06 September, 2017 – Episode 635 – This Week in Science Podcast (TWIS)

Share

CRISPR Debate, Zika For Cancer, Long Lived Evolution, Ancient Crete Feet, Ancient Americans, Keeping It Clean, Bird Nose Necessity, Vampires Are Real?, Finding Holes, Cultural Wife Swapping, And Much More…

Take our audience survey!!!

DISCLAIMER, DISCLAIMER, DISCLAIMER!!!
There comes a point, when it’s time to get out.
When the fire alarm goes off…
When the forest is full of smoke…
When the ship is sinking…
It’s time to get out.
When the flood waters are rising…
When a hurricane is headed in your direction…
When downtown is ten feet underwater…
It’s time to get out.
And for those who have doubted the predictions of global warming…
Who doubted the data, the scientists and the studies…
Who have bunkered down in denial…
It is time to get out.
We have seen the heroic efforts to rescue neighbors,
evacuate neighborhoods in Texas and Florida…
We see the destroyed homes and billions of dollars in damages…
And this is just the beginning of what climate change has in store…
And while no expense will be spared to save lives on the day a hurricane hits…
We could spend much less and do much more to protect those lives…
Simply by listening to scientists…
Speaking of listening to scientists, it’s time to get out
This Week In Science…
Coming Up Next.

This Week in What Has Science Done for me Lately?!?
“Good science, Dr. Kiki, Blair and Justin!
Science does a lot for me every day, from giving me my cell phone to my thyroid medicine, to better insulation in my house. But today I’d like to give a shout-out to veterinary science & medicine.
My cat Henry is just over a year old, but his first year of life has been pretty eventful in a medical sense.
First, he had a wicked, long lasting (around 2 months) case of conjunctivitis. His vet worked with me and helped me keep him as comfortable as possible while also preventing any secondary infections. When he finally got over that, he had several months without any problems, but then he came down with an epic case of stomatitis.
Apparently poor Henry’s immune system was fiercely attacking his teeth. It was so bad that the vet didn’t think there was any way to save any of his teeth, and all indications after the fact point to that diagnosis having been completely correct.
The vet thought she’d have to do three or four surgeries to remove his teeth, but when she got in there she discovered that his teeth were so degraded that they came out really easily. Because of that, she got almost all of his teeth in one surgery, and was able to take the rest out during the second surgery.
During the surgeries, the vet did many, many x-rays (yay science!) to make sure that she got every piece of every tooth out, so that his body wouldn’t just keep attacking whatever bits got left behind.
Henry was given antibiotics (yay science!) to prevent any infection and pain killers (yay science!) to keep him comfortable while he healed.
Thanks to science and veterinary medicine, Henry is healing up really well. Better, in fact, than expected. He can even eat dry food now, though I make sure he has plenty of wet food, since it’s obviously easier.
Henry is an incredibly sweet cat, and I’m so glad that science and veterinary medicine have been able to help him, as well as so many other injured and ill animals.
Here is picture of Henry napping with his “sister” Bess. Bess is the Siamese giving Henry, who is grey, a hug.
P.S. Bess and Henry are indoor cats, so they aren’t killing any birds.”
-Minion Joni Waldrup

CRISPR Debate
Did a recent study actually fix a deleterious mutation carried by sperm that causes heart disease?

Zika For Cancer
A recent study supports the idea that Zika might be used to defeat brain cancer.

Long Lived Evolution
A study in PLoS finds possible evidence that natural selection is getting rid of mutations that shorten lifespan.

Ancient Crete Feet
Who were these ancient people???

Ancient Americans
DNA evidence from 13,000 years ago!

Keeping it clean gets a whole new meaning!
Testosterone for cleanliness.

The bird nose knows, ya know??
Birds rely more on smell than magnetism to navigate.

Support us on Patreon!

Vampires are real?
YESVAMPIRESAREREALBUTNOTREALLYVAMPIRES!

Finding Holes
Did researchers find a mid-sized black hole near the center of our galaxy?

Jupiter’s Aurora
NASA’s Juno mission has given scientists new insights about aurora formation.

Cultural wife swapping
The Germans got wives from everywhere.

Sneezy Decisions
Wild dogs use sneeze quorums to make group decisions.

Dog Awareness
A new twist on the mirror test for self-awareness finds evidence in dogs.

Lady Cuckoo Deception
Female cuckoos mimic the sounds of hawks after visiting a target nest.

Everyone calm the heck down about Fukushima
and just eat some sushi already!

If You love TWIS, please consider making a donation below.

Don’t forget to tell a friend about TWIS, and to check out our Patreon page!

Share

About the Author

I'm the host of this little science show.