Why is human skin so rubbish?

Tuberculosis kills more than a million people every year. It’s the world’s leading cause of death from a single infectious agent. This is despite the fact that we've had a cure for TB since the 1940s and a vaccine that’s over 100 years old. So why is TB still causing so many peop ...  Show more

Stare up at the night sky, and if you’re lucky, you might see a shooting star. Some people might make a wish, but CrowdScience listener Scott in California in the USA, thinks differently. He’s wondering how dangerous they might be. Shooting stars are actually meteors, ending thei ...  Show more

There are YouTube tutorials, magazine columns, and entire online communities dedicated to finding the “perfect skin care routine.” But what we consider to be “perfect” skin is rooted in racist, sexist and ageist ideas. So what do we need to do to protect this amazing organ that i ...  Show more

Many skin conditions, from rashes to Lyme disease to various cancers, present differently on dark skin. Yet medical literature and textbooks don't often include those images, pointing to a bigger problem in dermatology. Today on the show, we take a close look at how the science o ...  Show more

Welcome back skin nerds! As most of you know, the skin is the largest organ in the body. It is made up of three layers, the epidermis, dermis, and the hypodermis, all three of which vary significantly in their anatomy and function. Consider this episode as a background for your s ...  Show more

When you freckle or tan, your skin is trying to protect you from damage. Learn how it works in this episode of BrainStuff.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.