Researchers begina slow and cumbersome descent, deep into the Grootboom Cave, hindered by head-to-toe protective suits, but those suits are the only things standing between safety and exposure. Thousands of bats live inside this cave, and not far from the cave's entrance is the city of Johannesburg, South Africa, a heavily populated area. Any number of these bats could potentially be carrying a deadly pathogen. Known as zoonotic, these are diseases...

In this factual case study, revelers at a Burns Day celebration in Scotland become ill. When E. coli is suspected, health officials conduct a medical manhunt to discover its source. They and researchers move cautiously from one possible cause to the next-the food served, the water drunk, improper food handling. When none of the investigations prove conclusive, suspicions mount that the microbe was probably passed on by someone sitting at the table...

Living the year of the pandemic, filmed around the world, from lockdowns to funerals to protests. Using extensive personal video and local footage, how people and countries responded to the virus, across cultures, race, faith and privilege.

Warts are growths on your skin caused by an infection with human papilloma virus, or HPV.

How does an organism carried by insects become an instrument of mass destruction? Can malaria be defeated or at least neutralized? What political and economic forces influence the battle against the disease? This program investigates social and scientific issues surrounding malaria and shows how the parasite wreaks havoc-especially in Africa, where it causes more deaths than AIDS. Explaining differences between strains of malaria, the program clarifies...

This program presents the human body as a complex ecosystem of bacteria, then examines each portion of the body, which bacteria live there, and why. The three major bacterial groups-sphere-shaped cocci, rods, and helical spirochetes and spirilla-are examined. Their behavior when interacting within the body is explored. The life and death of obligate aerobes, facultative anaerobes, and obligate anaerobes is described. A discussion of factors that encourage...

Viruses are the simplest forms of life-so primitive in biological terms that for some years the scientific community debated whether they should even be regarded as living organisms. This program examines how viruses, though incapable of reproducing outside of living cells, have developed refined strategies for reconfiguring the host organism into one that serves exclusively as a virus breeder. Sophisticated computer graphics and microscopy allow...

The malaria parasite and its human hosts are locked in an evolutionary arms race. The parasite kills more than a million people every year. Humans fight back with gradual genetic adaptation and better drugs. The parasite then adapts and displays drug resistance. In this science bulletin, immunologist Dyann Wirth and her team at the Harvard School of Public Health study the evolutionary adaptations of Senegalese people and their malaria parasites in...

This program provides an overview of how to reduce the risks of contracting infectious diseases of all types, with an emphasis on sexually transmitted diseases. Major STDs such as HIV and other infectious diseases are profiled, outlining their risk factors and describing their symptoms. The body's natural defense mechanisms, including the immune system, the skin, mucous membranes, and enzymes, and medical interventions such as vaccines are discussed....

Inhalers of one kind or another are often the mainstay of asthma therapy. I'm Dr. Alan Greene, and let's talk about how to actually use an inhaler.