Virology Podcast by Karolina

Maybe you’ve had the experience of being sick, and your doctor struggling to find the right antibiotics to treat your infection. Or maybe you had to restart your treatment with different antibiotics because the first ones didn’t work. Situations like this are becoming more and more common, as antibiotic-resistant bacteria continue to spread. At the same time, new antibiotics are being developed ve...

We all know the story. When Europeans set sail for the so-called “New World”, they didn’t just bring ships and cargo - they also brought deadly diseases. They introduced pathogens into regions where no one had ever encountered them before. And in some areas, these outbreaks wiped out between 50–90% of local populations within just a few years. Most of us can name the usual suspects—smallpox or inf...

When people think about viruses, one of the first things that comes to mind is that they’re small. And to be honest, that's how I would describe them too. I mean, that’s how we discovered viruses in the first place: they passed through filters that trapped bacteria, so we knew this infectious substance had to be smaller than any known cell. So when scientists came across the very first giant v...

I spent a good portion of the last episode telling you that HIV cannot be cured and our best option is to keep it under control with medication. But here’s the thing: I wasn’t telling you the whole truth. In a handful of cases, people have been declared cured of HIV. The first was known as the Berlin Patient, and since then, fewer than 10 cases have followed. Today, I’d like to share their story a...

In the 1980s, doctors began noticing a troubling pattern: previously healthy individuals were succumbing to rare diseases that their immune systems couldn’t fend off. This alarming phenomenon was traced back to the HIV virus, which ultimately leads to the development of AIDS—a condition where the immune system stops functioning properly.  In today's episode, we delve into the scientific quest...

Maybe you noticed media reports talking about ancient viruses found in permafrost. Sometimes even using catchphrases like "zombie virus revived from the ice". And I am not exaggerating, even CNN used the term zombie virus in a headline. Today I would like to talk about where these stories are coming from and what research was done on viruses or their fragments conserved in permafrost.  O...

It probably wouldn't surprise you if I told you that someone lied to make money. But today I would like to talk about a lie that changed the world we live in. It is a story of a doctor, who claimed that the MMR vaccine causes autism. He published a study detailing 12 children who allegedly developed autism after receiving the MMR vaccine. However, it was later revealed that the results were fa...

How do you look for something invisible? Today, I would like to go to the very beginning of the virology field. To the time when people only started to realize that viruses exist and can cause diseases. Because this required a whole shift in how people thought about infection.  So, let me tell you a story, about the first virus ever discovered. * If you enjoyed this episode and want to stay update...

Usually, we think about viruses as the enemies that threaten our health. But this episode talks about a time when scientists decided to turn the tables and take advantage of a virus. More specifically, we explore the time when Australia struggled with overpopulated rabbits that were damaging the local ecosystem and causing extinctions of heritage species. So finally, the Australian authorities dec...