Naturally Speaking

In this episode of Naturally Speaking, Dr Caroline Millins and Dr Roman Biek from the Institute, along with Prof. Des Thompson from Scottish Natural Heritage, discuss their recent publication reviewing the effects of conservation management on Lyme disease.

Playing out one of nature's greatest theatres are grizzly bears, black bears, wolves, cougars, elk, and bison in the greater yellowstone ecosystem. A haven for biologists, these species also come with their own set of diseases making the greater yellowstone ecosystem a hotspot for wildlife disease research.

Fish may be more intelligent than you realise—from their ability to form complicated 3D mind maps, to learning to visually discriminate among over 40 human faces! Join Taya Forde as she speaks to 2016 Buckland Professor of Fisheries Felicity Huntingford, biologist Dr Martina Quaggiotto, and life-long fishers Charles Jardine Marshall Bissett to discuss how smart fish really are.

There are many ways to study life strategies of small passerines. Professor Jan-Ake Nilsson of the University of Lund sat down with us to talk about his studies, and the fantastic little birds that he has worked with.

As the year draws to a close, Naturally Speaking’s Laurie Baker, Taya Forde, Karen Hotopp and James Burgon reflect upon the highlights of another great year communicating the work of the Institute.

Prof Ruth Zadoks tells us about her research into the factors that can allow disease-causing bacteria to make the jump between species.

In this episode we speak to wildlife ecologist (and field veterinarian) Dr Martin Gilbert to learn about his PhD research on a deadly virus affecting Amur tigers in the Russian Far East.

A voracious appetite for books and an unlikely encounter with a strange animal in a petshop led Dr Mark Wilkinson (from the Natural History Museum in London) to study a little known group of amphibians called caecilians, or naked snakes. Listen to find out all about these unusual and enigmatic animals.

What is life like in an anthrax-endemic area of Tanzania? Join our anthrax research team on a journey to Maasai communities of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.

In this episode of Naturally Speaking Shorts, Taya Forde and Karen Hotopp catch up with distinguished Professor Rita Colwell, of the University of Maryland and Johns Hopkins University, to talk about the impact of her work on cholera and the changing opportunities for women in science.

FEATURED: Our most visited post of 2016 – In this episode of Naturally Speaking Shorts Laurie Baker speaks to R-guru Hadley Wickham, Chief Scientist at RStudio, about his work to make programming and data analysis in the statistical programme R less painful.

Episode 40 The sex life – or lack of it – of Trypanosomes: Interview with Dr Willie Weir “Zero Sex is a Killer” “Bug’s Weird Sex Life could make it go extinct, say Scottish Scientists”:  Dr Willie Weir, a researcher from the Institute—and one of the Scottish scientists responsible for these recent headlines—joins Steve Larcombe […]

Evolution plays a central role in the field of zoology, with new questions to be chased and an ever expanding field of research. In this Naturally Speaking Short, Karen Hotopp (@KarenHotopp) interviews visiting researcher Professor Walter Salzburger of the University of Basel, and asks him about his research on adaptive radiation and the colourful cichlids […]

“Technology provides the tools and biology the problems”              – Stanley Fields   Episode 38: Sparking ideas-the creative minds building bioelectronics for biologists   Scientific advances depend not only on novel ideas and conceptual leaps, but also to a large extent on technological advances. Most scientists use some form of […]

A special #DarwinDay podcast where we asked five of our Institute PhD students (each of whose work builds on evolutionary theory) ‘what does Darwin mean to you?’

Bird researcher, Prof. Jane Reid, never set out to become an academic, in fact, she tried her very best not to. Having developed an interest in birds from a young age, her great ambition was to work for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB). But, she figured to work there she would […]

Welcome to the third and final episode in our special three-part series of podcasts: “MASTERS OF SCIENCE (and Research)”. Here, Naturally Speaking’s James Burgon (@JamesBurgon) and Karen Hotopp (@KarenHotopp) are taking on the Institute’s three Masters courses one by one: MSc. in Quantitative Methods in Biodiversity, Conservation and Epidemiology MSc. Animal Welfare Science, Ethics & Law MRes....

Welcome to the second episode in a three-part series of podcasts we like to call    “MASTERS OF SCIENCE (and Research)”. Here, Naturally Speaking’s James Burgon (@JamesBurgon) and Karen Hotopp (@KarenHotopp) are taking on the Institute’s three Masters courses one by one: MSc. in Quantitative Methods in Biodiversity, Conservation and Epidemiology MSc. Animal Welfare Science, Ethics & Law [&#823...

Welcome to the first in a three-part series of podcasts we like to call “MASTERS OF SCIENCE (and Research)”. Here, Naturally Speaking’s James Burgon (@JamesBurgon) and Karen Hotopp (@KarenHotopp, in her podcast debut) are taking on the Institute’s three Masters courses one by one: MSc in Quantitative Methods in Biodiversity, Conservation and Epidemiology MSc. Animal Welfare Science, Ethics [&#8230...

“Dinosaurs and man, two species separated by sixty-five million years of evolution have just been suddenly thrown back into the mix together. How can we possibly have the slightest idea what to expect?” –Alan Grant Jurassic Park was released more than 20 years ago at a time when the idea of de-extinction was just taking off. […]

Humans have a complex relationship and checkered history with elephants. Once the revered subjects of myths and legends, elephants have increasingly become the objects of economic greed and the victims of habitat loss. Episode 32 – Nature’s Greatest Masterpiece-An interview with Phyllis Lee   In this episode of Naturally Speaking Shorts, Laurie Baker (@llbaker1707) is joined by el...

At the Helm of chronobiology Why do we wake up early on our days off? Or notice it is almost lunchtime after our stomachs emit a rumble of hunger? Like all living organisms we have clocks inside us—internal timing mechanisms that guide everything from fine scale molecular processes to seasonal migrations. The study of these […]

Earth, Wind, Water, Fire. . . and Competition? Understanding tree community dynamics across the savanna landscape. Have you ever wondered why trees grow in some areas but not in others? In the African savanna landscape, this pattern may be explained with a little help from the natural elements and ecological relationships. Professor Ricardo Holdo of […]

In this week’s episode we revisit the topic that we examined in our first ever episode of Naturally Speaking—the dreaded PhD viva (also known as the defence in some countries). This is the final oral examination faced by PhD students before they can be awarded their degree. This episode features a panel discussion with Prof Neil Metcalfe, […]

Globally around one billion people are infected by parasitic nematodes, and their impact on livestock can be devastating. For millennia, parasites and hosts have been locked in an evolutionary war, an arms race with ever changing goal posts. However, scientists are using modern technology to bring new weapons to the fore. Here, Naturally Speaker James […]