In this episode, we are joined by Jasper Götting, PhD Candidate at the Institute of Virology of the Hannover Medical School, where his research focuses on the sequencing and monitoring of viruses.

We discuss what a virus is, the differences between RNA and DNA viruses, how we are all infected by Herpes viruses, and why this matters for organ transplants. We delve into flu viruses and corona viruses and some of their elegant and dangerous features, monitoring in the context of pandemics, virological weather forecasts, pandemic risk, manmade pandemics vs. natural pandemics, the risks of gain-of-function research, and the early warning center in Berlin.
We talk about Jasper's engagement in the Effective Altruism community and how this has shaped his career choices, about wild animal suffering, meat production, 80 000 hours, and many more topics.

The podcast is hosted by Manuel Brenner.