In this episode, Therese Markow and Dr. Anice Lowen discuss the bird flu outbreak, highlighting the virus’s spread from birds to dairy cattle and recorded cases of human infection. Dr. Lowen explains the differences between influenza A and influenza B viruses, talks about which type causes pandemics, and what we can do to try to prevent future pandemics from these flu strains.

Key Takeaways:

• An epidemic affects a specific region, a pandemic is global. Only Influenza A viruses can cause pandemics and are often transmitted via birds and mammals.

• Humans can become infected with viruses from animals only if we are exposed to those animals.

• Flu epidemics happen every winter due to the circulation of influenza A and B viruses. Pandemics happen sporadically, the last four were well documented in 1918, 1957, 1968, and 2009.

• Bird flu can become serious if human to another. So monitoring is critical.

"Viruses circulating in these domestic animals actually present the greatest pandemic risk simply because humans are exposed to those animals more than they are to wild animals." — Dr. Anice Lowen

Connect with Dr. Anice Lowen:

Professional Bio: biomed.emory.edu/PROGRAM_SITES/MMG/about-us/faculty-detail/anice-lowen-phd

Website: https://www.lowenlab.com/

Connect with Therese:

Website: www.criticallyspeaking.net

Threads: @critically_speaking

Email: theresemarkow@criticallyspeaking.net

Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it.

In this episode, Therese Markow and Dr. Joshua Weitz discuss his book "Asymptomatic: The Silent Spread of COVID-19 and the Future of Pandemics" and his work in understanding the risk of COVID spread from as early as spring of 2020. He highlights the double-edged sword of asymptomatic infections, discusses what governments could do to help mitigate at-risk populations, and what we, as individuals, can do to help keep everyone safe. Dr. Weitz criticizes early predictions of COVID-19's disappearance by mid-2020, attributing the error to underestimated infections and behavioral changes. He emphasizes the importance of public health measures, vaccination, and testing, especially in vulnerable populations. Finally, Dr. Weitz talks about the role of asymptomatic transmission in future pandemics and the need for proactive public health investments.

Key Takeaways:

• Not having symptoms doesn’t mean that you never had COVID-19. Nearly 50% of cases in early 2020 were asymptomatic (though that number varies by age).

• There was not one single group of modelers trying to make sense of the data coming out of the pandemic. As such, different projections can come out even from the same pandemic information.

• For infectious diseases, our behavior is correlated with the risk.

• COVID is not the flu. COVID is not gone, and we now have a double seasonal burden from both flu and COVID.

• If everyone is asymptomatic or it was always mild, we wouldn't worry. We wouldn't have stopped things or been so upset just by cases or infections; it was the severe ones and the number of severe cases that dictated the approach to control, as the transmission potential by asymptomatic individuals was not considered.
  
  

"The double-edged sword is good news, in some sense, for individuals, but it's bad news for populations, because many more people can be infected. They're contagious and interact with more people. When we try to think from a public health perspective, not just a personal health perspective, then we have to be concerned." — Dr. Joshua Weitz

Connect with Dr. Joshua Weitz:

Professional Bio: https://biology.umd.edu/people/dr-joshua-weitz

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshua-weitz-5866599/

Substack: http://joshuasweitz.substack.com/

Website: https://weitzgroup.umd.edu/

Book: Asymptomatic: The Silent Spread of COVID-19 and the Future of Pandemics https://www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/53730/asymptomatic

Connect with Therese:

Website: www.criticallyspeaking.net

Threads: @critically_speaking

Email: theresemarkow@criticallyspeaking.net

Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it.

When we hear the term tumor or cancer, the image that often comes to mind is a bunch of bad cells next to normal ones, and growing. Like many things, it's just not that simple. How do the normal cells turn bad? Can our immune systems detect the cancer cell and kill it? Why does some initially successful chemotherapy stop working? Why does cancer spread? These are all great questions, since cancers of one kind or another will affect so many of us either as patients, friends, or loved ones. Well, basic science is providing some critical answers. In today’s episode, Therese Markow and Dr. Ajit Nirmal discuss just these questions.

Key Takeaways:

• If we didn't have an immune system, we'd all get cancer.

• Drug resistance continues to be the principal limiting factor to achieving cures in patients with cancer.

• Once a normal cell has turned cancerous, it is likely dividing much faster than a normal cell. This rapid cell division is error-prone and can lead to the accumulation of mutations at a much faster rate.

"I truly believe, with adequate basic understanding of the molecular underpinnings of cancer evolution, and how the tumor microenvironment helps it or promotes it, we will be able to predict the best course of action to target all cancer cells up until the very last one, and consequently to the patient." — Dr. Ajit Nirmal

Connect with Dr. Ajit Nirmal:

Professional Bio: https://scholar.harvard.edu/ajitjohnson/home

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ajitjohnsonnirmal/

Connect with Therese:

Website: www.criticallyspeaking.net

Threads: @critically_speaking

Email: theresemarkow@criticallyspeaking.net

Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it.