BioTA Podcast

This episode turns back the clock to look at how scientists use models and systems-based thinking to study diseases and pandemics ranging from the Soho cholera outbreak of 1854 to the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020.

This episode explores mutation, compare two types of selection, and looks at the differences between evolution and herd immunity. By exploring these topics, we can not only understand the source of the different traits we see in species, lineages, and populations, but also how different organisms ranging from dogs to viruses change in response to their environment. How they adapt. How they evolve.

In late 2019, reports came out of Wuhan, China that there was an outbreak of a new respiratory disease that was spreading rapidly and having serious, often lethal consequences for some of its victims. Scientists identified the virus causing the disease as a new strain of coronavirus, a large group of viruses that contains at least eight viruses known to affect humans. In this episode, we explore three basic questions. Is the coronavirus alive? Where did it come from? And will it go away?