Understanding how the same fish could look so different is a question that scientists have been investigating since the discovery of the blind Mexican cavefish, Astyanax Mexicanus in the 1930’s. The cave fish, pale pink without eyes, lives in underground caves below its surface cousin, which is silvery gray with black eyes. Today Astyanax is a model to study genetics, disease, and behavior.
The story includes jungle explorers braving plane crashes and venomous snakes to find the cavefish and the scientists who studied it. They include a renowned German professor who fled Nazi Germany and a female Turkish scientist, Perihan Sadoglu who did some of the first genetic work in the 1950’s but mysteriously disappeared mid-career. The podcast follows the stories of scientists past and present, revealing clues along the way to find out what happened to Dr. Sadoglu, and why it matters now.
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Andrea Carter- Producer, Writer, Narrator
Andrea has worked in science journalism and communication for over fifteen years after receiving a bachelor's degree in biology and a masters in science journalism. She has written for ABC News Medical Unit, Children's Hospital Boston, The Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Oceanus Magazine and was a reporter for The Falmouth Enterprise on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, covering science and public health. Since relocating to South Florida, she has worked with Scripps Research Florida, Florida Atlantic University and University of Miami.
Sam Houghton- Sound Editor
Sam has been an associate producer and reporter at CAI, the local NPR station for Cape, Coast and Islands in Massachusetts since 2017. Before that he worked as a reporter for The Falmouth Enterprise where he covered local politics and science.
This podcast was supported by a National Science Foundation grant1 to Erik Duboue, Johanna Kowalko, Suzanne McGaugh and Nicolas Rohner. Additional support was provided by Alex Carl Keene.
1EDGE CT: NSF-BSF: Functional Genotype-Phenotype Mapping in the Mexican Blind Cavefish, Astyanax mexicanus; Award number: 1923372