logo
episode-header-image
Jan 2024
15m 33s

Secrets of the microbiome: the vagina

The Guardian
About this episode
The trillions of microbes living on and inside the human body are an important part of who we are, from mediating all our interactions with the environment to determining our cancer risk and influencing who we fall for. And scientists are only just beginning to decipher the species of bug we share our lives with, and how they shape us. In the second of a thr ... Show More
Up next
Jun 11
‘The undruggable became druggable’: a gamechanging treatment for the world’s deadliest cancer
A daily pill can double survival time in patients with the world’s deadliest cancer, according to the results of a clinical trial that experts are saying is a gamechanger and one of the biggest breakthroughs in decades. To find out more about how daraxonrasib works and how life-c ... Show More
14m 54s
Jun 9
The dinosaurs who survived the asteroid
While many dinosaurs were wiped out when a colossal asteroid struck Earth 66m years ago, one group survived: birds. Prof Steve Brusatte, a palaeontologist at the University of Edinburgh, has written a new book, The Story of Birds, tracing the evolution of our feathered friends fr ... Show More
17m 15s
Jun 4
Heatstroke, sports washing and VAR psychology: the science of the World Cup
It’s just a week until the first whistle of the 2026 World Cup. To mark the occasion, Madeleine Finlay talks to Ian Sample about the science behind the tournament. It’s likely to be one of the hottest ever World Cups, and scientists have written to Fifa asking it to reconsider it ... Show More
20m 48s
Recommended Episodes
Apr 2023
What's living inside my gut?
<p>Inside our gut lives an entire ecosystem of bacteria and microbes, called the microbiome. In fact, the human body contains trillions of microorganisms, which outnumber our cells by ten to one. This means that technically we are more microbe than human. But not only do these mi ... Show More
32m 47s
Mar 2023
Our Microbes and Our Health
We are a teeming mass of interconnected microbes and the impact of this microscopic universe on our health, our minds, even our moods, is profound.Made in collaboration with Wellcome Collection, Claudia Hammond and an expert panel explore one of the fastest moving areas of scienc ... Show More
49m 28s
Feb 2023
Animals at the Wuhan Market
DNA has revealed potential animal COVID carriers at the Wuhan market, but what does that tell us about the start of the pandemic? Roland talks to two of the experts behind the new analysis: Dr Florence Débarre and Professor Eddie Holmes.Also, we look into Europe’s grand new space ... Show More
1h 17m
May 2022
The Importance Of The Vaginal Microbiome
Today on Short Wave, researcher Fatima Aysha Hussain talks to host Emily Kwong about how microbes in the vagina can impact health and how transplanting vaginal microbiomes from one vagina to another could help people managing bacterial vaginosis. To learn more about the vaginal m ... Show More
14m 21s
Apr 2021
Le microbiote, notre meilleur allié santé
Des bactéries qui nous veulent du bien. C'est le principe qui régit les microbiotes, ces petits mondes remplis de milliards de micro-organismes qu'hébergent notre peau, nos organes génitaux, mais aussi et surtout nos intestins. En plus d'évoluer en symbiose avec l'organisme hôte, ... Show More
19m 45s
Jun 2022
Monster microbe
Researchers have discovered a species of bacteria which dwarfs all others by thousands of times. Normally you need a microscope to see single-celled bacteria, but Thiomargarita magnifica is the length and width of an eyelash. It's been found growing in mangrove swamps in the Cari ... Show More
1h 9m
Apr 2024
Inside Your Microbiome
Microbiomes are a multi-million-pound industry. Every week, many people send off poop samples to be examined so we can learn about our own ecosystems of bacteria, virus and fungi that live in our guts, with a view to improving health. But how accurate are these tests? Microbiolog ... Show More
28m 10s
Mar 2007
Microbiology
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the history of microbiology. We have more microbes in our bodies than we have human cells. We fear them as the cause of disease, yet are reliant on them for processes as diverse as water purification, pharmaceuticals, bread-making and brewing. In t ... Show More
41m 54s
Jun 2011
Passengers in a Bacterial Body
The good side of microbes goes under the microscope this week as we explore how the 100 trillion bacteria that thrive on us and in us, and even outnumber our own cells ten times over, work with the body to maintain good health. We also hear from the Nobel prizewinner who's turnin ... Show More
1h 2m