Tiny Vampires

Tiny Vampires

By Raven Forrest FruscalzoSociety & CultureSciencePlaces & TravelNatural Sciences
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Tiny Vampires episodes

  • Episode 10: Do mosquitoes transmit plant diseases?
    Interactions between mosquitoes and plants lead to interesting questions about what mosquitoes are doing when they aren’t biting people. Could it be that animals aren’t the only victims of these vectors of disease?

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    18 min
  • Episode 9: Are there parasites in my Sushi?

    Does the news about parasites in sushi have you avoiding your favorite restaurants? Learn all about the worms and how to avoid them.

    Announcements:

    Tiny Vampires has joined the Agora Podcast Network! I am very excited to have joined such a supportive team and really look forward to learning from them. My goal is always to bring more of the science you want to you and I really feel Agora will help me towards that goal.

    Please take the Agora Podcast Network Survey. It will help my new network to get to know my listeners and will also make sure that we are creating the types of podcasts you enjoy.

    The paper discussed in this episode was "Diphyllobothrium nihonkaiense Tapeworm Larvae in Salmon from North America"

    Just a few of the news outlets that reported on the problem of parasites in sushi discussed in this episode: CNN, BBC, WebMD, New York Daily News, Business Insider, and Bug Bitten.

    FAQ about tape worms

    The Life cycle of tapeworms

    How medical doctors treat Japanese broad tape worm infections. -

    Other sushi borne diseases: Anisakiasis, Salmonella, and MMWR

    The music for this podcast is by http://www.bensound.com/badass

     


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    13 min
  • Episode 8: How Kite mosquito patches work

    Videos about the Kite mosquito repellent stickers have been making their way around social media and news outlets. In this episode the host explains how the chemicals in these patches physically interact with the mosquito to change their behavior.

    The advertisement that the listener posted with questions about if these patches work and how.

    More detailed information about how neurons work.

    The paper discussed in this episode is "Ultra-prolonged activation of CO2-sensing neurons disorients mosquitoes"

    News articles about the research and the company from Huffington Post, University of California Riverside Today, The Press Enterprise, University of California Riverside Newsroom, and Bloomberg
     

    If you are interested in more about how insects of many types (bees, ants, mosquitoes, ect) use CO2, read The role of carbon dioxide in host-finding by mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae): a review . Which was used for a source for this episode.

     

    The music for this podcast is by http://www.bensound.com/badass


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    11 min
  • Episode 7: Is the movie ‘Outbreak’ an accurate portrayal of vaccine development?

    A special companion episode to the “Outbreak” episode of the Beyond the Big Screen Podcast.  The story of the development of the Ebola vaccine and the trails to determine if it really works. Details on different types of vaccines, the many ways they are tested, and ethical issues during an outbreak.  

     

    The paper we discussed in this episode was Efficacy and effectiveness of an rVSV-vectored vaccine in preventing Ebola virus disease: final results from the Guinea ring vaccination, open-label, cluster-randomised trial

    The press release from the World Health Organization about this research.

    An audio press briefing with one of the primary investigators (PIs), Dr Marie -Paule Kieny, WHO Assistant Director-General gives lots of background information about why they chose to do this study and how it was unusual.

    More information about Ebola. 

    General information about vaccines, how they work, and their development. 

    More detailed information about different types of vaccines. 

    The music for this podcast is by http://www.bensound.com/badass

     


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    18 min
  • Episode 6: The Risks in Traveling to the Amazon Rainforest

    The risks in traveling to the Amazon rainforest: How travelers can find out if the trip is worth risk, including resources for anyone thinking about traveling anywhere in the world and an introduction to the connection between leishmaniasis and tourism.

    CDC's quick visual guide to help travelers pack Zika-smart for a trip to South America.

    This Episodes scientific paper was by Fernandes Brilhante et al  "Epidemiological aspects of American cutaneous leishmaniasis (ACL) in an endemic area of forest extractivist culture in western Brazilian Amazonia"

    The World Health Organization travel warning for Brazil.

    The Center for Disease Control and Prevention travel information on Brazil, Yellow Fever, and Zika.

    The Center for Disease Control and Prevention Yellow Book.

    The State Departments information about what to do if you get sick while abroad. 

    The music for this podcast is by http://www.bensound.com/badass


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    14 min
  • Episode 5: What are Gene Drives and How Do They Work?

    Gene drives and Mosquitoes: A new technology could save us from the deadliest parasite in the world today, but we aren't using it. Here's why.

    The episode thumbnail image this month is a microscope image of human blood cells infected by Plasmodium falciparum the parasite that kills millions. Its transmission could possibly be stopped by a gene drive system but their release is halted to ensure that the technology is safe and desired by the public. 

    This weeks scientific paper describing the creation of these gene drive mosquitoes was headed by Dr. Anthony James. He did an interview on the National Academy of Sciences Podcast talking about his work and the challenges of being a mixed race scientist. He also was a guest on the NPR radio show All Things Considered. 

    The Technology Review wrote a news article on genetic modification and its use in forced extinctions. 

     

    The music for this podcast is by http://www.bensound.com/badass


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    19 min
  • Episode 4: How mosquitoes choose their mates

    Mosquitoes and Sound: Love is in the air and there is more to that buzz than you might expect, but can you really use your phone as a mosquito repellent?

    This male mosquito is glued to a pin in the same manor as in the cantor study. This video is part of the art installation "Truce: Strategies for Post-Apocalyptic Comptation" by Robin Meier and Ali Momeni - http://robin.meier.free.fr/site/?page_id=38

     

    One of the really great things about the studies that I present in this episode are that the researchers created these fantastic videos with interviews and demonstrations of how they actually conducted the experiments. They also published media that went along with their study.

    Check out the tone generator I used to demonstrate the mosquito sounds.

    If you are interested in the use of ultrasound as a mosquito repellent, the BBC did a story on it.

    The music for this podcast is by http://www.bensound.com/badass

     


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    17 min

About Tiny Vampires

From the publisher's feed

Ever wonder how we genetically modify mosquitoes? Curious about the parasites? Have questions about how tick bites cause meat allergies? Tiny Vampires is a show about insects that transmit disease and…