The Tartan Tardigrade - Astrobiology Chats

The University of Edinburgh
  • 5.0 (2)
  • NATURAL SCIENCES
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The Tartan Tardigrade is a podcast where scientists from the UK Centre for Astrobiology talk to guests from around the world about their research in astrobiology, their careers, and the prospects for life in the universe.

  1. 12/15/2025 · VIDEO

    The Tartan Tardigrade - Episode 21 Paul Rimmer

    This episode, University of Edinburgh PhD candidate Mia Belle Parkinson chats with Dr Paul Rimmer from the University of Cambridge. We talk about what "Experimental Astrophysics" is, what happened after the discovery of phosphene on Venus, and where we might find alien life first (Venus? In our solar system? On exoplanets?).

    44 min

  2. 11/18/2025 · VIDEO

    The Tartan Tardigrade - Episode 20 Frances Westall

    This episode, University of Edinburgh PhD candidate Mia Belle Parkinson chats with Dr Frances Westall, leader of the Exobiology Group of the CNRS in Orléans (France). We talk about Frances's diverse and inspiring path, the dramatic and divisive period after a Martian meteorite found (ALH84001) in Antarctica in 1984, and the politic motivations behind false pretences of the discovery of extraterrestrial life.

    25 min

  3. 11/03/2025 · VIDEO

    The Tartan Tardigrade - Episode 19 Nick Lane

    This episode, University of Edinburgh PhD candidate Mia Belle Parkinson chats with Dr Nick Lane, Professor of Evolutionary Biochemistry at the University College London. We talk about Nick's motivation to dethrone the primordial soup theory, what is directed panspermia, and the connection between the origin of life and consciousness.

    45 min

  4. 10/18/2025 · VIDEO

    The Tartan Tardigrade - Episode 18 Christopher Cowie

    This episode, University of Edinburgh PhD candidate Mia Belle Parkinson chats with Dr Christopher Cowie, philosopher and associate professor at the University of Durham. We talk about Chris's interesting work in the intersection between philosophy and astrobiology, what's behind some claims of alien spacecraft in recent news, and how astrobiologists should adopt a different framework for the search for life.

    28 min

  5. 07/23/2025 · VIDEO

    The Tartan Tardigrade - SPECIAL Episode 17: Astrobio & Planetary Sci MSc

    In this special Tartan Tardigrade episode, Mia Belle Parkinson, PhD candidate at the University of Edinburgh, interviews 5 MSc students currently in the Astrobiology and Planetary Sciences MSc at Edinburgh. We will learn about their individual interest in astrobiology, what astrobiology question they are working on, and how the programme has benefitted their long term career goals.

    53 min

  6. 07/08/2025 · VIDEO

    The Tartan Tardigrade - Episode 16 Graeme Ackland

    This episode, University of Edinburgh PhD candidate Mia Belle Parkinson chats with Dr Graeme Ackland, professor of computer science at the University of Edinburgh. We talk about Dr Ackland's unusual path to astrobiology in regards to hypermolecules, how it feels to see your experiment produce something cooler than you expected, and his work in various fields and projects (including COVID-19) and what it taught him.

    36 min

  7. 03/05/2025 · VIDEO

    The Tartan Tardigrade - Episode 15: Katherine Baxter

    This episode, The University of Edinburgh PhD candidate Mia Belle Parkinson chats with Dr Katherine Baxter from the University of Glasgow. We talk Dr Baxter's innovation in bio-imaging, the impact of microgravity on skin microorganisms, and what the biggest challenges we might face in maintaining astronaut health in future missions.

    22 min

  8. 02/07/2025 · VIDEO

    The Tartan Tardigrade - Episode 14: Andrew Bissette

    This episode, The University of Edinburgh PhD candidate Mia Belle Parkinson chats with Dr Andrew Bissette, the Editor in Chief of Cell Reports Physical Science. We talk about what a "recovering chemist" means, what to expect when submitting a paper and publishing in a journal, and how Dr Bissette sees the discoveries in astrobiology impact the work in chemistry.

    25 min
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The Tartan Tardigrade is a podcast where scientists from the UK Centre for Astrobiology talk to guests from around the world about their research in astrobiology, their careers, and the prospects for life in the universe.

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