Advertise on podcast: Ask Dr. Universe

Send us Fan Mail Cosmo and I learn that a goldfish's circadian rhythm is tuned by light—and by feeding schedule, thanks to our friend Dr. Nora Hickey Find out more about the circadian rhythmRead up on the one-eyed worm ancestor that gave you your pineal glandWant to see what the see-through pineal window in a fish's skull looks like—when scientists make it glow? Here's a paper about it (go to figure 1)Check out how zebrafish help researchers unravel hearingAnd discover the (intense) salmon life cycleSound effects courtesy Pixabay  As always, submit burning questions at askdruniverse.wsu.edu.  Who knows where your questions will take us next.

Send us Fan Mail Cosmo and I learn about butterfly taste receptors with WSU's Rich Zack. Watch how entomologists rear caterpilllars with Cornell UniversitySee some clearwing butterflies in 4K from Deep LookFind out how to help butterflies As always, submit burning questions at askdruniverse.wsu.edu.  Who knows where your questions will take us next.

Send us Fan Mail Cosmo and I find out why bears never became pets, with expert input from Alaska wildlife biologist Sean Farley. Check out the WSU Bear CenterLearn more about canine genes with the SmithsonianFind out about early human hunter-gatherers with Nat GeoThe American Museum of Natural History shows off its cave bearRead about bears' cool reproductive strategies See a baby bear with a Pennsylvania Game Commission biologistSound effects courtesy Zapsplat and Pixabay  As always, submit burning questions at askdruniverse.wsu.edu.  Who knows where your questions will take us next.

Send us Fan Mail Gracias a mis amigos, Dr. Ornitorrinco y Dra. Nora Hickey, una veterinaria de peces en la Universidad Estatal de Washington, por ayudarme con la pregunta de hoy. Si quieres escuchar en Ingles: What happens if you get eaten by a shark? Y como siempre, si tienes alguna pregunta de ciencia para mí, puedes mandarla a askdruniverse.wsu.edu. ¡Quién sabe a dónde nos llevarán sus próximas preguntas! Este podcast producido en colaboración con @bichologo.bugologist @kikokomiks Effectos sonoros por Pixabay  As always, submit burning questions at askdruniverse.wsu.edu.  Who knows where your questions will take us next.

Send us Fan Mail Cosmo and I learned about cat evolution, thanks to Haden Kingrey, anthropology graduate student at Washington State University. Read the Ask Dr. Universe column about this (and see a cute pic of my roommate)Learn about natural selection with the Amoeba SistersCheck out saber-toothed cats with the National Park ServiceSee an African wild cat in action with AnimalogicSee the Smithsonian's exhibit for the first known domesticated cat As always, submit burning questions at askdruniverse.wsu.edu.  Who knows where your questions will take us next.

Send us Fan Mail I learned all about black holes from WSU observational astrophysicist Vivienne Baldassare.  Check out Dr. Baldassare's favorite black holeLearn more about galaxies, black holes, and exoplanets from NASAPeep the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in ChileExplore the NASA exoplanet databaseDig into NASA's search for life outside our universe As always, submit burning questions at askdruniverse.wsu.edu.  Who knows where your questions will take us next.

Send us Fan Mail Cosmo and I investigated belly buttons—thanks to WSU nursing professor Cindy Brigham-Althoff. Learn more about the placenta with Operation Ouch and Scientific AmericanCheck out all the belly buttons with Nat GeoFind out about placental mammalsSee what's living inside your navel with Nat GeoSound effects courtesy Pixabay  As always, submit burning questions at askdruniverse.wsu.edu.  Who knows where your questions will take us next.

Send us Fan Mail Join me and some new friends as we shrink down and travel through a cell, checking out organelles along the way. It's a cell biology adventure! This episode was written and performed by the 6th graders in Kelsey Starke's classes at Vancouver iTech Preparatory. Thanks to WSU's John Hinz for the expert factcheck. Can't get enough cell bio? Check out the National Geographic cell biology collectionEnjoy PBS Learning videos about life sciencesTake a another trip through a cell with Amoeba SistersPeep the National Science Foundation kids' video about cells As always, submit burning questions at askdruniverse.wsu.edu.  Who knows where your questions will take us next.

Send us Fan Mail WSU apple breeder, Kate Evans, told me all about out how apples work and what it's like to be a scientist who makes new apples—like the Cosmic Crisp®. See Kate Evans' pollen vial hereLearn more about the Cosmic Crisp® appleSee all these different kinds of apples—and these Washington applesEnjoy these pollinator activitiesUse the Xerces Society pollinator plant lists to find what to plant near youCheck out the apple question Kate Evans helped me answer As always, submit burning questions at askdruniverse.wsu.edu.  Who knows where your questions will take us next.

Send us Fan Mail Cosmo and I learned all about cat anatomy and how feline friends like us climb so well. Thanks to WSU vet med's Steve Lampa for the expert info. Learn more about joints with NemoursFind out about connective tissue with Brittanica KidsCheck out Vox's explainer on the righting reflexSound effects courtesy Pixabay and Zapsplat  As always, submit burning questions at askdruniverse.wsu.edu.  Who knows where your questions will take us next.

Send us Fan Mail Today Cosmo and I learned all about fingerprints—and how they give primates dexterity and grip.  Learn more about primates from PBSFind out how gecko feet work with ACSCheck out your fingerprints with SciShow Kids—or investigate them with PBSSound effects courtesy Pixabay  As always, submit burning questions at askdruniverse.wsu.edu.  Who knows where your questions will take us next.

Send us Fan Mail Cosmo and I found out why our tallest animal friends have long, dark tongues—and what melanin does for humans, too. Thanks to Cynthia Cooper, who studies animal pigments at WSU Vancouver. Find out more about how DNA works with Amoeba SistersRead my answer about how sunscreen worksInvestigate human skin color with PBSCheck out prehensile tongues with Cleveland ZooLearn about Cynthia Cooper's zebrafish labSound effects courtesy Pixabay  As always, submit burning questions at askdruniverse.wsu.edu.  Who knows where your questions will take us next.

Send us Fan Mail Cosmo and I learn about all kinds of life cycles: holometabolous (big change), hemimetabolous (small change), and ametabolous (no change).  Check out how a caterpillar makes the big change with Deep LookAnd then watch some aphidsPeep inside a cocoon with Insider ScienceLearn more about the history of insect wings, thanks to PBS EonsSound effects: Pixabay  As always, submit burning questions at askdruniverse.wsu.edu.  Who knows where your questions will take us next.

Send us Fan Mail Today I'm talking with Julie Ménard, a planetary scientist at Washington State University. She told me about the terrestrial planets in our solar system, how we're about to visit Mars—and could even set up a station there someday, and the possibility of life in our solar system and beyond. See what NASA says about sending humans to marsLearn more about NASA's Gateway, the first space station around the moonCheck out the planets in our solar systemFind out how we're searching for life on other planets As always, submit burning questions at askdruniverse.wsu.edu.  Who knows where your questions will take us next.

Send us Fan Mail Cosmo and I learn about shots—and new technology our friend WSU's Roland Chen is working on to make painless vaccines. Learn more about microarray patches Find out how vaccines work with the Amoeba Sisters and why we get vaccines with SciShow KidsCheck out how other vaccine technology gets rolled out, from Ted-Ed  As always, submit burning questions at askdruniverse.wsu.edu.  Who knows where your questions will take us next.