Biopedia

The traditional narrative of the history of biology as a field focusses on the West. As such, other regions of the world are underdiscussed- which is important when discussing how to decolonise our cu...

24 Jul 20227min

Today's topic is a return to the world of biochemistry with a discussion of Benedict's test- used to test for reducing sugars and, with some modifications, non-reducing sugars. We won't be discussing ...

10 Apr 20223min

As of February 12th 2022, it's been 113 years since Charles Robert Darwin was born. As such, we're back with another Darwin Day episode! This time around, we turn our attention to His Majesty's Ship B...

12 Feb 202217min

Natural selection is not just one phenomenon, but can be spliced into different types depending on what its action results in. Today's episode will examine disruptive selection, stabilising selection ...

26 Des 20215min

Cultured cells are useful, but have their limitations. For instance, B cells- white blood cells which produce antibodies- have a limited lifespan in vitro, meaning their use for making antibodies comm...

24 Okt 20214min

Perhaps you've never thought much about bonsai trees. However, their existence does raise some biologically relevant questions. For instance, how is a bonsai tree created? Moreover, as we'll see in to...

17 Okt 20215min

We're going to explore a particular kind of hybridisation today- the kind that produces grolar bears. As the name might suggest, this refers to the offspring of a grizzly bear and a polar bear. Its ex...

10 Okt 20213min

Back in episode 49, I mentioned the Great American Interchange, which took place three million years ago when North America and South America collided and were connected by the isthmus of Panama. Howe...

3 Okt 202112min