Tom's SciCast

Would alien life look like us or something very different? From simple microbes to intelligent beings, I ponder what alien life might look like. 

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.

Why did the Cenozoic Era end in 1915 and what does that have to do with the fate of humanity? In this podcast, I make my case that we caused the world to enter a new geological era and invasive species will play a large role in this new era,  and that includes humans. 

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.

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

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. 

Astronomy and Biology in a single podcast! In this episode, I talk about how stellar processes made it possible for life. 

In this podcast I explain the hierarchy of life and how life is the result of emergent properties.  

Are you an expert or a novice learner? Do you know the difference between understanding and memorization? Instead of a fun science topic, today, I'm talking about learning and different ways we learn. Many of us have been in school for years and never thought much about how we learn, what it means to learn, or the best ways to learn. 

Do you think we should intentionally cause the extinction of an animal? What if that animal is the most dangerous animal on the planet? In this podcast, I make the case as to why we should intentionally cause the extinction of a few disease carrying mosquitoes even though we are in the 6th mass extinction

Find out how the closed circulatory system and changes to the vertebrate heart helped them become the largest, fastest, most active, and among the most successful animals on the planet

In this podcast, I discuss how we know we are causing the 6th mass extinction. I also, shred the argument from paleontologists who think we are not causing a mass extinction. Warning: this is a hard podcast to listen to. 

How did we get to a world teaming with life? In this podcast I discuss four evolutionary innovations from early in life's history that paved the way for multicellular life. 

Did you know plants can sense and respond to their environment!  Learn about the different types of senses plants use, how plants grow to light, open and close their stomata, and defend themselves against herbivores. Follow along as I dive into the depths of how plants move toward and open and close their stomata in response to light and water stress.

Even though species are fundamental to evolution, it has proven difficult to develop a single definition  applicable to millions of different organisms including plants, animals, and their fossils, or even asexually reproducing organisms. In this podcast, I discuss three different species concepts, why they work, and their limitations. Along the way, I talk about dancing male jumping spiders, lung-less salamanders, Dark-eyed Juncos. 

Find out why photosynthesis is one of the most important evolutionary innovations in the history of the planet. Learn how plants evolved to live in dry environments despite the fact that photosynthesis evolved over 3 billion years ago in a marine environment and has changed very litle. 

Sometimes, teaching lessons  on plants is a "hard sell" for many students. So, I made this podcast explaining why plants are important for evolution, for ecosystems, for society, and even for own happiness. If it weren't for plants, the world would be really different!Early in this podcast, I sometimes interchanged green algae with plants. Plants evolved from green algae sometime around 475 million years ago. I may have referred to ancient green algae as plants, I hope I'm not too confusing. Also, when discussing what makes plants unique, I intentionally left out alternation of generations. 

Is evolution a fact or a theory? Why did Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection not only revolutionized science, but is also considered one of the most important theories in all of science. In this podcast, I explain how scientific theories have changed how we understand the universe and our place in it. I also discuss why many people do not believe in evolution and explain the evidence for it and why evolution by natural selection is a valid scientific theory. 

I take on the arrogance of climate deniers and explain the four pillars of science denialism used to attack the science of climate change and other hot-button issues in science. 

Although not debated among scientists, many in the public, including politicians and talking heads on news entertainment shows still debate climate change. In this podcast, I explain how we know humans are causing the climate to change and how we can rule out natural causes this time. 

I dream of a day when humans will leave our solar system and explore the universe. Assuming we don't develop faster than light travel it will take us centuries to travel even to the nearest star. What are the biggest challenges we would face in building a spaceship that would last thousands of years carrying people between the stars?

Why do we care about cellular respiration, what makes it so important and what part is the "secret to life"? Why is there multi-cellular life like animals, sexual reproduction, two sexes, or why do we age?   I know it seems like a stretch, but the answer to these questions, at least partially, is connected to cellular respiration. In this podcast, I answer some of these questions as I explain why cellular respiration matters while providing an overview of the entire process. And, I also explain why I what I think is the secret to life; hint, it's part of cellular respiration!

What do you have in common with a bacteria? How can bacteria affect your health? Or, how did Eukaryotes evolve from two vastly different prokaryotes? What can we learn about aging by studying organelles? I explore the answers to these fun questions about cells.

Have you ever wondered why too much corn syrup or high fructose corn syrup is bad for you? Or have you wondered whether artificial sweeteners are safe? Did you know that carbs are more than just a source of energy? In this podcast I talk about all things carbohydrates and answer some of your questions about carbs. This is part of my text book to podcast series and corresponds to Chapter 4.

I'm trying something different, rather than narrating my biology textbook, I'm doing it as a podcast instead. So, here it is: Chapter 1 What is Science?At the heart of this podcast, I advocate for science and the role science plays in our lives. I talk about the nature and limitations of science and the difference between facts, laws theories. I explain how science works and the why science matters