Uploaded January 2022 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
The life of a biologist may not be what you expect. It is not all white lab coats and microscopes. There are remote islands, makeshift shacks that serve both for sleeping and a field laboratory. For this guest, it also includes cricket serenades and nighttime scuba dives in the ocean filled with glowing displays of shrimp vomit. Really, vomit! Dr. Biology sits down with biologist Niko Hensley to learn about his research into the world of animal communication. This is the first episode in a series of podcasts recorded at the Society of Integrative and Comparative Biology conference – also called SICB.
Learn more: Strange Cricket Silence (https://askabiologist.asu.edu/explore/strange-cricket-silence)
If you have not already, please subscribe (askabiologistpodcast.buzzsprout.com/) to the podcast so you can be notified about new episodes.
The life of a biologist may not be what you expect. It is not all white lab coats and microscopes. There are remote islands, makeshift shacks that serve both for sleeping and a field laboratory. For this guest, it also includes cricket serenades and nighttime scuba dives in the ocean filled with glowing displays of shrimp vomit. Really, vomit! Dr. Biology sits down with biologist Niko Hensley to learn about his research into the world of animal communication. This is the first episode in a series of podcasts recorded at the Society of Integrative and Comparative Biology conference – also called SICB.
Learn more: Strange Cricket Silence (https://askabiologist.asu.edu/explore/strange-cricket-silence)
If you have not already, please subscribe (askabiologistpodcast.buzzsprout.com/) to the podcast so you can be notified about new episodes.


![Bacteria in the Belly of the Bee
You might think all bacteria are bad and that would be incorrect. It turns out that a lot of bacteria are good and in fact necessary for animals to live. Yes, even humans need bacteria. Some tiny insects also need bacteria and we need them to grow a lot of our foods. If you are thinking about honeybees, you are correct. It turns out that these buzzing pollinators are getting sick and what we thought might help them get better may not be working. This video digs into this science story to find out more.
Learn more about microbes: https://askabiologist.asu.edu/plosable/bee-microbiome
Comic book fun: https://askabiologist.asu.edu/microbes
Explore more: https://sparks.learning.asu.edu
The problem - 00:06
The importance of bacteria - 01:13
Animals that need good bacteria [honeybees] - 01:42
Bee antibiotics - 02:13
The scientific process - 3:33 Bacteria in the Belly of the Bee](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ZqozaTS-uws/mqdefault.jpg)

![Give It A Shot - Vaccine Game Simulation - Introduction
This video introduces Give It A Shot, a vaccine game simulation used to experiment with multiple known pathogens. Players can select COVID, Influenza, Measles, or Polio and then run experiments using different amounts of safety precautions and vaccination rates. Play the game at - https://askabiologist.asu.edu/give-it-a-shot There is also a stand-alone game for COVID that you can play. The link to COVIDsim game introduction video is here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvGAWjmaDjM
Game links:
Give It A Shot - https://askabiologist.asu.edu/give-it-a-shot
COVIDsim - https://askabiologist.asu.edu/covid-sim
List of all Ask A Biologist games - https://askabiologist.asu.edu/games-and-simulations
00:00 - Overview
00:30 - Science behind the game
01:00 - Math used in the game
01:49 - How to play the game
02:57 - Play the game [World Cities]
09:16 - Compare outbreaks
10:34 - Collecting data - Experiments Give It A Shot - Vaccine Game Simulation - Introduction](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/_oLXCUPVfdQ/mqdefault.jpg)





