Ep 76 Chickenpox: There's always a 'but'

Ep 76 Chickenpox: There's always a 'but'

Ah, chickenpox, that pesky old childhood illness. And that’s all it is, right? Just a mild, routine infection that we all used to catch until the vaccine came around? Not quite. In this episode, we learn that, when it comes to the varicella-zoster virus, not everything is as it seems. We explore the complex nature of this virus, how it can make you kinda sick and then how it can make you really, really sick. After that, we dive into the evolutionary origins of this virus and the different infections it causes (spoiler alert: shingles as a viral survival strategy?!). And finally we trace its human history from discovery to vaccine to where we stand with chickenpox and shingles today.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jaksot(280)

Ep 180 Food Dyes: It’s all marketing

Ep 180 Food Dyes: It’s all marketing

This episode, we aren’t asking you to taste the rainbow, but we are scrutinizing the artificial dyes that give it its color. When you’re munching on brightly colored candies or dipping a french fry in...

1 Heinä 20251h 25min

Special Episode: Professor Steven Mithen & The Language Puzzle

Special Episode: Professor Steven Mithen & The Language Puzzle

From the earliest grunts and gestures to the complex sentences we use today to convey a multitude of concepts, language has evolved to become one of humanity’s most powerful tools. It allows us to con...

24 Kesä 202549min

Ep 179 Fluoride 2: Fighting tooth and nail

Ep 179 Fluoride 2: Fighting tooth and nail

In last week’s episode, we traced the history of fluoridation (and the anti-fluoridation movement) to its roots in the early 20th century, but we left you wondering whether there’s anything to back up...

17 Kesä 20251h 3min

Ep 178 Fluoride 1: The real tooth fairy

Ep 178 Fluoride 1: The real tooth fairy

Is it just us, or does it seem like every other week there’s a new headline about some state or town banning water fluoridation? As it turns out, this has been going on for decades, basically since fl...

10 Kesä 20251h 2min

Special Episode: Dr. Wendy Kline & Exposed

Special Episode: Dr. Wendy Kline & Exposed

For many of us, pelvic exams are a routine part of our healthcare. Of course, that doesn’t mean we don’t await them with some dread or anxiety; naturally, these exams evoke a wide range of emotions. B...

3 Kesä 202556min

Ep 177 Toxic Shock Syndrome: A shock to the system

Ep 177 Toxic Shock Syndrome: A shock to the system

If you’ve ever read the little instructions pamphlet included in a box of tampons, you probably came across a paragraph calling attention to a condition called toxic shock syndrome (TSS). It describes...

27 Touko 20251h 25min

Ep 176 Strychnine: The WD-40 of Victorian Medicine

Ep 176 Strychnine: The WD-40 of Victorian Medicine

This week, we’re coming at you with a classic TPWKY episode on one of the most notorious poisons out there: strychnine. Although strychnine might not flash across too many headlines these days, it was...

20 Touko 20251h 19min

Special Episode: Dr. Adam Ratner & Booster Shots

Special Episode: Dr. Adam Ratner & Booster Shots

For the past few months, measles has been in regular rotation in the news cycle here in the US, with outbreaks occurring across the country in regions with low vaccine uptake. These outbreaks represen...

13 Touko 202552min

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