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Smallpox to Covid-19: the history of diseases with Dr. Michael Oldstone
Today, Dr. Michael Oldstone joins us to discuss the history of diseases. We talk about diseases, viruses and their role in our history.
Left: A yellow-fever epidemic when building the Panama Canal
Right: Children would be regularly paralyzed before the polio vaccine
Shownotes
00:00: Introductions
02:36: What is a virus?
03:45: DNA viruses vs RNA Viruses
07:30 Understanding virulence and persistance in viruses
08:45 How do viruses evolve?
10:00 Smallpox
“In the 20th century, smallpox has killed more people than all the wars of the 20th century combined”
10:30 Ancient inoculations against the smallpox
12:00 Attenuated viruses: The Slow Road to the Vaccine
14:14 Why haven’t other viruses been eliminated like the smallpox?
16:00 Smallpox in the new world
18:00 The slave trade and yellow fever in the new world
20:00 Yellow fever during the Haitian Revolution
21:00 Yellow fever during the continental congress
22:00 How businesses refused to lockdown during yellow fever in Memphis
25:00 Doctors who self-experimented to find the inoculation against the yellow fever
Viruses cause more casualties than guns during war
31:00 SARS
35:00 Covid-19 vs SARS: How Covid-19 spread fast?
39:00 How would a functioning public health system deal with Covid-19?
42:00 How to develop a vaccine?
48:00 Accurate information about viruses
About Dr. Michael Oldstone
Viruses lie at the heart of some of humanity’s most pernicious and devastating diseases, such as AIDS, hepatitis, and influenza. Michael Oldstone, a professor of immunology and microbiology at The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California, has devoted his career to a molecular understanding of how viruses infect cells, evade and manipulate the immune system, and cause disease.
Learn more about his book: Viruses Plagues and History
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