The monarch is a common butterfly, found in the Americas that is considered a poster species of pollinating insects. The monarch butterfly is easily recognizable because of its bright black, orange, and white patterns. Monarch butterflies are a parasite to their caterpillars’ only food source, milkweed. This plant itself is toxic to thwart insects from consuming its plant body, this includes an attempt to be toxic to monarchs. This has resulted in an evolutionary arms race between the two species. 

You’ve probably released monarch butterflies at some point in your life, if you’re from the Americas, but what do you really know about this flagship species? 

How does this tiny insect migrate such great distances, something normally only seen in larger animals like birds? How did monarchs evolve to eat a toxic plant, and why do they still exclusively eat it? What, if any, are the benefits of releasing captive raised Monarchs into the wild? What needs to be done to ensure the survival of this species?

You probably think you know all about this common butterfly, but do you really? Listen now to learn about the most recognizable and well studied butterflies on the planet.

In this episode, Jennifer and Amber explore the history of the potatoes. Or as a hobbit would say, "Po-tay-toes! Boil 'em, mash 'em, stick 'em in a stew." However you like them, potatoes have changed the world. Jennifer insists potatoes are not roots or stems, but they’re tubers. Amber insists they are technically a specialized stem called a stolon. These tubers evolved to store food for potato plants when resources were scarce. The Native Americans living in what is now Peru quickly realized this benefit and began cultivating them. In the Western World, Potatoes were slow to catch on, due to the myth that they cause leprosy or that they were poisonous, and because they were thought of as “poor people” food. However, regardless of its rather interesting history, the potato has become the third most important food crop in the world.

The potato had a large effect on society; it yielded about three times the calories per acre of grain while also being  nutritious enough to almost support all your nutritional needs. It also grows in a wider variety of soils and climates, making it easy to grow almost anywhere.
Historically, potatoes were cheaper than bread, just as nutritious, and did not require a gristmill for grinding (which was important if money was tight). Because of this, potatoes sustained workers through the industrial revolution, and are still sustaining us in modern times. 

Potatoes have gotten a bad rap recently, but they are simple, nutritious, and taste good with a bit of butter. Listen now to learn about potato, the tuber native to the Americas. 

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Most widely known as the 'feel good chemical,' dopamine is a neurotransmitter in the pleasure area of the brain's reward system that plays a role in many important body functions, including movement, memory, and pleasurable reward and motivation. 

But do you really know what Dopamine really is, and what it actually does in your brain? Or how it works in other parts of your body, or even how other life forms use it?

Dopamine is made up of a benzene ring, which is one of the most important chemical structures that carbon based life forms need to exist. Dopamine is one of the oldest neurotransmitters (around 500 million years). Dopamine is found in a wide variety of both plants and animals, and it has a profound effect on the behaviors of all. 

Having the right amount of dopamine is important both for your body and your brain. High or low dopamine levels are associated with diseases including Parkinson's disease, restless legs syndrome and ADHD. Treating dopamine-related diseases can also cause issues. For example, treatments for Parkinson’s can cause schizophrenia-like symptoms, all because one tiny chemical in your brain is out of balance. 

The way your body makes and uses dopamine can actually be predicted based on your DNA, which makes some of us the losers when it comes to the dopamine gene lottery. However, more research is needed to determine how and why each individual use of dopamine is different.

Listen now to learn everything you’ve ever wanted to know about dopamine, your motivation to do anything. 

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Dragonflies are some of the fastest flying insects in the world. With 360-degree vision, they can eat hundreds of insects per day, including those pesky mosquitoes and other biting insects. Their adaptations for flying are unique among insects and so precise that humans can only dream of being able to someday make machines that fly as well as dragonflies.

Dragonflies are similar in structure to an ancient group of insects informally called Griffinflies, which contains some of the largest flying insects to ever live. These dragonfly-like insects had a wing span of 2.5 feet, or 30 inches. That’s bigger than a house cat. How did these bugs get so big, and why are they no longer around? That’s a question we’re still trying to answer. 

Dragonflies have some unique adaptations to ensure they mate with the correct species, including remarkable variations in the male sex organ, and even a secondary sex organ.  Males can be aggressive while mating, which has led to some females living in a totally different habitat than males. In some cases, females mimic males or pretend to be dead to avoid males. 

Listen now as we talk about dragonflies

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Goblin Sharks are a species of rare sharks found in the deepest oceans throughout the world. The goblin shark gets its name from its terrifying unhinged mouth that is full of razor sharp teeth. These sharks use a stealth attack to float through the ocean until close enough to swallow their prey. (Its low-density and large liver make it buoyant, allowing it to drift towards its prey with minimal motions to avoid detection). Which mean, what the goblin shark wants to eat, will not see it coming. 

The goblin shark has a distinctively long and flat snout and in the original drawing of the species, its mouth maximally extended, which inspired the name “goblin.” Goblin sharks are most likely preyed upon by blue sharks. These blue sharks also inhabit the deep waters in the world's temperate and tropical oceans. 

Little is known about goblin shark reproduction because we’ve never seen a pregnant female in the wild. The same is true for Goblin Sharks’ close relative the Frilled Shark which is a long, eel-like shark known as one of the most primitive fishes in the ocean. The Frilled Shark has a truly torment inducing mouth that we’d never like to see again. 

Humans sucks, so join us as we talk Goblin Sharks, living fossils to haunt your nightmares.

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Penguins are flightless aquatic birds that are almost exclusively found in the Southern Hemisphere. Penguins are evolved to catch fast-swimming prey and to live in cold temperatures. Their bodies have densely packed feathers, heavy muscles and huge fat supplies. Because of these adaptations penguins have lost their ability to fly, and while they might not look graceful on land, they are incredibly agile in the water. 

There was a penguin-like bird living in the Northern Hemisphere, the Great Auk, which went extinct due to human activities in the 1850s. 

Penguins for the most part breed in large colonies, but it’s not all happy feet. Penguin chicks often form crèche (groups of chicks), to protect themselves from predators and unrelated adult penguins. These crèche also provide warmth and provide a nursery for the babies. 

Penguins are often studied by scientists, and the Adelie penguins managed to disturb scientists so much so that a research paper on them was denied publishing in the early 1900’s. 

Listen now to learn about this flightless bird, the cute but sometimes terrifying penguin. 

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Regardless of what people may think or believe, the coral reefs are going extinct, and humans are to blame. Why should you care, besides the fact that coral reefs are living animals that deserve their chance to thrive? 

Because coral reefs are among the most diverse, complex and densely populated ecosystems and are often thought of as the rainforest of the ocean. Though they only take up 1% of the oceans, at least 25% of all ocean wildlife rely on the reefs at some point in their lives. Coral reefs provide food or income that approximately one billion people rely on Damage to the reefs causes us trillions of dollars in damages. 

So what can be done to save the coral reefs? The simplest solution is fighting global climate change. (Doesn’t matter if you believe in global climate change or not, your failure to listen or understand science will not stop it from occurring). Besides that obvious solution, scientists have come up with some unique ways to try and save this important ecosystem, like reef insurance or artificial cooling systems. 

Listen now to learn about the coral reefs, some of the most unique ecosystems on the planet. 

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It has been estimated that over humanities history more than 50 billion people have been killed by mosquitoes. That is approximately half of all humans that have lived on this tiny blue dot killed by mosquitoes. For this reason, mosquitoes have been called man’s greatest nemesis.

Mosquitoes are so dangerous to humans that some scientists have proposed eradicating them from this planet. Is that a good idea? Well, that’s up for debate. But what we do know is when we control the mosquito population less people are killed by their bites. 

What is a mosquito? Mosquitoes are a common, flying insect that lives in most parts of the world, except Iceland for reasons no one knows. Over 3,500 types of mosquitoes can be found worldwide. Mosquitoes have been vectors of a lot of nasty viruses, such as malaria and yellow fever, for thousands of years. But up to a little over a hundred years ago, we didn’t even know that mosquitoes caused these diseases. 

So, are mosquitos better than human? For this tiny animal, the answer is no, they are not better than human.  Well, maybe they are ...

Listen now to learn how this wee bug has changed the course of humankind. 

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