Springer Nature

We often hear that invasive species are bad for the ecosystems they invade, but the consequences can seem remote and hard to grasp. In this episode we hear from Nitin Ravikanthachari and Carol Boggs about their study system where an invasive plant has very tangible effects for a native butterfly.

Worry seems like something most people do from time to time, but for some people, severe worry can become an overwhelming sensation, and for older adults later in life, severe worry has been associated with an increased risk of stroke and coronary heart disease. Carmen Andreescu is a professor of psychiatry and bioengineering at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. She says mild worry...

Listen to September's Pediapod episode: What's hot in pediatric AI research, with Brynne Sullivan.

Organisms are sensitive to temperature, but reproduction is likely to be affected at lower temperatures than survival. We're joined by Jessica McNeill & Caiti Smukowski Heil to talk about their work on meiosis in yeasts.

This episode features a conversation with Professor Bonnie Ramsey, a pediatric pulmonologist from Seattle Children's, who has dedicated her research and clinical career to treating patients with cystic fibrosis.

The genomes of organisms can tell us about evolutionary processes in the past - but can they also give clues about the future? André Yves and Fernanda Werneck tell us about their work on climate adaptation in Amazonian lizards.

Listen to July's Pediapod episode with ECI Katie Strobel, discussing her recent paper looking into the effect of early antibiotic exposure on necrotizing enterocolitis and growth in extremely preterm infants.

Many Anolis lizards have a sail of colourful skin on their throats which they use to communicate, but how does something like that evolve? Find out with researchers Renata Pirani, Carlos Arias and Mike Logan.

There’s been a fair amount of animal data suggesting that nicotine can affect the developing brain, but there hadn’t been the equivalent human studies done on people whose brains are still developing. And today there are two predominant forms of nicotine delivery - tobacco cigarettes, and e-cigarettes, or vaping. Laurie Zawertailo is a senior scientist at the Center for Addiction and Mental Health...

Listen to June's Pediapod episode: What's hot in pediatric genetics research, with Stephen Kingsmore.

Biological invasions are a huge issue in contemporary biology. In this episode we hear from Teun Everts and Rein Brys, who are studying the American Bullfrog invasion of Belgium.

In this episode, Geoff Marsh speaks to Dr. Misty Good about our Collection on Necrotizing Enterocolitis.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, is a common condition that, for a lot of people, is difficult to treat. The drugs that exist have a number of adverse side effects, and about 25 percent of patients don’t respond to existing drugs. And so a team of researchers in Iceland, led by Karl Karlsson, professor of biomolecular engineering at Reykjavik University, undertook a number of dif...

Frank Burbrink and Ed Myers talk about their recent work on American Racers. Spatial patterns, hybridisation and why the shapes of evolutionary trees might be more complex than we thought.

Continuing the recent theme of conservation genetics, we return to the sea with Marc Gose and Rob Ogden. They discuss their work on the white-beaked dolphin, and the importance of international collaboration to manage populations that span borders.

Draulio Araujo, professor at the Brain Institute in the University of Rio Grande Norte in Natal, Brazil, has been studying ayahuasca for more than 20 years. It’s a psychedelic plant used in rituals in South America that has also been researched for its potential to treat depression. The effects of ayahuasca can last for hours and also lead to side effects including vomiting and diarrhea. The activ...

This episode features a conversation with Senior Investigator Avroy Fanaroff, Emeritus Professor at Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, who has had a long and impactful career in neonatology.

Listen to March's Pediapod episode: What's hot in pediatric sepsis research, with Sarah Kandil and Eleanor Molloy.

Best student paper of 2024 winner Kate Rick, along with Brenton Von Takach and Kym Ottewell, discuss the use of genomics in Australian conservation efforts, and their study on the golden bandicoot.

New drugs that target the endocannabinoid system are being proposed for disorders that are usually characterized by the dysregulation of social processing, like social anxiety disorder and autism spectrum disorder. Researchers have been trying to understand the mechanisms for how these drugs work. Leah Mayo is assistant professor at the University of Calgary, and she’s one of the authors of a new...

Chérine Baumgartner and Andy Foote discuss working with orcas and their recent paper on diet and population dynamics in North Atlantic killer whales

Listen to November's Pediapod episode: What's hot in Pediatric Oncology? with Jeffrey Dome

Listen to January's Pediapod episode: What's hot in pediatric microbiome research, with Namasivayam Ambalavanan.

Listen to January's Pediapod episode: Conversation With Senior Investigator Karin Nelson

Katja Guschanski discusses working with mammal evolution, museomics and her plenary talk at Popgroup 2025