34 min

A Cold Case Part 1 The Curious Cases of Rutherford & Fry

    • Science

“I suppose a cold is called a cold because we catch it in the winter," writes Alison Evans from St Albans. "But why is it that we get more colds in winter than in the summer?”
This week's Cold Case is all about the common cold, a set of symptoms caused by hundreds of different strains of cold and flu viruses.
Adam uncovers the stinky history of infectious disease with medical historian Claire Jones.
Virologists Jonathan Ball and Wendy Barclay describe how spiky viruses lock on to our cells, but why many of the symptoms of a common cold are due to our own body's overreaction.
Plus, we delve into the science of sneezing with nose doctor Carl Philpott.
Presenters: Adam Rutherford, Hannah Fry
Producer: Michelle Martin

“I suppose a cold is called a cold because we catch it in the winter," writes Alison Evans from St Albans. "But why is it that we get more colds in winter than in the summer?”
This week's Cold Case is all about the common cold, a set of symptoms caused by hundreds of different strains of cold and flu viruses.
Adam uncovers the stinky history of infectious disease with medical historian Claire Jones.
Virologists Jonathan Ball and Wendy Barclay describe how spiky viruses lock on to our cells, but why many of the symptoms of a common cold are due to our own body's overreaction.
Plus, we delve into the science of sneezing with nose doctor Carl Philpott.
Presenters: Adam Rutherford, Hannah Fry
Producer: Michelle Martin

34 min

Top Podcasts In Science

Crash Course Pods: The Universe
Crash Course Pods, Complexly
Making Sense with Sam Harris
Sam Harris
Hidden Brain
Hidden Brain, Shankar Vedantam
StarTalk Radio
Neil deGrasse Tyson
Opinion Science
Andy Luttrell
Why We Care
Tiphaine Marie

More by BBC

Global News Podcast
BBC World Service
6 Minute English
BBC Radio
In Our Time
BBC Radio 4
Football Daily
BBC Radio 5 Live
The English We Speak
BBC Radio
The Infinite Monkey Cage
BBC Radio 4