachusetts General Hospital, Science Daily (2021), Research reveals why redheads have different pain thresholds (online) (Accessed 12/01/2024).
Regan, K. O. (2014), “Red hair in popular culture and the relationship with anxiety and depression”. Thesis submitted for University College, Cork.
Rees, J. L. (2000), The Melanocortin 1 Receptor (MC1R): More Than Just Red Hair. Pigment Cell Research 13: 135-140.
Robinson, K. C., Kemény, L. V., Fell, G. L., Hermann, A. L., Allouche J., Ding, W., Yekkirala, A., Hsiao, J. J., Su, M. Y., Theodosakis, N., Kozak, G., Takeuchi, Y., Shen, S., Berenyi, A., Mao, J., Woolf, C. J. and Fisher, D. E. (2021), Reduced MC4R signalling alters nociceptive thresholds associated with red hair. Science Advances 7: eabd1310.
Author unknown, Wikipedia (date unknown), Nociception (online) (Accessed 12/01/2024).
Author unknown, Worldometer (date unknown), World Population Clock: 8.1 Billion People (LIVE, 2024) (online) (Accessed
11/01/2024).