Life can give you many things. Life can give you reasons to smile (even on a Monday morning). Life can give you lemons (and of course when this happens to a scientist, we turn it into an experiment by seeing if we can guess the pH of the juice by using size, color, etc. but I digress). For episode 15 of Science Sound Bites, I interviewed Dr. Suzanne Tomchuck on how life can give you more life!
Here (https://www.cure4kids.org/ums/sites/teachers/plugins/page.php?id=19), you can learn about how the umbilical cord has many valuable cells that can be used to save someone’s life (a very similar manner to how bone marrow transplants work!). Take a listen to get details about some of the wonderful science behind this process. Also, for more information, check out https://bethematch.org/support-the-cause/donate-cord-blood/.
Also, if you have any topics you want to hear about for future podcast, let me know. No promises, but the scientific community is large and willing to share what they do. The goal is not necessarily to make career scientists, although if some are inspired, I am ecstatic. The goal is to make lifelong science appreciators because they truly have the potential to help find more cures in the future, just though their support.
Here is the list of terms covered in the episode:
Bone Marrow Transplant
Research and Clinical Research
Cord Blood Transplant
Blood Disorders
Cells
Cancer
Umbilical Cord Blood
Matching HLA (Human leukocyte antigen) Types
Proteins
Immune System
Immuno-Competent
Immuno-Compromised
Engraftment
Chemotherapy
Fighting Infection
T Cells
Innate Immune Response
Natural Killer Cells
Specific Immune Response
Stem Cells
Cheers,
Michael
BlackScienceBlog 