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Cosmo and I find out why bears never became pets, with expert input from Alaska wildlife biologist Sean Farley.

• Check out the WSU Bear Center
• Learn more about canine genes with the Smithsonian
• Find out about early human hunter-gatherers with Nat Geo
• The American Museum of Natural History shows off its cave bear
• Read about bears' cool reproductive strategies 
• See a baby bear with a Pennsylvania Game Commission biologist

Sound effects courtesy Zapsplat and Pixabay

 As always, submit burning questions at askdruniverse.wsu.edu.  Who knows where your questions will take us next.

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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.

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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 Sisters
• Check out saber-toothed cats with the National Park Service
• See an African wild cat in action with Animalogic
• See 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.

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I learned all about black holes from WSU observational astrophysicist Vivienne Baldassare. 

• Check out Dr. Baldassare's favorite black hole
• Learn more about galaxies, black holes, and exoplanets from NASA
• Peep the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile
• Explore the NASA exoplanet database
• Dig 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.

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Cosmo and I investigated belly buttons—thanks to WSU nursing professor Cindy Brigham-Althoff.

• Learn more about the placenta with Operation Ouch and Scientific American
• Check out all the belly buttons with Nat Geo
• Find out about placental mammals
• See what's living inside your navel with Nat Geo

Sound effects courtesy Pixabay

 As always, submit burning questions at askdruniverse.wsu.edu.  Who knows where your questions will take us next.

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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 collection
• Enjoy PBS Learning videos about life sciences
• Take a another trip through a cell with Amoeba Sisters
• Peep 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.

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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 here
• Learn more about the Cosmic Crisp® apple
• See all these different kinds of apples—and these Washington apples
• Enjoy these pollinator activities
• Use the Xerces Society pollinator plant lists to find what to plant near you
• Check 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.

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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 Nemours
• Find out about connective tissue with Brittanica Kids
• Check out Vox's explainer on the righting reflex

Sound effects courtesy Pixabay and Zapsplat

 As always, submit burning questions at askdruniverse.wsu.edu.  Who knows where your questions will take us next.

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Today Cosmo and I learned all about fingerprints—and how they give primates dexterity and grip. 

• Learn more about primates from PBS
• Find out how gecko feet work with ACS
• Check out your fingerprints with SciShow Kids—or investigate them with PBS

Sound effects courtesy Pixabay

 As always, submit burning questions at askdruniverse.wsu.edu.  Who knows where your questions will take us next.

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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 Sisters
• Read my answer about how sunscreen works
• Investigate human skin color with PBS
• Check out prehensile tongues with Cleveland Zoo
• Learn about Cynthia Cooper's zebrafish lab

Sound effects courtesy Pixabay

 As always, submit burning questions at askdruniverse.wsu.edu.  Who knows where your questions will take us next.

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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 Look
• And then watch some aphids
• Peep inside a cocoon with Insider Science
• Learn more about the history of insect wings, thanks to PBS Eons

Sound effects: Pixabay

 As always, submit burning questions at askdruniverse.wsu.edu.  Who knows where your questions will take us next.

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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 mars
• Learn more about NASA's Gateway, the first space station around the moon
• Check out the planets in our solar system
• Find 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.

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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 Kids
• Check 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.

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Today Cosmo and I learned all about dog paws from our friend, WSU veterinarian Dr. Natasha Hottmann. 

• Learn more about being a veterinarian with Nat Geo Kids
• Find out how to check your dog's paws
• Can dogs communicate? Find out what PBS NewsHour thinks

Sound effects courtesy Zapsplat and Pixabay

 As always, submit burning questions at askdruniverse.wsu.edu.  Who knows where your questions will take us next.

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Cosmo and I learn how cell phones send texts, images and calls from phone to phone—thanks to our friend, electrical engineer Ben Belzer. 

Resources you can use:

• Learn more about binary code with Crash Course
• Check out this binary code character table to make your own messages
• Get more info about pixels from NSU Florida library

Sound effects courtesy Zapsplat and Pixabay

 As always, submit burning questions at askdruniverse.wsu.edu.  Who knows where your questions will take us next.

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Love veggies? Me, too. And so does my friend Tim Waters, regional vegetable specialist at WSU Extension.

In this episode, you'll hear:

• What Extension is
• What it was like for Extension agents back in 1918
• How he solves problems—from insect ID to veggie pathogens to lightning strikes in fields
• One cool journey from community college all the way to a PhD

Resources you can use:

• Check out WSU Extension yourself (or look up Extension near you)
• Learn more about WSU research farms
• Find out how to a start a veggie garden yourself
• See some Prionid beetles and giant water bugs
• Even more giant water bugs! You won't believe how these guys breathe underwater and care for their eggs in this PBS Deep Look video

 As always, submit burning questions at askdruniverse.wsu.edu.  Who knows where your questions will take us next.

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Today Cosmo and I learn about turtles and how they grow their amazing shells —all thanks to my friend, Ryan Wagner, wildlife biologist at Washington State University (and former turtle pedicurist). 

Art and science go hand and hand. Check out Ryan Wagner's website to see his incredible photos 📸🐢

 As always, submit burning questions at askdruniverse.wsu.edu.  Who knows where your questions will take us next.

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Dooooo-doo, Dooooo-doo. 🦈 Today Cosmo and I learn about sharks and their rad digestive systems—all thanks to my friend, Dr. Nora Hickey, fish veterinarian at Washington State University. 

Want to learn more about fish? Check out Dr. Hickey's Fishkeep & Chill website 🦈

 As always, submit burning questions at askdruniverse.wsu.edu.  Who knows where your questions will take us next.

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In this episode, I learn all about wildlife biology from my friend, Ryan Wagner. He told me about clipping turtle toenails and bathing froglets—all for science. And he recounted his recent adventure backpacking frogs into a national forest to return them to their former home. If you love amphibians and reptiles or conservation biology, this one's for you.

Hear about:

• stressed out turtles and their toenails
• chytrid fungus and frogs
• scientists helping Cascade frogs survive climate change
• how art makes science even better

Resources you can use:

• Want to see Ryan Wagner's wildlife photos or read his stories about science? Check out his portfolio
• Learn more about Cascades frogs in the PNW and why climate change is bad for them
• Get your amphibian fix with Nat Geo

 As always, submit burning questions at askdruniverse.wsu.edu.  Who knows where your questions will take us next.

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Cosmo and I learn about microbes, thanks to Eric Lofrgren, an infectious disease expert at WSU.

Resources you can use:

• hear what microbes are
• where they live in the environment
• how some skin bacteria help us out
• what biofilms are
• ...and check out this bellybutton bacteria scientists study

Oh, and wash your paws! =^..^=

 As always, submit burning questions at askdruniverse.wsu.edu.  Who knows where your questions will take us next.

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In this episode, I learn all about what it means to be a pharmacist with my friend, Damianne Brand-Eubanks. She's a pharmacist and professor at Washington State University.

Hear about:

• different kinds of pharmacists
• rad new ways to receive medications or shots (like patches that feel like a cat's tongue and jet injectors like you see on Star Trek)
• why reading and writing are amazing for pharmacists, scientists and everybody

Resources you can use:

• Check out this CrashCourse about how scientists make new medicines—called drug discovery
• Find out what it's like to be a community pharmacist, a hospital pharmacist, a manufacturing pharmacist, a medical affairs pharmacist intern, or an informatics pharmacist
• Get some advice about medicine from a dog (who's probably cool even though he's not a cat)

 As always, submit burning questions at askdruniverse.wsu.edu.  Who knows where your questions will take us next.

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What happens if you need your third molars removed? Cosmo and I find out, after talking to our friend David Carsten. He's a dentist anesthesiologist who studied at Washington State University and now teaches at Oregon Health and Science University.

Find out the real tooth here.

Resources you can use:

• Find out what it's like to be a dentist, a dental hygienist or a dental assistant, thanks to Teeth Talk Girl
• Learn more about early humans' big jaws with Ted-Ed
• Get the official word on wisdom teeth from the American Dental Association

Sound effects courtesy Zapsplat and Pixabay

 As always, submit burning questions at askdruniverse.wsu.edu.  Who knows where your questions will take us next.

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Can Cosmo and I help a cool kid like you face their fear of bugs? Join us—and our friend Paul Strand, psychologist at Washington State University—as we dig into why things freak us out and how to beat-le those fears.

Resources you can use:

• See some beautiful bugs and relatives with All Bugs Go to Kevin
• Learn about parts of the brain like the prefrontal cortex
• Feeling anxious about something? Let's make a plan
• Try a relaxation trick like this color sorting app

Sound effects courtesy Zapsplat and Pixabay

 As always, submit burning questions at askdruniverse.wsu.edu.  Who knows where your questions will take us next.

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Today I'm talking with Von Walden, an atmospheric scientist at Washington State University.

• Hear about Earth's bubble of gases AKA the atmosphere
• Learn why clouds can be weird in the polar regions
• Find out what an expert thinks about climate change—and how optimistic he is about the future

Resources You Can Use

• Check out AMNH's climate change resources
• Watch these polar bear cams
• Learn more about the polar regions
• Find out more about clouds and make a cloud in a jar

 As always, submit burning questions at askdruniverse.wsu.edu.  Who knows where your questions will take us next.

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What up with the small intestine and the large intestine? Join Cosmo and me—and our friend Franck Carbonero, microbiologist at Washington State University—to break down how we break down food.

You'll hear:

• how the intestines differ in size and function
• all about your gut bacteria
• the journey food takes through your digestive tract

Resources you can use:

• American Museum of Natural History's microbiology resources
• Frontiers for Young Minds' explainer on fermentation
• National Geographic Kids' info on the human digestive system

Sound effects courtesy Zapsplat

 As always, submit burning questions at askdruniverse.wsu.edu.  Who knows where your questions will take us next.

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Purr-haps you'd like a new way to get your claws on science questions sent in by kids like you. That's litter-ally my favorite thing.

Today Cosmo and I tackle a question from William, 7, from the United Kingdom: Why is snot green?

You'll hear:

• What mucus is
• What protein makes mucus green sometimes
• How immune cells trap irritants and stuff that can make you sick

Resources you can use:

• Check out Operation Ouch's Science of Snot
• Learn about the nursing career

 As always, submit burning questions at askdruniverse.wsu.edu.  Who knows where your questions will take us next.

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Purr-haps you'd like a new way to get your claws on science questions sent in by kids like you. That's litter-ally my favorite thing.

Today Cosmo and I tackle a question from Hillary's 1st graders in Washington: What makes snow sparkle?

You'll hear:

• How snowflakes are hexagonal ice crystals
• About white light and rainbow colors
• What reflection and refraction mean

Resources you can use:

• Check out Von Walden's research near the North Pole and South Pole
• Learn about atmospheric science

 As always, submit burning questions at askdruniverse.wsu.edu.  Who knows where your questions will take us next.

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Welcome back, young scientists. I’m Dr. Universe.  If you’re anything like me, you’ve got lots of big questions about our world. Today I'm talking to WSU biological anthropologist Thomas Siek.

• Hear about all kinds of anthropology
• Find out how Dr. Siek studied bones from the Middle Ages in Poland
• Learn how clues in bones help solve crimes with forensic anthropology

Resources You Can Use

• Watch this NPR team use forensic anthropology to figure out info about a skeleton from a high school art class
• See how fast you can build a human skeleton
• Check out the anthropology collections at the Smithsonian

 As always, submit burning questions at askdruniverse.wsu.edu.  Who knows where your questions will take us next.

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Purr-haps you'd like a new way to get your claws on science questions sent in by kids like you. That's litter-ally my favorite thing.

Today Cosmo and I tackle a question from Gabby, 9, in Kansas: Why do bees make honey?

You'll hear:

• What a bee proboscis is and why bees are so adorably hairy
• Why some people call honey "bee barf" and what trophollaxis is 
• How bees make foods like bee bread and honey

Resources you can use:

• Check out these baby bees
• Learn how to make homes for native bees (they're like cousins to honey bees)
• Read the answer to this question here: Why do bees make honey?

 As always, submit burning questions at askdruniverse.wsu.edu.  Who knows where your questions will take us next.

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Welcome back, young scientists. I’m Dr. Universe.  If you’re anything like me, you’ve got lots of big questions about our world. Today I'm talking to WSU environmental archeologist John Blong.

• Hear what environmental archeology is
• Learn about fossilized poop—AKA coprolites—and what they reveal to scientists
• Find out when the first people came to North America

Resources You Can Use

• Follow these interactive digs or talk to your grownup about skyping with a scientist from the Archaeological Institute of America
• Check out these famous archeologists
• Run through these archeology lessons or show them to your teacher

 As always, submit burning questions at askdruniverse.wsu.edu.  Who knows where your questions will take us next.