Author: Sheba AJ
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Saving babies in Gambia
Being a pediatrician in Gambia is a challenge. In a country like Gambia, where hospital infrastructure can be a challenge, medical professionals still work tirelessly to help those in need, especially the most vulnerable, the neonates. One such heroine is Dr. Uduak Okomo, a pediatrician and infectious disease epidemiologist. Uduak is affiliated with MRC unit…
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Persistence pays off
There are many reasons why antimicrobials are failing. The discovery of penicillin heralded a new age in treating infectious diseases. We finally had a means to cure infections specifically and successfully, and this created a whole slew of antimicrobial drugs, eradicating diseases that would otherwise almost certainly kill the patient. However, these days, infectious disease…
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The Diversity of Fungi
Fungi are absolutely cooler than you might think. Think of fungi, and images of cheese gone bad, mushrooms and that annoyingly persistent infection between your toes are sure to pop into your head. But fungi are so much more than that. The Westerdijk Insitute.(Photo credit: Thijs Rooimans) I interviewed Professor Pedro Crous, the director of…
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Biohacking in Amsterdam
Meet a completely new way of thinking about science! Think of the word “hack” and you might have negative mental images of illegal online activity, ala Mr. Robot. But the original idea of hacking was a positive one, where one would take things apart, understand how they work, and then work to improve them. Biohacking…
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An Absolute Space Girl
What is it like to work at NASA? Are you as inspired by the movie Hidden Figures as I was? Meet Holly Griffith, a real life engineer who works at NASA. Listen to her talk about what she does at NASA, life as a #WomanInSTEM, and the most nerve wracking thing she has ever done…
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On being a fungal physician
Fungal infections are far more wide spread that we all think. The biggest challenge here is the proper diagnosis, treatment and prevention of these infections. I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Dr. Andrej Spec, an infectious disease specialist at the Washington University School of Medicine. Here he talks about what he does, the kinds…
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My microbes made me do it!
The brain gut connection has never been clearer. We have known for a long long time that we are covered in bacteria inside and out, to the count of 10 – 100 trillion indigenous microbial cells living in symbiosis. Until recently however, the actual identity of the species of bacteria that inhabit us was unknown.…
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The Biology of Color
How do cell biologists visualize cells? Visualization has always been an important component of cell and molecular biology. Antoni van Leeuwenhoek marveled at the diversity of “animalcules”, using a single lens microscope that he designed himself. Since then, microscopy has come a long way, but had still depended on the visible spectrum of light to…
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Introducing We Talk Science!
Our first podcast with Annelies and Sheba One of the things that has always concerned me about how and where people get their information these days is the assumed accuracy of said information. A lot of what we eat and do and how we behave is based on scientific information that is meticulously investigated everyday…