Description
In this episode of Science Quickly, one of SciAm’s Young American Scientists, biologist Jaye Gardiner, explores how common viral infections may raise cancer risk—not just through genetic mutations but by reshaping the body’s “extracellular matrix” of molecules that support cells and tissues. She explains how viruses can alter the extracellular matrix, potentially creating conditions that allow tumors to grow, and why this emerging view could change how we think about everything from colds to long COVID.
0:00 – Introduction
0:29 – Meet Jaye Gardiner
0:52 – How viruses cause cancer
2:11 – The extracellular matrix explained
3:57 – Coxsackievirus & fibrosis
5:14 – Broadening our view of common infections
7:00 – Long COVID & viral microenvironments
8:15 – Current & future research
10:03 – JKX Comics: making science accessible
11:54 – The Gaining STEAM! comic project
13:12 – Outro
Recommended Reading:
Jaye Gardiner’s Young American Scientists profile
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/jaye-gardiner/
Join our Summer Reading Challenge
http://sciam.com/readingchallenge
E-mail us at sciencequickly@sciam.com if you have any questions, comments or ideas for stories we should cover!
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Science Quickly is produced by Rachel Feltman, Fonda Mwangi, Sushmita Pathak and Jeff DelViscio. This episode was edited by Alex Sugiura, with fact-checking by Marielle Issa and Aaron Shattuck. Our theme music was composed by Dominic Smith.