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What is in the This Week in Science Podcast?
This Week: Climate Alarm, Power Plant Potential, Hydrogen Hype?, Missing Mars Rock, Maniac Robots, Age-Reversing Microbes, Free Loading Cats, COVID Update, Bargain-Shopping Bats, Poisonous Frog Sponge, Mast Cell Advance?, Matrix AI, Social Signals, Lady Learnings, And Much More…
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Disclaimer, Disclaimer, Disclaimer!!!
Cause and effect.
Poke a beehive and you get angry bees.
Load the atmosphere with carbon, you get a greenhouse effect.
Fail to take a contagious virus seriously, you get a surge in hospitalizations and death.
Everything happens for a reason.
Which begs the question…
What is the cause of people who are ignoring global warming and covid-19 precautions?
In the case of global warming, it’s pretty obvious.
The fossil fuel industry that is the major contributor of carbon emissions, has funded marketing against the science, and is a major contributor to politicians who refute science, despite the fact that it threatens so many lives if it is not dealt with.
Cause and effect.
We saw this in the past with Big Tobacco when politicians and marketing campaigns were funded to keep people smoking, despite the health risks.
But what about covid-19?
What causes campaigns and politicians to refute the science despite the fact that so many are dying as a result of it?
While the answer isn’t yet clear, it one day will be.
(I’m guessing it’s institutional real estate investment syndicates, but we’ll see)
And despite causing and profiting from disinformation that directly and predictably leads to the deaths of thousands…
they will get away with it.
Like the oil industry, like big tobacco and like
This Week in Science
Coming up next…
Let’s start with some quick science news
IPCC Alarm Bells
The 6th IPCC Assessment Report was released this week with article headlines clamoring for attention… as if there has never been any… to the topic of climate change. It is here. It is our fault. We need to reduce our CO2 emissions as of yesterday. We’ve been reporting the climate change news on this show for as long as we’ve been doing the show. So, unless you JUST started listening (hello, and welcome!) you’ll have an idea of the current climate situation. So, let’s think positively about solutions instead of doom & glooming. The GOOD news from the IPCC report is that if we reduce our CO2 output, we can minimize global warming and reduce the likelihood of a lot of knockon effects. So, how do we do that?
Power Plant Decommissioning
5% of power plants produce 75% of the emissions from power production. Let’s clean those bad boys up!
Hydrogen Economy
It looks like Hydrogen is on the Infrastructure Bill & people are hyped about its potential, but it’s really not clean or cheap enough yet.
Mystery of the missing rock core…
on Mars
Maniac robot in your cerebral column
These tiny robots deliver drugs to your nervous system. What could go wrong with a robot called “maniac”?
Age reversing microbes
A strange thing happens when fecal transplants are transferred from the young to the old… in mice.
Free Loading Cats
Maybe to no one’s surprise, cats do not like to work for their food.
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Want a COVID Update?
Long Term Effects
There are at least 50 long-term effects of COVID-19, 80% of symptomatic people will have one.
Fresh Air
Keeping classrooms ventilated is harder than you think.
Aerosol Aspiration
Speaking and singing release a lot of viral particles.
Do you have COVID-19 related questions? Let us know!
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It’s time for Blair’s Animal Corner?
Bats love a bargain
Bats get fooled by the same marketing ploy as humans. You gotta go large, man, it’s too good a deal to pass up!
How did the frog keep himself from poisoning himself?
With a sponge of course!
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What science news does Justin have?
Mast cell disruption
Possible RNA mechanism for stopping mast cell tumor growth.
Mental matrix makes for better AI
Neuromorphic architecture that mimics the human brain is better!
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Let’s finish strong with science from Dr. Kiki!
Social Signals
Apes will tell other apes when they’ve had enough interaction.
Lady Learnings
Female mice learn how to parent from other moms and the process is influenced by oxytocin.
This Week in Science Questions!
How do you feel about this week’s IPCC report? Was it what you expected? Does it concern you to know that the extreme weather we have experienced this past year is expected to become more common? Are you worried about the world the next generations will experience? Do you think there are reasonable solutions, or do you think we have to change our lives significantly? We’d love to hear from you about your thoughts on the latest report on climate change as we share ours every week on the show…
Do you have questions that you want us to answer? Send us your questions! We will do our best to have answers!
Leave us a message on our Facebook page, OR email Dr. Kiki!
Has it been a year since our fantastic interview with Daniel Whiteson??? Listen to our conversation about physics AND comics. It was a really great interview. We also discuss banana teeth, tuataras, and shrinking things. Curious about it all? Listen to the show!
This one from 2011 included science news about a superdrug to cure all viruses that apparently no one wants to fund?!?!? What is going on? We should look back into this story… We also discussed sphincters and world robot domination. Check it out!
I'm the host of this little science show. 
