Professor Dave Explains
Influenza (The Flu)
We've all heard of the flu, and probably know that it is associated with a particular virus. What is the structure of this virus? How is it transmitted? What steps do we have in place in terms of treatment and prevention? The flu is...
Professor Dave Explains
Whooping Cough Bordetella pertussis
Whooping cough, caused by Bordetella pertussis, is a baby killer. It goes all the way back to the middle ages, so let's get a closer look at this bacterium now.
Step Back History
The AIDS Crisis: "How Many Beautiful Friends Died"
Today, we need to talk about one of the largest medical disasters in recent history that we almost never talk about. Let's talk about the people who thought they would die, had the state do nothing, and fought like hell to demand their...
Professor Dave Explains
Bacterial Pathogenesis How Bacteria Cause Damage
So we know that there are unbelievable numbers of bacteria inside of us, and some of them are good. So what about the bad ones? What do those do? How do they harm us, exactly? What defenses do we have against them? Let's take a look!
Professor Dave Explains
The Chemistry of Air Purification
It's amazing to think that we've gone from having no idea what air is, to knowing its composition intimately, and even having the ability to filter what's in it. We have produced machines that can remove both pathogens as well as harmful...
Professor Dave Explains
Anthrax Bacillus anthracis
Most of us know about anthrax either because of the terrorism involving sending anthrax in the mail, or because of the metal band by the same name. But let's get a closer look at the actual bacterium, Bacillus anthracis.
Healthcare Triage
Myths About IUDs
Last week I talked about IUDs. But there are still a number of myths and misperceptions about them. I covered some of them in my last book, "Don't Put That in There, and 69 other sex myths debunked". But all of you didn't buy the book....
Professor Dave Explains
Methods of Drug Administration
When a patient must be administered a drug in a medical setting, how does this occur? Well there are lots of ways. Pills or tablets can be ingested orally. There are topical creams, tubes, injections, and more. How does each one work,...
Professor Dave Explains
Introduction to the History of Drugs
A drug is a substance that, when introduced to the body, produces some non-nutritional physiological effect. This includes medicinal drugs as well as recreational drugs, and they take many forms. Focusing predominately on medicinal...
Mazz Media
Genetic Diseases
In this live-action program viewers will learn that a monogenic disorder is a genetic disease caused by small-scale genetic differences that cause the malfunction of a single gene and that many diseases result from such genetic...
Professor Dave Explains
Categorizing Drugs Classes, Names, and Schedules
How do we categorize drugs? How do we name them? This is quite a bit trickier than one might think, because there are different ways we might want to categorize them, each of which has its own application. Any drug also has multiple...
Curated Video
Exploring the Wonders of Boron
Delve into the fascinating world of boron - a chemical element with unique properties and a rich history. We explore its various medical uses, including its role as an antiseptic for cuts and burns, an eye wash, and a treatment for...
Professor Dave Explains
Introduction to Pharmacology
What are drugs? What do they do? How do they do what they do? These questions are part of the field of pharmacology, and over this series we will learn all about a wide variety of different drugs that have clinical use. This will require...
Professor Dave Explains
Introduction to the Microbial World
It's time to learn about microorganisms! These are all the tiny little critters in the water, and the air, and in the ground, and inside you. We didn't even know they were there until a few hundred years ago, but once we started to learn...
Professor Dave Explains
Pharmacodynamics Mechanisms of Drug Action
Now that we know how drugs move through the body to reach their target, what happens once they get there? By what mechanisms can drugs interact with target proteins to elicit a particular cellular response, and by extension a...
Professor Dave Explains
Routes of Viral Transmission
Now we know a bit more about how viruses interact with cells, whether those are bacterial cells, or animal cells, such as ours. But how do they gain access to our cells in the first place? How do viruses get inside the human body? Let's...
Science360
Home Sensors Enable Seniors To Live Independently
People are living longer and they desire to live as independently as possible in their senior years. But, independent lifestyles come with risks, such as debilitating falls and deteriorating health resulting from inadequate care. To...
Science360
Last of the Tasmanian devils - Infectious cancer to blame
Researcher Andrew Storfer discusses his research on Tasmanian devils, their infectious cancer, and how this research has wide reaching impacts.
Professor Dave Explains
Legionnaires’ Disease Legionella pneumophila
One day in 1976, there was a terrible outbreak of an unknown disease at an American Legion convention in Philadelphia. What was the pathogen responsible for this so-called Legionnaires' disease? Let's find out!
Professor Dave Explains
Typhoid Fever Salmonella typhi
Typhoid fever can be a very serious illness, and we may have already heard of it because of Typhoid Mary, a famous carrier in the beginning of the 20th century. Let's go in for a closer look!
Professor Dave Explains
Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever Rickettsia rickettsii
In 1896, a mysterious disease spread through the Snake River Valley of Idaho. Some people called it a spotted fever, and hundreds got sick. As it turns out, this was all the doing of some bacteria, Rickettsia ricketssii. Let's get a...
Professor Dave Explains
Chickenpox and Shingles (Varicella-Zoster Virus)
Lots of kids get the chickenpox. I know I did! I was about four years old. It was awful. But now we can learn all kinds of things about the virus called Varicella-Zoster virus, which causes chickenpox and shingles. What is its structure...
Step Back History
Did Medieval Anglo-Saxons Cure MRSA?
The world is at the verge of a crisis, where the antibiotics we used to treat infections for decades are becoming useless. It takes a historian and a microbiologist to possibly save the day.
Professor Dave Explains
Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)
Staphylococcus aureus is the bacteria responsible for what we commonly refer to as a staph infection. They are extremely common, but they are also developing antibiotic resistance at an alarming rate. Let's take a look at these now.