Category: Podcast

First cousins, second cousins, fourth cousins three times removed… What's the difference? And if all three billion letters of your genetic code were unique, how distant a relation would you have to have before the two of you didn't share any of these original letters anymore? This scenario has some assumptions, but we'll use it to explore how large the human genome is!

Sources for this episode:

• Berger, B. M. (1960), How Long Is a Generation? The British Journal of Sociology 11(1): 10-23.
• Bistritzer, T., Fried, K., Lahat, E., Dvir, M. and Goldberg, M. (1993), Congenital contractual arachnodactyly in two double second cousins: possible homozygosity. Clinical Genetics 44: 15-19. (for second cousins, nothing except abstract)
• Matsamura, S. and Forster, P. (2008), Generation time and effective population size in Polar Eskimos. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 275: 1501-1508.
• McDermott, M., Genealogy Explained (2022, updated 2024), What are Double First Cousins (online) (Accessed 24/04/2024).
• Skipper, M. (2012), User’s guide to the human genome. Nature Reviews Genetics 13: 678.
• Author unknown, Ancestry (date unknown), What is a second, third, or fourth cousin- or a cousin once removed? (online) (Accessed 24/04/2024).
• Author unknown, Wikipedia (date unknown), Family tree of English monarchs (online) (Accessed 24/04/2024).
• Author unknown, Wikipedia (date unknown), Family tree of the British royal family (online) (Accessed 24/04/2024).
• Author unknown, 23 and Me (date unknown), Average Percent DNA Shared Between Relatives (online) (Accessed 24/04/2024).

Twenty-one episodes ago, we discussed the extinction of the dinosaurs 66 million years before the present. However, this isn't the only mass extinction event the Earth has witnessed. Let's go back to 252 million years ago and watch the Great Dying unfold…

Sources for this episode:

• Campbell, N. A., Urry, L. A., Cain, M. L., Wasserman, S. A., Minorsky, P. V. and Reece, J. B. (2018), Biology: a global approach, 11th edition (Global Edition), Harlow, Pearson Education Limited.
• Clennett, C., Locke, J. and Jackson, T. (editorial consultants) (2023), How Biology Works. LonondM Darling Kindersley Ltd.
• Cohen, K.M., Finney, S.C., Gibbard, P.L. & Fan, J.-X. (2013; updated) The ICS International Chronostratigraphic Chart. Episodes 36: 199-204.
• Cui, Y. and Kump, L. R. (2015), Global warming and the end-Permian extinction event: Proxy and modeling perspectives. Earth-Science Reviews 149: 5-22.
• Herron, J. C., and Freeman, S. (2015), Evolutionary Analysis. Harlow: Pearson Education Ltd.
• Hochuli, P. A., Hermann, E., Vigran, J. O., Bucher, H.and Weissert, H. (2010), Rapid demise and recovery of planet ecosystems across the end-Permian extinction event. Global and Planetary Change 74: 144-155.
• Kaiser, M. J., Attrill, M. J., Jennings, S., Thomas, D. N., Barnes, D. K. A., Brierley, A. S., Graham, N. A. J., Hiddink, J. G., Howell, K. and Kaartokallio, H. (2020), Marine Ecology: Processes, Systems and Impacts (3rd edition°; Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Twitchett, R. J. (2007), The Lilliput effect in the aftermath of the end-Permian extinction event. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 252: 132-144.

It's the fourth of seven episodes of Island Folk! Among subjects of discussion are reindeer on South Georgia, invasion and extinction on islands more broadly and a discussion of the Caribbean. Feel free to give the show a listen at the link below:

Namesaking is the practice of naming a child for someone else- usually a close relative. Today, we will be exploring the psychology and impacts of this practice.

Sources for this episode:

• Abel, E. L. (2013), Jr. Naming Etiquette. Names 61(4): 230-238.
• Bird, A. E. and McAndrew, F. T. (2019), Does Namesaking a Child Influence Attachment Style? North American Journal of Psychology 21(13): 39-44.
• Busse, T. V., Busse, K. and Busse, M. (1979), Identical First Names for Parent and Child. The Journal of Social Psychology 107(2): 293-294.
• Cameron, C. (1987), Trouble With Junior: Father-Naming, Child Abuse, and Deliquency. Sociology and Social Research 71(3): 200-204.
• McAndrew, F. T., King, J. C. and Honoroff, L. R. (2006), A Sociobiological Analysis of Namesaking Patterns in 322 American Families. Journal of Applied Social Psychology 32(4): 851-864.
• McAndrew, F. T. (2022), The namesaking of children as an investment strategy for managing kin relations and bonding fathers to their children. Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences 16(3): 220-228.
• Rossi, A. S. (1965), Naming Children in Middle-Class Families. American Sociological Review 30(4): 499-513.
• Šaffa, G., Štĕrbová, Z; and Prokop, P. (2021), Parental Investment is Biased toward Children Named for Their Fathers. Human Nature 32: 387-405.
• Author unknown, Wikipedia (date unknown), Eleanor Roosevelt (online) (Accessed 16/04/2024).
• Author unknown, Wikipedia (date unknown), Joe Biden (online) (Accessed 15/04/2024).
• Author unknown, Wikipedia (date unknown), Manila City Council (online) (Accessed 11/04/2024).

The rewind mini series is back! This time, we're discuss the two forms of eukaryotic cell division, mitosis and meiosis.

Sources for this episode:

• Campbell, N. A., Urry, L. A., Cain, M. L., Wasserman, S. A., Minorsky, P. V. and Reece, J. B. (2018), Biology: a global approach, 11th edition (Global Edition), Harlow, Pearson Education Limited.
• Hine, R. (2019), A Dictionary of Biology (Oxford Quick Reference), 8th edition, Oxford, Oxford University Press.
• Russell, P. J. (2006), iGenetics: A Molecular Approach. San Francisco: Pearson Education, Inc.

Following on from the definition of biomes in episode 78, we're zooming in and discussing habitats today. What we'll find is that the term is similar but smaller scale in terms of number of species considered- and that there used to be considerable uncertainty in the literature…

Sources for this episode:

• Allaby, M. (editor) (2020), Oxford Dictionary of Zoology. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Carpenter, J. R. (1939), The Biome. The American Midland Naturalist 21(1): 75-91.
• Hall, L. S., Krausman, P. R. and Morrison, M. L. (1997), The Habitat Concept and a Plea for Standard Terminology. Wildlife Society Bulletin 25(1): 173-182.
• Hine, R. S. (2019), Oxford Dictionary of Biology (8th edition). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Thain, M. and Hickman, M. (2004), The Penguin Dictionary of Biology (11th edition). London: the Penguin Group.
• Yapp, R. H. (1922), The Concept of Habitat. Journal of Ecology 10(1): 1-17.
• Author unknown (1929), Prof. R. H. Yapp. Nature 123: 249-250.

Returning to the idea of discussing biological thought in other cultures and/or times, today's topic is the Four Humours. This is an ancient idea of how the body worked coming from the thinkers of Ancient Greece and Rome.

Sources for this episode:

• Jouanna, J. (2012), Greek Medicine from Hippocrates to Galen: Selected Papers. Leiden: BRILL.
• Stelmack, R. M. and Stalikas, A. (1991), Galen and the Humour Theory of Temperament. Personality and Individual Differences 12(3): 255-263.
• Thorndike, L. (1922), Galen: The Man and His Times. The Scientific Monthly 14(1): 83-93.

There are two species of dormice in the UK. Today, we will be exploring the legislation around dormice, as well as the study which first pioneered the use of nest boxes for their study.

Sources for this episode:

• Chanin, P. and Gubert, L. (2011), Surveying hazel dormice (Muscardinus avellinarius) with tubes and boxes: a comparison. Mammal Notes.
• Morris, P. A., Bright, P. W. and Woods, D. (1990), Use of Nestboxes by the Dormouse Muscardinus avellinarius. Biological Conservation 51: 1-13.
• Author unknown (2007), Dormouse: European Protected Species. Natural England Species Information Note SIN005.
• Author unknown, GOV.UK (date unknown), Hazel dormice: survey or research class licence (CL10a) (online) (Accessed c.02/04/2024).
• Author unknown, People's trust for endangered species (date unknown), Hazel dormouse disturbance licence (online) (Accessed c.02/04/2024).

Today, two terms which, in a sense, extend our discussion of twins from episode 27.

Sources for this episode:

• Blickstein, I. (2003), Superfecundation and superfetation: lessons from the past on early human development. The Journal of Maternal-Fetal & Neonatal Medicine 14(4): 217-219.
• Segal, N. L. and Nedelec, J. L. (2021), Heteropaternal twinning: Unique case of opposite-sex twins with different fathers. Forensic Science International 327: 110948.
• Thain, M. and Hickman, M. (2004), The Penguin Dictionary of Biology (11th edition). London: the Penguin Group.

Skeletons are on the menu today- and the different kinds organisms can have.

Sources for this episode:

• Campbell, N. A., Urry, L. A., Cain, M. L., Wasserman, S. A., Minorsky, P. V. and Reece, J. B. (2018), Biology: a global approach, 11th edition (Global Edition), Harlow, Pearson Education Limited.
• 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.
• Schmidt-Nielsen, K. (1997), Animal Physiology: Adaptation and environment. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.