The Rise And Fall Of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, No Cure For The Common Cold, Changes To MPS Grading System, Traveling While Female

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Veronica Rueckert and Noah Ovshinsky talk about the rise and fall of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood – featured on tonight’s FRONTLINE documentary on PBS. Then, will scientists ever have a cure for the common cold? We’ll also look at the grading system used by Milwaukee Public Schools and explore safety issues unique to female travelers.

Featured in this Show

  • Biochemist: There's No Cure For The Common Cold …Yet

    With cold weather slowly returning to Wisconsin, it’s almost the sneezy season again. Many know the feeling of a cold coming on. They get a tickle in their throat, it moves to the upper sinuses and before they know it, a person has a runny nose.

    All it all, it’s what’s known as the common cold, or a rhinovirus. The University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics is likely the leading university in the world for virus research, according UW biochemistry professor Ann Palmenberg, but she said there’s no cure for it just yet.

    A vaccine that targeted the common cold would likely be a boon to health-conscious consumers, but Palmenberg said there are simply too many viruses to target to make such an approach a practical solution.

    “I’d be rich if I could invent (one),” said Palmenberg.

    The rhinovirus has survived so long for a reason, she said.

    “It never makes you so sick that you don’t go to work and sneeze on your co-workers,” she said.

    But most big pharmaceutical companies have labs working on the problem, she said.

    According to Palmenberg, what might be the most promising way to go is to focus on the genes of the virus itsself.

  • Egypt In Crisis

    In a FRONTLINE documentary, Martin Smith and Charles Sennott examine the rise and rapid fall of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood. It airs on Wisconsin Public Television at 9:00pm CT on September 17th.

  • Can The Common Cold Be Cured?

    As the cold season sneaks up on us, a researcher talks about the quest to cure the common cold.

  • Milwaukee Public Schools Move Away From Letter Grades

    Milwaukee Public Schools is eliminating traditional letter grades in its K-8 schools. An expert from the school system explains why they’re changing the way they assess students.

  • Traveling While Female

    Travel writer Tara Isabella Burton recently wrote in Salon that traveling and taking adventures as a woman can come with fears for her safety. She describes it as a voice in the back of her head that says “Don’t get yourself raped.”

Episode Credits

  • Veronica Rueckert Host
  • Noah Ovshinsky Host
  • Ann Palmenberg Guest
  • Charles Sennott Guest
  • Anne Knackert Guest
  • Tina Flood Guest
  • Tara Isabella Burton Guest
  • Galen Druke Producer
  • Amanda Magnus Producer

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