Ask Dr. Universe

Your Paw-some Question | Would it have been possible to domesticate bears instead of wolves?

Send us Fan Mail Cosmo and I find out why bears never became pets, with expert input from Alaska wildlife biologist Sean Farley. Check out the WSU Bear CenterLearn more

Tu Pregunta Paw-dre | ¿Qué pasa si te come un tiburón?

Send us Fan Mail Gracias a mis amigos, Dr. Ornitorrinco y Dra. Nora Hickey, una veterinaria de peces en la Universidad Estatal de Washington, por ayudarme con la pregunt

Your Paw-some Question | How did big cats change into house cats?

Send us Fan Mail Cosmo and I learned about cat evolution, thanks to Haden Kingrey, anthropology graduate student at Washington State University. Read the Ask Dr. Univer

How Do You Science | Meet a Black Hole Scientist

Send us Fan Mail I learned all about black holes from WSU observational astrophysicist Vivienne Baldassare.  Check out Dr. Baldassare's favorite black holeLearn mo

Your Paw-some Question | What determines the size and shape of someone's belly button?

Send us Fan Mail Cosmo and I investigated belly buttons—thanks to WSU nursing professor Cindy Brigham-Althoff. Learn more about the placenta with Operation Ouch and Sci

BONUS EPISODE! Student-led Podcasts | Explore a Cell with Vancouver iTech Preparatory

Send us Fan Mail Join me and some new friends as we shrink down and travel through a cell, checking out organelles along the way. It's a cell biology adventure! Th

How Do You Science | Meet an Apple Breeder

Send us Fan Mail WSU apple breeder, Kate Evans, told me all about out how apples work and what it's like to be a scientist who makes new apples—like the Cosmic Cris

Your Paw-some Question | How do cats climb?

Send us Fan Mail Cosmo and I learned all about cat anatomy and how feline friends like us climb so well. Thanks to WSU vet med's Steve Lampa for the expert info. L

Your Paw-some Question | Why do we have fingerprints?

Send us Fan Mail Today Cosmo and I learned all about fingerprints—and how they give primates dexterity and grip.  Learn more about primates from PBSFind out how gecko f

Your Paw-some Question | Why are giraffes' tongues purple?

Send us Fan Mail Cosmo and I found out why our tallest animal friends have long, dark tongues—and what melanin does for humans, too. Thanks to Cynthia Cooper, who studie

Your Paw-some Question | What is the life cycle of a ladybug?

Send us Fan Mail Cosmo and I learn about all kinds of life cycles: holometabolous (big change), hemimetabolous (small change), and ametabolous (no change).  Check out h

How Do You Science | Meet a Planetary Scientist (Will we ever live on Mars? Are aliens real?)

Send us Fan Mail Today I'm talking with Julie Ménard, a planetary scientist at Washington State University. She told me about the terrestrial planets in our solar s

Your Paw-some Question | Will vaccines always hurt?

Send us Fan Mail Cosmo and I learn about shots—and new technology our friend WSU's Roland Chen is working on to make painless vaccines. Learn more about microarray

Your Paw-some Question | Why do dogs have pads on their feet?

Send us Fan Mail Today Cosmo and I learned all about dog paws from our friend, WSU veterinarian Dr. Natasha Hottmann.  Learn more about being a veterinarian with Nat Ge

Your Paw-some Question | How do cell phones work?

Send us Fan Mail Cosmo and I learn how cell phones send texts, images and calls from phone to phone—thanks to our friend, electrical engineer Ben Belzer.  Resources you

How Do You Science | Meet an Extension Vegetable Specialist

Send us Fan Mail Love veggies? Me, too. And so does my friend Tim Waters, regional vegetable specialist at WSU Extension. In this episode, you'll hear: What Exten

Your Paw-some Question | Do turtles live inside their shells?

Send us Fan Mail Today Cosmo and I learn about turtles and how they grow their amazing shells —all thanks to my friend, Ryan Wagner, wildlife biologist at Washington Sta

Your Paw-some Question | What happens if you get eaten by a shark?

Send us Fan Mail Dooooo-doo, Dooooo-doo. 🦈 Today Cosmo and I learn about sharks and their rad digestive systems—all thanks to my friend, Dr. Nora Hickey, fish veterinari

How Do You Science | Meet a Wildlife Biologist

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, I learn all about wildlife biology from my friend, Ryan Wagner. He told me about clipping turtle toenails and bathing froglets—all for

Your Paw-some Question | Why do we have germs on our hands?

Send us Fan Mail Cosmo and I learn about microbes, thanks to Eric Lofrgren, an infectious disease expert at WSU. Resources you can use: hear what microbes arewhere the