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.

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Ep 214 Boogers: Digging for treasure

Ep 214 Boogers: Digging for treasure

Hard and crusty. Green and gloopy. Clear and watery. Boogers come in a veritable rainbow of colors and a full spectrum of textures from liquid to solid. They’re really quite impressive if you think ab...

30 Kesä 1h 2min

Special Episode: Dr. Carl Elliott & The Occasional Human Sacrifice

Special Episode: Dr. Carl Elliott & The Occasional Human Sacrifice

Stories of unethical medical experimentation often center around the individuals who spearheaded such atrocities or highlight how patient protection laws were changed in response to the studies. But r...

23 Kesä 57min

Ep 213 Burns Part 2: It’s like sci-fi but real 

Ep 213 Burns Part 2: It’s like sci-fi but real 

At the turn of the 20th century, a severe burn was often a death sentence. Today, that is no longer the case. Over the past eighty years, burn care has undergone a profound transformation thanks to cr...

16 Kesä 58min

Ep 212 Burns Part 1: The first million or so years

Ep 212 Burns Part 1: The first million or so years

Burns have been a part of the human experience since our hominin relatives began controlling fire 1.5 million years ago. Until very recently, we’ve been limited in our ability to manage burn wounds wi...

9 Kesä 55min

Special Episode: Alexandra Sifferlin & The Elusive Body

Special Episode: Alexandra Sifferlin & The Elusive Body

An accurate diagnosis can give us so much. It can give us a path forward. It can give us answers to long-standing questions. And it can give us much-needed hope. Yet many people around the world wait ...

2 Kesä 51min

Ep 211 Motion Sickness: It comes in waves

Ep 211 Motion Sickness: It comes in waves

It comes on sneakily. You become aware of your stomach. You break out in a cold sweat. Your mouth fills with saliva. And before you know it, you’re leaning over the side of the boat (or out of the car...

26 Touko 1h 16min

Ep 210 Histoplasmosis: Bats, birds, and budding yeast

Ep 210 Histoplasmosis: Bats, birds, and budding yeast

Once thought to be a rare, always fatal disease, histoplasmosis is now recognized as one of the most prevalent fungal infections in North America. It infects hundreds of thousands of people every year...

19 Touko 1h 18min

Special Episode: Dr. Olivia Weisser & The Dreaded Pox

Special Episode: Dr. Olivia Weisser & The Dreaded Pox

In a time when smallpox, tuberculosis, measles, and typhus ran rampant through the streets of London, there was another disease that instilled even more fear than these other killers: syphilis. So fea...

12 Touko 51min

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