#38
Dec 18, 2009

Microbiology

Lisa Hammet

Lisa Hammett talks to us about pathogens, viruses, probiotics, antibiotics… if it’s too small to be seen without a microscope, it’s up for discussion.


Speaking up

Mike Meraz with "Actually Speaking: Exploring the Human Side of Skepticism"



Download (27.5 MB)

RSS Feed for Episode Comments 3 comments

542291e4cea06e1d676f332893f5d962?d=identicon&s=50
1. Podblack Dec 18, 2009 at 17:29

You mentioned Cruzefeld-Jacob disease and it's a 'prion disease', which apparently even the Bad Astronomer, author of 'Death from the Skies' finds scary! Just how worried should we be about bacteria?

In addition, is it true that kids are being 'too removed' from getting into dirt and the 'cleanliness' of modern day life hurting their ability to build up immunity (this was on an ep of House I saw recently, so it's getting into pop-culture messages!). Thanks, fantastic show!! :)


2f5b3fa26595bc45871213860db4668f?d=identicon&s=50
2. Anon Dec 21, 2009 at 12:14

Just a nitpick, It would have been good Lisa Hammet had mentioned the e-word (evolution) when talking about how bacteria become resistant to drugs.


D41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e?d=identicon&s=50
3. Brad Dec 24, 2009 at 13:30

I was surprised that she did not know why you can't have large bacteria - the reason is the surface area to volume ratio. As a cell grows, the surface area increases exponentially but the volume increases cubically. So the larger you get the harder it is for your surface area to compensate for the huge volume.

Add your comment:

(SKIP THIS ONE)

(required)

(not shown)



SkepticallySpeaking

Thanks to
CJSR: Radio Worth Watching