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  • Photosynthesis Board Game – Blue Orange Games

    Photosynthesis Board Game – Blue Orange Games

    November 17, 2018 at 11:56 am / Ecological Documentaries, Natural history

    Photosynthesis is a fundamental concept in life sciences. It is one of the prerequisites for making sense of our Earth. If the World citizens do not understand how plants grow, then it becomes almost impossible to convey the urgent message that accumulation of carbondiokside in the air leads to global warming and climate change. If the primers are not given in an understandable way almost everything can become esoteric. But, do not despair! The board game Photosynthesis provides such primers […]

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  • Pygmy Seahorses as Masters of Camouflage – Deep Look – PBS/KQED (2015)

    Pygmy Seahorses as Masters of Camouflage – Deep Look – PBS/KQED (2015)

    November 13, 2018 at 7:51 pm / Evolution, Molecular Nature, Natural history, Video

    Environmental cues can have profound effects on the developmental trajectory of juveniles. When predatory dragonfly nymphs are present, tadpoles develop bigger tails with fast twitch muscles. Similarly the crustacean water fleas (Daphnia) develop helmet structures preventing fish to swallow them easily. Epigenetics is a relatively new branch of genetics but we have learned quite a lot in a few decades. The molecular mechanism of what evolutionary biologists described as phenotypic plasticity – biological ability to generate multiple phenotypes from a […]

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  • Sinister Cannibals or Nurturing Fathers?

    Sinister Cannibals or Nurturing Fathers?

    November 11, 2018 at 9:16 pm / Evolution, Natural history, Video

    In majority of sexually reproducing species females are the choosy ones. Generally, females invest more in offspring during pregnancy and post-natal care. Males try many tricks (fighting with other males, making elaborate dances, providing nuptial gifts, carrying showy and difficult to maintain body ornaments etc.) to prevent being filtered out in female preferences. Parental investment is a determinant in choosiness. In this post we will take a look at a spectrum of male behavior in parental care. Pipefishes and mudskippers […]

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  • Let Them Eat Flies! KQED/QUEST (2014)

    Let Them Eat Flies! KQED/QUEST (2014)

    November 3, 2018 at 10:15 am / Ecological Documentaries, PBS Nature, Video

    Insects are a hugely successful group of organisms. Their evolution transformed life on land immensely especially influencing flowering plant evolution. Insects also play a large role as food sources. Here in this KQED documentary we see how a fly farm in Ohio rears a common insect, the black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) to be used as food for fish farms. Some City farms have successfully been growing fish beneath the plants which helps recycling of nutrients reducing fertilizer use. Aquaponics […]

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  • What Gall! The Crazy Cribs of Parasitic Wasps – Deep Look – PBS/KQED (2015)

    What Gall! The Crazy Cribs of Parasitic Wasps – Deep Look – PBS/KQED (2015)

    November 2, 2018 at 11:45 am / Evolution, Natural history, PBS Nature, Video

    Another fascinating episode from a series produced by PBS/KQED: Deep Look… Gall formations are indeed one of the most interesting examples of plant-animal interactions. Gall-inducing wasps are plant parasites. The larvae hijack the chemical signaling pathways by secreting two plant hormones auxin and cytokinin which induce abnormal cell divisions leading to gall formation. In certain instances anthocyanin production pathways become upregulated and this gives most of the gall tissues their characteristic red color. Larvae also induce sugary secretions and literally […]

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