Ed Yong leads us through the microbiomes of Earth--a realm of surprising alliances between microbes and larger creatures, including ourselves. Until recently, microbes were considered the bad guys--but now it’s time to appreciate them.
EPISODE 1
How Termites Eat Wood
At Princeton University, environmental microbiologist Xinning Zhang talks to Ed Yong about the 150 million year old partnership between wood-chomping termites and the gut microbes that enable them to digest their meals. Ed also explores how the microbes in our own bodies help us digest the plants we eat.
EPISODE 2
Antibiotic Apocalypse
Ed Yong heeds the warning of scientists who study antibiotic resistance, as they work feverishly at the Kishony lab in Israel to understand how bacterium evolve and change. If we do not change the way we prescribe and take medication, Ed explains why the drugs we take for granted may soon be no match against deadly bacteria.
EPISODE 3
Gutless Wonders: The Secrets of Giant Sea Worms
Ed Yong marvels that giant tubeworms can survive in the unforgiving environment at the bottom of the ocean, a place that sunlight will never reach. It was through these mysterious creatures that biologist Colleen Cavanaugh of Harvard University made an astonishing discovery about the earliest form of life on earth.
EPISODE 4
Wolbachia: Death to Dengue
On the other side of the globe, an Australian science team shows Ed Yong how they are fighting the dreaded Dengue virus with a surprising, microscopic ally. Dr. Scott O’Neill reveals why volunteers all over the world intentionally release mosquitoes into their backyards to help stop the spread of this dangerous disease. No insect spray allowed here!
EPISODE 5
The Beewolf's Bacterial Birthday
Dr. Martin Kaltenpoth invites Ed to burrow into a beewolf lair in his German lab, where he has discovered something really weird about these insects. Ed observes the antibiotic properties of Streptomyces, a microbe that lives happily inside a mama Beewolf’s antenna until the moment arrives to share the bacterial gift with her developing and vulnerable offspring.
EPISODE 6
Body Builders
Ed Yong wants to learn how to become invisible. In nature, that can be a handy superpower if you are a favorite snack of several underwater predators. The Hawaiian bobtail squid has learned to master this trick. But it can’t do this alone. It has help from its microbes. Microscopic organisms inhabit the squid’s light organ, and they are the secret to the bobtail squid’s ability to turn invisible.
