Skin color is something that has baffled scientists for centuries. As we look around ourselves, we find tremendous amounts of variation in skin color, from black to brown to white. There is an entire spectrum of skin color to be found. Why does this variation exist? In this episode, we dive into the evolutionary origins of skin color. We will begin our discussion by exploring melanin and why it is important to humans. We will then move onto a discussion of how and why we are able to observe such a wide variety of skin tones. Finally, we will end the episode with a conversation on the importance of understanding skin color and how this knowledge can be applied to medicine.

From wound healing to cell growth to bone formation, fibroblast growth factors (FGF) and fibroblast growth factor receptors (FGFR) are responsible for a diverse range of biological processes. This episode begins with the basics: the functions of FGFs and FGFRs. We will then move on to an indepth dive into the structure of FGFRs and how they work with FGFs to initiate the desired cellular response. Finally, we will end the episode by exploring the three main pathways used by FGFs and their corresponding receptors.

FGFR Model: https://images.app.goo.gl/FaZjvuh5H1QnTgfa8

Cancer is a disease that has a chokehold on today’s society. With approximately 2 million new cancer diagnoses in the US every year paired with 10 million cancer-caused deaths worldwide, scientists have been struggling for centuries to find a cure. In today’s episode, we discuss the two main classes of genes that lead to cancer: proto-oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes. We will dive into the functions of these genes along with how and why they induce cancer.

When we think about the air surrounding us, we often relate this gaseous mixture to oxygen, the giver of life. However, there is another vital element in the air that we too often disregard: nitrogen. The Earth’s biosphere would be nothing without nitrogen. Life as we know it today would not exist if it were not for this element. This episode will discuss the five different processes that convert nitrogen-containing compounds from one form to another: nitrogen fixation, nitrification, anammox, denitrification, and ammonification. We will then proceed to talk about why we even have this episode about nitrogen. Why is it important? Why is it necessary for life? Finally, we will close out the episode with a discussion on how we as humans have artificially inserted ourselves into the nitrogen cycle and the detriments this has led to for the environment.

In society, we have many different people with different roles and ecological communities are no different. All organisms are interconnected through a complex web of interactions and a way we can describe the composition of species in a certain geographic location is to look at community structure. Today we will be exploring community structures, species diversity, species richness, species evenness, keystone species, and foundational species.

As humans, we walk, talk, run, and do an endless list of tasks a day, all of which require energy. Where is all of this power generated from? In this podcast, we will be discussing the structure of a mitochondrion, the function of a mitochondrion, and how cellular respiration takes place within the mitochondrion. 

13.8 billion years ago, our universe exploded into existence. But from that point on, how did life form? Today, we are going to be talking about the origins of life on Earth and hypotheses about how life came to inhabit this planet. 

The Earth formed around 4.5 billion years ago. Over the past billions of years, evolution has greatly changed life as we see it today. If we transport ourselves back in time and look at cells, we will notice that they are extremely simple. But, in the present day, we notice that cells have become much more complicated beings with very complex processes that require many entities in order to function. The process of how this occurred is known as the endosymbiotic theory. This podcast will discuss what the endosymbiotic theory is and the evidence that supports it.