Feed Drop: Nice Genes! - Poo Dunnit

Unbiased Science

@unbiasedscipod

Education, Science, Health & Fitness

4.4 • 644 Ratings

🗓️ 26 November 2025

⏱️ 33 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

While we're taking a Thanksgiving holiday break this week, we’re excited to share a special episode of Nice Genes! from our friends at Genome BC. Our very own Jess joins Dr. Kaylee Byers as they dive into the fascinating world of wastewater surveillance. Along the way, they enlist a seasoned “poo detective,” Dr. Natalie Prystajecky, who wades through some wastewater 101, and how sewage can tip us off to disease outbreaks before symptoms even start. Then, Dr. Yemisi Bokinni brings the investigation to the not-so-small town of Makoko, Nigeria, where a new genome sequencing lab is chasing an old culprit: polio. From your neighborhood sewers to global health and future pandemics, we're using genomics to identify poo dunnit. For more episodes like this one, follow Nice Genes! wherever you listen. Follow on Apple Follow on Spotify Nice Genes! landing page Episode Resources 1. Wastewater Surveillance– BC Centre for Disease Control 2. Wastewater surveillance tells a quiet story of polio’s return– BMJ 3. Nigeria’s polio battleground'– Nature 4. Makoko: ‘Venice of Lagos’– SmartCities Dive

Transcript

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0:00.0	You're listening to an Airwave Media podcast.
0:05.4	Hey, unbiased science listeners, this week's episode is a very special one.
0:10.9	A few months ago, I was a guest on a very popular podcast that we love called Nice Genes from Genome, BC.
0:17.9	In this episode, I joined Dr. Kaylee Byers, the rat detective herself, as her co-host to explore
0:24.8	how wastewater surveillance can reveal clues about our health and uncover how sewage
0:29.9	helps track disease outbreaks, from local sewers to global efforts to stop polio and future
0:35.7	pandemics.
0:36.7	After you enjoy this episode, head over to Nice Jeans podcast page on your favorite podcast player to give them a follow.
0:43.6	Now, on to the show.
0:50.7	Didn't think I'd find you here this late, buyers.
0:53.6	Burning the midnight oil again?
0:55.4	Detective Steyer.
0:56.6	It's been ages.
0:57.8	What are you doing here?
0:59.1	Sarge called me in, said you might need backup on this new case.
1:03.3	New case, huh?
1:04.4	I knew something felt a bit off recently.
1:07.1	After all this time, you start to get a kind of six sense about these things.
1:11.9	Something stinks, but I can't put my finger on it.
1:14.7	Ah, detectives, I see you've been reacquainted.
1:18.8	We've got something new.
1:20.5	Strictly hush, hush for now.
	...

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