Ep 134 Tonsils: Underestimated and underappreciated
Raise your hand if you or someone you know has had their tonsils removed. If your hand is sky-high, there’s a pretty good chance that you (or that person you know) are from the US and were born before...
30 Jan 20241h 28min
Ep 133 Parvoviruses: Who let the dogs (and their viruses) out?
This one’s not just for the dogs. It’s also for the cats, the raccoons, the wax moths, the birds, the mice, and so many other critters. Oh, and of course the humans. Even though most of us may be fami...
16 Jan 20241h 48min
Ep 132 Osteogenesis Imperfecta: All bones about it
Often, the more we learn about a disease, the more we learn about ourselves and the world around us. The story of the genetic disorder osteogenesis imperfecta (OI), colloquially known as brittle bone ...
2 Jan 20241h 25min
Ep 131 Parkinson’s Disease: Dopamine & discoveries
Parkinson’s is a disease of many dimensions. On the shelves of any bookstore or library you’ll find at least a handful of titles exploring the topic from a myriad of perspectives, and extending that s...
12 Dec 20231h 42min
Ep 130 Cocoliztli: We do love a salty dish
In the 16th century, a series of deadly epidemics swept through much of the region of Mesoamerica known as the Aztec Empire, killing untold millions. By the start of the first of these epidemics, the ...
28 Nov 20231h 52min
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 ...
14 Nov 20231h 20min
Ep 128 Skin Cancer: We love and fear the sun
For every article about the risks of sun exposure or a guide to sunscreens, you don’t have to look far to find one about the health benefits of sunshine or a how-to for achieving the best tan. Messagi...
31 Okt 20231h 37min
Ep 127 Bhopal: The 1984 Union Carbide Disaster
On the night of December 2, 1984, a deadly gas leak at the Union Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal, India led to what has been described as the world’s worst industrial disaster. In the immediate afte...
17 Okt 20231h 25min
