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Video: An overview of the monkeypox virus

Video: An overview of the monkeypox virus

Kalpana Pot walks us through the latest information on the monkeypox outbreak.

Leaps.org

Click below for an overview of everything you need to know about the latest status of monkeypox - in 58 seconds.


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Kalpana Pot
Kalpana Pot is the youngest of three girls in a family full of doctors. Science and education were always of great value in her home. But performing arts was another passion for her, which is why she moved to LA to pursue acting after decades of dancing and singing. She’s appeared on numerous TV shows and national commercials, and will soon be co-hosting Wheel of Fortune Live. At the same time, Kalpana got to express her nerd love of astronomy by working weekends at Griffith Observatory. It was there that she found her love and skill in communicating science to people from all over the world, and has since continued to host space/science series. She has translated that onto digital platforms as well- running an outspoken space-page on TikTok, called TokNerdyToMe, and style and science page on Instagram. Unfortunately, much of her science communication these days is about debunking anti-science conspiracies. But she’s confident that the rise of educational content on social media will help this unfortunate problem in society. Outside of work, Kalpana loves her dogs and volunteers for animal organizations.
Meet Dr. Renee Wegrzyn, the first Director of President Biden's new health agency, ARPA-H

Today's podcast guest, Dr. Renee Wegrzyn, directs ARPA-H, a new agency formed last year to spearhead innovations in the realm of health. Time will tell if ARPA-H can produce achievements similar to DARPA, the agency on which it's based.

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In today’s podcast episode, I talk with Renee Wegrzyn, appointed by President Biden as the first director of a federal agency created last year called the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health, or ARPA-H. It’s inspired by DARPA, the agency that develops innovations for the Defense department and has been credited with hatching world changing technologies such as ARPANET, which became the internet.

Time will tell if ARPA-H will lead to similar achievements in the realm of health. That’s what President Biden and Congress expect in return for funding ARPA-H at 2.5 billion dollars over three years.

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Matt Fuchs

Matt Fuchs is the editor-in-chief of Leaps.org and Making Sense of Science. He is also a contributing reporter to the Washington Post and has written for the New York Times, Time Magazine, WIRED and the Washington Post Magazine, among other outlets. Follow him @fuchswriter.

Tiny, tough “water bears” may help bring new vaccines and medicines to sub-Saharan Africa

Tardigrades can completely dehydrate and later rehydrate themselves, a survival trick that scientists are harnessing to preserve medicines in hot temperatures.

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Microscopic tardigrades, widely considered to be some of the toughest animals on earth, can survive for decades without oxygen or water and are thought to have lived through a crash-landing on the moon. Also known as water bears, they survive by fully dehydrating and later rehydrating themselves – a feat only a few animals can accomplish. Now scientists are harnessing tardigrades’ talents to make medicines that can be dried and stored at ambient temperatures and later rehydrated for use—instead of being kept refrigerated or frozen.

Many biologics—pharmaceutical products made by using living cells or synthesized from biological sources—require refrigeration, which isn’t always available in many remote locales or places with unreliable electricity. These products include mRNA and other vaccines, monoclonal antibodies and immuno-therapies for cancer, rheumatoid arthritis and other conditions. Cooling is also needed for medicines for blood clotting disorders like hemophilia and for trauma patients.

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Gail Dutton
Gail Dutton has covered the biopharmaceutical industry as a journalist for the past three decades. She focuses on the intersection of business and science, and has written extensively for GEN – Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News, Life Science Leader, The Scientist and BioSpace. Her articles also have appeared in Popular Science, Forbes, Entrepreneur and other publications.