Episode Details

Today, you’ll learn about a new anxiety-free way to collect blood samples modeled on the sucking power of leeches, the super carbon-gobbling power of blue-green algae, and a new understanding of how asthma happens - and maybe how to stop it.  

Leeches & Blood Tests 

• “Blood diagnostics modeled on leeches.” by Fabio Bergamin. 2024.  
• “Prevalence, causes, impacts, and management of needle phobia: An international survey of a general adult population.” by Kimberly Alsbrooks & Klaus Hoerauf. 2022.  
• “ A Bioinspired and Cost-Effective Device for Minimally Invasive Blood Sampling.” by Nicole Zoratto, et al. 2024.  

Algae & Carbon 

• “Scientists unlock key to breeding ‘carbon gobbling’ plants with a major appetite.” Scimex. 2024.  
• “Light and carbon: Synthetic biology toward new cyanobacteria-based living biomaterials.” by Isabella M. Goodchild-Michelman, et al. 2023.  
• “Cyanobacterial a-carboxysome carbonic anhydrase is allosterically regulated by the Rubisco substrate RuBP.” by Sacha B. Pulsford, et al. 2024.  

Asthma Cause 

• “Chronic asthma could be caused by cell overcrowding in the airways.” by Monique Brouillette. 2024.  
• “Asthma Surveillance Data.” CDC. 2021. 
• “Bronchoconstriction damages airway epithelial by crowding-induced excess cell extrusion.” by Dustin C. Bagley, et al. 2024.  

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