Nature really wants to make crabs – Gympie gympie, Pamela Ronald, Pink Pineapple
In this episode, Joram gets really upset. Tegan offers her services as an apocalyptic seamstress. And somewhere, a pallas cat is looking regal. … Read more
podcast
Puffin economy – Mast Seeding, Nobel Prizes, Bird stuff
This week, we’re talking about a cool process in trees where they all flower and set seeds in sync to produce a massive wave of fruit. Also general news from the world of science!… Read more
Bonnie Tyler AI – Wormwood, Single names, Smart Birds
Joram is tired, Tegan has been singing – a perfect storm for some (plant) science! We discuss the story of Artemisia absinthium, talk about the woes of single-named scientists and bring you the hottest science facts from the last seven days. … Read more
Oh god, it’s invasive! – Florencia Yannelli on escaped invasive plants
We’re really happy to welcome Dr. Florencia Yannelli on the podcast. She is an ecologist and plant researcher who was not stopped by Corona to do science – she simply did the experiment at home! … Read more
Enzymes are stupid – C4 trees, forest sounds, women saving bird research
Hey! Ho! Hey! Ho! It’s a new episode of your favourite podcast about plants and pipettes. This week, we’re talking about C3 and C4 trees, the sounds of forests and how women disrupted bird research. Let’s go!
Paper of the week
Sophie N R Young, Lawren Sack, Margaret J Sporck-Koehler, Marjorie R Lundgren, Why is C4 photosynthesis so rare in trees?, Journal of Experimental Botany
Please note: we’re using ‘malate’ for ease of communication. We get that it doesn’t always have to be malate, there are other 4 carbon compounds that can do the job as well.… Read more
Hummingbird popsicles – Elecampane, Segenet Kelemu and genome editing detection
Hello! We have a podcast for you. We talk about the plant that made creamy icecream possible, awesome plant scientists from Ethiopia and stone cold birds.… Read more
T-rexes have really good reflexes – microviscosity, science tattoos, wild pollinators
Welcome to this struggle-episode! We had bad connection problems which meant that we spent most of our time blaming each other for having terrible internet. In between the blame game, we talked about a molecular sensor for microviscosity, nerd tattoos and why Joram won’t get any of them. … Read more
Succulent chicken – Phytomining, Cyanotype, Boosted Tobacco
After an uneventful week, our two main protagonists meet yet again to discuss the ups and downs of current plant research. Tag along as our heroes discuss the true meaning of succulent, how to mine Nickel and why blue plant outlines are so hot right now*.
*in the 19th century… Read more
Stacks of wheat – Vertical farming, occlupanid research, thievish animals
What would happen if you stacked ten layers of indoor wheat on top of each other – and then stacked ten of those stacks? We’re discussing the highs and lows of vertical farming, talk about terrible naming schemes and the rediscovery of an animal that’s neither elephant nor shrew.… Read more
Mola mola babies – extremophile algae, intersectional feminism in academia, talking to conspiracy theorists
Some weeks we talk a lot about plant science, some weeks we explore a lot of plant-science-adjacent topics. You be the judge of what happened this week. … Read more