Recent Episodes
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A Gene Therapy for DMD
There are a number of genetic disorders that interfere with normal muscle function. Duchenne's Muscular Dystrophy or DMD is one of them. A genetic mutation stops a functional dystrophin protein from being made. It's a very large protein that helps to connect structures within muscle cells called the cytoskeleton to proteins that form the extracellular matrix outside the cell.
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A Unique Knight
Among the remains of medieval Spanish knights at a castle just east of Madrid, scientists found a uniquely shaped skull. It was unusually narrow and long, measuring 9 inches long by four inches wide compared to a normal 5.5 by 5.5 inch skull.
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The War in Your Gut
Everyday a war is waged inside our guts, between the bacteria and the phage or viruses that want to kill them. They're each genetically evolving in a race to outdo the other both on earth and in space. We'll get to that in a minute.
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Learning from Roman Sewers
There are many ways for us to learn about history -- poring through old books, excavating archeological sites, or for some scientists, by studying old sewers. We can learn how people disposed of their waste, what they ate, and which diseases plagued them.
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Using Magnets to Remove Kidney Stones
Passing a kidney stone is so painful even women who've given birth say the pain is worse. About 1 in 10 Americans have kidney stones and most leave the body naturally through drinking a lot of water. Researchers may have found a much better method for treating kidney stones using magnets. It's called Magnetic System for Total Nephrolith Extraction.
