Just the Zoo of Us

Join Ellen & special guest, technobiologist and professor Jack Koch, for a review of the iconic crustacean known and loved by many names: the crawfish. We discuss sea hare ink, a genetically modified super-soldier kaiju battle, the taxonomic classifications of rocks, bugs and squishy bags, the perils of growing up under the tail of a cannibal mom, and so much more. 

Links:

Learn more about Jack's work at the Aquatic Germplasm and Genetic Resources Center

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Ellen lets the sand cat out of the bag. We discuss dangerously approaching Hey Arnold, refusal to poop on unfamiliar toilets, blood gushers, a myth of dirty underwear, Cat Premium, and so much more.

Works Cited:

“The Carnivores of West Africa” - Donovan Reginald Rosevear, 1974. Page 396

“Mammalian ear specializations in arid habitats: structural and functional evidence from sand cat (Felis margarita)” - G. T. Huang et al, Journal of Comparative Physiology A, June 2002

“Sand cat in Iran - present status, distribution and conservation challenges” - Taher Ghadirian et al., CATnews (newsletter of the IUCN’s Cat Specialist Group), 2016

"Sand Cat" - International Society of Endangered Cats (ISEC) Canada

“Home ranges of African sand cats (Felis margarita margarita)” - Alexander Sliwa et al., Journal of Arid Environments, March 2023

“Isabelline” - Paul Anthony Jones, HaggardHawks.com

IUCN Red List: Sand Cat (Felis margarita)

"DOMESTIC X SAND CAT AND PALLAS'S CAT HYBRIDS" - Sarah Hartwell, messybeast.com

Links:

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Curious about the exclusive bonus content for Maximum Fun members? Enjoy some free samples from special episodes: "All Fun and Games with Isaac," "Just the Two of Us," and Let's Learn Everything's "Frogs! II A Royal Rescue"

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Ellen & special guests, Ella Hubber and Tom Lum of Let’s Learn Everything, turn our gazes to the skies and talk animals in space. We discuss the fruit fly fan club, the great big farm on the moon, which earthlings were ACTUALLY the first to make the trip around the moon and back, a spider escape where you least want it, why dentistry researchers had a snake room, shooting tardigrades out of a gun, and so much more. This one is truly out of this world.

Works Cited & Further Reading:

"Bioastronautics Research" video

"This New Ocean: A History of Project Mercury" - Loyd S. Swenson, Jr., James M. Grimwood, Charles C. Alexander, NASA SP-4201

"Judith's Web - Student Experiment Aboard Skylab 3" - NASA.gov

“URODELEAN AMPHIBIANS IN STUDIES ON MICROGRAVITY: EFFECTS UPON ORGAN AND TISSUE REGENERATION” - E.N. Grigoryan et al., Adv. Space Res, 2002

"From Undersea to Outer Space: The STS-40 Jellyfish Experiment" - NASA STI Program

"For water bears, the glass is all full" - Tina Hesman Saey, Science News, December 2015

"Tardigrades survive exposure to space in low Earth orbit" - K. Ingemar Jonsson et al., Current Biology, September 2008

"What happened to those tardigrades sent to the Moon?" - Laurent Palka, The Conversation, February 2024

"Tardigrade Survival Limits in High-Speed Impacts—Implications for Panspermia and Collection of Samples from Plumes Emitted by Ice Worlds" - Alejandra Traspas & Mark J. Burchell, Astrobiology, July 2021

Links:

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Ellen jaws away about the great white shark. We discuss making our own planetary rings, performance-enhancing Speedos, how sharks sleep, the White Shark Café, IRL baby shark, and so much more.

Works Cited:

“Shark evolution: a 450 million year timeline” - Josh Davis, Natural History Museum

“SPEEDO FASTSKIN – A HISTORY OF THE WORLD’S FASTEST SWIMSUITS” - SwimSwam.com, November 2023

“White Shark Bite Kinematics — Preliminary Exploration of a New Aspect” - R. Aidan Martin, ReefQuest Centre for Shark Research

“An electrophysiological correlate of sleep in a shark” - John A. Lesku et al., Journal of Experimental Zoology Part A: Ecological Genetics and Physiology, July 2024

“For five days in 1980, a great white shark named Sandy lived in Golden Gate Park” - Peter Hartlaub, San Francisco Chronicle, June 2024

“The Great White Way” - Pete Thomas, Los Angeles Times, September 2006

“White Shark Café: The mysterious meeting spot for great whites in the middle of the Pacific Ocean” – Sascha Pare, LiveScience, September 2024

“First-ever sighting of a live newborn great white” - Jules Bernstein, UC Riverside, February 2024

“Shark Management Laws” - NOAA Fisheries

Links:

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