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What is in the This Week in Science Podcast?
Hot Oceans, Baby Sharks, Jelly Walls, Hot & Rocky, Ukranian Melting Pot, Super Flare, COVID-19 Update, Tree Snakes, Spider Pockets, Human Persistence, Distant Dire Wolves, Sperm Markers, mRNA For MS, And Much More…
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Disclaimer, Disclaimer, Disclaimer!!!
Aside from the occasional constant need to do things for others
Jobs, family, friends and other social constructs of tasks and attention paying…
There are many ways to be in the world…
Life is a choose your own adventure book
where you can flip pages based on choices of whim and reason…
Assuming you don’t have missing pages,
and do have the ability to read,
Life can take you just about anywhere you want it to.
Within reason…
but without limitations.
Whatever you choose you will gain new knowledge,
meet interesting people, visit strange places.
Even if that strange place is your own home town where, if you haven’t noticed…
Is much stranger than you think.
If you get too bored you can flip the page and set off on an adventure,
making all the choices that lead you from one encounter to the next
One of the places your page flipping has taken you is here…
The reason you are here is because of everything that has ever happened.
Every choice you made,
And every choice made by others.
The sum total of all history, human or otherwise has led to this.
What happens on the next page should be obvious by now.
It’s this week in science,
Coming Up Next…
Let’s start with the science news
Hot Oceans
According to new research, the oceans got a lot hotter last year.
Baby megaladons and baby sharks
What does climate have to do with it?
Jellies create walls
Out of water, in two oppositely spinning donuts. Make sense? Didn’t think so.
Hot & Rocky
UC Riverside astrophysicists found a rocky super-earth where they didn’t expect one.
Ukrainian melting pot
Ukraine genome survey adds missing pieces to human diversity puzzle
Super Flare
What was thought to be a supernova was discovered to be a periodic flare.
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And, now for the COVID-19 Update…
COVID UPDATE
NEW VARIANTS OF SARS-COV2 ARE CONSIDERED PROBLEMATIC AS THEY SPREAD GLOBALLY. THE UK’S B.1.1.7 AND SOUTH AFRICA’S B.1.351 EACH HAVE SEVERAL MUTATIONS TO THE SPIKE PROTEIN, WHICH CURRENT ESTIMATES SUGGEST INCREASE INFECTIVENESS BY 50%. MORE VARIANTS ARE BEING DISCOVERED THROUGH TESTING – JAPAN AND NIGERIA BEING RECENT EXAMPLES. THE CONCERN IS THAT MORE VIRAL SPREAD WILL NOT ONLY INCREASE HOSPITALIZATION AND DEATHS, BUT ALSO INCREASE THE POSSIBILITY OF VACCINE-ESCAPE. THE BEST WAYS TO REDUCE THE SPREAD AND MUTATION OF THE VIRUS ARE TO MASK, SPEND TIME OUTDOORS, AND SOCIALLY DISTANCE.
CONVALESCENT PLASMA
A STUDY IN THE NEJM SUGGESTS THAT HIGH CONCENTRATIONS DOSES OF ANTIBODIES FROM CONVALESCENT PLASMA GIVEN EARLY IN INFECTIONS REDUCED SEVERITY OF THE DISEASE FOR OLDER, HOSPITALIZED PATIENTS.
PUBLIC OPINION
THE NUMBER OF INDIVIDUALS IN THE US STATING THAT THEY WILL GET A COVID-19 VACCINE DROPPED LAST YEAR FROM 74% IN APRIL TO 56% IN EARLY DECEMBER.
FLU COMPARISON
A STUDY IN THE LANCET REPORTS THAT IN-HOSPITAL MORTALITY FOR COVID-19 IS HIGHER THAN THE FLU ACROSS ALL AGE-GROUPS, BUT FOR ADOLESCENTS (11-17), IT’S ESPECIALLY STRIKING AT A TEN TIMES HIGHER RATE.
MODERNA MRNA
THE COMPANY BRINGING US ONE OF THE CURRENT COVID VACCINES WILL EXPAND ITS MRNA VACCINE EFFORTS TO INCLUDE SEASONAL FLU, HIV, & NIPAH VIRUS, AND WILL BE LOOKING FOR CLINICAL PROOF OF CONCEPT FOR 13 OF THEIR ONGOING PROGRAMS THIS YEAR.
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It’s time for Blair’s Animal Corner!
Snakes climb trees by acting as a lasso
Crawling snakes, swimming snakes, flying snakes, now climbing snakes! Like we have never seen before.
What do spiders and Kevin McCallister have in common?
They are both excellent at making traps. Out of leaves. To catch frogs to eat. Or at least just the first part…
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What does Justin have to say about science this week?
Early humans persisted
Ancient tools remained steady throughout habitats
Modern humans persisted too
Old way of making tools lasted 20,000 years longer than thought
Dire wolves are only distant cousins other wolves
5 million years apart
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Let’s finish strong with science from Dr. Kiki!
SPERM MARKERS
EPIGENETIC MARKERS IN SPERM ENABLED RESEARCHERS TO PREDICT WHETHER FATHERS HAD AUTISTIC CHILDREN WITH 90%
ACCURACY.
mRNA for MS
PUBLISHING IN SCIENCE, RESEARCHERS FROM BIONTECH SUCCESSFULLY USED mRNA TO DELIVER AUTOANTIGENS INTO LYMPHOID DENDRITIC CELLS IN MICE. THIS RESULTED IN A POPULATION OF T-CELLS THAT SUPPRESSED AUTORECTIVITY. THE TREATMENT DELAYED ONSET AND REDUCED SEVERITY OF A MOUSE MODEL OF MS.
This Week in Science Questions!
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