Plants And Pipettes

This week, we learn something new: have you heard about apomictic propagation? Well, now you have. We also bring the hottest news from the plant science world.

We have a lot of questions this week that even we don’t know the answer to. This is your time to shine

Hi! Would you like some cool plant facts? We have a fresh new paper about biofortified tomatoes that give you your daily dose of vitamin D, a new oldest tree and an explanation of why catnip likes to be a cat bed.

Would you swap your cat for a praying mantis? What about a nice house plant? This week, we are asking the big questions. Also news from plant science, a new biggest plant has been found and more potent cannabis from Israel.

This week, we’re talking about a cool gene regulatory mechanism that keeps ribosomes busy, the truth behind French lillies and which plants best not to pick.

It’s travel season here at Plants and Pipettes and so we thought we’d share some travel facts from the plant world! How do plants travel? Is collecting trees cool? How does humidity propel seeds forward? We have the answers.

This week, we’re talking about the worst favourite plant ever, keystone genes and how surfers can be scientists. Also: your dog’s breed doesn’t mean what you think it means.

Mysteriously we came back yet again for more plant facts. This week, we’re checking a plant’s pores, take about unextinct flowers and why some plants eat the very insects that pollinate them.

It’s our belated easter episode! We talk about the Queen of Vegetables, the mighty eggplant. We filled almost an hour with eggplant facts, factoids and words that merely resemble a fact from a distance.

We finally found a way to market non-dairy milk as milk without upsetting any consumer or dairy company: cowpea milk. Plus: we discuss plantibodies, micronutrients and, weirdly enough, ocelot pee.

We begin this week with a looooong discussion about the movie “Little Joe”. It’s fun (talking about the movie, not the movie itself. Don’t watch it). Also we have new research about epimutagenesis, grain-free ice cream and the benefits of weeds.

Kat Austen is an artist and researcher based in Berlin. Kat was so kind to talk to us about her work about microplastics in trees, her view on science and art and her upcoming projects. Welcome to Plants and Pipettes: Kat Austen!

Have you heard of fynbos? This week, we discuss how the fynbos ecosystem withstands turning into a forest, what problems arise from academic bullying and why you’d pump nectar out of a flower.

Joram is sick again but it won’t stop us from talking about plants. This time, it’s more plant adjacent: we’re talking about a weird new way some bacteria do photosynthesis. Also lots of clever animals and a tale of paleobotanical experiments.

In this episode, Joram learns about wuthering heights and Tegan learns why chickpeas are believed to giggle in Germany. Also there is talk about red nectar, flammable litter and really old trees.

This week, we’re talking about the link between the constructor of fountains, Neptune, and a small seagrass in the Mediterranean sea. Also more on X-ray microscopy and a discussion on who deserves to be on the author list (it’s Joram).

Hi! Heads up, there is a long spoiler for Don’t look up at the beginning. Did you know that we have chapters to quickly skip ahead? Now you do. Also, we talk about a very poisonous plant and how to move owls!

We all have goals this year. Joram’s goal is to befriend a crow, but only if Tegan doesn’t stab him with her fantastically hard claws first. Yes, this is a plant podcast, we promise.

We just read “Entangled Life” by Merlin Sheldrake and now we’re considering turning this little show into a fungal podcast. Before that happens, here is an episode of all things we love about fungi and plants together.

And we’re back from the winter/summer break/non-break. We are talking about a perfect tomato, smoke smelling trees and the science of listening to the environment.