Petri Dish artwork

Petri Dish

198 episodes - English - Latest episode: 7 months ago - ★★★★★ - 34 ratings

Profane, insane, and 100% primo science, Petri Dish is a no-BS podcast that explores the wildest subjects in modern science with clarity and evil joy.

Hosted by Sean Allen, a Nanoparticle/Immunology Researcher, and Nathan Allen, his "screenwriter" brother, Petri Dish fuses hard science with a freewheeling and madcap conversational style.

Cannabinoids, Plague, Cats, the dreaded Candiru, and the even more dreaded Covid-19: all these and more are dissected with intellect and irreverence, dropping every week.

So reject ignorance. Join the Scientific Revolution. Join Petri Dish.

Life Sciences Science Comedy
Homepage Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed

Episodes

Ep. 185 How to Make a Drug Pt 2: Libraries and Design

August 21, 2023 11:00 - 58 minutes - 54 MB

On this second episode about drug discovery, we discuss small molecule drug libraries and the challenges behind rational design! Don't know what that means? Tune in to find out! References: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcell.2019.00107/full https://next.cancer.gov/discoveryresources/resources_ndl.htm https://www.molbiolcell.org/doi/10.1091/mbc.E22-08-0377 https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-approves-first-gene-therapy-treatment-certain-patients-duchen...

Ep. 184 How to Make a Drug Pt 1: A Target

August 14, 2023 11:00 - 54 minutes - 50 MB

Hey everyone! Today's episode is about getting into the nitty gritty of drug discovery. We often benefit from the research and development that goes into the creation of drugs we use to treat illnesses without really understanding what goes into that process. In this first part, we will discuss how you conceptually begin the process. References: https://www.nature.com/articles/nrd2399 https://www.fda.gov/vaccines-blood-biologics/zolgensma https://cancerci.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.11...

Ep. 183 Influenza Pt 4: Vaccines and Pandemics

August 07, 2023 11:00 - 48 minutes - 44.5 MB

Sorry for the COVID-related break in episodes everyone! In our return, we complete our series on influenza by discussing past epidemics and pandemics to understand how influenza has repeatedly led to large scale medical events. Then we will finish by discussing the current and future state of influenza vaccines! References: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/nejmp058281 https://www.nature.com/articles/nature08157 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16208372/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov...

Ep. 182 Influenza Pt 3: Whaddya Gonna Do About It?

May 29, 2023 11:00 - 36 minutes - 33 MB

You've had the flu. You've had a cold. Maybe you've even had allergies! But how can you tell them apart? And if you even figure out that you do have influenza, are there any treatments you can take that can help? References: https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/gastroenteritis-in-adults-a-to-z https://academic.oup.com/aje/article/182/4/294/113092 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/irv.12515 https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/burden/preliminary-in-season-estimates.htm ...

Ep. 181 Influenza Pt 2: The Piggies

May 22, 2023 11:00 - 44 minutes - 40.4 MB

Last episode we discussed the current H5N1 flu that is hitting birds pretty hard. But is bird flu different from swine flu? Is there just a 'human flu', or do we only catch influenza from other animals? Let's get into the evolutionary history of the flu and primary hosts! References: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7328453/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK8611/ https://journals.asm.org/doi/full/10.1128/JVI.01080-14 https://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/index.htm https://www...

Ep. 180 Influenza Pt 1: Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza

May 15, 2023 11:00 - 41 minutes - 38.2 MB

Today's episode is the first in a four-part series on influenza! This time we are covering just enough background information to discuss the recent H5N1 pandemic in birds, which was responsible for the egg shortage and has been killing a lot of wild birds. References: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3074182/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5198887/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6520700/ https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmolb.2021.7278...

Ep. 179 The Silence of the Plants

May 01, 2023 11:00 - 33 minutes - 30.3 MB

Sure, plants can sometimes smell good and they do cool stuff like make carbs for us to eat and oxygen for us to breathe. But they sort of look like they're just passively sitting there, right? Just chilling. If only we could hear just a slightly broader range of frequencies, we would hear a whole new world of plants -- one where they are complaining about being thirsty! Find out about the screaming clicks of dying plants, this week on Petri Dish! References: https://www.nature.com/articles...

Ep. 178 A Baby Born of Two Daddies

April 24, 2023 21:50 - 52 minutes - 48.3 MB

Hi everyone! This week's episode is about recent work trying to figure out a way to make a baby mouse that has two genetic dads. We also dive into why mammals don't seem to have virgin births!References: https://www.nature.com/articles/cr201115 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17034046/ https://www.nature.com/articles/nature02402 https://www.nature.com/articles/nature11435 https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-00717-7 https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/science.abe0237 https:...

Ep. 177 Black Holes Pt 2: Quasi-Stars and Quasars

April 10, 2023 11:00 - 1 hour - 71.1 MB

Today's episode is our second and final episode on Black Holes! We cover some exotic black hole concepts, like whether they are a source of dark energy, what a white hole is, and whether black holes are fuzzy or not! References: https://www.science.org/content/article/dark-energy-supermassive-black-holes-physicists-spar-over-radical-idea https://science.nasa.gov/astrophysics/focus-areas/what-is-dark-energy https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/acac2e https://iopscience.i...

Ep. 176 Black Holes Pt 1: Curvy Thicc Spacetime Stuff

April 03, 2023 11:00 - 1 hour - 55.5 MB

Here in our first episode on our 2-parter on Black Holes, we explain what a black hole is in theory and what it probably actually is in practice. We dive into why it is still hard for us to really know what the true nature of black holes are and we discuss the different kinds of black holes.References: https://forums.space.com/threads/how-to-calculate-a-black-hole%E2%80%99s-event-horizon.27467/ https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/questions/49957/do-schwarzschild-black-holes-exist-in-realit...

Ep. 175 The Norfolk Southern Environmental Trainwreck

March 27, 2023 11:00 - 43 minutes - 39.5 MB

In February, a train was partially derailed while carrying a number of chemicals. The subsequent attempt at containment resulted in the release of many thousands of gallons of these chemicals. What were those chemicals? What are the risks involved in their release? References: https://www.nytimes.com/article/ohio-train-derailment.html https://www.ntsb.gov/news/press-releases/Pages/NR20230214.aspx https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0002889718506429 https://www.sciencedirect.co...

Ep. 174 Desalination Pt 2: A Not-So-Salty Future?

March 20, 2023 11:00 - 50 minutes - 46.5 MB

On this week's episode, we complete our series on desalination by discussing the near future technologies that are coming to either improve or attempt to supplant the current front runners that we discussed last week. We will also discuss the downsides of desalination and work that is being done to try to minimize or circumvent them! References: https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/five-things-know-about-desalination https://www.energy.gov/eere/articles/department-energy-invests-5-...

Last of Us Rerelease! Fungus Pt 2: Cordyceps and More!

March 13, 2023 23:53 - 57 minutes - 52.7 MB

Hi Everyone! We're interrupting our series on desalination to put out a quick rerelease of one of our episodes on Fungi! We're doing this in honor of the season 1 finale of The Last of Us, which heavily features a fungus called Cordyceps, which we covered in this episode. Check it out and learn more about cordyceps, similar fungi, and much nicer fungi that improve human life rather than turning us into freaky zombies.

Ep. 173 Desalination Pt 1: So Salty

February 27, 2023 23:25 - 45 minutes - 41.5 MB

Climate change is happening, two billion people don't have a reliable and safe supply of fresh water, and the problem isn't likely to get a whole lot better on its own! Desalination is the process of making fresh water from salt water, but what is the current state of the technology? Find out on this episode of Petri Dish! Next time, we will discuss the near-future iterations on desalination! References: https://www.usgs.gov/special-topics/water-science-school/science/saline-water-and-sal...

Ep. 172 VEXAS: A Mystery Syndrome

February 22, 2023 16:47 - 43 minutes - 40.2 MB

While science and medicine have come a long way over the centuries, there are still illnesses that cannot be explained -- and many of them are autoinflammatory disorders. Many people all over the world have been inflicted with these disorders with no clear cause. But recently, scientists were able to find a mutation that can help explain what some of these people are going through, a mutation that led to the identification of an autoinflammatory disorder now known as VEXAS. Tune in to learn...

Ep. 171 Side Quests 2: Cancer and Concrete

February 06, 2023 21:05 - 30 minutes - 27.9 MB

Occasionally we do episodes where we speak about a couple different topics that don't have a specific underlying theme -- they're just fun science papers that have cropped up recently! This time we discuss the confluence of two different hot technologies, CRISPR base editing and CAR T cells. We also do a little dive into Roman Concrete! References: https://www.bbc.com/news/health-63859184 https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/research/car-t-cells https://www.science.org/content/a...

Ep. 170 Death Pt 2: A Twitching Heart

January 30, 2023 21:31 - 58 minutes - 53.1 MB

We return with our second episode on Death, the final frontier! What is it? Actually though, like what determines the moment when someone dies? This question has actually had a different answer through the years, and we dive into the definition and how it has changed as technology has advanced. We finish with an example of cutting-edge technology that may further muddy the line between alive and dead! References: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20150508-what-happens-after-we-die https:...

Ep 169 Death Pt.1: Disembodied Pig Brains

January 23, 2023 12:00 - 39 minutes - 36.2 MB

On our first episode about Death, we look into a paper published a few years that described the reanimation of a pig brain! Spooky! Let’s get into the science behind it and some of its implications for humans!

Ep 168. The Tridemic

January 16, 2023 12:01 - 41 minutes - 38.1 MB

This winter season the world is dealing with not two but three respiratory illnesses at the same time. While these are familiar names at this point, they’re definitely different from one another, so let’s get into COVID, the flu, and RSV!

Ep. 167 Coffee Pt 2: Dry, Wet, Honey, and Poop

October 10, 2022 11:00 - 42 minutes - 39.1 MB

Hi Folks! Part 2 of our series on coffee focuses on how coffee beans can be imparted with different flavors through their picking and processing! We mentioned this in the show notes for the last episode, but we will be going on a couple month hiatus while Nathan and Stacey take a vacation in Korea! We will be re-releasing some of our older episodes in the meantime, in case people are really itching to listen to our dulcet tones. References: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13593...

Ep. 166 Coffee Pt 1: Species and History

October 03, 2022 11:00 - 27 minutes - 25 MB

The first episode on our three part series is on the history of human consumption of coffee (as far as we know) and the several species of plant that can produce those sweet, sweet beans! As a note, we are going to be taking a hiatus after Pt 2 next week for Nathan and Stacey to take a well-earned break and enjoy some time in Korea! We are going to do re-releases of older episodes, so if you haven't heard some of our older stuff, we hope you enjoy! References: https://worldpopulationrevie...

Ep. 165 Viral Hepatitis Pt 2: The Chronic

September 26, 2022 11:00 - 50 minutes - 46.4 MB

In our second and final episode on viral hepatitis, we discuss Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C! One has a vaccine, the other can be treated with antivirals, but both can be pretty serious and bad if you aren't protected or treated. Our sponsor is Athletic Greens, a really solid and easy way to get your vitamins if you're like me and are too silly/busy to cook proper meals every day and need to get those nutrients somehow! Check them out and get a free 1 year supply of Vitamin D and 5 travel pac...

Ep. 164 Viral Hepatitis Pt 1: Acute But Not Cute

September 19, 2022 11:00 - 37 minutes - 34.8 MB

In our first episode of a two parter, we discuss what the liver does, what hepatitis is generally, and which hepatitis viruses cause acute issues! References: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00705-022-05375-0 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK13296/ https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0227670 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK482374/ https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/21481-liver https://medlineplus.gov/lab-tests/bilirubin-i...

Ep. 163 Random Walks, Brownian Motion, and the Physics of Big Bacteria

September 12, 2022 11:00 - 24 minutes - 23 MB

Last week, we discussed a very big bacterium, one you can see with your naked eye! But back in high school we all learned that bacteria and prokaryotes in general were pretty simple cells and were definitely smaller than our cells. While we've found a lot of examples that push back against this idea, there is a fundamental truth behind it -- a simple cell has definite physical constraints on how big it can grow. What are those constraints? And how do these giant bacteria (and our own cells) ...

Ep. 162 Really Huge Bacteria

September 05, 2022 19:04 - 28 minutes - 26.1 MB

In today's episode, we discuss a recent discovery of a reaaaaaally big bacteria, like way big! Big enough that you can see it without a microscope! Longer than a fruit fly! BIG! How can a bacteria get so big? What is going on there? Let's discuss it! References: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abb3634 https://www.science.org/content/article/largest-bacterium-ever-discovered-has-unexpectedly-complex-cells

Ep. 161 Monkeypox Pt 2: APOBEC3 and Microevolution

August 29, 2022 20:56 - 41 minutes - 38.4 MB

Sorry about the delay in this release folks! In this episode, we revisit the current unusual Monkeypox outbreak and dive into the DNA of this virus to try to understand why it is so much more global this time. Spoiler alert: the DNA currently doesn't have answers for us, but it seems to be mutating faster than normal! References: https://www.cdc.gov/poxvirus/monkeypox/response/2022/us-map.html https://worldhealthorg.shinyapps.io/mpx_global/ https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.100...

Ep. 160 Caffeine Pt 2: Muscles and Sensitivity

August 22, 2022 11:00 - 36 minutes - 33.8 MB

In the second and final episode on our series on Caffeine, we dive into what acute caffeine toxicity can look like, along with other ways people can be sensitive to caffeine. We also discuss whether caffeine can be useful for giving you a boost while exercising! Our sponsor is Athletic Greens, a really solid and easy way to get your vitamins if you're like me and are too silly/busy to cook proper meals every day and need to get those nutrients somehow! Check them out and get a free 1 year ...

Ep. 159 Caffeine Pt 1: The Most Popular Psychoactive Drug in the World

August 15, 2022 11:00 - 32 minutes - 30 MB

First episode of our two-parter on caffeine! For such a small and unassuming molecule, this drug is really popular, consumed all over the world for millennia! What is caffeine? How does it work? We'll even begin to discuss why some people are more sensitive to caffeine than other people. References: https://coffeeaffection.com/coffee-cherry/ https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214750018303275 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3603218/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih....

Ep. 158 Alzheimer's Redux: Lies, Fraud, and Misconduct

August 08, 2022 11:00 - 1 hour - 57.5 MB

The world of Alzheimer's research has recently been rocked by very strong evidence of scientific misconduct and fraud, specifically relating to a historically relevant paper about amyloid beta oligomers as a potential cause of Alzheimer's Disease. There are a lot of nuances and complexities at play here, which we dive into! There are also some... not-nuances, like the fact that this fraud and wholesale fabrication of results was pretty brazen. Listen in and learn more! References: https://...

Ep. 157 Monkeypox

August 01, 2022 11:00 - 54 minutes - 49.9 MB

Hi folks! I know most people don't really want to hear it, but we have another disease running around the world besides COVID and the more you know the facts, the better you can do what you can to avoid it! Learn about monkeypox on this week's episode of Petri Dish! References: https://www.who.int/emergencies/disease-outbreak-news/item/2022-DON390 https://www.science.org/content/article/monkeypox-outbreak-questions-intensify-cases-soar https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3901482...

Ep. 156 Venom Pt 3: Medicine and Mammals

July 25, 2022 13:00 - 47 minutes - 43.9 MB

The final episode in our series on venom, we discuss how venom can be used in modern medicine before discussing some venomous reptiles. Then we finish up by talking about the very few and very strange venomous mammals! References: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2019.00218/full https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/label/2011/020718s034lbl.pdf https://www.dsm.com/personal-care/en_US/products/skin-bioactives/syn-ake.html https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/ar...

Ep. 155 Venom Pt 2: Animal Extravaganza

July 18, 2022 19:34 - 45 minutes - 41.7 MB

Part two of our series on venom! We start out talking about some venomous jellyfish and other cnidarians before moving on to arthropods, like some very venomous spiders! Then we go into treatment options for venom before finishing with some very strange venomous amphibians! Not just poisonous! Venomous!  Our sponsor is Athletic Greens, a really solid and easy way to get your vitamins if you're like me and are too silly/busy to cook proper meals every day and need to get those nutrients some...

Ep. 154 Venom Pt 1: Bites and Stings and Ouchie Things

July 11, 2022 11:00 - 25 minutes - 23.7 MB

Hi Everyone! Welcome to the first episode of our series on venom! We previously discussed toxic stuff, and venoms are a specific subset of toxic things that are introduced to the body by bite or injection rather than getting swallowed or inhaled or whatever. In this first episode we give a breakdown of the different kinds of venom, and in the following two episodes we'll talk about specific venomous animals! References: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32751897/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih...

Ep. 153 Hot Dogs and Nitrates

July 04, 2022 11:00 - 30 minutes - 27.8 MB

Happy 4th of July to all our listeners in the USA! In honor of the holiday, we're doing an episode on hot dogs and other cured meats, specifically regarding the health impacts of nitrates/nitrites! Our sponsor is Athletic Greens, a really solid and easy way to get your vitamins if you're like me and are too silly/busy to cook proper meals every day and need to get those nutrients somehow! Check them out and get a free 1 year supply of Vitamin D and 5 travel packs by heading over to athletic...

Ep. 152 Doping Pt 2: Up For Debate

June 27, 2022 11:00 - 47 minutes - 43.2 MB

In our first episode on the topic, we introduced the idea and definition of doping. In this episode we dive into blood doping, gene and cell doping, and a little debate about whether doping really is all that bad. References: https://www.wada-ama.org/en/prohibited-list https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3547746/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30969231/ https://faculty.washington.edu/crowther/Misc/RBC/altitude.shtml https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/aug/02/blood-doping-w...

Doping Pt 2: Up For Debate

June 27, 2022 11:00 - 47 minutes - 43.6 MB

In our first episode on the topic, we introduced the idea and definition of doping. In this episode we dive into blood doping, gene and cell doping, and a little debate about whether doping really is all that bad. References: https://www.wada-ama.org/en/prohibited-list https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3547746/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30969231/ https://faculty.washington.edu/crowther/Misc/RBC/altitude.shtml https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/aug/02/blood-doping-w...

Ep. 151 Doping Pt 1: Juicing

June 20, 2022 11:00 - 37 minutes - 34.3 MB

Hey folks! On this episode Sean and Nathan discuss sports doping, first defining what counts as doping then discussing a history of doping! Our sponsor is Athletic Greens, a really solid and easy way to get your vitamins if you're like me and are too silly/busy to cook proper meals every day and need to get those nutrients somehow! Check them out and get a free 1 year supply of Vitamin D and 5 travel packs by heading over to athleticgreens.com/emerging References: https://www.wada-ama.org...

Ep. 150: Organic Poisons

June 13, 2022 11:00 - 28 minutes - 26.5 MB

We took a break from our series on poisons, but we're back now to chat about organic poisons! No, not like pesticide-free poisons, organic in this context just means they're molecules that have carbons and hydrogens in them! So no more chatting about metallic poisons, we're going to move on to stuff like hemlock! Reference: https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/ershdb/emergencyresponsecard_29750037.html https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/ershdb/emergencyresponsecard_29750037.html https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih....

Ep. 149 Sports Medicine: Whey

June 06, 2022 11:00 - 49 minutes - 45.2 MB

I promise Nathan doesn't say 'whey' weird the entire episode, it just takes a bit for him to stop. This week's episode is about whey protein! What is it? Does it actually provide any benefit over any other protein? Our sponsor is Athletic Greens, a really solid and easy way to get your vitamins if you're like me and are too silly/busy to cook proper meals every day and need to get those nutrients somehow! Check them out and get a free 1 year supply of Vitamin D and 5 travel packs by heading...

Ep. 148 Side Quests 1: Frenchmen and Killer High Schools

May 30, 2022 16:11 - 32 minutes - 30.2 MB

Hi Everyone! This is the first episode in a periodic series we're going to do called 'side quests'. Sometimes we come across science stories that aren't quite enough to do a full episode on, but are interesting and fun to talk about! So from now on we'll occasionally present them as a series of shorter stories within an episode! In this episode, we'll discuss a competitor of Louis Pasteur, a high school that appears to be the center of a cluster of brain tumors, and a historical example of u...

Ep. 147 Poisons Pt 3: Arsenic, The King of Poisons

May 23, 2022 11:00 - 31 minutes - 28.7 MB

Hi Folks! Part three of our poison series is on arsenic, the king of poisons and the poison of kings! Arsenic had a long history of being used to kill nobles, but after a reliable test for arsenic was developed in the 1800s it got a lot less popular for killing people. But in true human fashion, we continued to use arsenic for all kinds of things! References: https://jmvh.org/article/arsenic-the-poison-of-kings-and-the-saviour-of-syphilis/ https://www.asmalldoseoftoxicology.org/fowler ht...

Ep. 146 Poisons Pt 2: Get the Lead Out

May 16, 2022 11:00 - 42 minutes - 39.5 MB

Hi everyone! Here is part 2 in our series on poisons. This time we discuss lead! Our new sponsor is Athletic Greens, a really solid and easy way to get your vitamins if you're like me and are too silly/busy to cook proper meals every day and need to get those nutrients somehow! Check them out and get a free 1 year supply of Vitamin D and 5 travel packs by heading over to athleticgreens.com/emerging References: https://mineralseducationcoalition.org/minerals-database/lead/ https://www.smi...

Ep. 145 Poisons Pt 1: Heavy Metal

May 09, 2022 11:00 - 49 minutes - 45.1 MB

Hey everyone! Nathan wanted to know how poisons work and we're starting with some metals! Metal poisons are pretty interesting because they aren't complex molecules or anything, they're like single atoms running around messing up your biological systems! But how do metals interact with biology in the first place? Let's get into it! References: https://www.cancer.gov/publications/dictionaries/cancer-terms/def/toxin https://www.cancer.gov/publications/dictionaries/cancer-terms/def/toxicant ...

[Reupload] Ep 144 Jurassic Pt 3: This is the Last One For Now

May 03, 2022 17:30 - 57 minutes - 52.2 MB

*Hey folks, some people are having a tough time hearing the episode on some platforms, this reupload is an attempt to see if we can fix that* At Nathan's insistence, this is the last Mesozoic episode for now! We talk about dinosaurs, across the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, including heavy-hitters like T Rex! We also dispel some misunderstandings about velociraptor and other fun dino facts! Our new sponsor is Athletic Greens, a really solid and easy way to get your vitamins if you're li...

Ep 144 Jurassic Pt 3: This is the Last One For Now

May 02, 2022 19:59 - 57 minutes - 52.2 MB

At Nathan's insistence, this is the last Mesozoic episode for now! We talk about dinosaurs, across the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, including heavy-hitters like T Rex! We also dispel some misunderstandings about velociraptor and other fun dino facts! Our new sponsor is Athletic Greens, a really solid and easy way to get your vitamins if you're like me and are too silly/busy to cook proper meals every day and need to get those nutrients somehow! Check them out and get a free 1 year suppl...

Ep. 143 Jurassic Pt 2: Finally Actually Dinosaurs

April 25, 2022 11:00 - 49 minutes - 45.4 MB

Yessss we're finally doing it! Dinosaurs! But only Jurassic ones! Yeah, that's right, a bunch of dinosaurs were only around in the Cretaceous, like velociraptor and T. rex. But don't worry, I'm sure some of your favs were in the Jurassic, like good ol' stegosaurus! What is a dinosaur? Who was around in the Jurassic? Find out this week on Petri Dish! References: https://www.nature.com/articles/nature21700 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4393826/ https://www.nature.com/article...

Ep. 142 Jurassic Pt 1: Angry Magma

April 18, 2022 11:00 - 40 minutes - 36.9 MB

Yay! The Age of the Dinosaurs! In this episode, we lay the groundwork for finally digging into dinosaurs in part 2 -- we discuss the changes to the climate and continents of the Jurassic and how that played into the development of the dinosaurs. References: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-15325-6 https://cp.copernicus.org/preprints/cp-2020-35/cp-2020-35.pdf

Ep. 141 Triassic Pt 2: Almost Dino Time

April 11, 2022 15:17 - 40 minutes - 37 MB

We end our discussion of the Triassic period with the land and air -- this is the time when dinosaurs and pterosaurs first evolved, along with the first mammals! References: https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rsbl.2012.0949 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0012825220302221

A Brief Petri Announcement

April 04, 2022 05:26 - 57 seconds - 2.2 MB

We're taking a one episode break, Nathan kind of explains why...

Ep. 140 Welcome to Triassic Park Part 1

March 28, 2022 11:00 - 25 minutes - 23.4 MB

In our last episode, we discussed The Great Dying, the transitional extinction event that ended the Permian and Paleozoic times and kickstarted the Triassic and Mesozoic! While the Mesozoic is often thought of as the Age of the Dinosaurs (and it *is* the time when they both evolved and went largely extinct), the first part of the Mesozoic was dominated by other groups of animals. But who?! Find out, this week on Petri Dish! References: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S001...