Pandemics & Pathogens Past & Present
67 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 2 years ago - ★★★★★ - 3 ratingsAbout Pandemics, Epidemics, Outbreaks, Viruses, and Other Pathogens in History
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Episodes
Wrap Up Ep. 31
April 06, 2022 23:48 - 13.7 MBA review of a few basics. The end. 7 min Pandemics & Pathogens Past & Present [email protected] @chemsmithInstagram @timcsmith1961 Direct Link to episode
Extinct Isotopes Ep. 30
April 06, 2022 23:46 - 13.7 MBWhat are extinct isotopes and what do they tell us? 10 min Pandemics & Pathogens Past & Present [email protected] @chemsmithInstagram @timcsmith1961 Direct Link to episode
Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator Ep. 29
April 06, 2022 23:42 - 16.1 MBWhat’s an RTG? How does it work? RTG accidents. 12 min Pandemics & Pathogens Past & Present [email protected] @chemsmithInstagram @timcsmith1961 Direct Link to episode
Murder by Isotope Ep. 28
April 06, 2022 23:39 - 15.8 MBHave isotopes been used to kill people? Of course they have. 12 min Pandemics & Pathogens Past & Present [email protected] @chemsmithInstagram @timcsmith1961 Direct Link to episode
Murder By Isotope Ep. 28
April 06, 2022 23:39 - 15.8 MBHave isotopes been used to kill people? Of course they have. 12 min Pandemics & Pathogens Past & Present [email protected] @chemsmithInstagram @timcsmith1961 Direct Link to episode
Detecting Isotopes Ep. 27
April 03, 2022 23:38 - 15.3 MBMethods to detects isotopes. The Geiger counter. The scintillation counter. Mass spectrometry. Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. 11 min Pandemics & Pathogens Past & Present [email protected] @chemsmithInstagram @timcsmith1961 Direct Link to episode
Decay Series Ep. 26
April 03, 2022 23:34 - 16.2 MBWhat is a decay series? A few extra facts about Uranium. 12 min Pandemics & Pathogens Past & Present [email protected] @chemsmithInstagram @timcsmith1961 Direct Link to episode
U-235 Fission Ep. 25
April 03, 2022 23:30 - 12.4 MBHow does a U-235 atomic bomb work? How does fission work. What’s a chain reaction? 9 min Pandemics & Pathogens Past & Present [email protected] @chemsmithInstagram @timcsmith1961 Direct Link to episode
Kik The Woolly Mammoth Ep. 24
March 31, 2022 23:56 - 8.62 MBWho was Kik and how were isotopes used to learn about him? 6 min Pandemics & Pathogens Past & Present [email protected] @chemsmithInstagram @timcsmith1961 Direct Link to episode
Krypton-86 Ep. 23
March 31, 2022 23:47 - 11.2 MBThe discovery of Krypton. It’s properties. It’s uses and some Krypton trivia. 8 min Pandemics & Pathogens Past & Present [email protected] @chemsmithInstagram @timcsmith1961 Direct Link to episode
Cosmogenic Isotopes Ep. 22
March 31, 2022 23:43 - 8.3 MBWhat are cosmogenic isotopes? What can they tell us? 6 min Pandemics & Pathogens Past & Present [email protected] @chemsmithInstagram @timcsmith1961 Direct Link to episode
Americium-241 Ep. 21
February 22, 2022 00:55 - 7.05 MBHow did this element get its name? Where would you find it? Can you make a nuclear bomb from a household item? 5 min Pandemics & Pathogens Past & Present [email protected] @chemsmithInstagram @timcsmith1961 Direct Link to episode
Isotope Clumping Ep. 20
February 22, 2022 00:50 - 13.5 MBWhat is isotope clumping and what can it tell us? 10 min Pandemics & Pathogens Past & Present [email protected] @chemsmithInstagram @timcsmith1961 Direct Link to episode
Positron Emission Tomography Ep. 19
February 22, 2022 00:47 - 11.1 MBPositrons! So cool. Check it out. 8 min Pandemics & Pathogens Past & Present [email protected] @chemsmithInstagram @timcsmith1961 Direct Link to episode
Radioimaging Ep. 18
February 22, 2022 00:44 - 6.71 MBHow are isotopes used in medical imaging? 5 min Pandemics & Pathogens Past & Present [email protected] @chemsmithInstagram @timcsmith1961 Direct Link to episode
Targeted Radioisotope Therapy Ep. 17
February 22, 2022 00:42 - 9.6 MBHow is targeted radioisotope therapy different from brachytherapy? 7 min Pandemics & Pathogens Past & Present [email protected] @chemsmithInstagram @timcsmith1961 Direct Link to episode
Brachytherapy Ep. 16
February 22, 2022 00:38 - 7.38 MBWhat is brachytherapy and how are isotopes involved? 5 min Pandemics & Pathogens Past & Present [email protected] @chemsmithInstagram @timcsmith1961 Direct Link to episode
Urea Breath Test Ep. 15
February 14, 2022 00:52 - 7.57 MBWhat is the urea breath test used for and how are isotopes involved? 6 min Pandemics & Pathogens Past & Present [email protected] @chemsmithInstagram @timcsmith1961 Direct Link to episode
Doubly Labeled Water Ep. 14
February 14, 2022 00:47 - 19.2 MBWhat is double labeled water? How is it useful? 14 min Pandemics & Pathogens Past & Present [email protected] @chemsmithInstagram @timcsmith1961 Direct Link to episode
Heavy Water Ep. 13
February 13, 2022 01:11 - 15.8 MBWhat is heavy water? What are its properties? 12 min Pandemics & Pathogens Past & Present [email protected] @chemsmithInstagram @timcsmith1961 Direct Link to episode
Zinc Tracers & Biomarkers Ep. 12
February 13, 2022 01:07 - 10.2 MBWhat is a tracer? How are isotopes involved? 7 min Pandemics & Pathogens Past & Present [email protected] @chemsmithInstagram @timcsmith1961 Direct Link to episode
Ötzi the Iceman Ep. 11
February 13, 2022 01:02 - 12.9 MBWho was Ötzi? What did isotopes tell us about him? 9 min Pandemics & Pathogens Past & Present [email protected] @chemsmithInstagram @timcsmith1961 Direct Link to episode
King Richard III Ep. 10
February 11, 2022 02:15 - 12 MBWhat did isotopes tell us about King Richard III? 9 min Pandemics & Pathogens Past & Present [email protected] @chemsmithInstagram @timcsmith1961 Direct Link to episode
Isotope Fractionation Ep. 9
February 11, 2022 02:08 - 10.3 MBWhat is isotope fractionation? How is it used? 7 min Pandemics & Pathogens Past & Present [email protected] @chemsmithInstagram @timcsmith1961 Direct Link to episode
Carbon Dating Ep. 8
February 11, 2022 01:09 - 10.7 MBWhat is carbon dating? Also, what are Seuss Effects? 8 min Pandemics & Pathogens Past & Present [email protected] @chemsmithInstagram @timcsmith1961 Direct Link to episode
Primordial Isotopes Ep. 7
February 11, 2022 01:05 - 12.3 MBWhat are primordial isotopes? Also some random isotope facts. 9 min Pandemics & Pathogens Past & Present [email protected] @chemsmithInstagram @timcsmith1961 Direct Link to episode
Types of Radioactive Decay Ep. 6
February 11, 2022 00:48 - 12.5 MBWhat is radioactive decay? How do atoms decay? 9 min Pandemics & Pathogens Past & Present [email protected] @chemsmithInstagram @timcsmith1961 Direct Link to episode
Stable vs Radioactive Ep. 5
February 08, 2022 00:54 - 16.2 MBSome isotopes are stable. Some are radioactive. What’s the difference? 12 min Pandemics & Pathogens Past & Present [email protected] @chemsmithInstagram @timcsmith1961 Direct Link to episode
What’s an Isotope? Ep. 4
February 08, 2022 00:50 - 12 MBHow isotopes are defined. Examples. 9 min Pandemics & Pathogens Past & Present [email protected] @chemsmithInstagram @timcsmith1961 Direct Link to episode
Atoms. Ep. 3
February 08, 2022 00:47 - 8.5 MBHow atoms are constructed. 6 min Pandemics & Pathogens Past & Present [email protected] @chemsmithInstagram @timcsmith1961 Direct Link to episode
The Standard Model. Ep. 2
February 07, 2022 00:57 - 8.06 MBA review of what particles make up the universe. 6 min Pandemics & Pathogens Past & Present [email protected] @chemsmithInstagram @timcsmith1961 Direct Link to episode
It’s About Isotopes. Ep. 1
February 07, 2022 00:07 - 3.43 MBWhy isotopes? An introduction to the series. 4 min Pandemics & Pathogens Past & Present [email protected] @chemsmithInstagram @timcsmith1961 Direct Link to episode
Special Topic: COVID-19 Vaccines. Ep. 34
November 04, 2020 01:12 - 16.6 MBFirst I discuss the phases of drug or vaccine trials, then discuss the immune system, and finally outline the various approaches to COVID-19 vaccines (which largely applies to vaccines in general), including very recent advances in types of vaccines, and what the COVID-19 vaccine picture looks like in the Fall of 2020 – what companiesContinue reading "Special Topic: COVID-19 Vaccines. Ep. 34"
Special Topic: The He Jainku Controversy. Ep. 33
November 04, 2020 01:09 - 9.91 MBWhat did this guy do? Why was it so controversial? Hint: It involves CRISPR (Ep 31) and adeno-associated retroviruses (Ep 10) and making “designer babies.” 13 min Pandemics & Pathogens Past & Present [email protected] @chemsmithInstagram @timcsmith1961 Direct Link to episode
Special Topic: How Pandemics End. Ep. 32
November 04, 2020 01:08 - 9.37 MBFirst, I revisit the smallpox vaccine. Then I review a Ted Talk by Alex Rosenthal regarding how pandemics can end via three possible strategies. 12 min Pandemics & Pathogens Past & Present [email protected] @chemsmithInstagram @timcsmith1961 Direct Link to episode
Special Topic: CRISPR. Ep. 31
November 04, 2020 01:05 - 7.22 MBWhat is it and what is it good for? My prediction, on September 3, 2020, that Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer A. Doudna would win the Nobel Prize. They won on October 7, 2020. 16 min Pandemics & Pathogens Past & Present [email protected] @chemsmithInstagram @timcsmith1961 Direct Link to episode
Malaria. Ep. 30
November 04, 2020 01:00 - 13.7 MBWhat it is. Discovery of malaria. It’s life cycle. Connection to sickle cell anemia. Historical outbreaks. The Vampire of Lugano (vampires again!). Link between malaria and slavery in America? Current situation. World Mosquito Day? 18 min Pandemics & Pathogens Past & Present [email protected] @chemsmithInstagram @timcsmith1961 Direct Link to episode
Tuberculosis. Ep. 29
November 03, 2020 18:48 - 14.1 MBDeadly stats. What it is. How it works. “Consumption.” Drug-resistant TB. Historical outbreaks. TB and vampires? Sanitariums. Vaccine. The “romantic disease.” Famous people who had TB. 18 min Pandemics & Pathogens Past & Present [email protected] @chemsmithInstagram @timcsmith1961 Direct Link to episode
Measles. Ep. 28
November 03, 2020 01:20 - 11.7 MBWhat it is and how it works. The measles vaccine. Anti-vaccination sentiment. The origin of measles and historical outbreaks. 15 min Pandemics & Pathogens Past & Present [email protected] @chemsmithInstagram @timcsmith1961 Direct Link to episode
Typhus & How Bacteria Work. Ep. 27
November 03, 2020 01:17 - 9.79 MBTypes of typhus. Symptoms. I then swerve into a discussion of how bacteria work. Then back to typhus: How it works. Is there a vaccine? Historical outbreaks. Typhus in literature and on television. Anne Frank. 12 min Pandemics & Pathogens Past & Present [email protected] @chemsmithInstagram @timcsmith1961 Direct Link to episode
2014-2016 West African Ebola Epidemic. Ep. 26
November 03, 2020 01:15 - 11.2 MBIt’s origin. Stats. Ebola in the US and political ramifications. About the virus: symptoms & how it works. Vaccine development. 14 min Pandemics & Pathogens Past & Present [email protected] @chemsmithInstagram @timcsmith1961 Direct Link to episode
2009 “Swine Flu” and the Evolution of Flu Strains. Ep. 25
November 03, 2020 01:13 - 12.3 MBSwine flu details & stats. Why called Swine Flu? Barack Obama’s response & criticism. Also, how did flu viruses evolve? What flu strains existed over the decades & where did they come from? How do new strains come about? Finally, I go through the whole evolution of flu strains from 1918 Spanish Flu through theContinue reading "2009 “Swine Flu” and the Evolution of Flu Strains. Ep. 25"
SARS and MERS. Introduction to Coronaviruses. Ep. 24
November 03, 2020 01:11 - 13.5 MBThe facts of the SARS & MERS outbreaks. Responses to the threats. What are coronaviruses? 17 min Pandemics & Pathogens Past & Present [email protected] @chemsmithInstagram @timcsmith1961 Direct Link to episode
HIV/AIDS Part 2. Ep. 23
November 03, 2020 00:12 - 12.1 MBVirology of AIDS (how it infects). G. W. Bush’s AIDS relief program. HIV drugs. ART (anti-retroviral therapy). Work on HIV vaccines – why so difficult. “Cured” patients. HIV-denialist Peter Duesberg. The work of Robert Gallo and Luc Montagnier. 15 min Pandemics & Pathogens Past & Present [email protected] @chemsmithInstagram @timcsmith1961 Direct Link to episode
HIV/AIDS Part 1. Ep. 22
November 01, 2020 00:46 - 11.6 MBSymptoms. Treatment. Origin. History of cases from the 1970’s. Politics/Ronald Reagan. AIDS organizations. Ryan White. Other famous victims. Statistics. 15 min Pandemics & Pathogens Past & Present [email protected] @chemsmithInstagram @timcsmith1961 Direct Link to episode
1968 “Hong Kong Flu.” Ep. 21
November 01, 2020 00:41 - 8.87 MBFirst I mention a 1348 plague-related riot in Germany. Then I talk about how the 1918 flu might have changed history when President Woodrow Wilson came down with it. Then I turn to the 1968 flu. How did it arise? Who was affected? What about Woodstock? 11 min Pandemics & Pathogens Past & Present [email protected] reading "1968 “Hong Kong Flu.” Ep. 21"
1957 “Asian Flu.” Ep. 20
November 01, 2020 00:37 - 10.5 MBFirst I try to guess at what pathogens killed the most people in all of history. (I revise this in a later episode.) Also a little cholera story. Then the story of the Asian Flu. About flu subtypes and the origin of the Asian Flu. 13 min Pandemics & Pathogens Past & Present [email protected] @chemsmithInstagramContinue reading "1957 “Asian Flu.” Ep. 20"
Polio Part 2. Vaccines. Ep. 19
November 01, 2020 00:26 - 13.4 MBThe development of them (drama!). Koprowski’s live attenuated vaccine vs. Salk’s dead-virus injectable vaccine. How Koprowski’s vaccine was made (wild science). Experimenting on disabled or prison poluations (not cool). Roosevelt and the March of Dimes. The Koprowski/Sabin sugar cube vaccine. Legacy of Jonas Salk. Some real polio stories I cultivated from folks on FB. 17Continue reading "Polio Part 2. Vaccines. Ep. 19"
Polio Part 1. Ep. 18
November 01, 2020 00:22 - 12.2 MBWhat is it? How long has it been around? Polio in the 1900’s. President Franklin Roosevelt. Weird early treatments. The Iron Lung. 1950’s outbreaks. 16 min Pandemics & Pathogens Past & Present [email protected] @chemsmithInstagram @timcsmith1961 Direct Link to episode
The 1918 “Spanish Flu.” Ep. 17
November 01, 2020 00:13 - 14.1 MBWhy was it called that? How it happened. Who was affected and theories about why. Masks! Social distancing! Snake oil cures. Yes, literally snake oil. 17 min Pandemics & Pathogens Past & Present [email protected] @chemsmithInstagram @timcsmith1961 Direct Link to episode