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Tiny Living Beings: Daily Summaries Delivered
by Julia Van Etten
Tiny Living Beings is a weekly podcast where listeners get to know a scientist, a weird microorganism they like, and why they think it's interesting. Our planet is full of billions of different microscopic organisms, most of which are still unknown to science. The ones we do know are diverse and strange. Microbiology knowledge is often gatekept by scientists who discuss this information in exclusive professional circles, but more of these topics need to be shared with the public! Although generally upbeat and fun, conversations often tangentially address frustrations with society or become existential, which, because of the time we are living through, is inherently connected to any discussion of topical scientific information. Content is geared toward all ages and backgrounds, anyone who is scientifically curious.
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- 3 weeks ago1h 11m
Protist Parasites of Corals and Fish - With Anthony Bonacolta
We might not all know the term "Apicomplexa" but there are some famous apicomplexan parasites (protists) that infect humans, like those that cause malaria and cyclosporiasis, the latter of which dominated the news this summer. This week, Dr. Anthony Bonacolta came on the podcast to talk about relatives of these parasites that live on or infect corals, fireworms, fish, and sea cucumbers! Anthony talks about the type of work he does to find and characterize new protist species in the oceans, particularly within the corallicolid and ichthycollid lineages. Anthony is a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of British Columbia. Anthony is a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of British Columbia. You can follow him on Bluesky, read his work on Google Scholar, or learn more about his research on his website. Here are some resources we discussed on the episode: 1. Pocket-size guide to protists: https://www3.botany.ubc.ca/keeling/PDF/A_Pocket-Size_Guide_To_Protists_v2.1.pdf 2. Tree of Marine Apicomplexans from Anthony's recent paper: "<a style= "color: #0078d7;" title= "Original URL: https://academic.oup.com/icb/article/doi/10.1093/icb/icag006/8471538?guestAccessKey=d593a5a1-e973-40b1-9422-fa15a6c395e0&utm_source=authortollfreelink&utm_campaign=icb&utm_medium=email&login=false Click to follow link." href= "https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Facademic.oup.com%2Ficb%2Farticle%2Fdoi%2F10.1093%2Ficb%2Ficag006%2F8471538%3FguestAcc
- Sep 21, 20261h 30m
Giant Algal Viruses with The J Van Ettens
Giant viruses changed what biologists thought a virus could be. This week, I interview Dr. James Van Etten, whose lab discovered chloroviruses 45 years ago. These are "giant", DNA-based viruses that infect Chlorella-like green algae around the world. Chloroviruses are abundant in lakes, ponds, and rivers and are one of the most common virus groups in these environments, even though most people have never heard of them. The algae they infect live as symbionts inside ciliates and Hydras where protection from infection may be a driving force behind establishing these mutualistic symbiotic relationships. James' decades of work have revealed the enormous genomes and bizarre biology of giant viruses and helped establish them as a major, once-hidden branch of life's virosphere. Here is a (growing) list from Jim of over 500 publications on chloroviruses. James "Jim" Van Etten is a William B. Allington Distinguished Professor of Plant Pathology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln where he started his lab in 1966, originally focusing on fungal biology. That early work eventually led him somewhere unexpected: in 1980, alongside colleague Russell Meints, he discovered chloroviruses-giant, algae-infecting viruses that would go on to reshape scientific understanding of just how large and complex a virus can be. He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2003 in recognition of this body of work, and remains an active researcher in the field he helped create decades later. Now for the elephant in the room: are Jim and I related? You will have to listen to the end to find out!
- Dec 22, 20251h 4m
Introducing the Fire Amoeba - with Angela Oliverio and Beryl Rappaport
Eukaryotes are "complex" organisms with nuclei and membrane-bound organelles: plants, animals, fungi, and protists. Protists include many understudied lineages of fascinating organisms that challenge our understanding of cell biology, and so many protist species remain undiscovered. This week Dr. Angela Oliverio and Beryl Rappaport come on the podcast to discuss a new amoeba species called Incendiamoeba cascadensis that lives and reproduces at the highest temperature ever described for a eukaryote, earning the title of "fire amoeba". Angela and Beryl take us through their research and discovery process, highlighting the collaborative nature of their groundbreaking work. You can read about the structure, function, behavior, and genome of I. cascadensis in their recent preprint. On the episode, we discuss what this amoeba looks like, how it moves, its relatives, the volcanic lake it was found in, and current hypotheses for how it is able to survive in such hot temperatures. Angela explains how studying a novel species like this can leave us with more questions than answers which means that there is more exciting work to come! Angela Oliverio is an assistant professor of Biology at Syracuse University and Beryl Rappaport is a PhD student studying microbial eukaryote evolution and occasionally fermented foods in the Oliverio lab. You can follow them on Bluesky at @oliverio.bsky.social and @hbrappap@bsky.social, and learn more about their research at http://oliveriolab.org/ and their Google Scholar pages (Angela, Beryl). They've also provided some links and photos for further reading, and make sure to read their preprint! A great thread by Beryl A geothermal amoeba sets a new upper temperature limit for eukaryotes preprint Extreme environments offer an unprecedented opportunity to understand microbial eukaryotic ecology, evolution, and genome biology perspective paper Lessons from Extremophiles: Functional Adaptations and Genomic Innovations across the Eukaryotic Tree of Life article Popular media articles about the fire amoeba in Nature and Scientific American More about amoebozoan amoebas: Wikipedia Brief history about Thermus aquaticus (bacteria) and the advent of PCR from USGS For more info on microbes and to follow updates of this podcast, find @couch_microscopy on Instagram or visit www.couchmicroscopy.com/store for merch! The views and opinions expressed on this program are those of the host and guests and do not reflect the views of any institution.
- May 26, 20251h 0m
Parasites in our pets' poop - with Ben Alverson
Microbes are everywhere, including inside our pets! This week, Ben Alverson comes on to give us a crash course in veterinary parasitology. He discusses the variety of worms and protists that can live inside mammals and cause problems ranging from being a mild nuisance to causing death. We talk about the different types of animals that get tested for these parasites including cats and dogs, zoo animals like big cats, and farm animals. Ben does a great job explaining how diagnoses are made from examining poop samples, what that process looks like, how identifications of different eggs and and parasites are made using microscopy, and treatment options. This episode showcases a non-academic career path in microbiology that's absolutely fascinating! (But it is not for the squeamish!) Ben Alverson is a microbiologist with experience in the veterinary field. He runs the brilliant Instagram account @veterinary_parasitology_ where he posts photos of ova (eggs) and parasites found in his work. I HIGHLY recommend following him! You can also find him on Twitter. Resources from this episode: Textbook recommendation: Diagnostic Parasitology for Veterinary Technicians (I posted the link from the publisher but I recommend looking for this used or free online) Vetpocket app For more info on microbes and to follow updates of this podcast, find @couch_microscopy on Instagram or visit www.couchmicroscopy.com/store for merch! The views and opinions expressed on this program are those of the host and guests and do not reflect the views of any institution or funder.
- May 5, 20251h 29m
Is science political? - with Kevin Bird
American science has been under attack since this Trump administration began. Tens of thousands of scientists and federal workers have lost their jobs and the effects are starting to permeate through society. This week I have Dr. Kevin Bird on to explain the events of the last 3 months, how science is funded in the United States, why it is being attacked so aggressively, and the ideologies behind these attacks. He also gives us a history lesson on movements of the past that sought to protect the scientific enterprise. It is really important to protect science. Publicly-funded research benefits us all! (Also, sorry for the choppy editing on this episode; I wanted to get this one out quickly!) Kevin is a NSF Plant Genome Postdoctoral Research Fellow at UC Davis studying the evolutionary impact of structural variation in plant genomes. He also researches scientific racism and posts lots of interesting stuff on his Bluesky account. You can also learn more about his work on his website or Google Scholar page. Here are some articles Kevin recommends: Brand new article about the NSF freeze Article about the impacts on US science Article about US brain drain USDA and food security US-AID labs that were cut Article on the admin's resegregationism and Project 2025 Article about TESCREAL Article about neoreaction Radical science movements from the past For more info on microbes and to follow updates of this podcast, find @couch_microscopy on Instagram or visit www.couchmicroscopy.com/store for merch! The views and opinions expressed on this program are those of the host and guests and do not reflect the views of any institution or funding agency.
- Apr 14, 202557 min
The Diatom Detective - with Kirstie Scott
If you tuned in last week, you'll know that diatoms produce one quarter of the air we breathe (and they produced this podcast's logo), but did you know that they can also be used to solve crimes???! Rather than spoiling too much by writing a long caption here, you should just press play to hear from Dr. Kirstie Scott, a forensic diatomist and one of the most interesting people I've spoken with. In this episode we discuss how certain environments have certain cells and how these cells can travel on clothes and in bodies. We also talk about different types of evidence, testifying in court, and many ways in which trace signatures of organisms in the environment can be used in to answer diverse research questions. If you like Dexter or Bones or true crime, this episode is for you! Kirstie is a senior lecturer in forensic bioscience at Liverpool John Moores University in the UK where she specializes in diatom analysis. You can find her on Linkedin, Google Scholar, X, and Bluesky. Here are some resources Kirstie recommends: How microscopic algae are helping forensic teams catch criminals Research article on marine diatoms as trace evidence indicators Dead bodies can reveal details of their death through microscopic diatoms For more info on microbes and to follow updates of this podcast, find @couch_microscopy on Instagram or visit www.couchmicroscopy.com/store for merch! The views and opinions expressed on this program are those of the host and guests and do not reflect the views of any institution.
- Apr 7, 20251h 0m
Diatoms and dinoflagellates and dinotoms, oh my! - with Brittany Sprecher
Diatoms are beautiful (and weird). Dinoflagellates are weird (and beautiful). They are completely different organisms but both are protists that can both support whole ecosystems or cause devastating environmental hazards. However, only one of them inspired Alfred Hitchcock to make his famous movie, The Birds (listen to find out which). Both organisms can produce oxygen to help us breathe, and diatoms alone produce over 20% of the oxygen in the atmosphere. And sometimes dinoflagellates will ingest diatoms and use their innards to steal photosynthesis, creating a new type of organism called a "dinotom"! That was a very chaotic group of sentences but luckily this week we have Dr. Brittany Sprecher on the podcast who is an expert at diatoms, dinoflagellates, AND dinotoms. What a combo! We discuss a lot on this episode and you will come away learning all about the amazing research going on with these funky microbes. Brittany Sprecher is a postdoctoral researcher at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. You can follow her work on Google Scholar. Here are some links Brittany recommends to learn more about these protists: Short Klaus Kemp diatom arranging documentary Phytoplankton Identification guide (California coast) Microorganisms PARODY video "The algae that saved an astronaut's life" video Wiki for Amoebophrya, the dinoflagellate parasite that infects other dinoflagellates Bioluminescent waves in Monterey Bay Bioluminescence vs. fluorescence video For more info on microbes and to follow updates of this podcast, find @couch_microscopy on Instagram or visit www.couchmicroscopy.com/store for merch! The views and opinions expressed on this program are those of the host and guests and do not reflect the views of any institution.
- Mar 31, 20251h 9m
Sharks of the plankton - with Matt Johnson
Did you know that some organisms, from protists to sea slugs, steal photosynthesis? This week Dr. Matt Johnson is on the podcast to talk about his work on kleptoplasty, the process by which organisms steal plastids (photosynthetic organelles) from other organisms to become photosynthetic. These special cells with stolen plastids are mixotrophs, that is, they can both eat food and produce their own from solar energy. Matt discusses why kleptoplasty and mixotrophy are special processes that aren't as rare as we might think and how they affect the ocean and planet. He also talks about ciliates, a very enigmatic group of protists that he uses to study mixotrophy. And listen all the way through for a crash course on the Grateful Dead! Matt is an associate scientist with tenure at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. You can follow his work on his Google Scholar page or website. To learn more about ciliates, other protists, and kleptoplasty: Foissner user-friendly guide to ciliate identification (1996) Open source protist illustrations by Keeling and Eglit (2023) Nat Geo "Solar-Powered Sea Slugs" article For more info on microbes and to follow updates of this podcast, find @couch_microscopy on Instagram or visit www.couchmicroscopy.com/store for merch! The views and opinions expressed on this program are those of the host and guests and do not reflect the views of any institution.
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About Tiny Living Beings
Tiny Living Beings is a weekly podcast where listeners get to know a scientist, a weird microorganism they like, and why they think it's interesting. Our planet is full of billions of different microscopic organisms, most of which are still unknown to science. The ones we do know are diverse and strange. Microbiology knowledge is often gatekept by scientists who discuss this information in exclusive professional circles, but more of these topics need to be shared with the public! Although generally upbeat and fun, conversations often tangentially address frustrations with society or become existential, which, because of the time we are living through, is inherently connected to any discussion of topical scientific information. Content is geared toward all ages and backgrounds, anyone who is scientifically curious.
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