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What is in the This Week in Science Podcast?
Neandertal Gene, Perky Ears, Coconut Killer, Carbon Source, Dog Years, Date Whoever, Mitochondrial Editing, Interview re: CRISPR + COVID w/ Dr. Enrique Lin Shiao, COVID Update, Missing Monster, Hummingbird Counters?, Caecilian Fangs, ALAN!, And Much More…
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Disclaimer, Disclaimer, Disclaimer!!!
Don’t gather round people, wherever you roam
And admit that the virus around you has grown
Accept that for now you’ll be celebrating alone
If your time is worth saving
Then you better start masking or just chill out at home
For the cases they are a spreadin’…
Prophetic lyrics from Bob Dylan,
a man so far ahead of his time
that even he may not have understood all the words to his songs…
And while misquotes from folk singers
Can be just as reliable a source of information on the epidemic
as the white house coronavirus task force
There is real information being looked at by scientists
Scientists attempting to save the world from a fate worse than death…
What’s a fate worse than death you ask?
Being too sick to tune into another episode of
This Week in Science,
Coming Up Next…
Let’s start with some quick science news stories…
Neandertal Gene
Do Neandertal genes predict COVID-19 disease severity? No, but a recent pre-print in the BioArchiv describes a genome association study finding that a stretch of DNA in people who tend to have more severe outcomes probably came from Neandertals. What does the gene do? How is it involved in the viral process? No one knows yet. But, hey! If you want to limit the spread of the disease, social distance, wash your hands, and wear a mask!
Perky ears
They want to move to the music…
Coconut: the silent killer…
Of animal species! Forget palm oil, this is the real thing…
Carbon Source
Using the Keck Observatory to observe the spectra of white dwarfs in open star clusters in the Milky Way, UC Santa Cruz astrophysicists determined that the lower limit for stars to be able to form carbon – the element responsible for organic life here on Earth – is 1.5 solar masses. So, sorry Sun, you’re out.
How old is your dog?
Mine is just about a year old, and that’s acutally closer to 30 than to 7…
Date Whoever
You don’t really know what you want.
Mitochondrial Editing
For the first time, researchers have developed a system for gene-editing that might be able to cross the mitochondrial membranes to enable single-base changes, a C to a T, to a single strand of mitochondrial DNA. The system uses a bacterial toxin called DddA that is broken into two pieces and linked to a DNA targeting sequence called TALE. If it is proven effective and non-toxic, it might lead to treatment of mitochondrial-linked genetic diseases.
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Who is up for an interview?
Tonight we are joined by… Dr. Enrique Lin Shiao.
Dr. Lin Shiao is a postdoctoral fellow in the Doudna Lab at UC Berkeley developing novel methods for CRISPR gene editing, a technical co-lead for the team developing the Innovative Genomics Institute’s COVID-19 testing lab process, and the co-founder of CaminosenCiencia, a Latinx science podcast.
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Now for the weekly COVID-19 Update!
COVID Update
A study out in JAMA reports that the total number of deaths due to COVID should be at least 28% higher.
COVID Brain
SARS-CoV2 doesn’t cross the blood-brain barrier according to a recent study, but it doesn somehow lead to a number of neurological complications including, delirium, brain inflammation, stroke and nerve damage, and might be linked to an increase in encephalitis cases.
Silent COVID
Asympotomatic and pre-symptomatic individuals might be responsible for a majority of all infections suggesting that even if all symptomatic individuals are isolated, widespread outbreaks could still occur. They write: “Our results indicate that symptom-based isolation must be supplemented by rapid contact tracing and testing that identifies asymptomatic and presymptomatic cases, in order to safely lift current restrictions and minimize the risk of resurgence.”
LET US KNOW WHAT QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS YOU HAVE, OR INFORM US ON ANY REGIONAL UPDATES, BY EMAILING KIRSTEN@THISWEEKINSCIENCE.COM.
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Tell us a story Justin!
Monster star goes missing
Was it a quiet retreat to darkness, or did we just happen upon it in its last throes of life?
Dr. Kiki’s got some brainy science for you!
Hummingbird Counters?
Do hummingbirds have a number sense? A new study suggests they might.
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It’s time for Blair’s Animal Corner!
Fangs for checking in
Amphibians have venom glands in their mouth, proving that you don’t have to pick between venom and poison, you can have both, i guess?
Have a light?
Cane toads could benefit from porch lights and be even more of a menace, so TURN THAT DANG THING OFF, KAREN!
This Week in Science Questions!
“I have a question for your new segment. It’s been reported that COVID-19 has a higher mortality rate rate in men. This seems to be a fairly common occurrence where illnesses and medications affect one sex more than the other.
While I’m sure the mechanism differs based on what we are talking about, has there ever been any research on why these differences exist?
– Ashlynn Antrobus”
Listen to the episode for our reply!
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