Tiny Matters

Through a few serendipitous discoveries, antibiotics changed the course of history by turning deadly infections into manageable sicknesses. But it didn’t take long for bacteria to begin outsmarting these wonder drugs. On today’s episode: The fascinating world of antibiotics and the efforts to tackle antibiotic resistance, including using AI to come up with new drugs that will only become more essential. Listen to Chain Reaction by ACS wherever you get podcasts and at acs.org/chainreaction.
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We’d like to recommend a podcast called It Turns Out, hosted by award-winning journalist Kara Miller. The idea behind the show is that things we assume to be true are often far more complicated and surprising once you look at the research and talk to the experts who study them. We think you'll love it!

We'll be publishing a 4-episode miniseries from our sister podcast Chain Reaction over the course of the next 4 weeks! Where Tiny Matters episode span all the scientific fields, Chain Reaction has more of a chemistry focus — but it’s also packed with fascinating history and societal relevance that we know will appeal to our listeners. So we wanted to bring over a recent miniseries about the drugs that have shaped humanity.
You’ve likely relied on a drug at one point or another, whether it be a prescribed medication or something over the counter. So this miniseries explores the history, impact, and future of major drug classes. The first episode is on including antibiotics, followed by birth control, then antidepressants including SSRI and we bring it all home with the very trendy highly impactful, and GLP-1s. You’ll hear from experts about the scientific breakthroughs behind these medicines and the ongoing research that could shape the next generation of drugs. Be sure to tune in! You can get all of Chain Reaction's episodes wherever you listen to podcasts and at acs.org/chainreaction
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For centuries, ghostly lights floating over bogs have appeared in folklore. Known by names including will-o'-the-wisp, corpse candles, and ‘Lantern Jack,’ they’ve inspired stories of supernatural tricksters leading travelers astray, sometimes to their doom. But in 2024, scientists finally uncovered the chemistry behind the phenomenon. From there, we travel deep into the strange world of bogs. These waterlogged landscapes help cool the planet and have preserved ancient artifacts — including human bodies — for thousands of years, helping teach us about what life was like many millennia ago, but also providing insight into some of the diseases that plague humanity today, including Alzheimer's.
Related episodes you may enjoy:
Biofilms: The sticky, slimy communities behind some of medicine's toughest infections
Foraminifera: The one-celled predators that shaped our planet (and kept the receipts)
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Why does your brain sometimes react to a stressful meeting or traffic jam like you’re being hunted by a lion on the savannah? In this episode of Tiny Show and Tell Us, we explore the evolutionary roots of anxiety, why our internal alarm system sometimes misfires, and how treatments can help some people. Then paleontologist and author Riley Black joins the show to talk about her new book Tyrant Lizard Queen: The Love, Life, and Terror of Earth’s Greatest Carnivore. She shares why T. rex is a much more complicated dinosaur than the movie monster we’re used to seeing. We hear about how T. rex grew, hunted, weathered dramatic environmental changes, and fit into her ecosystem.
Related episodes you may enjoy:
Decoding dinosaur colors and the failure of postpartum care: Tiny Show and Tell Us #57
Treating Depression: Then versus now and the SSRI debate
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