Ask Dr. Universe

Send us Fan Mail Cosmo and I investigated belly buttons—thanks to WSU nursing professor Cindy Brigham-Althoff . Learn more about the placenta with Operation Ouch and Scientific American Check out all the belly buttons with Nat Geo Find out about placental mammals See what's living inside your navel with Nat Geo Sound effects courtesy Pixabay  As always, submit burning questions at askdruniver...

Send us Fan Mail Join me and some new friends as we shrink down and travel through a cell, checking out organelles along the way. It's a cell biology adventure! This episode was written and performed by the 6th graders in Kelsey Starke's classes at Vancouver iTech Preparatory. Thanks to WSU's John Hinz for the expert factcheck. Can't get enough cell bio? Check out the National...

Send us Fan Mail WSU apple breeder, Kate Evans, told me all about out how apples work and what it's like to be a scientist who makes new apples—like the Cosmic Crisp®. See Kate Evans' pollen vial here Learn more about the Cosmic Crisp® apple See all these different kinds of apples —and these Washington apples Enjoy these pollinator activities Use the Xerces Society pollinator plant lists...

Send us Fan Mail Cosmo and I learned all about cat anatomy and how feline friends like us climb so well. Thanks to WSU vet med 's Steve Lampa for the expert info. Learn more about joints with Nemours Find out about connective tissue with Brittanica Kids Check out Vox's explainer on the righting reflex Sound effects courtesy Pixabay and Zapsplat  As always, submit burning questions at ask...

Send us Fan Mail Today Cosmo and I learned all about fingerprints—and how they give primates dexterity and grip.  Learn more about primates from PBS Find out how gecko feet work with ACS Check out your fingerprints with SciShow Kids—or investigate them with PBS Sound effects courtesy Pixabay  As always, submit burning questions at askdruniverse.wsu.edu .  Who knows where your questions will take u...

Send us Fan Mail Cosmo and I found out why our tallest animal friends have long, dark tongues—and what melanin does for humans, too. Thanks to Cynthia Cooper, who studies animal pigments at WSU Vancouver. Find out more about how DNA works with Amoeba Sisters Read my answer about how sunscreen works Investigate human skin color with PBS Check out prehensile tongues with Cleveland Zoo Learn about Cy...

Send us Fan Mail Cosmo and I learn about all kinds of life cycles: holometabolous (big change), hemimetabolous (small change), and ametabolous (no change).  Check out how a caterpillar makes the big change with Deep Look And then watch some aphids Peep inside a cocoon with Insider Science Learn more about the history of insect wings , thanks to PBS Eons Sound effects: Pixabay  As always, submit bu...

Send us Fan Mail Today I'm talking with Julie Ménard , a planetary scientist at Washington State University. She told me about the terrestrial planets in our solar system, how we're about to visit Mars—and could even set up a station there someday, and the possibility of life in our solar system and beyond. See what NASA says about sending humans to mars Learn more about NASA's Gate...

Send us Fan Mail Cosmo and I learn about shots—and new technology our friend WSU's Roland Chen is working on to make painless vaccines. Learn more about microarray patches  Find out how vaccines work with the Amoeba Sisters and why we get vaccines with SciShow Kids Check out how other vaccine technology gets rolled out , from Ted-Ed  As always, submit burning questions at askdruniverse.wsu.ed...

Send us Fan Mail Today Cosmo and I learned all about dog paws from our friend, WSU veterinarian Dr. Natasha Hottmann .  Learn more about being a veterinarian with Nat Geo Kids Find out how to check your dog's paws Can dogs communicate? Find out what PBS NewsHour thinks Sound effects courtesy Zapsplat and Pixabay  As always, submit burning questions at askdruniverse.wsu.edu .  Who knows where...

Send us Fan Mail Cosmo and I learn how cell phones send texts, images and calls from phone to phone—thanks to our friend, electrical engineer Ben Belzer .  Resources you can use: Learn more about binary code with Crash Course Check out this binary code character table to make your own messages Get more info about pixels from NSU Florida library Sound effects courtesy Zapsplat and Pixabay  As alway...

Send us Fan Mail Love veggies? Me, too. And so does my friend Tim Waters, regional vegetable specialist at WSU Extension. In this episode, you'll hear: What Extension is What it was like for Extension agents back in 1918 How he solves problems—from insect ID to veggie pathogens to lightning strikes in fields One cool journey from community college all the way to a PhD Resources you can use: C...

Send us Fan Mail Today Cosmo and I learn about turtles and how they grow their amazing shells —all thanks to my friend, Ryan Wagner , wildlife biologist at Washington State University (and former turtle pedicurist).  Art and science go hand and hand. Check out Ryan Wagner's website to see his incredible photos 📸🐢  As always, submit burning questions at askdruniverse.wsu.edu .  Who knows whe...

Send us Fan Mail Dooooo-doo, Dooooo-doo. 🦈 Today Cosmo and I learn about sharks and their rad digestive systems—all thanks to my friend, Dr. Nora Hickey , fish veterinarian at Washington State University.  Want to learn more about fish? Check out Dr. Hickey's Fishkeep & Chill website 🦈  As always, submit burning questions at askdruniverse.wsu.edu .  Who knows where your questions will t...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, I learn all about wildlife biology from my friend, Ryan Wagner . He told me about clipping turtle toenails and bathing froglets—all for science. And he recounted his recent adventure backpacking frogs into a national forest to return them to their former home. If you love amphibians and reptiles or conservation biology, this one's for you. Hear about: stresse...

Send us Fan Mail Cosmo and I learn about microbes, thanks to Eric Lofrgren, an infectious disease expert at WSU. Resources you can use: hear what microbes are where they live in the environment how some skin bacteria help us out what biofilms are ...and check out this bellybutton bacteria scientists study Oh, and wash your paws! =^..^=  As always, submit burning questions at askdruniverse.wsu.edu...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, I learn all about what it means to be a pharmacist with my friend, Damianne Brand-Eubanks . She's a pharmacist and professor at Washington State University. Hear about: different kinds of pharmacists rad new ways to receive medications or shots (like patches that feel like a cat's tongue and jet injectors like you see on Star Trek) why reading and writin...

Send us Fan Mail What happens if you need your third molars removed? Cosmo and I find out, after talking to our friend David Carsten. He's a dentist anesthesiologist who studied at Washington State University and now teaches at Oregon Health and Science University. Find out the real tooth here. Resources you can use: Find out what it's like to be a dentist , a dental hygienist or a denta...

Send us Fan Mail Can Cosmo and I help a cool kid like you face their fear of bugs? Join us—and our friend Paul Strand, psychologist at Washington State University—as we dig into why things freak us out and how to beat-le those fears. Resources you can use: See some beautiful bugs and relatives with All Bugs Go to Kevin Learn about parts of the brain like the prefrontal cortex Feeling anxious about...

Send us Fan Mail Today I'm talking with Von Walden, an atmospheric scientist at Washington State University. Hear about Earth's bubble of gases AKA the atmosphere Learn why clouds can be weird in the polar regions Find out what an expert thinks about climate change —and how optimistic he is about the future Resources You Can Use Check out AMNH's climate change  resources Watch these...

Send us Fan Mail What up with the small intestine and the large intestine? Join Cosmo and me—and our friend Franck Carbonero , microbiologist at Washington State University—to break down how we break down food. You'll hear: how the intestines differ in size and function all about your gut bacteria the journey food takes through your digestive tract Resources you can use: American Museum of Na...

Send us Fan Mail Purr-haps you'd like a new way to get your claws on science questions sent in by kids like you. That's litter-ally my favorite thing. Today Cosmo and I tackle a question from William, 7, from the United Kingdom: Why is snot green? You'll hear: What mucus is What protein makes mucus green sometimes How immune cells trap irritants and stuff that can make you sick Reso...

Send us Fan Mail Purr-haps you'd like a new way to get your claws on science questions sent in by kids like you. That's litter-ally my favorite thing. Today Cosmo and I tackle a question from Hillary's 1st graders in Washington: What makes snow sparkle? You'll hear: How snowflakes are hexagonal ice crystals About white light and rainbow colors What reflection and refraction mea...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome back, young scientists. I’m Dr. Universe.  If you’re anything like me, you’ve got lots of big questions about our world. Today I'm talking to WSU biological anthropologist Thomas Siek . Hear about all kinds of anthropology Find out how Dr. Siek studied bones from the Middle Ages in Poland Learn how clues in bones help solve crimes with forensic anthropology Resources...

Send us Fan Mail Purr-haps you'd like a new way to get your claws on science questions sent in by kids like you. That's litter-ally my favorite thing. Today Cosmo and I tackle a question from Gabby, 9, in Kansas: Why do bees make honey? You'll hear: What a bee proboscis is and why bees are so adorably hairy Why some people call honey " bee barf " and what trophollaxis is ...