Selfie of Dr. Oné Pagán smiling, wearing a cream colored fleece, with the Ologies logo superimposed in the corner.

Who cares about flatworms? Guess what: you do. Planarian expert Dr. Oné Pagán shares his infectious enthusiasm for the teeny tiny ribbons of flesh that are helping scientists understand addiction, limb regeneration, stem cells, immortality and maybe aliens though probably not aliens. You’re about to be obsessed. We discuss where to find planarians, serendipitous science, taking risks in life, how these dick-shaped worms regrow themselves when they are cut into 279 pieces, marine flatworms, penis fencing, multipurpose mouth tubes, the Unabomber and more. Dr. Pagán is a gem of a human and you’re about to be smitten with flatworms. And him. Trust me.

Listen via Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get podcasts.

transcript

Who cares about flatworms? Guess what: you do. Planarian expert Dr. Oné Pagán shares his infectious enthusiasm for the teeny tiny ribbons of flesh that are helping scientists understand addiction, limb regeneration, stem cells, immortality and maybe aliens though probably not aliens. You're about to be obsessed.

Follow Dr. Oné Pagán at Twitter.com/baldscientist or check out his blog at baldscientist.wordpress.com

A donation went to NoKidHungry.org

His book, “The First Brain”

Some links you may enjoy:

How planarians move

Planarians sleep!

Song at the end is: 9 Animal Phyla Song

Hammerhead terrestrial planarians

Planarian brain as human ancestor brain

Pluripotent adult stem cells

Dr. Roman Kenk

Planarians under stress