logo
episode-header-image
Aug 2020
13m 19s

Save The Parasites

NPR
About this episode
Saving endangered species usually brings to mind tigers or whales. But scientists say many parasites are also at risk of extinction. Short Wave's Emily Kwong talks with Chelsea Wood, an Assistant Professor in the School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences at the University of Washington, who tells us about the important role parasites play in ecosystems and a new global plan to protect them.

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

NPR Privacy Policy
Up next
Apr 17
The psychology behind why you dread small talk
Do you avoid small talk in the office, or with your neighbor in the elevator? If so, you might want to give it a chance. According to a study just published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, even when participants were primed that a conversation would be boring ... Show More
9m 56s
Apr 15
A new approach to brain health, one neuron at a time
Neuroscientist Paul Nuyujukian likens the brain to a stadium full of people. To eavesdrop on the crowd you could put a microphone in the middle of the stadium. But to understand the conversations you need to record individual people. He thinks about the brain the same way. To und ... Show More
13m 18s
Apr 14
Is there still a gender gap in medical research?
When you go to the doctor’s office, your doctor has to figure out which treatment is best for you. Physicians rely on medical research and clinical trials to make sure those treatments are safe and effective. But that research has not always been inclusive, which impacts patient ... Show More
13m 18s
Recommended Episodes
Dec 2022
How much of our biodiversity is at risk?
Another global summit - COP15 – has concluded in Canada. It focused on biodiversity, which is the variety of all living things on earth. Activists, charities and ministers came together hoping to find solutions to protect and save forests, wetlands and water bodies before it’s to ... Show More
13m 22s
Oct 2023
Scarier than lions: how fear of ‘super predator’ humans is shaping the animal kingdom
Ian Sample meets the conservation biologist Liana Zanette, whose recently published research demonstrates that humans are now the super predator, inciting more fear in wild animals than even lions. She explains the ramifications of this knowledge for conservation techniques and t ... Show More
15m 44s
Mar 2011
Alien Invaders
The threat to wildlife from invasive species is now one of the greatest across the world and it is growing. Killer shrimp are the latest non-native species to be found in a formerly quiet and respectable area of Cambridgeshire. In the UK we have endlessly debated the problem of t ... Show More
28m 4s
Jan 2017
Parasitism
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the relationship between parasites and hosts, where one species lives on or in another to the benefit of the parasite but at a cost to the host, potentially leading to disease or death of the host. Typical examples are mistletoe and trees, hookworm ... Show More
45m 45s
May 2024
Ugly animals and asteroid Apophis
One year ago, the World Health Organisation declared that COVID-19 would no longer be categorised as a global health emergency. But the pandemic has left us with a new normal in all areas of our lives. From vaccine rollout to wastewater monitoring, we’re asking: how has COVID alt ... Show More
28 m
Apr 2024
From pangolins to plants: how we’re getting better at protecting nature
Nature conservation is effective at protecting animals and plants - and we’re getting better at it. That’s according to a new major study published in the journal Science. Esme Stallard, a BBC climate and science reporter, explains what conservation is, where it’s worked (includi ... Show More
15m 19s
Jan 2021
Marine conservationist Heather Koldewey
Professor Heather Koldewey wants to protect our oceans from over-fishing and plastic pollution. An academic who is not content to sit back and let the science speak for itself, she wants to turn science into action and has found conservation allies in some unexpected places. Work ... Show More
27m 7s
Sep 2023
Will our bees survive the Asian hornet invasion?
Asian hornets have been spotted in the UK in record numbers this year, sparking concern about what their presence could mean for our native insects, and in particular bee populations. Madeleine Finlay speaks to ecologist Prof Juliet Osborne about why this species of hornet is so ... Show More
17m 6s