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What is in the This Week in Science Podcast?
Interview w/ Chad King on Octopus Gardens, COVID Update, Pain In The Brain, Fungis On Twitter, Bird Spys, Eyes On, Irreproducible Results, Dr. Google, Funny Penguin Poop, And Much More…
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Disclaimer, Disclaimer, Disclaimer!!!
The world is close
Closer than you think perhaps
to opening up, unlocking, to just not staying home…
But are we ready?
The answer, I can assure you,
Is maybe at best, And most likely,
no.
Yes, we have social distanced and it has been working.
Yes we are washing hands, wearing masks,
avoiding handshakes, and distancing in public places.
But now we have millions out of work,
in a system that heavily relies on workplace insurance.
And while the advice from public health officials is sound:
“If you think you have symptoms, consult your primary physician.”
More people lack a primary physician than ever before in the history of this nation.
Look it, that is a fact, most likely.
Not everywhere in the world, but definitely here in the United States this is the case
If we learn no other lesson from this epidemic,
let this at least be the take away:
Employer based healthcare fails in an emergency.
What if 911 emergency services only operated during bankers hours?
Or paramedics only carried solar powered defibrillators?
It’s like a fire extinguisher with an automatic shut off valve if it detects smoke.
And the thing is, it’s already a system that has been like this for anyone who gets sick and can’t work so…
We need a better way to care for ourselves than being dependent on sectors of industry that may or may not exist in a crisis situation.
Of course the only way to truly avoid crisis dependent situations,
is to tune into another episode of
This Week in Science,
Coming Up
Next…
Let’s start with an interview!
Interview with Chad King
Chad King is a Marine Biologist at Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. We last spoke with Chad 6 years ago about a shipping container at the bottom of Monterey Bay. And, he has been involved in some more amazing deep sea discoveries over the past few years involving octopuses and whales falls.
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Let’s start with COVID-19 Update!
COVID Update
The WHO COVID-19 Situation Report for May 19 reports 4.73 million confirmed cases (112,637 new) and 316,169 deaths. The Johns Hopkins CSSE dashboard is reporting 1.53 million US cases and 92,149 deaths as of 12:30pm on May 20.
COVID Tracking
The COVID Tracker managed by The Atlantic published a massive, volunteer-based effort to identify discrepancies between the national CDC database (which was only made public this month) and reporting from the States themselves over the past three-months.
Reinfection Relief
Tests of South Koreans infected twice by SARS CoV2 showed that while they had viral DNA in their airways, all had antibodies in their bloodstream and none were infectious.
Gym Rats
A study published in the CDC journal of Emerging Infectious Disease based on a contact tracing survey of South Korean individuals recommends minimizing vigorous exercise in enclosed spaces while the threat of the outbreak still lingers.
The pandemics silver lining
COVID-19 crisis causes 17% drop in global carbon emissions
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Is it time for Blair’s Animal Corner???
New species discovered on twitter
Who says you can’t do research from your couch??
Tits eavesdrop with specificity
These birds can recognize specific alarm calls, and keep an eye out for that specific warning. Are these birds multilingual??
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What science news does the end of the show hold???
Eyes On
A synthetic eye with features to challenge natural human sight has been created. Will we see artificial eyes being used by people within the next decade?
Irreproducible Results
When 70 teams around the globe were given the same brain imaging data to test the same seven hypotheses, they mostly came up with differing results.
Penguin poop drives scientists mad
Nitrous oxide emissions from penguin poop are off the charts!
I'm the host of this little science show. 
Congrats on a sessional episode. Chad King had me completely engaged. What an ambassador for science!
He was fantastic. So glad you enjoyed the interview!