Tag: Virus

Season 2: Invasions – A Cure for HIV: How We Cured the London PatientSeason 2: Invasions – A Cure for HIV: How We Cured the London Patient

Although we’ve had great breakthroughs in pharmaceutical treatments for HIV, the virus remains one of the scariest diseases out there, because as of yet, there is no surefire cure. But as of this month,we have found a cure… for exactly 2 people in the history of the world. Can the experimental treatment used on the 2 patients who have had the virus wiped from their system be used to help the 37 million people living with the disease today? Should it be?

In Part 1, K+K discussed how HIV infiltrates your body, and why its so hard to get rid of. In today’s episode, K+K examine the London Patient, and how doctors used the patient’s immune system against itself to eradicate the virus. They also look at the recent birth of the first person to be genetically modified with an immunity to HIV, and discuss if this will be and should be the future of medicine.

Disclaimer: the Human Immunodeficiency Virus is not actually a cartoon. 

Season 2: Invasions – A Cure for HIV: One Formidable FoeSeason 2: Invasions – A Cure for HIV: One Formidable Foe

Although we’ve had great breakthroughs in pharmaceutical treatments for HIV, the virus remains one of the scariest diseases out there, because as of yet, there is no surefire cure. But as of this month,we have found a cure… for exactly 2 people in the history of the world. Can the experimental treatment used on the 2 patients who have had the virus wiped from their system be used to help the 37 million people living with the disease today? Should it be?

In Part 1, K+K discuss why an HIV infection is such a big deal for your body, how it goes about infiltrating your cells, and the diabolical ways it makes itself so hard to get rid of. This knowledge will set you up to understand the next episode, when K+K examine the London Patient, and how doctors used the patient’s immune system against itself to eradicate the virus.

For such a formidable foe, he sure is a tiny guy.

 

47. Death: La Frontera Final (Part I )47. Death: La Frontera Final (Part I )

Yes ladies, he is single!

Today is a day about Death. It’s Día de los Muertos, the Latin American holiday that honors the souls of loved ones that have passed away, and celebrates death as an essential and natural part of life. For a science show, death is a tricky subject to tackle, because no one has really been able to define what it is. But that won’t stop K+K from trying! In this episode, they explore

  • Creatures whose existence blurs the line between living and nonliving
  • How we know our bodies are meant to die, and why we can’t stop it from happening
  • Why death is essential for the continuation of life on Earth