Invasive rabbits so numerous they form a “gray blanket” across the land. A killer virus, intentionally released to keep the bunnies at bay. An ensuing evolutionary arms race with no end in sight. It sounds more like the premise of a bad sci fi movie rather than a textbook case of biocontrol. But truth, especially in this case, is stranger and even more fasci ... Show More
Yesterday
Ep 194 Salt Part 1: The Seasoning
<p>Have you ever thrown a pinch of spilled salt over your left shoulder? Or said to someone “well, take his opinion with a grain of salt”? Or looked up the potential salary of a job listing? Salt is so deeply embedded in our cultures, our languages, our history as a s ... Show More
55m 35s
Nov 18
Special Episode: Gabriel Weston & Alive
<p>In an anatomy and physiology class, you may learn how the different heart valves work to circulate your blood, how the structure of your kidney helps to maintain electrolyte levels, and how the expansion and contraction of your lungs sets off a carefully orchestrated cascade o ... Show More
49m 47s
Nov 11
Ep 193 Necrotizing Fasciitis: A strange beast
If you were asked to describe necrotizing fasciitis in three words, you might choose: rapid, deadly, and rare. The third of those adjectives may provide some comfort, but the first two are the clear inspiration for this infection’s more lurid nickname: flesh-eating bacteria. In t ... Show More
1h 7m
Feb 2022
The Sunday Read: ‘Animals That Infect Humans Are Scary. It’s Worse When We Infect Them Back’
<p>There’s <a href="https://www.webmd.com/lung/coronavirus-history" target="_blank">a working theory</a> for the origins of Covid-19. It goes like this: Somewhere in an open-air market in Wuhan, China, a new coronavirus, growing inside an animal, first made the jump to a human. B ... Show More
42m 9s
May 2024
Vaccines, squirrels with leprosy, and exoplanet atmospheres
In the news pod, the nanotechnology enabling the production of a new vaccine to immunise against future coronaviruses. Then, how we can use psychedelic treatments without giving patients an unwanted trip, and how it was discovered that squirrels and humans were both living with l ... Show More
33m 8s