Main content
This programme will be available shortly after broadcast

Going Viral

Episode 5 of 13

Listener Elizabeth wants to know whether viruses need a better PR team.

Cold and flu season is well and truly upon us, and whilst most of us are busy bemoaning the pesky viruses behind our sniffles and chesty coughs – one of our listeners has other ideas. Elizabeth wants to know whether we’re too hard on these oft-maligned microbes? We’ve all heard that some bacteria can be good for us, but what about viruses? Could they have a softer side too?
Hannah and Dara explore the virome, from prehistoric placental proteins to ultra-precise disease fighting phages to find out if Viruses truly are the villains of the microscopic world or whether they just need a better PR team.

Contributors
Jonathan Ball - Professor of Molecular Virology at the University of Liverpool
Martha Clokie - Professor of Microbiology at the University of Leicester
Marylin Roosinck - Professor Emeritus of Microbiology at Penn State University US,

Producer: Emily Bird
Executive Producer: Sasha Feachem
A ѿý Studios Production

Release date:

28 minutes

On radio

Next Saturday 10:00

Broadcasts

  • Next Saturday 10:00
  • Next Monday 15:30

Why do you see faces in unexpected places?

We are “hardwired” for recognising faces and it starts at birth.

Podcast