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3- Cell Polarity and GTPases

On the podcast today, we scratch the surface of cell polarity and how enzymes known as GTPases are linked to this process. Some subjects are mentioned which will be covered again in future episodes- links in the description when this is the case.

Sources for this episode: 1) Thain, M., and Hickman, M. (2014), The Penguin Dictionary of Biology, 11th edition.2) Alberts, Johnson, Lewis Raff, Roberts and Walter (2008), Molecular Biology of the Cell, Fifth Edition, Abingdon: Garland Science, Taylor and Francis Group LLC. 2) Thain, M. And Hickman, M. (2014), The Penguin Dictionary of Biology, 11th edition. London: Penguin Publishing Group. 3) Some of this discussion is also based on my prior education on the topic.

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2- The Identification of Richard III

It’s genetics time! Back in 2012, a skeleton was unearthed in a car park in Leicester, which was later positively identified as Richard III of England. But how? Join us as we delve into how genetics cracked a 500 year old case wide open…

Sources for this episode: 1) King, T. E., Fortes, G. G., Balaresque, P. Thomas, M. G., Balding, D., Delser, P. M., Neumann, R., Parson, W., Knapp, M., Walsh, S., Tonasso, L., Holt, J., Kayser, M., Appleby, J., Forster, P., Ekserdjian, D., Hofreiter, M., and Schürer, K. (2014), Identification of the remains of King Richard III. Nature Communications 5:5631, DOI: 10.1038/ncomms6631. 2) Shakespeare, W., Richard The Third (play), Act 1, Scene 3. 3) Author unknown, BBC news (2015), Richard III: Leicester Cathedral reburial service for king (online) [Accessed 29/10/2020]. 4) Author unknown, BBC (2018), ‘The discovery of Richard III’s skeleton changed my life’ (online) [Accessed 29/10/2020].

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1- Biofilms

Welcome to our first proper episode! This week, we tackle the problem of biofilms- an extracellular matrix which can protect the species inside it and is a source of frustration to doctors and dentists alike.

Sources for this episode: 1) Thain, M. And Hickman, M. (2014), The Penguin Dictionary of Biology, 11th edition. London: Penguin Publishing Group (p.79). 2) Lopez, D. Vlamakis, H. And Kolter, R. (2010), Biofilms. Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Biology 2(7): a000398. 3) Wiley, J. M., Sherwood, L. M. And Woolverton, C. J. (2017), Prescott’s Microbiology, 10th edition (International Edition). New York, McGraw-Hill Education. 4) Short, F. L., Murdoch, S. L. And Ryan, R. P. (2014), Polybacterial human disease: the ills of social networking.