Featured Image: A wildebeest migration in Masai Mara National Park, Kenya. Shown are billions of the most pivotal parts of the grassland ecosystem: pathogens, thriving inside each animal.
Today we hosted pathogen ecologist Dr. Andy Dobson, of Princeton’s Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. As an expert on parasites all over the natural world, he studies everything from pathogen evolution to their drastic effects on ecosystems – and it blew our show away. We cover the detriment of a clean gut, how the rinderpest virus devastated the Serengeti, how tourists track wolves with mange, and the dangers of antibiotic resistance. Be prepared to reimagine the place of the invisible pathogen within every ecosystem. And, as always, we dish out some science news (Rosetta’s death, earthquakes in Oklahoma, and spiderweb metamaterials) alongside a brief discussion on rational numbers.
For more information:
- Rosetta is giving up the ghost by crashing itself into a comet (live stream starts 5am EST on Saturday)
- Chuck Steidel is at it again, and this time we’ve solved the mystery of the space blobs
- Sleeping fault lines in Oklahoma are being disturbed and causing earthquakes
- New spiderweb-inspired metamaterials are great at soundproofing
- The Cantor set and its weird properties of being simultaneously full and empty
The playlist can be found at WPRB.com or below.
These Vibes Are Too Cosmic 