Biopedia

Vince's Podcasts

Biology is a fascinating subject which is well worth exploring. Its scope stretches from individual DNA strands and viruses to blue whales, metapopulations and the biosphere. We will shine the spotlight on a different biological concept in every episode. Topics I've covered in the past include the origins of cell theory, Dollo's law and the Anthropocene; however, there is still plenty more to discover. Our focus will range from the very smallest scales to the very largest; from virions to the Gaia hypothesis. So come and explore the fascinating world of biology, one episode at a time!

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151 episodes
Updated Sunday

Episodes151

Newest first

Sunday · 4 min
128- Can Dolphins Detect Pregnancy?
Following another request, today we examine whether it is possible for dolphins- using their ultrasonic communication- to detect human pregnancy. The answer might be more ambiguous than you think... Sources for this episode: TBA
Friday · 5 min
Announcement- I've written a book!
Vince here- I've written a historical fiction book set in Constantinople in 1081! Well, kind of. The first draft of the manuscript is complete at about 59,000 words across 34 chapters. I am planning to to do a reading of the prologue as it currently stands on this feed, and after that prepare the book for publication as an eBook. So, what I am here to ask you is- is this something you would be interested in? Please let me know at the show's email address. I would love to hear your feedback.
July 19 · 3 min
127- Life Expectancy of Hobbits
A bit of a silly topic today. What is the average life expectancy of hobbits in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium? Along the way, we will learn something about current and historic human life expectancy. Sources for this episode: TBA Sound Effect by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/freesound_community-46691455/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=music&utm_content=84943">freesound_community</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com/sound-effects//?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=music&utm_content=84943">Pixabay</a>
July 5 · 10 min
126- Moles
As requested by listener GT, we are going to talk all about moles today! Join us for the evolutionary history of the Talpidae family, English prophecies about moles, how much a mole head is worth in 2026 money according to the 1533 Vermin Act, and a lot of Red List data. Sources for this episode: TBA
May 10 · 3 min
125- Pollinator Decline Debate Part II: A Dissenting Voice
Last week we introduced some discussion on bee/pollinator declines. This week, we will discuss a perspective by Jaboury Ghazoul- a professor at ETH Zurich- who argued in a 2005 paper that labelling a pollinator decline crisis was, in fact, premature. Sources for this episode: TBA
April 26 · 2 min
124- Pollinator Decline Debate Part I: Non-Bee Pollinators
Once again adapting a blog post into an episode, we are going to be examining a paper from 2016 which gives a potential new perspective on bee/pollinator declines. It argues that the contribution of non-bee pollinators to pollination services might be greater than we think. Sources for this episode: TBA
April 12 · 8 min
123- Calculating Inbreeding Coefficient
There is a number we use in genetics to represent how inbred a particular individual- e.g.: Charles II of Spain, Ptolemy XIII or Danaerys Targaryen- is. On today's episode, thanks to guidance from a blog post I found very helpful on the subject, we are going to take you through how this number is calculated for some simpler cases. Sources for this episode: TBA
March 29 · 4 min
122- How to Build a Phylogenetic Tree
The term phylogenetic tree often gets bandied about, but how exactly do you construct one? Using three exemplar snake species and the differences in amino acid sequences in a common protein, let's build one together and explore how the process works. Sources for this episode: TBA
March 15 · 5 min
121- Biofilms and Alzheimer's
We're going to be adapting an old Biopedia blog post today and examining how biofilms might be relevant in the generation of Alzheimer's. Sources for this episode: TBA
February 12 · 10 min
Darwin Day 2026- The Ancestry of Charles Darwin
Happy seventh Darwin Day! Today on the podcast, we are going to examine the family tree of Charles Robert Darwin. Let's explore more than ten generations of Darwins, starting all the way back in the 16th century with William Darwin Sr. Sources for this episode: TBA
January 24 · 2 min
Announcement- The F1 Generation
I have become a father! My firstborn daughter is here and is of course wonderful. However, the fact of her existence means that there may be some disruption to the podcast schedule. Thank you for your understanding!
January 15 · 6 min
120- Olive Trees
As part of a triple feature with After Alexander and Autocrat, we will be discussing the olive tree today. Let's explore the biology and ecology of a tree species that is central to a myth covered on Autocrat, in a city which After Alexander explores the history of... Sources for this episode: TBA
January 11 · 7 min
119- The Human Era Calendar
Happy 2026! Or rather- 12,026. At least, according to one interpretation. It has been suggested that the Anno Domini/Common Era system of timekeeping has some limitations. So, Cesare Emiliani created a calendar in 1993 to combat these issues. Get ready to discuss a calendar which begins when human civilisations and farming did- at midnight, 1st January, 10,000 BCE. After that, we'll take you on a whistlestop and incomplete tour of what some of human history might look like represented in that calendar. Sources for this episode: Bevan, E. R. (1902), The House of Seleucus (Volume I). London: Methuen Publishing Ltd. Clayton, P. A. (2006), Chronicle of the Pharaohs. London: Thames & Hudson Ltd. Emiliani, C (1993), Calendar reform. Nature 366: 716. Emiliani, C. (1994), Calendar reform for the year 2000. Eos, Transactions American Geophysical Union 75(19): 218. Goldsworthy, A. (2023), The Eagle and the Lion: Rome, Persia and an Unwinnable Conflict. London: Head of Zeus Ltd. Humprehys, C. J. and Waddington, W. G. (1983), Dating the Crucifixion. Nature 306: 743- 746. Kelly, J. N. D. (1996), Oxford Dictionary of Popes. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Littlewood, I. (2002), The Rough Guide History of France. London: Rough Guides Ltd. Marks, A. and Tingay, G. (date unknown), Romans. London: Usborne Publishing. Matyszak, P. (2008), Chronicle of the Roman Republic. London: Thames & Hudson Ltd. Paludan, A. (1998), Chronicle of the Chinese Emperors. London: Thames & Hudson Ltd. Scarre, C. (2012), Chronicle of the Roman Emperors. London: Thames & Hudson Ltd. Shepard, J. (ed.) (2019), The Cambridge History of the Byzantine Empire c.500- 1492. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Warnes, D. (2009), Chronicle of the Russian Tsars. London: Thames & Hudson Ltd. Weir, A. (1996), Britain’s Royal Families: The Complete Genealogy. London: Pimlico. Woolf, A. (2014), A Short History of the World. London: Arcturus Publishing Ltd. Author unknown (date unknown), Genealogy of the Emperors of Japan. Kunaicho: Japanese government webpage.
Dec 28, 2025 · 11 min
118- A Calendar for Mars
It goes without saying that the Red Planet is very different to our own world. For one thing, the day and year length of Mars differ from those experienced on Earth. So how would hypothetical colonists deal with this? On our last episode of 2025, let's discuss the Suran calendar- originating from a paper from the 1990s and dealing with this exact question. Sources for this episode: TBA
Dec 14, 2025 · 7 min
117- Total Mass of Humanity's X Chromosomes
A silly question today- if you were to add together all of the X chromosomes of all of the people in the world, what would their total mass be? To answer this, we are going to have to estimate the mass of an X chromosome, examine how many cells are in a human body, and just how many people there are in the world... Sources for this episode: Bhartiya, A., Batey, D., Cipiccia, S., Shi, X., Rau, C., Botchway, S., Yusuf, M. and Robinson, I. K. (2021), X-ray Phytography Imaging of Human Chromosomes after Low-Dose Irradiation. Chromosome Research 29: 107-126. Ross, M. T., et al. (2005), The DNA sequence of the human X chromosome. Nature 434: 325-337. Sender, R., Fuchs, S. and Milo, R. (2016), Revised Estimates for the Number of Human and Bacteria Cells in the Body. PLoS Biology 14(8): e1002533. Tartaglia, N., Cordeiro, L., Howell, S., Wilson, R. and Janusz, J. (2010), The Spectrum of the Behavioural Phenotype in Boys and Adolescents 47,XXY (Klinefelter Syndrome). Pediatric Endocrinology Reviews 8(1): 151-159. Author unknown, Bionumbers (date unknown), Mass of X and Y chromosomes (online) (Accessed 14/12/2025). Author unknown, Worldometer, (date unknown), World Population Clock (online) (Accessed 14/12/2025). Author unknown, UNICEF (date unknown), How many children are there in the world? (online) (Accessed 14/12/2025).
Nov 30, 2025 · 6 min
116- Generations
Generation Beta is, according to futurist Mark McCrindle, just starting to appear in the world. So, today, let's examine the generations that have been given a label in societal consciousness since the Lost Generation all the way back in the late 1800s. Sources for this episode: TBA
Nov 16, 2025 · 11 min
115- Pregnancy Outcomes and Interpregnancy Intervals
Today, we are going to examine a paper studying the impact both age at first pregnancy and the interval between pregnancies has on the probability of various negative outcomes associated with childbirth. Sources for this episode: TBA
Nov 2, 2025 · 5 min
114- Voyage of the Beagle Part III
Charles Darwin makes his way south from Rio de Janeiro to Maldonaldo and the south of South America. Along the way, he witnesses some local activities and has time to show off technological marvels to the locals. NOTE: I have found out since recording that St Elmo's light or fire is a weather phenomenon in which plasma appears around anything with a structure like a rod in a vehicle, such as the mast of a ship or the wing of a plane (St. Elmo's fire Wikipedia 04/11/2025). I have also discovered that $2 in 1832 money is worth $75.34 in 2025 money ($2 in 1832 → 2025 | Inflation Calculator 04/11/2025). Sources for this episode: TBA
Oct 5, 2025 · 10 min
113- Sex Ratios and Family Size in the 1790 US Census
In a sort of unofficial Part II to our discussion in episode 112, we are going to examine the data from the 1790 US census focussed on the towns of Danbury and Brookfield in Fairfield County, Connecticut. We will be using the data for each household to answer two questions- does the ratio between males and females deviate significantly from 50:50? And what is the average family size? Sources for this episode: TBA
Sep 21, 2025 · 7 min
112- How Common Are Suffix Chains?
Something a bit different today- we are going to be following up from our discussion of namesaking and looking at suffix chains! Examples of links in such chains would include people like Theodore Roosevelt VII or John Smith III. Let's look at some real-life data- including data from the 1790 US census- to ask one question: how common or rare is each new link in the chain? Sources for this episode: TBA