Description
Hewlett, David Hewlett here and I'm back with another episode of I'm with (Stargate) Genius! Today I'm geeking out with biology professor Dr. James Gurney and International Space Station (ISS) science coordinator John Ochoa for an amazing deep dive into the world of viruses!
We are entering the century of "viral domestication," where scientists are retrofitting these tiny, possibly living(?) ,packages of genetic code to do everything from cure untreatable bacterial infections, eliminate acne, and potentially even prevent colorectal cancer through a mind-blowing process called "phage steering". A few of the things we'll cover...
How sharing saliva can actually cross-infect you with protective bacteriophages that prey on tooth-decaying bacteria.
What "planetary protection" really looks like,
why tardigrades might already be on the moon, and the reality of a The Andromeda Strain scenario.
A look into the theory that viruses actually invented DNA to protect their genetic code from exploding in extreme environments.
The evolutionary reason why bats are uniquely built to incubate the world's most intense viruses.
Grab your hazmat suits...we're about go viral!
These "I'm With (Stargate) Genius" chats only happen because of my fabulous producer Agne Serpytyte https://www.linkedin.com/in/agneserpytyte/