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
Mar 31
Ep 205 Cancer Part 4: Where do things stand today?
For the entirety of our species’ history, our approach to cancer has largely been to react, to design new therapies and better combinations of treatments. This energy has certainly been well-spent, but what if we didn’t have to use treatment at all? Or what if we could minimize t ... Show More
1h 19m
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