David Quammen is the author of Spillover, the book that in 2012 predicted the details of the next big pandemic, the Coronavirus. In this interview we discuss how he predicted the Coronavirus pandemic, what were some of the warning signs we had at our disposal and why human behavior is at the root of this epidemic. Could politicians have predicted this pandemic? Did they have the tools to do so? Why were healthcare programs addressing epidemics cut from government budgets? What do we need to change after the pandemic ends? These are some of the questions David addresses. A THING BY: Olmo Parenti
David Quammen talks about scary new emerging diseases—such as Ebola, SARS, bird flu, AIDS—and where they emerge from: wildlife. Most are caused by viruses. The phenomenon, when such a virus passes from wild animals into people, is called spillover. Two factors account for the increasing risk of spillovers that may lead to pandemics: disruption (of diverse ecosystems) and connectivity (of the global human population). This is our future.
This talk was given at a local TEDx event, produced independently of the TED Conferences. The discovery of antibiotics in the early part of the last century resulted in the greatest single jump in average human lifespan in the recorded history of medicine. After more than 80 years of antibiotic over-use, regulatory hostility, and corporate indifference we have arrived, collectively, at the eve of the “post-antibiotic era”. Should this emerge in full we will re-engage a reality in which minor scrapes and sore throats are life-threatening events, with predictably shocking implications for everyday life. I will discuss the rise of antibiotic-resistant super-bugs, my personal involvement in efforts to combat them, and a few reasons for optimism in the face of what is otherwise a truly grim situation.
Dr. Judice is a co-founder of Cidara. Prior to launching Cidara, he served as an advisor to various investors and entrepreneurs, and served as the founding CEO of DiCE Molecules, Inc. in 2013. From 2004-2011, Dr. Judice was the founding CSO, and from 2007, the CEO at Achaogen, Inc. (Nasdaq: AKAO), a company dedicated to the discovery and development of antibiotics to treat serious infections caused by Gram-negative bacteria. Prior to Achaogen he oversaw the small molecule discovery group at Genentech, and before that he was the tenth employee at Theravance, Inc (Nasdaq: THRX) where he led the discovery of Vibativ (telavancin), a marketed anti-MRSA antibiotic. Dr. Judice received his PhD in organic chemistry at UCLA, working under Nobel laureate D.J. Cram, and was an NIH postdoctoral fellow in the laboratories of Peter Schultz at Berkeley. In 2008, he was named a Henry Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute and is a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.
Bacteria develop resistance to the antibiotics because of improper dosage and unnecessary usage. Dr. Fraser currently focuses her research on preventing and controlling hospital-acquired infections, adverse events and medical errors. Here she explains how antibiotic resistance has become a public health crisis. Victoria J. Fraser is the Adolphus Busch Professor of Medicine, chair of the Department of Medicine at Washington University School of Medicine and physician-in-chief for Barnes-Jewish Hospital.
Please note: Due to a power outage at the event, there is a gap in the middle section of this talk. We do not have capture of that section of the talk, but wanted to make as much of Dr. Klose’s talk available as possible.
As founder and director of the South Texas Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases, with 19 infectious disease laboratories, Dr. Klose’s research focuses on understanding bacterial pathogenesis in order to develop effective vaccines and therapeutics.
Overview: The Superbug does exist. Dr. Klose offers profiles of bacteria and their sinister ways of evolving into antibiotic-resistant menaces. A cleverly designed slideshow accompanies Dr. Klose. ‘No more meat treated with antibiotics’ might be your take-away mantra.
How antibiotics are being used to compensate for the overcrowded, stressful conditions on industrial farms and how that’s creating superbugs that threaten public health.
Lance Price is a public health researcher who works at the interface between science and policy to address the growing crisis of antibiotic resistance. In the laboratory, Dr. Price uses cutting-edge DNA sequencing to trace the origins of new antibiotic-resistant pathogens. By analyzing the genomes of bacteria found in humans, food, and livestock, Dr. Price and his colleagues have traced the origins of new superbugs to industrial livestock production. Dr. Price and his colleagues have also begun to broaden the scope of foodborne disease to include urinary tract infections caused by foodborne E. coli.
In the policy arena, Dr. Price works with grassroots organizations, NGOs, and policymakers to develop science-based policies to curb antibiotic abuse in food-animal production and stem the emergence of new superbugs. Dr. Price’s work was selected by Discover Magazine as one of the top 100 science stories of 2012. His research has also been covered by top-tier media around the world, including the BBC, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Scientific American, Men’s Journal, and Fitness Magazine, among others.
Host David Delk interviews evolutionary biologist Rob Wallace, author of Big Farms Make Big Flu, Dispatches on Infectious Disease, Agricbusiness, And The Nature of Science. Rob talks about how as we have industrialized animal production, we have also industrialized pathogen production. Pathogens like influenza, Zika, Ebola, Swine and bird flu and more. He notes that the economic model of industrialized agriculture drives the evolution and spread of deadly pathogens. And asks the question, “How do we get our economy to start speaking to our ecology by which we grow our food?”
For two years now I’ve been blogging the connections between influenza and agribusiness at farmingpathogens.wordpress.com. I’m about six months out from compiling many of the blog posts and twenty new pieces unavailable anywhere else into a new book. Through my RocketHub website I’ll be offering rewards for any financial contributions made to support the completion of the book: http://bit.ly/qs3LGN.
Rob Wallace, is author of Big Farms Make Big Flu (Monthly Review Press, 2016). He is an evolutionary biologist and a visiting scholar at the Institute for Global Studies at the University of Minnesota. This discussion will look into how viruses such as the new coronavirus get generated. We also discuss the extent to which, despite the virus being lethal, people are dying because of the failure / inadequacies / absence of health care.
Across America, dairy farmers have dumped countless gallons of fresh, entirely usable milk, because there is no one to buy it. The shelter in place orders given by governments around the country in response to the coronavirus pandemic have shuttered big customers such as restaurants and schools and kept people at home. About 50 percent of the milk produced in the United States goes to restaurants and other food service operations, according to the National Milk Producers Federation.
Welcome to Transition Studies. To prosper for very much longer on the changing Earth humankind will need to move beyond its current fossil-fueled civilization toward one that is sustained on recycled materials and renewable energy. This is not a trivial shift. It will require a major transition in all aspects of our lives.
This weblog explores the transition to a sustainable future on our finite planet. It provides links to current news, key documents from government sources and non-governmental organizations, as well as video documentaries about climate change, environmental ethics and environmental justice concerns.
The links are listed here to be used in whatever manner they may be helpful in public information campaigns, course preparation, teaching, letter-writing, lectures, class presentations, policy discussions, article writing, civic or Congressional hearings and citizen action campaigns, etc. For further information on this blog see: About this weblog. and How to use this weblog.
Calendar – Click on Date for links entered on that Day
Transition Studies 