Ep 129 Lymphatic Filariasis: Hiding in plain sight

Ep 129 Lymphatic Filariasis: Hiding in plain sight

With a history extending back millennia, with a biology that leads to permanent disability for tens of millions of people globally, and with a bacterial endosymbiont that may prove to be its Achilles heel, the filarial parasites that cause lymphatic filariasis are quite the complex creatures. In this episode, we explore the intricacies of this neglected tropical disease - also known as elephantiasis. We start by examining its complicated ecology involving many mosquito and parasite species, before moving on to its tricky biology where we finally answer the age-old question, “What is the lymphatic system anyway?”. Next, we move on to the convoluted history of lymphatic filariasis, where it holds the distinction of being the first disease recognized as mosquito-borne. We wrap up the episode with a look at its present global status, grappling with some current figures on the tremendous global burden of this disease and investigating some exciting treatment developments that will hopefully bring relief to the hundreds of millions of people at risk of developing this debilitating disease.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Special Episode: Dr. Lindsey Fitzharris and Adrian Teal & Dead Ends!

Special Episode: Dr. Lindsey Fitzharris and Adrian Teal & Dead Ends!

Science doesn’t always get it right the first time (or the second, or the third, or even the ninety-ninth!). And while we may chuckle at the outlandish things people believed or the goofy experiments ...

28 Loka 202554min

Ep 191 Famine: More than starvation

Ep 191 Famine: More than starvation

As we learned last week, starvation extends far beyond hunger and what a lack of food does to the human body. Similarly, famine is much more than a food shortage and starvation on a population-level s...

21 Loka 20251h 10min

Ep 190 Starvation: More than hunger

Ep 190 Starvation: More than hunger

Deprived of food, our bodies do the best they can to keep us alive and functioning as long as possible. As the days pass, the rhythms of our lives change: our metabolism, our heartbeats, our hormones,...

14 Loka 20251h 4min

Special Episode: Antonia Hylton & Madness

Special Episode: Antonia Hylton & Madness

The United States is in the midst of a monumental mental health crisis, with one in four people predicted to experience mental illness at some point in their lives. Adequate mental health care remains...

7 Loka 202556min

Ep 189 Newborn screening: The future is here

Ep 189 Newborn screening: The future is here

Every year, millions of babies around the world are screened for dozens of treatable conditions within the first day or two of life. What it takes is a few drops of blood on some filter paper, and wha...

30 Syys 20251h 18min

Ep 188 Candida yeast: Here, there, and everywhere

Ep 188 Candida yeast: Here, there, and everywhere

None of us are ever truly alone. Our bodies are home to untold numbers of microbes, chilling on our skin, in our guts, throughout our respiratory tract, inside our bellybuttons, under our fingernails,...

23 Syys 20251h 17min

Special Episode: Mary Roach & Replaceable You

Special Episode: Mary Roach & Replaceable You

When your car breaks down or your fridge goes on the fritz, you can order a replacement part and get things back up and running in no time. The same cannot always be said for another intricate machine...

16 Syys 202548min

Ep 187 Hypothermia Part 2: How it helps

Ep 187 Hypothermia Part 2: How it helps

Last week, we took you through all the ways that cold can harm us and the harrowing history of humans perishing at its icy hands. Ending the story there would be skipping over the parts where cold get...

9 Syys 20251h 5min

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