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We all spill microorganisms from our bodies onto things we touch and come into contact with. Each person’s microbes are different and identifiable. A recent discovery that analyzed DNA from bacteria in the air shows that along with leaving these microbes on things, we also release them into the air. This allows scientists to know, for example, if someone has been in a room in the last few hours. In people who work and live together, their microbiomes can start to become similar. Listen to learn what interesting things scientists are learning about what our microbe cloud says about us.
Story Length: 4:24
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January 16, 2015
4:21
Human diseases such as cancer impact human cells differently depending on the person. This makes it important for scientific researchers to have access to a variety of human cells - healthy and infected - to find medicines that fight or cure disease. A new technique of growing cells uses a layer of mouse cells to fuel human cell growth. It’s changed the game in cancer research. Listen to learn how this technique developed and how it lead to a breakthrough in cervical cancer research.
Read MoreNovember 11, 2014
2:33
Bacteria and viruses are the source of most illnesses. A new source of ancient viruses has been found in the Canadian Arctic in the poo of caribou. Caribou, also known as reindeer, have lived and pooped in cold weather for millennia, so their frozen excrement is a source for ancient viruses. This public radio story introduces us to the scientist who discovered the DNA of two new viruses in 700 year old frozen Caribou waste.
Read MoreMay 2, 2014
6:01
A rising number of parents are choosing not to vaccinate their children due to a variety of reasons. Doctors are alarmed at this rise of unvaccinated children, which may be connected to a series of measles cases.
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