Science Fare

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Online resources mentioned in this episode: 

Stacey’s flower petal image on the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Biointeractive site 

Stacey’s essay, With Bated Breath 

Stacey’s lab website

Scientific American article, “DNA Studies Uncover Unexpected Evolutionary Changes in Modern Humans”

Paúl Gonzáles social media on plants 

Our guest today Stacey Smith. Stacey is an associate professor in the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology department at the University of Colorado in Boulder. Her lab studies the evolution and genetics of flowers with a focus on the tomato family.

Recent work in her lab has focused on the evolution of flower color, as this trait has a relatively simple genetic basis and is ecologically important. Results of the lab’s studies suggest that flower color changes can involve a range of genetic mechanisms and may often be driven by competition for pollinators.

Highlights of the episode:

*Susan introduces the Science Fare podcast and opens with a quote from our guest who describes the surprising and unintuitive way flowers make the color red [0:01];

*Susan introduces guest Stacey Smith, a botanist at UC Boulder [1:31];         

*Stacey tells us about her path to becoming a scientist, including how when she went to college she asked, What major is for people who like wildflowers? [3:38];

*Listener question! From Megan, age 16, a senior in high school — How do plant pigments such as chlorophyll, Anthocyanins, and carotenoids work with the visible light spectrum and absorb certain wavelengths of light and then appear as a certain color? [6:27];

*Why is flower color simple genetically? [9:31];

*Why is flower color important ecologically? [12:00];

*What would a landscape of flower colors have looked like way back when flowers first came on the scene? [15:02];

*How do you start in the search for plant fossils? [16:53];

*Yes, we need more botanists to go outside and make new discoveries in plants — AI cannot do it alone! [19:56];

*Stacey’s lab’s work on convergent evolution [21:30];

*Interesting examples of convergent evolution in the development of red pigments in flowers and other examples [26:10];

*What does Stacey’s research process look like? [30:30];

*An especially beautiful image under the microscope of petals — the image looked like a carpet of pink cells with orange globs and it was a picture of the day at Howard Hughes Medical Institute [35:30];

*Another listener question! This is from Sam, age 16, in Lafayette, CO and he asks, What evolutionary pressures are responsible for the evolution of plant pigments? [36:40];

*What does Stacey like most about her job and what surprises her? [41:33];

*The importance of writing in being a successful scientist [42:52];

*What is like having so many undergraduate and high school students in Stacey’s lab? [45:47]

*Stacey’s essay “With Bated Breath” and the importance of basic science because you don’t know what incredible discoveries it can lead to [48:22];

*What path would a high school student interested in plants take? What advice do you have? [56:05];

*Stacey’s suggestions for online resources on plants [59:50]