Today, Dr. Alex Bisson, Assistant Professor of Biology at Brandeis University, joins the #QualityQuorum to discuss how he and his collaborators use a variety of tools to study the mechanobiology of archaea (such as how some respond to being “squished”), and how those studies can shed light on the evolution of complex eukaryotes like humans.
Today is an unusual episode of the podcast. I am visiting four microbiologists in the Thermal Biology Institute at Montana State University of Bozeman, Montana. They discuss their work exploring the unusual microbes and environments to be found in Yellowstone National Park, ranging from the history of the park to opportunities for undergraduate students, as well as up-to-the-minute research done on the microbial denizens of this microbiological landmark.
Today, Dr. Roland Hatzenpichler of Montana State University joins the #QualityQuorum to discuss the central importance of archaea to our knowledge of the microbial world, ranging from history of their study, misconceptions about archaea, the microbiological bounty of Yellowstone National Park, and how ancient archaea may be the Asgard like ancestors of us all.
Today, Dr. Geo Santiago-Martinez, Assistant Professor of Molecular and Cell Biology and Microbiology at the University of Connecticut joins the #QualityQuorum to discuss the mysteries of the archaeal world, and how one group of these organisms produce methane gas as a byproduct of metabolism. These methanogens are thus involved in climate, symbioses, biotechnology, and even astrobiology!
Today Dr. Ken Stedman, Professor of Biology at Portland State University, tells us about the strange and wonderful viruses of heat loving extremophilic archaea—truly viruses from Hell!
