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# Episode Title Description People Date
1 Animals - Chapter 7 Take a whistle-stop tour of the Animal Kingdom with Professor Lindsay Turnbull from the University of Oxford Lindsay Turnbull 01 Dec 2023
2 Evolution - Chapter 2 Learn the theory of evolution in a simpler, more intuitive way than ever before with Professor Lindsay Turnbull from the University of Oxford Lindsay Turnbull 01 Dec 2023
3 Information in Cells - Chapter 1 Learn how cells use the information in DNA and the key components that make up a cell, with Professor Lindsay Turnbull from the University of Oxford Lindsey Turnbull 01 Dec 2023
4 Sumali Bajaj Georgina Ferry interviews Sumali Bajaj, DPhil student (Department of Biology), 17 March 2023. Sumali Bajaj, Georgina Ferry 01 Aug 2023
5 Biodiversity on the rocks: joining the dots between animate and inanimate This podcast explores some of the countless relationships between biology, biodiversity, and geology, past and present. Elaine Charwat, Esteban Acevedo Trejos, Mark Carnall, Lita Manners 31 Aug 2022
6 Nils Chr. Stenseth And Barbara Bramanti On Evolutionary And Ecological Ends Of Epidemics A discussion on how evolutionary biology and biological anthropology help understand the end of epidemics, particularly plague. Nils Chr. Stenseth, Barbara Bramanti, Erica Charters 17 May 2022
7 Clark Larsen and Fabian Crespo on Biology, Archaeology, and Multi-disciplinary Ends A discussion on why multi-disciplinary approaches that combine social and biological research are helpful in understanding how epidemics end. Clark Larsen, Fabian Crespo, Erica Charters 17 May 2022
8 Height, weight and prostate cancer Aurora Perez-Cornago (University of Oxford) gave this presentation for the UBVO seminar series on 23 January 2020 Aurora Perez-Cornago 25 Feb 2021
9 The Worm that Turned The species with the biggest biomass in any garden is almost certainly the earthworm. These humble denizens of our soil provide essential services by turning over soil and promoting plant growth. Lindsay Turnbull, Peter Holland 08 Feb 2021
10 Creative Commons Seeing the Wood for the Trees (Part II) We take a walk around a local park to admire more winter trees and see why conifers win over broadleaved trees as we move further North, but even they have to drop their needles during the winter in the farthest reaches of the Boreal forest. Lindsay Turnbull 25 Jan 2021
11 Creative Commons Seeing the Wood for the Trees In winter the bones of the trees are laid bare, giving us a chance to see their skeletons. Join Lindsay as she takes a tour round Wytham Woods in Oxford, showing you how to identify our common native trees from their bark and the shape of their branches. Lindsay Turnbull 07 Jan 2021
12 What is life? For this year's James Martin Memorial Lecture, Sir Paul Nurse will consider some of the fundamental ideas of biology with the aim of identifying principles that define living organisms. Paul Nurse 05 Nov 2020
13 Creative Commons Why is the world green? Lindsay searches for the truth about our verdant green world and tackles a mystery about her rose-bushes: who ate all the greenfly? Lindsay Turnbull 24 May 2020
14 Creative Commons Deceived with ornament Plants attract pollinators through their colourful flowers but some plants aren't quite what they seem. Lindsay Turnbull 06 Apr 2020
15 Medicine and Physiology in the Age of Dynamics Medicine and Physiology in the Age of Dynamics: Newton Abraham Lecture 2020 Alan Garfinkel 02 Apr 2020
16 Creative Commons Sex and the single primrose In early spring, primroses and cowslips can be found in many gardens and parks. Their yellow flowers are certainly beautiful, but they also hold a secret: they come in two different types that can only mate with each other. Lindsay Turnbull 26 Mar 2020
17 Creative Commons Small intestinal neuroendocrine tumours - surgery and science in Cambridge Mr Simon Buczacki presents his clinical and scientific data on small intestinal neuroendocrine tumours. Simon Buczacki 16 Dec 2019
18 Creative Commons Nano comes to life: how nanotechnology is transforming medicine and the future of biology In this book talk, Professor Sonia Contera will talk about how Nanotechnology is transforming medicine and the future of biology. Sonia Contera 06 Dec 2019
19 At The Interface : Richard Mooney We discuss Auditory Neuroscience in particular during vocal learning Alexander von Klemperer, Samuel Picard, Richard Mooney 23 Jul 2019
20 Creative Commons Getting to the heart of cardiac disease: a multi-disciplinary effort to image the heart in 3D Discover how researchers are using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to acquire images that show how the heart works on both a whole organ and cellular level. With Dr Kerstin Timm and Dr Justin Lau. Kerstin Timm, Justin Lau 12 Jun 2019
21 At First Sight - Holly Bridge We discuss how the Brain processes vision. Alex von Klemperer, Samuel Picard, Paula Kaanders, Holly Bridge 08 Jun 2019
22 Sleeping with One Eye Open - Vladyslav Vyazovskiy We discuss the Science of Sleep Alex von Klemperer, Samuel Picard, Paula Kaanders, Vladyslav Vyasovskiy 08 Jun 2019
23 Intro : Cortex Just Keeps the Rest of the Brain Warm We talk through what listeners can expect from future episodes of CortexCast. Alex von Klemperer, Paula Kaanders, Samuel Picard 31 May 2019
24 Why the world is simple - Prof Ard Louis The coding theorem from algorithmic information theory (AIT) - which should be much more widely taught in Physics! - suggests that many processes in nature may be highly biased towards simple outputs. Ard Louis 15 Feb 2019
25 Topology in Biology - Prof Julia Yeomans FRS Active systems, from cells and bacteria to flocks of birds, harvest chemical energy which they use to move and to control the complex processes needed for life. Julia Yeomans 15 Feb 2019
26 The Dreaded Flu How do we protect ourselves from spiky invaders? Claire Hill 10 Feb 2019
27 Gut Feeling Are our gut microbes more in control of us than we think? Claire Hill 09 Dec 2018
28 Lecture 6: Bioinspired Colloidal Assembly: From Photonics to Encryption The sixth lecture in the Hinshelwood lecture series. Joanna Aizenberg 18 May 2017
29 Lecture 5: Everything SLIPS: A New Concept in Anti-biofouling Materials The fifth lecture in the Hinshelwood lecture series Joanna Aizenberg 18 May 2017
30 Lecture 4: Hydrophobicity, Superhydrophobicity, Omniphobicity and Slippery Surfaces The fourth lecture in the Hinshelwood lecture series Joanna Aizenberg 18 May 2017
31 Lecture 3: Actuated "spiny" Surfaces a la Echinoderms: En Route for Adaptive Materials The third lecture in the Hinshelwood lecture series. Joanna Aizenberg 18 May 2017
32 Lecture 2: Rationally Designed Complex 3D Microarchitectures The second lecture in the Hinshelwood lecture series Joanna Aizenberg 18 May 2017
33 Lecture 1: Bio-inspired approaches to crystal design The first lecture in the Hinshelwood lecture series. Joanna Aizenberg 18 May 2017
34 Musings from Cloud Cuckoo Land Dr Karen Park delivers a Creative Multilingualism and TORCH Bitesize talk as part of Linguamania Karen Park 21 Feb 2017
35 'Light' Part 3 - How does sunlight damage DNA? Once we've received our genetic make-up from our parents our genomes are stable, right? What causes mutations in our DNA as we live and grow, and how do our cells repair damage? Catherine Green 03 Aug 2016
36 'Land, Sea and Air' Part 3 - What happens when we fly Oxygen levels are slightly lower when you fly on commercial airlines, so what effects does this have on people? Can it cause any problems? Thomas Smith 17 Jun 2016
37 'Land, Sea and Air' Part 2 - The state of the oceans What's in the deep ocean? And how can we study these remote and extreme ecosystems? And how is climate change affecting ocean ecosystems? Alex Rogers 10 Jun 2016
38 Creative Commons From information to structure Dr Brian Marsden aims to make structural and chemical biology data accessible to non-experts, by providing computational resources including data management, sample tracking, in silico modelling support plus provision of public access to SGC data. Brian Marsden 02 Jun 2016
39 Creative Commons From information to structure Dr Brian Marsden aims to make structural and chemical biology data accessible to non-experts, by providing computational resources including data management, sample tracking, in silico modelling support plus provision of public access to SGC data. Brian Marsden 02 Jun 2016
40 'Learning' part 2 - Stimulating learning Can a little electrical stimulation help people learn quicker? And how would technology that does this be used? And why would you want to use this over medicines? Roi Cohen Kadosh 13 May 2016
41 Bioinformatics at the heart of biology and genomics medicine The Ninth annual Florence Nightingale Lecture, given by Professor Dame Janet Thornton, European Bioinformatics Institute, Cambridge. Held on Thursday 21st April 2016. Dame Janet Thornton 27 Apr 2016
42 'Relationships' part 2 - New fathers How do new fathers form relationships with their children? What is the unique role of a father? What do they contribute to the development of their children? What is male post-natal depression? Anna Machin 22 Apr 2016
43 What Makes You Tick? How do you know when it's time to wake up or go to sleep? More powerful than any alarm are your circadian rhythms. Christopher James-Harvey, Stuart Peirson, Russell Foster 12 Apr 2016
44 Shedding Light on the Situation Light is more than just light bulbs and sunshine! Researchers at the University of Oxford use different types of light to learn more about all sorts of interesting things. Jena Meinecke, Chris Rennick, Brianna Heazlewood, Clarence Yapp 12 Apr 2016
45 'Relationships' part 1 - People and plants: balancing conservation and commerce How can working with people to understand how they use their local plants be used to protect them when industry moves in? How do we find and conserve areas of high 'bioquality'? William Hawthorne 12 Apr 2016
46 Fine Tuning in Biology Ard Louis in conversation with George Ellis. Part three - Fine Tuning in Biology. George Ellis, Ard Louis 12 Apr 2016
47 'Fat knowledge', epigenetics and the enchantment of relational biology An Anthropology Departmental Seminar presented by Megan Warin (Adelaide) on the ways in which obesity is understood, embodied and enacted, 16 October 2015 Megan Warin 14 Mar 2016
48 'Killers' part 3 - Mental illness and violence Forensic psychiatry can help us understand the causes and best treatments for mentally disordered offenders inside and outside of the prison system Seena Fazel 23 Feb 2016
49 Creative Commons Carrots, spiders and red salt – a fascination with light capture in biology Using physics, chemistry and biology, the fascination with light capture in nature will be explained in a multi-coloured and animated well – prepare for six-eyed spiders, purple carrots and red salt. Anthony Watts 15 Dec 2015
50 'Clues' part 3 - Picking apart the genetics of speech and language disorders How do you start to pick apart speech at the genetic level? Dr Dianne Newbury explains what Specific Language Impairment is and how her research is unravelling a pretty complicated picture. Dianne Newbury 01 Dec 2015
51 Creative Commons The Heart and the Head, Part 5 Daniel Bulte, from the Department of Oncology, speaks about what happens when they discover an ‘incidental finding’. Daniel Bulte 16 Nov 2015
52 Creative Commons The Heart and the Head, Part 4 Portia Westall, from the Donnelly group at the WTCHG, speaks about how she thinks about music when working on DNA sequences. Portia Westall 16 Nov 2015
53 Creative Commons The Heart and the Head, Part 3 Erwan Atcheson, from the Jenner Institute, speaks about his time studying parasitic worms, and the worries that come with it. Erwan Atcheson 16 Nov 2015
54 Creative Commons The Heart and the Head, Part 2 Anna Fowler, from the Lunter group at the WTCHG, speaks about how the patterns around a close-call in the desert makes her think about her work. Anna Fowler 16 Nov 2015
55 Creative Commons The Heart and the Head, Part 1 Irina Pulyakhina, from the Julian Knight group at the WTCHG, speaks about her time helping a Masters student through an important presentation. Irina Pulyakhina 16 Nov 2015
56 'Clues' part 2 - Watching penguins How do you understand how large populations of penguins on Antarctica change? And how can you use this information to protect penguins? Tom Hart 16 Nov 2015
57 Creative Commons A Fascination with Vision: What nature can teach us Professor Anthony Watts, C W Maplethorpe Fellow in Biological Sciences delivers a very interesting lecture entitled 'A Fascination with Vision: What nature can teach us'. Anthony Watts 12 Nov 2015
58 Seeing the Invisible in Health and Disease How our ability to now see the invisible is central to research in biology – from infectious disease to cancer and Alzheimers. Keith Gull 11 Jun 2015
59 Suffering History: Phenomenology at the Intersection of Disease and Illness A presentation by Austin Argentieri. Austin Argentieri 10 Jun 2015
60 The Avian Genome Explosion The ASC Trinity Term Lecture delivered by Professor Tom Gilbert, exploring the analysis of bird genomes and evolution. Tom Gilbert 27 May 2015
61 'Artificial Intelligence' part 2 - How to create machines that learn Professor Nando de Freitas explains that understanding how our brains work has helped us create machines that learn, and how these learning machines can be put to completing different tasks. Nando de Freitas 19 May 2015
62 Give us a hand Oxford Sparks explore what chirality is. Jo Dunkley, Alain Goriely, Robert Llewellyn 18 May 2015
63 'Artificial Intelligence' part 1 - Using artificial intelligence to spot patterns Professor Stephen Roberts explains how machines, whose job it is simply to learn, can help researchers spot scientific needles in data haystacks, which will help us solve some grand challenges. Stephen Roberts 15 Apr 2015
64 Creative Commons The history of the obesity epidemic Thorkild Sørensen (University of Copenhagen) gives a talk for the UBVO seminar series on 27th November 2009 Thorkild Sørensen 01 Feb 2015
65 Creative Commons Behavioral biology and obesity Trent Smith (Washington State University) gives a talk for the UBVO seminar series on 27th Novmber 2009 Trent Smith 01 Feb 2015
66 Creative Commons Rodent Models of Obesity-Reductionist Approaches to Understanding the Basis of a Complex Human Trait Neil Docherty, University College Dublin, gives a talk for the Michaelmas Term UBVO Seminar Series. Neil Docherty 17 Dec 2014
67 Creative Commons Antidepressants, neurobiology and therapeutics Professor Phil Cowen discusses the neurobiological basis of antidepressants and future treatment mechanisms Phil Cowen 08 Dec 2014
68 Part 2: The history of structural biology Understanding the function of a protein is an important step in finding out why the body succumbs to disease – but how do scientists find these proteins and figure out how they work? Jonathan Webb 05 Nov 2014
69 Part 1: The Building Blocks of Life Our bodies are made up of trillions of cells but it doesn’t matter how closely you look, you still won’t see them. Jonathan Webb 28 Oct 2014
70 "Matters of Scale" - Complete Episode The issues of scale are investigated – from how properties change at very small scales, to the vastness of the Universe. Includes parts 1, 2 and 3. Pedro Ferreira, Alan Barr, Sylvia MacLain, Sonia Trigueros 09 Oct 2014
71 "Matters of Scale" Part 3 - Nanomedicine Dr Sonia Trigueros explains how she is using nanotechnologies to create targeted drug delivery systems. Chemotherapy is a particularly harmful treatment, with patients losing their hair and suffering from infections due to damage to their immune systems. Sonia Trigueros, Chris Lintott 08 Oct 2014
72 "Matters of Scale" Part 2 - Biology and the Problem with Scale Dr Sylvia MacLain talks about how water creates a problem when researching biology. Structures can be studied when they are in solid form, but approximately 60% of our bodies are made of water. Sylvia MacLain, Chris Lintott 08 Oct 2014
73 Microbes matter: metabolism and chronic disease in contemporary biomedicine Nadine Levin, Exeter University, gives a talk for the UBVO seminar series Nadine Levin 30 Jun 2014
74 Healthcare 2030: Oxford and the Value of Human Health Panel discussion looking at healthcare in the future as part of the inaugural Oxford Alumni Weekend in Asia held in in Hong Kong. Chas Bountra, Jonathan Flint, Nick Rawlins 23 Jun 2014
75 Creative Commons James D Murray, reflections of a life in academia, in conversation with Phillip Maini Jim Murray is one of the leading mathematical biologists of our times. James D Murray, Phillip Maini 02 Apr 2014
76 Why there are no three-headed monsters, resolving some problems with brain tumours, divorce prediction and how to save marriages - James D Murray Professor James D Murray, Professor Emeritus of Mathematical Biology, University of Oxford and Senior Scholar, Applied and Computational Mathematics, Princeton University, gives the annual Hooke Lecture. James D Murray 21 Mar 2014
77 Boxing Clever, or Just Boxed In?: Developing Metal Complexes for Biological Imaging Professor Stephen Faulkner, Tutorial Fellow at Keble College, delivers the Richardson Lecture, entitled "Boxing Clever, or Just Boxed In? Developing Metal Complexes for Biological Imaging“. Stephen Faulkner 28 Feb 2014
78 Conclusion: How Chemistry Research Impacts Human Health Wrapping up this series on human health, Dr Emily Flashman talks about her work studying the mechanisms by which our bodies respond to low levels of oxygen. Emily Flashman 19 Jul 2013
79 Lasers, Cell Membranes, and the Basis of Life Being a chemist doesn't have to mean giving up on biology and physics. Mark Wallace, Matt Baker 19 Jul 2013
80 Synthesizing Anti-Cancer Drugs from Nature Chemicals found in nature can have incredibly useful functionality, including anti-malarial and anti-cancer properties. However, they are usually found in small amounts. Chris Jones 19 Jul 2013
81 3D Printing and The Structure of Proteins Using 3D printed molecules, Rok Sekirnik, a DPhil student in the emerging field of chemical biology, shows how protein structures can be determined in some of the Department's most distinctive looking labs. Rok Sekirnik 19 Jul 2013
82 Epigenetics and New Anti-Cancer Treatments At the interface of chemistry, biology, and medicine, Cyrille Thinnes, a DPhil student in the Schofield Group, shares his research into the next generation of anti-cancer treatments. Cyrille Thinnes 19 Jul 2013
83 Introduction: How Chemistry Research Impacts Human Health To truly understand disease, we need to understand the underlying chemical processes that direct human biology. Dr Emily Flashman introduces some of the research in the Department of Chemistry that will help improve our health in future. Emily Flashman 19 Jul 2013
84 Organisms Reading and Reference list Reading and Reference list for Organisms lecture series. Tim Walker 09 May 2013
85 Creative Commons Organisms Lecture 4: The Global Strategy for Plant Conservation 2020 Fourth and final lecture in Professor Tim Walker's Organisms series in which he looks at how we can conserve the world's vital plants on a global scale. Tim Walker 07 May 2013
86 Creative Commons Organisms Lecture 3: What have Plants done for us? Third lecture in Professor Tim Walker's Organisms lecture series in which he looks at what plants have contributed to human existence. Tim Walker 07 May 2013
87 Creative Commons Organisms Lecture 2: Biological Pollination Second lecture in Professor Tim Walker's Organisms lecture series in which he looks at biological pollination - how bees and other insects pollinate plants. Tim Walker 07 May 2013
88 Creative Commons Organisms Lecture 1: Its all about seeds First lecture in Professor Tim Walker's Organisms lecture series in which he looks at seeds and their imporance to organisms. Tim Walker 07 May 2013
89 Creative Commons Phytoplankton: the Ocean's Microscopic Flora The President of St John's College, Professor Maggie Snowling, in conversation with Dr Heather Bowman, a Fellow in Biological Sciences at St John's. They discuss Heather's research work as a biological oceanographer. Heather Bouman, Maggie Snowling 22 Apr 2013
90 Creative Commons Body Clocks, Sleep and Light Russell Foster explains the role of light in regulating our bodies and discusses the implications of today's almost constant exposure to light. Russell Foster 08 Apr 2013
91 Creative Commons Biology, Chemistry and Biochemistry at Oxford: a guide for prospective undergraduate students This light-hearted talk gives you the chance to hear three admissions tutors discuss what you can expect from their courses, and what the tutors are looking for when they select students. Martin Speight, Mark Wormald, Nick Green 04 Mar 2013
92 Plants and People: Cotton, Sugar and Quinine A lecture given by Timothy Walker to biology undergraduates as part of the Plants and People Course in which the close relationship between these three plants and human history are examined. Timothy Walker 26 Feb 2013
93 Plant conservation 4: there is no technical obstacle to the conservation of every plant species. The fourth in a series of four lectures on the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC) given to third year biology undergraduates. This lecture looks at how, despite recent advances, there are still gaps in our knowledge about plant conservation. Timothy Walker 20 Feb 2013
94 Plant Conservation 3: repairing the damage The third in a series of four lectures on the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC) given to third year biology undergraduates. This lecture looks at how we can restore plant communities to biological health. Timothy Walker 20 Feb 2013
95 Plant Conservation 2: protecting plant species The second in a series of four lectures on the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC) given to third year biology undergraduates. This lecture looks at how threatened species can be protected. Timothy Walker 20 Feb 2013
96 Plant Conservation 1: conservation conventions, strategies and policies First in a series of four lectures on the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC) given to third year biology undergraduates. This lecture looks at the events leading to the creation of the GSPC. Timothy Walker 20 Feb 2013
97 Creative Commons Manipulating plant genes - how do you actually do it? We often hear in the news about GM (Genetic Modification or Manipulation) but what does it actually involve? Liam Dolan 10 Jan 2012
98 Creative Commons Plants in a chemical world Plants are able to metabolise a surprisingly diverse range of synthetic chemicals including pesticides and pollutants. Rob Edwards 09 Jan 2012
99 Creative Commons Selling Organs Everyday people die in hospitals because there aren't enough organs available for transplant. In most countries of the world - though not all - it is illegal to sell organs. Tim Lewens 01 Nov 2011
100 Creative Commons New Cells for Old Members: The Science of Stem Cells Dr Francis Szele gives a talk for the Oxford Alumni Weekend on Stem Cell science and looks at how they could be used in repairing brain disease and injuries. Francis Szele 11 Oct 2011