I feel like this is happening a lot more recently. A great episode comes out on some podcast I'm listening to, then a slew of articles reiterating the same content comes out the following week. In a way, it feels like theft of someones hard work at researching a new topic.
I don't know if this was the case here but what happens a lot of the time is that there's a new book or paper or whatever. Press releases get sent out or stories are otherwise pitched and you end up with different writers or producers creating variants of the same story.
Interesting to see the scientific pursuits of someone I only know through music! Gentle Mystics is worth checking out -- it's a wild blend of some sort of alternative electro swing with influences of gypsy jazz, hip hop, and chiptune.
That said I think I personally prefer the solo work of Merlin's brother and bandmate Cosmo Sheldrake. You can certainly see the influence of biological science on his work as well, which includes songs about tardigrades and pelicans and moss. I'd recommend giving the Pelicans We EP [1] a listen; it's got some really varied and interesting influences as well.
http://www.radiolab.org/story/from-tree-to-shining-tree/