Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:53:03 — 104.0MB)
What is in the This Week in Science Podcast?
Science News With Dr. Kiki AND Guest Hosts: Ethan Seigel & Jessica Hebert!
COVID-19 Update, Chinese Air, Air Death, Biggest Bang, Mitochondrial Membrane Motion, Baby Whale Birth, Death By Gamete, Merging Holes, BPA Not So Free, Water Planet Earth?, Equinox!, CRISPR In The Eye, And Much More…
Support us on Patreon!
Want to watch this on YouTube? You can do that here.
Let’s start with a COVID-19 UPDATE!
Latest COVID19 NEWS
THE NUMBER OF DIAGNOSED CASES OF COVID-19 IS NOW OVER 95,000 globally, WITH OVER 3200 DEATHS, 9 OF WHICH WERE IN KING COUNTY, WA. GENETIC SEQUENCING OF CASES IN WASHINGTON SUGGESTS THAT THERE ARE UP TO 3 TRANSMISSION CHAINS IN THE AREA. THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION STATED THAT IT NOW ASSESS THE CASE FATALITY RATE AT 3.4% – THIS IS AN AVERAGE, AND WILL NOT BE THE CASE IN ALL LOCALITIES OR AGE-GROUPS.
AS THE SARS-CoV2 VIRUS SPREADS, PEOPLE MAY HAVE LOTS OF QUESTIONS AND CONCERNS, BUT THE CRUCIAL INFORMATION TO REMEMBER IS THAT YOU CAN PROTECT YOURSELF BY WASHING YOUR HANDS, STAYING HOME WHEN SICK, AVOIDING SICK OR IMMUNO-COMPROMISED PEOPLE, AND NOT TOUCHING YOUR FACE.
LET US KNOW WHAT QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS YOU HAVE, OR INFORM US ON ANY REGIONAL UPDATES, BY EMAILING KIRSTEN@THISWEEKINSCIENCE.COM.
Now, let’s get to the science news!
Chinese Air
Coronavirus might be the reason for a sudden improvement in air quality over China.
Air Death
An international study found that air pollution shortens life-expectancy more than malaria or smoking.
Biggest Bang?
Astronomers discover the biggest explosion since the Big Bang
Mitochondria Membranes Are In Motion!
As power plants and energy stores, mitochondria are essential components of almost all cells in plants, fungi and animals. Until now, it has been assumed that these functions underlie a static structure of mitochondrial membranes. Researchers have now discovered that the inner membranes of mitochondria are not static, but constantly change their structure every few seconds in living cells.
Researchers Capture Video Of A Humpback Whale Giving Birth For The First Time, And Make #TeamPlacenta Proud
For the first time in history, whale researchers captured video footage of a humpback whale giving birth earlier this month. On that historic day, PacWhale Eco-Adventures staff also spotted a floating placenta from a different birth in the same waters.
HELP TWIS GROW! GET A FRIEND TO SUBSCRIBE TODAY!
What science news does the second half of the show hold???
Death By Gamete
A study across species found that those individuals with two X-chromosomes live longer.
Black Hole Mergers
Merging supermassive black holes will release more energy than any other event since the Big Bang.
BPA-Free Does Not Mean Safety
Using “BPA-free” plastic products could be as harmful to human health — including a developing brain — as those products that contain the controversial chemical, suggest scientists in a new study led by the University of Missouri and published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Bisphenol S can cross the placental barrier!
IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN A TWIS SHIRT OR MUG OR OTHER ITEM OF TWIS MERCHANDISE, CLICK ON THE ZAZZLE LINK IN THE HEADER TO BROWSE OUR STORE.
Let’s finish strong with some quick stories!
Water Planet Earth?
Was Earth once a water planet? Was there a time before continents? Researchers think maybe…
The equinox this year is March 19!
Why is this the earliest since 1896?
OHSU Doctors Have Injected CRISPR-CAS Into A Patient’s Eye To Try To Cure Genetic Blindness
Scientists at Oregon Health & Science University say they have used the gene editing tool CRISPR inside someone’s body for the first time, a new frontier for efforts to operate on DNA to treat diseases. The patient has Leber congenital amaurosis, caused by a gene mutation that keeps the body from making a protein needed to convert light into signals to the brain, which enables sight. They’re often born with little vision and can lose even that within a few years.
I'm the host of this little science show. 
