In this episode of Tiny Show and Tell Us, we kick things off with a quick shout-out to a listener who started flossing thanks to a previous episode. Then we dive into the hidden history of the women “computers” at Harvard Observatory, including Henrietta Leavitt, who laid the foundation for modern astronomy with her groundbreaking discoveries including calculating the size of the Milky Way. Then we discuss the co-evolutionary arms race between passion vines and Heliconius butterflies, which includes fake eggs, toxic fruit, and impaled caterpillars.

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In this milestone 100th episode of Tiny Matters we take you on a personal journey into what first inspired our passion for science. Sam shares the story of her childhood struggle with germophobia and the brain-altering bacteria that kicked it off, likely causing a condition called PANDAS: Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections. PANDAS may have led to her OCD, but it also fueled Sam’s fascination with the microscopic world, germ theory, and the ways infections can shape our brains. Then Deboki dives into her early fascination with vaccines, inspired by the interests of her scientist parents. She shares the history of the polio vaccine — a story of victory but also tragedy that led to significant progress, both in terms of science and safety.

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In this episode of Tiny Show and Tell Us, we read an email from “baby sis” aka Binky aka Sam’s younger sister Caroline who writes in about an alarming pregnancy test that predates today’s at-home tests. Then we talk about a fascinating study that found a dead salmon showed brain activity in an MRI machine. Spoiler: It wasn’t actually alive, scientists just really needed to rethink MRI analysis.

We need your stories — they're what make these bonus episodes possible! Write in to tinymatters@acs.org *or fill out this form* with your favorite science fact or science news story for a chance to be featured.

A transcript and references for this episode can be found at acs.org/tinymatters.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.