In 1896, a mysterious disease spread through the Snake River Valley of Idaho. Some people called it a spotted fever, and hundreds got sick. As it turns out, this was all the doing of some bacteria, Rickettsia ricketssii. Let's get a...

Lots of kids get the chickenpox. I know I did! I was about four years old. It was awful. But now we can learn all kinds of things about the virus called Varicella-Zoster virus, which causes chickenpox and shingles. What is its structure...

Staphylococcus aureus is the bacteria responsible for what we commonly refer to as a staph infection. They are extremely common, but they are also developing antibiotic resistance at an alarming rate. Let's take a look at these now.

Syphilis is another infection that is typically caused by sexual contact, thanks to the pathogen Treponema pallidum. What does this bacterium do? How is the infection treated? Let's take a closer look now.

Lyme disease. It's that one you get from ticks! So what kind of ticks, and where are they? How does that work exactly, and what are the bacteria that are being transferred when they bite? The bacteria are called Borellia burgdorferi,...

Did you know that it wasn’t until around 200 years ago that people knew what caused infectious diseases? Before that, they believed that one cause was ‘bad air’, and so they carried around bunches of sweet-smelling flowers to sweeten the...

Imagine a world without bananas! It’s a real possibility… a fungal disease is attacking and killing banana trees, and as yet we haven’t found a cure.

This video provides an overview of infectious diseases and how they are transmitted. It explains the role of the immune system in fighting off harmful organisms and highlights various ways pathogens can be spread, including direct and...

We've all gotten food poisoning before, and it's terrible. So what causes it? Just a little bit of bacteria called E. coli, that's all. Let's check them out!

Elisa Konofagou, a bioengineer at Columbia University, believes ultra sound technology could become be a vital component in treating and perhaps curing degenerative brain diseases such as Cancer, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. One...

REAL WORLD SCIENCE: Biological Vectors and Infectious Diseases



Using incredible videography, photos, animation and graphics, this information-packed video introduces students to biological vectors. Viewers will...

This is a video about the State of Global Health. Dr Greg Martin talks about a few of the major issues that need to be addressed.

How well do you wash your hands? Do you just give them a quick rinse with water, or do you use soap? Do you wash the backs of your hands and in between your fingers? Good hand washing is one of the best ways to prevent the spread of...

The Urinary, or Excretory System is another system by which the body rids itself of unwanted Toxins or (waste). Basically, the urinary system’s main purpose is to maintain the body’s “homeostasis”. In other words, the urinary...

Have you ever walked into a room and completely forgotten why you’ve gone in there? Or smelled a familiar scent that made you think of another time or place in your life? In this video we’ll look at how your memory works. Memory refers...

Practical examples show how viruses and bacteria are both beneficial and harmful to humans. Animations describe the structure of a virus, and explain how they reproduce and cause disease. Microscopic images illustrate different types and...

The human body is a wondrously complex machine made of flesh, bone, muscles, organs, blood vessels and highly specialized systems that function together to sustain life. This fascinating third part of The Human Body series examines the...

Maintaining a healthy body is a fundamental part of leading a fulfilling, successful life. This series of videos highlights many of the basic things everyone can do to maintain a safe and healthy lifestyle. Concepts and terminology...