197 episodes

Profane, insane, and 100% primo science, Petri Dish is a no-BS podcast that explores the wildest subjects in modern science with clarity and evil joy.

Hosted by Sean Allen, a Nanoparticle/Immunology Researcher, and Nathan Allen, his "screenwriter" brother, Petri Dish fuses hard science with a freewheeling and madcap conversational style.

Cannabinoids, Plague, Cats, the dreaded Candiru, and the even more dreaded Covid-19: all these and more are dissected with intellect and irreverence, dropping every week.

So reject ignorance. Join the Scientific Revolution. Join Petri Dish.

Petri Dish Petri Dish

    • Science
    • 4.8 • 34 Ratings

Profane, insane, and 100% primo science, Petri Dish is a no-BS podcast that explores the wildest subjects in modern science with clarity and evil joy.

Hosted by Sean Allen, a Nanoparticle/Immunology Researcher, and Nathan Allen, his "screenwriter" brother, Petri Dish fuses hard science with a freewheeling and madcap conversational style.

Cannabinoids, Plague, Cats, the dreaded Candiru, and the even more dreaded Covid-19: all these and more are dissected with intellect and irreverence, dropping every week.

So reject ignorance. Join the Scientific Revolution. Join Petri Dish.

    Ep. 185 How to Make a Drug Pt 2: Libraries and Design

    Ep. 185 How to Make a Drug Pt 2: Libraries and Design

    On this second episode about drug discovery, we discuss small molecule drug libraries and the challenges behind rational design! Don't know what that means? Tune in to find out!

    References:

    https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcell.2019.00107/full

    https://next.cancer.gov/discoveryresources/resources_ndl.htm

    https://www.molbiolcell.org/doi/10.1091/mbc.E22-08-0377

    https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-approves-first-gene-therapy-treatment-certain-patients-duchenne-muscular-dystrophy

    https://www.goodrx.com/health-topic/gene-therapy/crispr-therapeutics-vertex-exa-cel

    https://www.broadinstitute.org/what-broad/areas-focus/project-spotlight/crispr-timeline

    • 58 min
    Ep. 184 How to Make a Drug Pt 1: A Target

    Ep. 184 How to Make a Drug Pt 1: A Target

    Hey everyone! Today's episode is about getting into the nitty gritty of drug discovery. We often benefit from the research and development that goes into the creation of drugs we use to treat illnesses without really understanding what goes into that process. In this first part, we will discuss how you conceptually begin the process.

    References:

    https://www.nature.com/articles/nrd2399

    https://www.fda.gov/vaccines-blood-biologics/zolgensma

    https://cancerci.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12935-019-0806-1

    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK519062/

    https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780128191828000338

    https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0006291X89926788?via%3Dihub

    https://www.nature.com/articles/362841a0

    https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305737220300554

    • 54 min
    Ep. 183 Influenza Pt 4: Vaccines and Pandemics

    Ep. 183 Influenza Pt 4: Vaccines and Pandemics

    Sorry for the COVID-related break in episodes everyone! In our return, we complete our series on influenza by discussing past epidemics and pandemics to understand how influenza has repeatedly led to large scale medical events. Then we will finish by discussing the current and future state of influenza vaccines!

    References:


    https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/nejmp058281
    https://www.nature.com/articles/nature08157
    https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16208372/
    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5578040/
    https://www.who.int/news-room/spotlight/history-of-vaccination/history-of-influenza-vaccination
    https://www.scripps.edu/news-and-events/press-room/2020/20200623-wilson-universalflu.html
    https://www.cdc.gov/flu/season/faq-flu-season-2022-2023.htm
    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7159335/
    https://www.nature.com/articles/nrmicro.2017.118
    https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0042682278901538
    https://www.cdc.gov/flu/prevent/flushot.htm
    https://www.science.org/content/article/innovative-universal-flu-vaccine-shows-promises-it-first-clinical-test
    https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aaz5143
    https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/using-mrna-technology-universal-flu-vaccine

    • 48 min
    Ep. 182 Influenza Pt 3: Whaddya Gonna Do About It?

    Ep. 182 Influenza Pt 3: Whaddya Gonna Do About It?

    You've had the flu. You've had a cold. Maybe you've even had allergies! But how can you tell them apart? And if you even figure out that you do have influenza, are there any treatments you can take that can help?

    References:

    https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/gastroenteritis-in-adults-a-to-z

    https://academic.oup.com/aje/article/182/4/294/113092

    https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/irv.12515

    https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/burden/preliminary-in-season-estimates.htm

    https://newsinhealth.nih.gov/2014/10/cold-flu-or-allergy

    https://journals.plos.org/globalpublichealth/article?id=10.1371/journal.pgph.0000221

    https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/71/wr/mm7150a4.htm

    https://www.mobihealthnews.com/news/lucira-health-files-bankruptcy-it-receives-eua-home-covid-19-flu-test

    https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-authorizes-first-over-counter-home-test-detect-both-influenza-and-covid-19-viruses

    https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-39683-4

    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3108042/

    https://www.cdc.gov/flu/treatment/antiviralresistance.htm

    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5404498/

    https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/11/1/183

    https://www.jbc.org/article/S0021-9258(21)00260-X/fulltext

    • 36 min
    Ep. 181 Influenza Pt 2: The Piggies

    Ep. 181 Influenza Pt 2: The Piggies

    Last episode we discussed the current H5N1 flu that is hitting birds pretty hard. But is bird flu different from swine flu? Is there just a 'human flu', or do we only catch influenza from other animals? Let's get into the evolutionary history of the flu and primary hosts!

    References:

    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7328453/

    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK8611/

    https://journals.asm.org/doi/full/10.1128/JVI.01080-14

    https://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/index.htm

    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7268205/

    https://www.woah.org/en/disease/avian-influenza/

    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3784916/

    https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2018.00131/full

    https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1176225

    https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32967956/

    • 44 min
    Ep. 180 Influenza Pt 1: Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza

    Ep. 180 Influenza Pt 1: Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza

    Today's episode is the first in a four-part series on influenza! This time we are covering just enough background information to discuss the recent H5N1 pandemic in birds, which was responsible for the egg shortage and has been killing a lot of wild birds.

    References:

    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3074182/

    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5198887/

    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6520700/

    https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmolb.2021.727847/full

    https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2801499

    https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/wpro---documents/emergency/surveillance/avian-influenza/ai_20230331.pdf

    https://www.cdc.gov/flu/avianflu/reported-human-infections.htmhttps://www.cdc.gov/flu/avianflu/h5n1-animals.htm

    https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/animalhealth/animal-disease-information/avian/avian-influenza/2022-hpai

    https://www.eurosurveillance.org/content/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2023.28.9.2300134?crawler=true

    https://journals.asm.org/doi/full/10.1128/spectrum.02867-22

    https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/news-events/efsa-ecdc-eurl-ongoing-avian-influenza-outbreaks-birds-low-risk-public

    https://www.eurosurveillance.org/content/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2023.28.3.2300001

    https://perspectivesinmedicine.cshlp.org/content/11/2/a038679.short

    https://journals.plos.org/Plospathogens/article?id=10.1371/journal.ppat.1011135

    • 41 min

Customer Reviews

4.8 out of 5
34 Ratings

34 Ratings

Kedmoomoo ,

Smart and funny

I trust Sean more than Google. There, I said it. I mean it. But for real, I enjoy science, and I was a scientist for a whole three months (lab assistant) before realize I wasn’t good at it. The podcast explains complex concepts in an easy to follow way without talking down to the listener and making it fun. Thanks guys!

Billm34002 ,

Learn stuff and laugh

These guys do a great job explaining topics in a way that’s entertaining. The digressions and references make the conversation more fun than a lecture. Subscribe now!

ImissGumby ,

Smart!

I believe that listening to this qualifies me to practice medicine now.

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