The Life Scientific: Rebecca Kilner

Discovery

BBC

Science

4.3 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 6 March 2023

⏱️ 28 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

A fur-stripped mouse carcase might not sound like the cosiest of homes – but that is 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 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.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Before you listen to this BBC podcast, I'd like to introduce myself.
0:03.6	My name's Stevie Middleton and I'm a BBC Commissioner for a load of sport podcasts.
0:08.1	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.
0:24.9	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.
0:36.4	Hi, Namulanta combo here and I'm excited to tell you that my aboard winning podcast,
0:42.0	Dear Dota, is back for his second season and it's available now.
0:46.6	Find out more at the end of this podcast.
0:51.3	Imagine if you will, a dead mouse.
0:53.7	The body is stripped of its fur, the flesh rolled into a ball and
0:58.0	glistening with a protective antimicrobial secretion, nestled in a shallow grave on a woodland
1:03.6	floor somewhere, and absolutely crawling with plump white grubs.
1:09.0	This may not be the most appetising of images, but it is in fact the dream breeding ground for
1:14.8	the burying beetle and although its family nests might be slightly gruesome,
1:19.5	their rich in research potential as my guest today has discovered.
1:23.6	Rebecca Kilner is a professor of evolutionary biology at the University of Cambridge
1:28.2	and her work has shed invaluable light on the relationship between animal behaviors and evolution.
	...

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