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What is in the This Week in Science Podcast?
COVID QUIZ TIME!!!, Arctic Chlamydia, Old Flu, Glowing Amphibians, Scorpion Glow, Crabs Can’t Camo, Dark Genes, Solar Sytem Minor Leagues, Violent Farmers, Tiny Old Bird, Pillow Talk, Follow The Worker, Don’t Feed The Monkeys, And Much More…
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Disclaimer, Disclaimer, Disclaimer!!!
Pandemics are nothing new.
Actually, while common, they are a rather new phenomenon for humans because for most of human history
humans preferred not to hang out where large groups of other humans were hanging out.
Our nomadic hunter gathering, frequent foraging forbears didn’t hang out in any one location long enough to catch a seasonal flu… If something really deadly came along it killed maybe 10 or 20 people in a group and that was it, it went no further.
Then at some point we began returning to the same places year after year,
then staying all year in the same location.
Farming, animal domestication took over foraging, and populations blossomed
Humans living closely with other humans and goats, and cows and pigs and chickens and wild dogs and everyone pooping all the time, and never far enough away from town, or water supplies.
With greater and greater frequency, and less and less surprise humans have been riddled with one form of communicable illness or another.
As the world now faces a truly comprehensible threat in the form of a virus
One that is quite possibly going to infect every one of us eventually.
Societies are choosing to commit suicide as a solution.
Corona canceling conferences, music, and social gatherings,
Viral Vacating vacation plans, political gatherings, and school classes
Pandemically postponing political rallies, public transportation
Symptomatically surrendering stock markets, and sporting events
One thing that won’t be cancelled, regardless of what goes on elsewhere in the world…
This Week in Science,
Coming up next…
Let’s start with a COVID-19 QUIZ!
Latest COVID19 NEWS
COVID QUIZ TIME!!!
The WHO finally called the outbreak of COVID-19 a global pandemic today, and to go along with this news, I have a quiz for Justin & Blair… and for you! Can you answer all the questions correctly? If so, you may just be prepared for COVID-19.
Here are the questions (you can listen to the show for the answers!)
1) COVID-19 is:
a) a kind of bird with a great memory
b) an acronym for the disease caused by the novel coronavirus discovered in 2019
c) a family of coronaviruses
2) Which is better for reducing the probability of COVID-19 spread?
– Hand sanitizer
– Hand washing
3) Speaking of sanitizing, which of the following is approved by the FDA for destroying SARS CoV2?
a) apple cider vinegar
b) colloidal silver
c) clorox bleach
d) none of the above
4) Face masks are best:
a) filled with menthol at a rave
b) stockpiled with the toilet-paper in the basement
c) used to protect health care professionals
5) Social distancing is:
a) a punk band
b) a practice involving cancellation of public gatherings
c) A long-distance relationship
6) The average time to symptoms after infection is:
a) 2 days
b) 5 days
c) 10 days
7) True or False: COVID-19 is just another flu.
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!
Arctic Chlamydia
A genetic survey of marine sediments in the Arctic Ocean found evidence of novel Chlamydia species, although no one knows how they are living there.
Flu From The Past
4 year old study, explaining why pandemics catch on
Is it time for Blair’s Animal Corner???
Holy glowing amphibians, batman!
It turns out most, if not all, amphibians exhibit biofluorescence.
Oh, and scorpions, too!
Scorpions might glow to beat parasites. Thats one way to do it!
I can’t camouflage with all this noise!!
Crabs can’t focus on camouflage or retreat when it’s super loud! So turn off your ships!!
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What science news does the second half of the show hold???
Dark Genes
How is 98% of the genome non-coding?
Solar System Minor Leagues
Using data from the Dark Energy Survey, researchers have discovered over 300 trans-Neptunian objects.
Violent Farmers
When did humans get so violent?
Tiny Old Bird
A tiny dinosaur skull in amber opens the door to the diversity of tiny vertebrates during the age of dinos, and shows us that early birds could be quite small.
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Let’s finish strong with some quick stories!
Pillow Talk
Apparently, it matters to men, but not so much to women.
Follow The Worker
Geniuses don’t motivate people to try harder in science.
News flash: people can be dumb
Despite accurately identifying dominant and subordinate monkeys in photos, people were more likely to get up close to dominant monkeys, mainly just due to the act that they are more bold. Was the photo worth it??
I'm the host of this little science show. 
