• 53 minutes 58 seconds
    TWiP 282: Does he live in New York?

    TWiP solves the case of the nonbinary patient in his 30s with a history HIV/AIDS presenting with 3 weeks of subjective fevers, chills, generalized weakness and voluminous ostomy output.

    Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Daniel Griffin, and Christina Naula

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    New Case

    39-year-old man originally from Guatemala, who moved to one of the NYC boroughs in 2023 and currently lives with his siblings and cousins, presented with headaches. He reports headaches for several months, possibly nearly 1 year. Over the past 2 weeks, he has had intermittent numbness on the left side of his face and in his left arm and foot, with difficulty standing due to sensory changes in his feet. He states these symptoms are new. He reports a fall related to the numbness but denies balance problems. He denies fever or chills. He has intermittent nausea and vomiting but denies diarrhea, abdominal pain, or other complaints. He works as a busboy in a restaurant and states that he only cleans and does not prepare food. In Guatemala, he used to eat street tacos containing pork and beef, sometimes with undercooked meat. He is a former smoker who quit 4 years ago after smoking for 10 years. He drinks alcohol 3–4 times per week, typically 2–4 drinks per occasion, but not daily. He reports no sexual activity for 1–2 years.

    General: no acute distress HEENT: NC/AT, anicteric, vEEG Neck: supple, normal ROM Lungs: clear to auscultation bilaterally Heart: S1, S2 present, normal rate/rhythm Abdomen: Soft. Nondistended. Nontender. Neuro: AAOx3, no obvious focal deficits Extremities: No cyanosis. No edema.\ Skin: Warm. Dry. No visible rash. Psychiatric: Appropriate affect and mood for situation.

    CT HEAD WO IV CONTRAST-Cystic structures scattered along the subarachnoid space, for example, right sylvian fissure/frontotemporal cortical sulci, right > left suprasellar cistern, interpedicular cistern, basal cistern and left sylvian fissure. Associated mass effect with minimal leftward midline shift (0.2-0.3 cm). Calcifications at the left temporal region. There is no obvious acute intracranial hemorrhage.

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    Music by Ronald Jenkees

    24 June 2026, 4:00 am
  • 58 minutes 25 seconds
    TWiP 281: Ants under the influence

    TWiP reviews gene expression in wood ants infected with the larval lancet fluke, which causes them to leave their nest and attach to a flower until they are eaten by a grazing mammal.

    Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Daniel Griffin, and Christina Naula

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    Music by Ronald Jenkees

    22 June 2026, 4:00 am
  • 57 minutes 17 seconds
    TWiP 280: The wriggling diagnosis

    TWiP solves the case of the 3 yo child, who recently immigrated to the US from Central America, in the ER with acute right lower quadrant abdominal pain and a rather active serpiginous wormlike 'thing' wiggling away in the child's appendix.

    Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Daniel Griffin, and Christina Naula

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    New Case

    3 yo child who recently immigrated to the US from Central America is brought in to the ER with acute right lower quadrant abdominal pain. The mother is concerned about the pain as well as nausea and vomiting. This is acute and the ER provider is concerned that this might be an acute surgical emergency. They order an US in this child and they are surprised to see a rather active serpiginous wormlike 'thing' wiggling away in the child's appendix. I was sent the Ultrasound video which I really enjoyed. What to do?

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    Music by Ronald Jenkees

    29 May 2026, 12:33 am
  • 50 minutes 46 seconds
    TWiP 279: Tolling for hookworms

    TWiP reviews a phase 2 clinical trial of a recombinant vaccine against N. americanus glutathione S-transferase-1, an enzyme that performs a crucial enzymatic step in hookworm blood feeding.

    Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Daniel Griffin, and Christina Naula

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    Music by Ronald Jenkees

    1 May 2026, 4:00 am
  • 56 minutes 29 seconds
    TWiP 278: Trichinella from eating bear eyeballs

    TWiP solves the case of the male in his 20s from Hokkaido, Japan, who developed fatigue and rash, followed by fever and myalgia 6 days later, after eating a raw bear eyeball.

    Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Daniel Griffin, and Christina Naula

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    Links for this episode

    New Case

    3 yo child who recently immigrated to the US from Central America is brought in to the ER with acute right lower quadrant abdominal pain. The mother is concerned about the pain as well as nausea and vomiting. This is acute and the ER provider is concerned that this might be an acute surgical emergency. They order an US in this child and they are surprised to see a rather active serpiginous wormlike 'thing' wiggling away in the child's appendix. I was sent the Ultrasound video which I really enjoyed. What to do?

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    Music by Ronald Jenkees

    24 April 2026, 4:00 am
  • 1 hour 3 minutes
    TWiP 277: Rif-ing on river blindness
    TWiP 277: Rif-ing on river blindness April 21, 2026

    TWiP reviews the global, regional, and national burden of Chagas disease, and comparison of doxycycline and rifampicin for the treatment of onchocerciasis.

    Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Daniel Griffin, and Christina Naula

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    Music by Ronald Jenkees

    21 April 2026, 10:10 pm
  • 1 hour 16 minutes
    TWiP 276: Travel history is the key

    TWiP solves the case of the man in his 60s experiencing weight loss, fatigue, and loss of appetite.

    Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Daniel Griffin, and Christina Naula

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    New Case

    Male in his 20s from Hokkaido, Japan, developed fatigue and rash, followed by fever and myalgia 6 days later. He was a group of five individuals on a hunting trip prior to this and reports that 3 friends are just fine but one other individual developed similar symptoms. He reports that they had been hunting the Ussuri brown bear, which is larger and more aggressive than the Asian black bear. They had been successful and all five of them had consumed well cooked bear meat. He does share that he is aware of infectious risk from eating bear and thus the meat was well cooked. He and the one fellow hunter who did get sick were unique in that they each ate one of the eye balls raw. This is a tradition that is felt to give the consumer the great vision that these animals are purported to have.

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    Music by Ronald Jenkees

    23 March 2026, 5:23 pm
  • 42 minutes 13 seconds
    TWiP 275: Novel malaria vector control

    TWiP reviews the effectiveness of long-lasting spatial repellent emanators against malaria in humanitarian crisis settings in northern Nigeria, and Dengue suppression by male Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes.

    Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Daniel Griffin, and Christina Naula

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    12 March 2026, 7:29 pm
  • 47 minutes 42 seconds
    TWiP 274: Four tablets for bloating

    TWiP solves the case of the 40 year old male who travels to India and develops intestinal bloating and diarrhea.

    Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Daniel Griffin, and Christina Naula

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    Music by Ronald Jenkees

    17 February 2026, 4:28 pm
  • 1 hour 5 minutes
    TWiP 273: Intestinal parasites in dogs

    TWiP reviews intestinal parasites in dogs and their association with clinical manifestations of canine visceral leishmaniasis.

    Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Daniel Griffin, and Christina Naula

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    Music by Ronald Jenkees

    6 February 2026, 5:01 pm
  • 57 minutes 34 seconds
    TWiP 272: Don't look and you won't find

    TWiP solves the case about the man with positive Strongyloides serology who is waiting for a kidney transplant.

    Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Daniel Griffin, and Christina Naula

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    Links for this episode New Case

    40 year old man travels to India, is only there for a week before he develops problems. Bloating, diarrhea. Weathers the storm. Returns to US. Stool sent for testing. Some interesting results. Comes back positive for Hymenolepis nana, Blastocystis hominis, Giardia intestinalis. Recommended he take four tablets. Flatulence. HIV negative. He ate food that were prepared in the home but also out. Delhi area.

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    Music by Ronald Jenkees

    Dear TWiP listeners,

    Have you ever wondered how TWiP shapes your understanding of science? We have! To find out more, Christina and the team are running a survey based study to learn more about how TWiP contributes to your scientific literacy and trust in science. Listen to the segment in this episode (TWiP 267) where Christina discusses the study's aims and scope.

    Anyone who listens to TWiP can participate. The survey is anonymous and we do not collect personal data that could identify you. There are no potential disadvantages or harms in taking part, other than using a few minutes of your time. You will receive no direct benefit from taking part in this study. However, the information that is collected during this study will give us a better understanding of who our listeners are, and why they choose to listen to TWiP. We can use this understanding to make TWiP even better!

    This is an academic study and we aim to disseminate our findings to the wider public, including you. For example, we'll have a conversation about the findings on a future episode of TWiP, we plan conference presentations and publication in a relevant academic journal

    The project has been reviewed and approved by the University of Glasgow College of Medical, Veterinary & Life Sciences Ethics Committee. Application 200250013

    You can find the study, detailed participant information, and consent information here:

    TWiP study – information and survey

    15 January 2026, 4:56 pm
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