Docs Watch

Dr. Jen and Dr. Deepa

The show where real doctors tell you what’s real, what’s not, and what’s maybe possible in your favorite movies and TV shows.

  1. 11/06/2020

    Episode 20: Braaaainnnns

    SUBJECTIVE We've made it to the end of season 2! In the final episode of this season, we're dipping into the world of iZombie to talk about Romeros, misguided proteins, and an unexpected reason why you shouldn't mix drugs and energy drinks.. Now that you know how to make zombies and unmake them, how do you keep one fed and happy? Or at least just fed. There's only so much you can do about undead happiness levels. OBJECTIVE Resources, Citations, and Mentions: "Why Is It That Zombies Eat Brains?" by Karl Smallwood, Today I Found Out, Gizmodo, December 2014 "George A. Romero: 'Who Says Zombies Eat Brains?'" by Eric Spitznagel, Vanity Fair, May 2010 TV Tropes - Brain Food, accessed Oct 2020 iZombie Wiki - Zombie, accessed Oct 2020 "Why Don't We Eat (More) Brains?" by Alan Jasanoff, Lit Hub, March 2018 "Thought for Food" by Heather Arndt Anderson, Taste, December 2017 "When People Ate People, A Strange Disease Emerged" by Rae Ellen Bichell, NPR: The Salt, September 2016 Whitfield, Jerome T et al. “Mortuary rites of the South Fore and kuru.” Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences vol. 363,1510 (2008): 3721-4. "How a history of eating human brains protected this tribe from brain disease" by Sarah Kaplan, The Washington Post, June 2015 Asante, E., Smidak, M., Grimshaw, A. et al. A naturally occurring variant of the human prion protein completely prevents prion disease. Nature 522, 478–481 (2015). Hosszu, L.L.P., Conners, R., Sangar, D. et al. Structural effects of the highly protective V127 polymorphism on human prion protein. Commun Biol 3, 402 (2020). ASSESSMENT Deepa: 3 out of 5 for pneumothorax corner, 5 out of 10 tainted Utopium vials Jen: 3 out of 5 lack of stethoscopes for pneumothorax corner, 5 out of 10 cans of Max Rager PLAN And that's a wrap for season 2! We'll be taking a short break before coming back with season 3. Thanks for listening, and we'll see you next time! Subscribe to our medical ramblings on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts! Rate, review, and tell your friends! Got a question or suggestion? Find us on Twitter @DocsWatchPod, or visit us at docswatchpod.com. Theme Music and SFX: Kevin MacLeod (CC BY) - RetroFuture Clean, Danse Macabre-Big Hit 2

  2. 10/23/2020

    Episode 19: Unmaking a Zombie

    SUBJECTIVE Now that we've talked about making a zombie, let's talk about unmaking one. In the second of our three zombie episodes, we'll discuss lone microbiologists, dried scab powder, and the power of therapeutic stabbing. Sure, manufacturing a zombie cure from your own blood is impressive, but unless you have detailed lab notes, it basically didn't happen. We're looking at you, Will Smith. OBJECTIVE Resources, Citations, and Mentions: I Am Legend Wiki - Krippin Virus, accessed October 2020 "Opinion: The Slave Who Helped Boston Battle Smallpox" by Lashyra Nolen, Undark, Apr 2020 "How an African Slave in Boston Helped Save Generations from Smallpox" by Erin Blakemore, History, Feb 2019 "Better Know a Plague: Smallpox" by Brooke Borel, Popular Science, May 2014 "Facial Masking for Covid-19 — Potential for “Variolation” as We Await a Vaccine" by Monica Gandhi and George W. Rutherford, New England Journal of Medicine, Sep 2020 CDC - Measles (Rubeola), last reviewed October 2019, accessed Oct 2020 "I Am Legend's Alternate Ending Explained: What Happens & Why It Was Cut" by Michael Kennedy, Screen Rant, Dec 2019 ASSESSMENT Deepa: 1 out of 10 congealed tubes of Will Smith's blood Jen: 0 out of 10 missing lab notebooks PLAN Subscribe to our medical ramblings on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts! Rate, review, and tell your friends! Got a question or suggestion? Find us on Twitter @DocsWatchPod, or visit us at docswatchpod.com. Theme Music and SFX: Kevin MacLeod (CC BY) - RetroFuture Clean, Danse Macabre-Big Hit 2

  3. 09/11/2020

    Episode 16: A Song of Scales and Scalpels

    SUBJECTIVE In this episode, we're taking a trip to Westeros to examine the cutting edge medical practices of Samwell Tarly. It turns out he has shockingly sharp scalpels and shockingly bad PPE practices. We'll discuss greyscale and greyscale-esque infections, why you shouldn't operate during a candle shortage, and rock people (again). Also, we'll give you yet another reason why colonialism is bad. As if you needed any more. OBJECTIVE Resources, Citations, and Mentions: Game of Throne Wiki - Greyscale, accessed September 2020 Game of Scenes - Sam cures Jorah Mormont - Game of Thrones S07E02 (Feb 2019, accessed September 2020, YouTube link) FilmComicsExplained - Greyscale Virus (Game of Thrones Explored) (Dec 2017, accessed September 2020, YouTube link) Monigues Holloways - Tyrion and Jorah fight the Stone Men, 5x5 Game of Thrones Season 5 (HD) (Aug 2015, accessed September 2020, YouTube link) NIH US National Library of Medicine Genetics Home Reference - Leprosy, accessed September 2020 National Organization for Rare Disorders - Leprosy, accessed September 2020 CDC - Hansen's Disease (Leprosy), last reviewed Feb 2017, accessed September 2020 Wikipedia - History of leprosy, accessed September 2020 Monot M, Honoré N, Garnier T, et al. On the origin of leprosy. Science. 2005;308(5724):1040-1042. Bennett, Brian H et al. “Leprosy: steps along the journey of eradication.” Public health reports (Washington, D.C. : 1974) vol. 123,2 (2008): 198-205. ASSESSMENT Deepa: 6 out of 10 pasty greyscale ointment packets Jen: 4.5 out of 9 banded armadillos for Sam's lack of precautions, 9 out of 9 banded armadillos for Sam's precipitating the discovery of sterile technique PLAN Subscribe to our medical ramblings on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts! Rate, review, and tell your friends! Got a question or suggestion? Find us on Twitter @DocsWatchPod, or visit us at docswatchpod.com. Theme Music and SFX: Kevin MacLeod (CC BY) - RetroFuture Clean, Danse Macabre-Big Hit 2

  4. 08/28/2020

    Episode 15: Beep Boop

    SUBJECTIVE In this episode, we move on from vampires to talk about robots! Specifically, robot organs. Like, why does a robot need organs? And if it did need organs, why would it need human organs? We'll discuss robot face putty, building biosynthetic organs, and some incredible applications of 3D printing. Also, can we PLEASE change the stylistic standards of scientific papers to allow for some ENTHUSIASM??? This stuff is amazing! Sidebar: Regarding the Pregnancy and Birth episodes, we wanted to apologize for the gendered language we used throughout our discussions. We know that nonbinary, genderqueer, and transgender people can also get pregnant and give birth. The way we talk about it is a relic of our training, and we're trying to do better. We're sorry if we hurt anyone through our carelessness. OBJECTIVE Resources, Citations, and Mentions: Wikipedia - Artificial Heart, accessed August 2020 UCSF - The Kidney Project Wikipedia - Tissue engineering, accessed August 2020 What’s new about new synthetic organs? by Brian Owens, Nature News Blog, July 2011 Tissue engineering: How to build a heart by Brendan Maher, Nature News Feature, July 2013 Yong, E. Lab-grown kidneys transplanted into rats. Nature (2013). On the Road to 3-D Printed Organs by Emma Yasinski, The Scientist, February 2020 3-D Printed Windpipe Gives Infant Breath of Life by Marissa Fessenden, Scientific American, May 2013 Skylar-Scott MA, Uzel SGM, Nam LL, et al. Biomanufacturing of organ-specific tissues with high cellular density and embedded vascular channels. Sci Adv. 2019;5(9) Laronda, M., Rutz, A., Xiao, S. et al. A bioprosthetic ovary created using 3D printed microporous scaffolds restores ovarian function in sterilized mice. Nat Commun 8, 15261 (2017). 3 Theories Explaining Why Robots Bleed by Tonya Riley, Inverse, September 2016 ASSESSMENT Deepa: 3 out of 10 silver/blue/clear Playskool organs Jen: 3 out of 10 flubber skin putties PLAN Subscribe to our medical ramblings on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts! Rate, review, and tell your friends! Got a question or suggestion? Find us on Twitter @DocsWatchPod, or visit us at docswatchpod.com. Theme Music and SFX: Kevin MacLeod (CC BY) - RetroFuture Clean, Danse Macabre-Big Hit 2

  5. 08/14/2020

    Episode 14: All the Birthings

    SUBJECTIVE We have finally arrived at the culmination of our very own Twilight saga! In this episode, we discuss the infamous Bella Swan birth scene, placenta separation anxiety, and why postpartum hemorrhage kills. ...especially if you don't do anything to stop it. It turns out venoms, uteruses, and rocks really don't mix, no matter how many syringes full of morphine you have on hand. Sidebar: Interested in playing Pregnancy/Birth Trope Bingo? Here's a bingo card for you to download and use! Edited to add: Regarding the Pregnancy and Birth episodes, we wanted to apologize for the gendered language we used throughout our discussions. We know that nonbinary, genderqueer, and transgender people can also get pregnant and give birth. The way we talk about it is a relic of our training, and we're trying to do better. We're sorry if we hurt anyone through our carelessness. OBJECTIVE Resources, Citations, and Mentions: TV Tropes - Birth Tropes, accessed July 2020 Best and worst childbirth scenes in science fiction and fantasy by Charlie Jane Anders and Kelly Faircloth, io9, September 2010 Movieclips - Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 1 (6/9) Movie CLIP - Childbirth (2011) HD (YouTube link, November 2012) Movieclips - Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 1 (7/9) Movie CLIP - You're Not Dead (2011) HD (YouTube link, November 2012) StatPearls - Placental Abruption (Abruptio Placentae) by Pamela Schmidt; Christy L. Skelly; Deborah A. Raines. Last Update: July 5, 2020. Wikipedia - Placenta, accessed July 2020 StatPearls - Stages of Labor by Julia Hutchison; Heba Mahdy; Justin Hutchison. Last Update: March 27, 2020. ACOG Practice Bulletin, October 2017 - Postpartum Hemorrhage Evensen A, Anderson JM, Fontaine P. Postpartum Hemorrhage: Prevention and Treatment. Am Fam Physician. 2017;95(7):442-449. NIH U.S. National Library of Medicine, History of Medicine - Cesarean Section - A Brief History, Last updated: 26 July 2013 ASSESSMENT Deepa: 2 out of 10 syringes full of venom because the equipment is set up properly Jen: 0.5 out of 10 extremely aggressive scalpel incisions for the OB suite PLAN Subscribe to our medical ramblings on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts! Rate, review, and tell your friends! Got a question or suggestion? Find us on Twitter @DocsWatchPod, or visit us at docswatchpod.com. Theme Music and SFX: Kevin MacLeod (CC BY) - RetroFuture Clean, Danse Macabre-Big Hit 2

4.7
out of 5
12 Ratings

About

The show where real doctors tell you what’s real, what’s not, and what’s maybe possible in your favorite movies and TV shows.