Category: Podcast

In this episode, Sarah and Leo talk about the development of vaccines including different ways of making antigens. They also discuss some of the challenges with creating a vaccine for SARS-Cov-2 (COVID-19).

We discuss the history of vaccination, how vaccines interact with different components of the immune system, infection rates and how they impact herd immunity.

Sarah and Leo talk about Acquired Immunity and the roles of Cell-Mediated and Antibody-Mediated Immunity and how they overlap. 

They also briefly discuss Sarah’s favorite bacteria, Listeria .

In this episode Sarah and Leo discuss the components of the Innate Immune system and how they work to target pathogens. They also talk about what a cytokine storm is related to COVID-19.

They also briefly discuss when Australian scientist Neil Noakes intentionally gave himself an ulcer in this controversial way.

In this episode we discuss how science communication works and doesn’t work to pass on new learning to scientists and non-scientists alike. We also discuss the pitfalls of voice to text for science writing and how some things got their names.

Science Communication Transcript

In this episode we will talk about the amazing micro-organisms that make delicious sourdough bread possible. Check out Rob Dunn’s TED talk about the microbes in sourdough bread making. I found instructions for making my own starter at King Arthur Flour. I’ve made regular and rye sourdough using these recipes.

Our first episode is about how scientists actually do science. We talk about how the scientific method gets used and abused.