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110- The World’s Smallest Snake

A few weeks ago in episode 108, we talked about the largest species of snake to ever exist. Well, today we are travelling to the other end of the size spectrum to talk about the smallest snake in the world. This is Tetracheilostoma carlae, the Barbados threadsnake- which was thought to have gone extinct until the year 2025…

Sources for this episode:

TBA

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109- Colestein Veglin

Throughout history, there have been several claims of unusual longevity. For example, Pliny the Elder mentions several cases of people claiming to be 140 in a first century CE census. Moreover, there is a man in England who supposedly died at the age of 169 in 1670. However, they don't quite compare to the case of Colestein Veglin from July 1876.

Sources for this episode:

TBA

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107- Pascal’s Triangle in Biology

Pascal's Triangle is a useful concept in binomial theorem. However, it also has uses in biology. Today, we use it to answer the question- if you have X number of kids in a family or randomly chosen people in a sample, what is the probability of ending up with at least Y males and/or Z females?

Sources for this episode:

TBA

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106- Mitochondrial Eve and Y-Chromosomal Adam

Adam and Eve, Ask and Embla, Deucalion and Pyrrha… The cultures of the world seemingly love the idea of humanity descending from two founders. While this notion may not be in line with scientific thought, there are two individuals who everyone can trace either maternal or paternal ancestry to. Say hello to mitochondrial Eve and Y-chromosomal Adam…

Sources for this episode:

  • Berta, P., Hawkins, J. R., Sinclair, A. H., Taylor, A., Griffiths, B. L., Goodfellow, P. N. and Fellous, M. (1990), Genetic evidence equating SRY and the testis-determining factor. Nature 348: 448- 450.
  • Callaway, E. (2013), Nature News, Genetic Adam and Eve did not too far apart in time (online). (Accessed 18/10/2020).
  • Chan, E. K. F., Timmermann, A., Baldi, B. F., Moore, A. E., Lyons, R. J., Lee, S.-S., Kalsbeek, A. M. F., Petersen, D. C., Rautenbach, H., Förtsch, H. E. A., Bornman, M. S. R. and Hayes, V. M. (2019), Human origins in a southern African palaeo-wetland and first migrations. Nature 575: 185- 189.
  • Chiaroni, J., Underhill, P. A. and Cavalli-Sforza, L. L. (2009), Y chromosome diversity, human expansion, drift and cultural evolution. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 190(48): 20174- 20179.
  • Fleischmann, T. (2019), The Norse Creation of the Cosmos. MFA, Salem Press Encyclopedia of Literature.
  • Fry, S. (2017), Mythos: The Greek Myths Retold. London: Michael Joseph Ltd (part of Penguin).
  • Ingman, M., Kaessmann, H., Pääbo, S. and Gyllensten, U. (2000), Mitochondrial genome variation and the origin of modern humans. Nature 408: 708- 713.
  • Nass, M. M. K. and Nass, S. (1963), Intramitochondrial fibers with DNA characteristics. The Journal of Cell Biology 10: 593- 611.
  • Sykes, B. (2001), The Seven Daughters of Eve. London: Corgi Books (part of the Random House Group Ltd.
  • Thain, M. and Hickman, M. (2004), The Penguin dictionary of biology, 11th edition, London, Penguin Books Ltd.
  • Author unknown (2010), Holy Bible: International Children’s Bible (New Century Version). Milton Keynes: Authentic Media Limited.
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105- Former Estimates of Earth’s Age

We know today that our planet Earth is billions of years old. However, the people of a few centuries ago would have been equally convinced it was only a few thousand years old. So what were some of these old ages, and how big a shift is it from there to the age we’ve arrived at today?

Sources for this episode:

TBA

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103- The Gaia Hypothesis

Tackling James Lovelock's most famous theorem is no easy task. However, that's exactly what we're going to do today. Join us for a breakdown of the Gaia Hypothesis, a discussion of altruism, a throwback to the Black Queen Hypothesis in episode 21 and some speculation based on an early 2000s book by Lovelock himself.

Sources for this episode:

TBA

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102- Hyperdontia and Hypodontia

As it turns out, Louis XIII of France and Drypetina of Pontus have something in common. They have hyperdontia, or too many teeth. Today, we go through the phenomena of hyperdontia, hypodontia and concomitant hypo-hyperdontia.

Sources for this episode:

  • Ammianus Marcellinus (1956) in Three Volumes (Vol. I). Translated by J. C. Rolfe. Cambridge, Massachusetts and London: Harvard University Press and William Heinemann Ltd.
  • Eshgian, N., Al-Talib, T., Nelson, S. and Abubakr, N. H. (2021), Prevalence of hyperdontia, hypodontia, and concomitant hypo-hyperdontia. Journal of Dental Sciences 16: 713-717.
  • Gracco, A. L. T., Zanatta, S., Valvecchi, F. F., Bignotti, D., Perri, A. and Baciliero, F. (2017), Prevalence of dental agenesis in a sample of Italian orthodontic patients: an epidemiological study. Progress in Orthodontics 18:33.
  • Littlewood, I. (2002), The Rough Guide: History of France. London: Rough Guides Ltd.
  • Peker, I., Kaya, E. and Darendeliler-Yaman, S. (2009) Clinical and radio- graphical evaluation of non- syndromic hypodontia and hyperdontia in permanent dentition. Medicina Oral Patologia Oral y Cirugia Bucal 14: e393e7.
  • Pliny (1961), Natural History in Ten Volumes (Volume II: Libri III- VII). Translated by H. Rackham. Cambridge, Massachusetts and London: Harvard University Press and William Heinemann, Ltd.
  • Snow, P. and Macmillan, A. (2022), Kings & Queens: The Real Lives of the English Monarchs. London: Welbeck.
  • Author unknown (1830), A Collection of the Most Instructive and Amusing Lives Ever Published. Volume VIII: Lord Herbert and Prince Eugene. London: Whittaker, Treacher, and Arnot.
  • Author unknown, Wikipedia (date unknown), Agrippina the Younger (online) (Accessed 15/10/2024).
  • Author unknown, Wikipedia (date unknown), Drypetina (online) (Accessed 15/10/2024).
  • Author unknown, Wikipedia (date unknown), Louis XIII (online) (Accessed 15/10/2024).