Are viruses the key to fighting infections?

On a recent kayaking trip, CrowdScience listener Lanier sliced through his right thumb, putting it out of action for a while. This made life difficult, as he couldn’t button his shirt, tie his shoelaces or type efficiently on his smartphone. Missing the use of his thumb made him ...  Show more

Noise cancelling headphones filter out sound waves that we don’t want to hear. Listener Ahmed in Libya loves wearing his and, as he was listening to them, he had a thought: ‘Could we cancel out light waves in a similar way to how noise cancelling headphones do it?’ He sent his qu ...  Show more

La phagothérapie est une méthode de traitement des infections bactériennes, qui utilise des bactériophages. Sauf exception, elle n’est plus pratiquée en occident depuis des décennies. Mais face à l’antibiorésistance, de plus en plus de médecins et chercheurs y voient une solution ...  Show more

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Bacteriophages -- viruses that target and kill bacteria -- were one of the most promising medical treatments of the early 20th century, and were used to treat all sorts of infections, from cholera to staph, and everything in between. But by the ...

Fifty episodes. That’s fifty (sometimes) deadly viruses, bacteria, protozoa, parasites, and poisons. And don’t forget the fifty quarantinis to accompany each! What better way to celebrate this momentous occasion than talking about something that may actually save you: antibiot ...

Data collated from swab samples taken in Wuhan’s market in the early days of the Covid pandemic suggest animals sold in the market were carrying the virus at the time. It’s the strongest evidence yet for an intermediate species – one which passed the virus on to humans after beco ...  Show more