Benthopelagic Nematology (DEEP SEA WORMS) with Dr. Holly Bik

Weird little mouths! Hairy skin tubes! Demon nematodes! Antarctic explorer and Nematologist Dr. Holly Bik charms us into loving deep sea (benthopelagic) worms in a way you never thought possible. We also cover tiny worm brains, the smell of Antarctic mud, first-generation Ph.Ds, the research workhorse C. Elegans, deep sea mining machines, moisturizers, submersibles and more with a worm lady who has literally traveled to the ends of the Earth to ask: what’s in that mud? We love her.

Listen via Apple, Spotify, Google, Podbay, Podcast Addict, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Visit Dr. Holly Bik’s website and lab and follow her on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok

A donation went to Earthjustice


Links to things we discussed:

Nematodes ultrastructure: complex systems and processes

Antarctic nematodes and climate change

Nematode succession at deep-sea hydrothermal vents after a recent volcanic eruption with the description of two dominant species

Mud volcanoes in the Mediterranean Sea are hot spots of exclusive meiobenthic species

What is the Driest Place on Earth?

Antarctica’s McMurdo Dry Valleys

Seal Mummies Reveal Surprising Rapid Antarctic Changes

What Are Diatoms? 

Look how gorgeous diatoms are though

Wikipedia: Pleistocene (Ice Age)

Leo Tolstoy bibliography

Dirofilaria immitis (dog heartworm)

Man's best friend: How humans can develop Dirofilaria immitis infections

Keep the Worms Out of Your Pet’s Heart! The Facts about Heartworm Disease

WormBook: The Online Review of C. elegans Biology

A little History via C. elegans II. 2nd edition.

Whole apple extracts increase lifespan, healthspan and resistance to stress in Caenorhabditis elegans

The natural history of Caenorhabditis elegans

History of research on C. elegans and other free-living nematodes as model organisms*

E. Maupas first paper on C. elegans c. 1900 in French

Notable aptronyms

More aptronyms

Lawyer Sue Yoo

History of the Alvin submersible

Allyn Vine obituary

A multi-scale brain map derived from whole-brain volumetric reconstructions

Holly’s Antarctica-proof moisturizer choice

Marine biologist and the director of SpeSeas, Diva Amon

Senior Research Scientist at Bigelow Laboratory, Beth Orcutt

Miss Punny Pennie’s worm poem

Would You Still Love Me? From shutyourhell

Would You Still Love Me If I Was A Worm?

Newly Discovered Microscopic Worm Thrives in Gold Mines a Kilometer Underground

Nematoda from the terrestrial deep subsurface of South Africa

Demon worm: Halicephalobus mephisto

Murphy Lab scientists discover a mechanism for memory transfer between individuals in C. elegans

The role of the Cer1 transposon in horizontal transfer of transgenerational memory


Other episodes you may enjoy:

SPOOKTOBER episodes

Maritime Archaeology (SHIPWRECKS)

Medusology (JELLYFISH)

Toxinology (JELLYFISH VENOM)

Vampirology (VAMPIRES)

Oceanology (OCEANS)

Planariology (VERY COOL WORMS, I PROMISE)


Ologies info:

Sponsors of Ologies

Transcripts and bleeped episodes

Smologies (short, classroom-safe) episodes

Become a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a month

OlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, stickers, totes!

Follow @Ologies on Twitter and Instagram

Follow @AlieWard on Twitter and Instagram

Editing by Mercedes Maitland of Maitland Audio Productions, Jarrett Sleeper of MindJam Media and Mark David Christenson

Transcripts by Emily White of The Wordary

Website by Kelly R. Dwyer

Theme song by Nick Thorburn

MarineAlie Ward