Rebecca Kilner on beetle behaviours and evolution

The Life Scientific

BBC

Technology, Personal Journals, Society & Culture, Science

4.6 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 24 January 2023

⏱️ 30 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

A fur-stripped mouse carcase might not sound like the cosiest of homes – but that’s where the burying beetle makes its nest; and where Rebecca Kilner has focused much of her research. A Professor of Evolutionary Biology at the University of Cambridge, Rebecca’s work – initially with cuckoos, then more recently with the beetles – has shed invaluable light on the relationship between social behaviours and evolution. She tells Jim Al-Khalili how the beetles’ helpfully swift generational churn and mouse-based parenting has allowed her team to study evolution in action, demonstrating for the first time what was previously just evolutionary theory. Producer: Lucy Taylor

Transcript

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0:00.0	Before you listen to this BBC podcast, I'd like to introduce myself.
0:03.7	My name's Stevie Middleton and I'm a BBC Commissioner for a load of sport podcasts.
0:08.4	I'm lucky to do that at the BBC because I get to work with a leading journalist, experienced
0:12.2	pundits and the biggest sport stars.
0:14.3	Together we bring you untold stories and fascinating insights straight from the players'
0:18.5	mouths.
0:19.5	But the best thing about doing this at the BBC is our unique access to the sport world.
0:25.0	What that means is that we can bring you podcasts that create a real connection to
0:28.8	dedicated sports fans across the UK.
0:31.2	So if you like this podcast, head over to BBC Sounds where you'll find plenty more.
0:37.1	BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, Podcasts.
0:40.3	Hello and welcome to the Life Scientific.
0:42.6	I'm Jemal Khalili and this is the show where I get to talk with some of the world's leading
0:47.2	scientists and you get to find out about their remarkable work and what drives them.
0:51.9	In this episode we're digging into evolutionary biology, with a guest who's found her ideal
0:57.8	research subject in a rather gruesome but socially scintillating beetle.
1:03.1	Imagine if you will, a dead mouse.
1:05.6	The body is stripped of its fur, the flesh rolled into a ball and glistening with a protective
1:11.0	antimicrobial secretion, nestled in a shallow grave on a woodland floor somewhere,
1:16.5	and absolutely crawling with plump white grubs.
1:20.6	My apologies if you're still eating your breakfast.
1:23.1	This may not be the most appetising of images, but it is in fact the dream breeding ground for
	...

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