Science Friday

Many of the forces driving species to extinction—habitat destruction, pollution, climate change—also fuel the spread of disease. Plants and animals around the globe are facing their own little pandemics, from cancer to fungal diseases.

But what if we could treat them with cutting-edge medicines? Is there something drug developers could do to help? Chemist Tim Cernak thinks so. He has been developing drugs for people for 20 years, but his patient roster has started to include sea turtles, frogs, and giant reptiles. He talks with Flora about why he’s making drugs for wildlife and why more chemists should join in.

Guest:

Dr. Tim Cernak is an associate professor of medicinal chemistry at the University of Michigan.

Other episodes you may enjoy:

Raising A New Generation Of Bat Conservationists In West Africa

How Conservation Efforts Brought Rare Birds Back From The Brink

Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com.

Subscribe to this podcast. Follow our show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky @scifri and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that’s keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374

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The benefits of getting a shingles vaccine seem relatively straightforward: It will prevent you from getting shingles, a painful rash caused by the same virus that causes chickenpox. But researchers have found a surprising link between getting the shingles vaccine and a lower risk of developing dementia. And that’s not the only vaccine that seems to have additional benefits. So what’s going on here? 

To help explain this research are epidemiologist Pascal Geldsetzer, who studies the association between the shingles vaccine and lower rates of dementia; and physician and epidemiologist Helen Chu, who studies the Flu, RSV and COVID-19 viruses.

Guests:

Dr. Pascal Geldsetzer is an assistant professor of medicine, epidemiology and population health at Stanford University. 

Dr. Helen Chu is a professor of epidemiology, allergy and infectious diseases at the University of Washington. 

Other episodes you may enjoy:

Study Finds COVID mRNA Vaccines Boost Cancer Treatment

As Cervical Cancer Deaths Plummet, Experts Credit HPV Vaccine

Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com.

Subscribe to this podcast. Follow our show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky @scifri and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that’s keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374

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Two disease outbreaks are dominating the news: Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and hantavirus, which started spreading on a cruise ship.

The U.S. has a one-of-a-kind medical facility that exists just for emergencies like this. It’s called the National Quarantine Unit, and it’s in Omaha, Nebraska. Right now, 18 Americans from the cruise ship where hantavirus broke out are in quarantine there. 

Host Flora Lichtman chats with Angie Vasa, a nurse and administrator who has worked at this emergency center for the last 17 years. They discuss how the facility works, what’s happening with the travelers exposed to hantavirus, and how they’re preparing for the possibility of Ebola-exposed individuals.  

Guest:

Angie Vasa is the director of emergency preparedness and special pathogens programs at Nebraska Medicine in Omaha, Nebraska. 

Other episodes you may enjoy:

Mapping Out How Viruses Jump Between Species

How Viruses Have Shaped Our World

Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com.

Subscribe to this podcast. Follow our show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky @scifri and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that’s keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374

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When Lewis and Clark crossed the United States in the early 1800s, they recorded their wildlife observations along the way. Now, more than 200 years later, an expedition is following the same route and partnering with scientists across the U.S. to catalog animals and track the changes. Expedition leader Roland Kays joins Host Flora Lichtman to share some highlights.

Plus, using cell phone data and GPS collars, ecologists were able to see how animals moved (or not) when people were around. Ecologist Ruth Oliver tells us about her findings.

Guests:

Dr. Roland Kays is research professor at NC State University and director of the Biodiversity & Earth Observation Lab at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences.

Dr. Ruth Oliver is an ecologist and assistant professor at UC Santa Barbara.

Other episodes you may enjoy:

Are Raccoons On The Road To Domestication?

Teamwork Between Species Is The Key To Life Itself

Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com.

Subscribe to this podcast. Follow our show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky @scifri and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that’s keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374

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On Monday, Pope Leo XIV presented his encyclical, an open letter from the church, on AI. The 42,000-word document covers a lot of terrain—from screen time to resource extraction to job loss—but the core message is summed up in the title: “Magnifica Humanitas: On Safeguarding The Human Person In The Time Of Artificial Intelligence.” 

How did the pope arrive at these views? Among those advising him on issues like AI are scientists and other experts. Host Flora Lichtman talks with a member of the Vatican’s Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, anthropologist Marcelo Suárez-Orozco, about the encyclical and what it’s like to advise the pope.

Guest:

Dr. Marcelo Suárez-Orozco is an anthropologist and chancellor at the University of Massachusetts Boston.

Other episodes you may enjoy:

How Is AI Being Used In The Iran War?

An AI Leader’s Human-Centered Approach To Artificial Intelligence

Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com.

Subscribe to this podcast. Follow our show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky @scifri and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that’s keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.