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What does the future hold for humanity? Join me as I speculate about the prospects of our survival into the future along with the obstacles we must overcome to ensure our survival. There's a lot of fun speculation in this podcast, I'd love to hear your comments!

What does walking, growing plants in dry environments,  or making most of our ATP have in common? They all rely on transport across their membranes. Cellular membranes form the barrier between life and the outside world acting as the gatekeeper to cells.  In this podcast, I explore how the structure of cellular membranes allows cells  to regulate the movement of substances by diffusion, facilitated diffusion and active transport. 

How does our definitions of life influence our explanations for the origin of life including the prebiotic soup, RNA world, or Metabolism first theories. I explain how each of these theories improved our understanding of abiogenesis, their limitations, and where we are today. 

I discuss what it means to be living and how we do science by talking about the importance of observations and experiments. This podcasts is supplements my first lecture in our cellular and molecular biology course at the University of New Mexico.

Find out why I believe the Cenozoic Era ended in 1915 as I make my case that we caused the world to enter a new geological era where invasive species will play a large role in the future.  I also speculate on the future of humanity as go forward into an uncharted future. 

How would finding alien life from microbes to advanced civilizations change how we think about ourselves in the universe? What might alien life look like? Could we one day travel among the stars seeking out new life? 

Is the universe teaming with life, or is life on the Earth unique? Join me as I discuss the possibility of life and intelligent life in the universe along with the current limits of our knowledge. This episode is part three of my four part series exploring life in the universe.  

Are we alone? Is Earth the only place in our solar system with life or is it wide spread? In this podcast, I discuss what life is, what conditions are needed for life to start, and places in the solar system where we might find life and why that would be important. This episode is part two of my four part series exploring life in the universe. 

We are star dust. But what exactly does that mean? Learn how life is connected to the universe going all the way back to the Big Bang. This episode is first episode in my four part series exploring life in the universe. 

Have you ever wondered why you didn't lose weight when you started a new exercise program? Learn how science has led to major changes in how we understand the role of exercise on weight loss and our health. 

How can introducing a lake trout to Yellowstone Lake reduced elk populations, or how reintroducing wolves in Yellowstone improved stream quality and songbird populations. Learn how the introduction or removal of certain species can have a ripple effect across the landscape.

The animal kingdom is full of amazing animals, learn how some have remained unchanged for hundreds of millions of years or why some have incredibly beautiful feathers or intricate songs.  In this podcast, I cover the different types of selection causing the diversity we see today including directional, stabilizing, disruptive, balancing, and sexual selection. 

Roots do more than anchor a plant to the soul, shoots don't just support the leaves, and leaves do more than photosynthesis. Discover all the amazing things that roots, shoots, and leaves can do in this podcast.

Plants have had an enormous influence on the evolution of life on Earth, find out how plants altered ancient climates, triggered the evolution of reptiles and mammals (amniotes), provide us with important medicines, or just make us feel better

Find out how GMOs are helping us solve problems in agriculture, medicine, and stopping the spread of diseases. Unfortunately, there's a lot of negative propaganda against GMOs, I explain why they are safe.

In this podcast, I discuss the relationships between energy and life, and the importance of enzymes for our metabolism. Specific topics include a description of what it means to be living, I define energy and how it's governed by the laws of thermodynamics, the different types of energy and relate how life gets energy from chemical reactions and the need role of enzymes in our metabolism. I end with a discussion on the latest findings of quantum biology and how that may challenge our notions of how enzymes work

The cell cycle is more than just memorizing the position of chromosomes on a slide, it can help us understand growth and development, lead us to treatments for cancer, or repair damaged organs and limbs. I go over the major steps of the cell cycle including interphase and the mitotic phase. Education level - high school to non-majors

Star Wars, Zombies, Rhime of the Ancient Mariner, and Mullet come together to help explain the role of energy, membranes, diffusion, transport, and chemical reactions to make something living. 

What does eating a pizza and aging have to do with our organelles? This episode explores how organelles of the endomembrane system work together to make proteins in our saliva that help us digest our food. Also, learn how we may eventually slow down our aging by studying lysosomes and mitochondria. 

Don't fear the chemistry! Life is the result of chemical reactions breaking down and making new chemicals. While many of us fear chemistry, a little chemistry knowledge can go a long way into understanding how we work and understanding some of the basics behind nutrition. In this podcast, I introduce the most important types of molecules used for life without getting too technical.