Prompt Cast
Unraveling the Mystery of the 1918 Flu Pandemic
TLDR Scientists in the 1950s discovered a live sample of the 1918 flu virus in frozen bodies buried in the permafrost of Alaska, leading to a breakthrough in understanding the deadly virus and its origins. The virus originated from wild birds and mutated into seasonal flus that still exist today, and scientists are continuing to study it to develop a vaccine.
Timestamped Summary
00:00
The 1918 flu pandemic, which killed millions of people, remained a mystery to science for decades because they didn't have the technology to study the virus, but it would take almost 100 years to solve this scientific riddle.
04:26
Scientists in the 1950s discovered that there might be a live sample of the 1918 flu virus in frozen bodies buried in the permafrost of Alaska, which led to the search for these bodies in order to study the virus.
08:56
Johan decides to go on an adventure to Alaska to find bodies buried in a mass grave in order to study the 1918 flu virus and potentially find a vaccine.
13:22
Johan and his colleagues dig up bodies from a mass grave in Alaska, finding well-preserved bodies that may still have the virus in them, and they take samples from their lungs before realizing they don't have enough dry ice to keep the samples cold, but then they come up with the idea to use fire extinguishers to keep the samples cold.
17:43
Johann tries to grow the virus in the lab by injecting human tissue into animals, but the virus is dead and his efforts are in vain.
22:06
Johann's project to understand the killer virus didn't work initially, but in the 90s, he discovers a way to extract information from the dead virus, leading to a breakthrough in understanding.
26:10
Johann decides to go back to Alaska with his own money to collect more samples for Jeff's research, despite doubts from his colleagues and concerns about his age and the village's permission.
30:37
Johann successfully collects samples from a preserved body in Alaska, which are then sent to Jeff and his team, who confirm that they have the genome of the Spanish influenza virus, marking a major breakthrough in understanding the deadly virus.
34:59
The Spanish influenza virus originated from wild birds and mutated into seasonal flus that still exist today, and scientists are continuing to study it to understand its deadliness and develop a vaccine.
