Ep 81 Chagas disease: The Reverse Triple Discovery

Ep 81 Chagas disease: The Reverse Triple Discovery

A nighttime “kiss” from a bug that casts a curse on its recipient in the form of a lifelong, and possibly fatal, illness. No, this isn’t some half-remembered fairy tale. It’s the true story of Chagas disease, caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi and transmitted by many species of triatomines (aka kissing bugs). In this episode, we take you through the utterly complicated biology of Chagas disease in its acute and chronic forms, the surprising evolutionary and historical background of this parasite and the scientist for whom it’s named, and finally the grim reality that is the global status of Chagas disease today.

The dizzying ecological complexity and pathophysiological mystery of this disease makes it a challenge to study, and the lack of funding only compounds the issue; Chagas disease bears the dubious distinction of the most neglected of all the neglected tropical diseases. In spite of this, many people are dedicated to easing the global burden of Chagas disease, and we were delighted to interview two of these Chagas champions for this episode. Daisy Hernandez, Associate Professor at Miami University, joins us to discuss the inspiration for her recent book The Kissing Bug: A True Story of a Family, an Insect, and a Nation’s Neglect of a Deadly Disease, and Dr. Sarah Hamer, Associate Professor at Texas A&M University, delves into the ecological aspects of this disease and shares the incredible community science program that raises awareness about T. cruzi and the bugs that transmit it.

To learn more, check out the links below:

Daisy Hernandez: website, Twitter (@daisyhernandez), Instagram (@iamdazeher), Facebook

Dr. Sarah Hamer: lab website, lab Twitter (@hamer_lab), Community Science Program

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jaksot(280)

Ep 206 Oropouche Virus: More than a smidge worrisome

Ep 206 Oropouche Virus: More than a smidge worrisome

Though discovered relatively recently, Oropouche virus has been making headlines as an emerging vector-borne infectious disease on the rise. Not transmitted by the usual suspects (like ticks and mosqu...

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Ep 205 Cancer Part 4: Where do things stand today?

Ep 205 Cancer Part 4: Where do things stand today?

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Ep 204 Cancer Part 3: How do we treat it?

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A century and a half ago, the list of effective cancer treatments was essentially a single entry: surgery. Today, in 2026, you’d need pages to contain the number of treatments available, and multiple ...

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Special Episode: Lawrence Ingrassia & A Fatal Inheritance

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For centuries, physicians noticed that cancer sometimes ran in families, but until the 1960s, an answer to this mystery remained out of reach. Only then were scientists beginning to unlock the cellula...

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Ep 203 Cancer Part 2: Why does it happen?

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Ep 202 Cancer Part 1: What is it?

Ep 202 Cancer Part 1: What is it?

Cancer has touched every one of us in some capacity, and learning of a diagnosis inspires many more questions than it answers. In this four-part series on cancer, we aim to lay a foundation of knowled...

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Special Episode: Jon Adams and Edmund Ramsden & Rat City

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What happens if you put a bunch of rats in an enclosure and provision them with unlimited food and water? Researcher John B. Calhoun was committed to finding out. Results from Calhoun’s “rat utopia” e...

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Ep 201 Poop Part 2: Flushed away

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Poop is an incredibly valuable and massively underutilized resource. However, most of us don’t see it that way because of our evolutionarily ingrained disgust towards poop. Flush toilets and intricate...

17 Helmi 1h 21min

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