I’m always on the lookout for science education that can break through the wall of boredom that separates most technical arts from laymen. To that end, I offer the following embedded YouTube videos by ScienceGoddess. It’s immunology explained with cookies.
First, let’s begin with the basophil. Our blood contains the least of these cells (in relation to the quantity of other cells). It’s probably a good thing. When they break apart, they result in histamine responses – allergies.
Then there are eosinophils, the parasite-warriors of the immunological system. They seek out stuff that’s not “us” and eradicate them.
Lymphocytes are things that show up quite a lot in the literature I help prepare. There’s a lot of variety within this cell-group and, I won’t kid you, I don’t see how it all fits together. But, by watching, we can learn more about Natural Killer cells, and I’ve always wanted to insert the word Born in there.
Putting this – and the other videos that I’ve not linked to – into some kind of Cookie-Context™ requires a lot of baked goods, but it’s well worth it.
In addition to a kind of ad-hoc biology education, these videos illustrate a good principle of design: make it interesting. By simply including cookies and using a conversational tone, ScienceGoddess makes the subject matter just a bit more approachable.
Now, if we can mix this with video-game sprites, violent stickmans, and the LOL-cat meme, we can revolutionize education. Or wreck it.
Hey, thanks for this post! The videos are really fun