26 January, 2022 – Episode 860 – How to Regenerate a Leg

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This Week: Webb Wins, Dinosaur Death Month, Growing Frog Legs, Ichthyosaurs Went Backwards, How Deep Is Life?, COVID Update, Hippo Language, Female Feline Flirts, Artificial Sweetness, And Much More…

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Disclaimer, Disclaimer, Disclaimer!!!

You need to start somewhere.
An inspiration
A twinkle in an eye
It doesn’t come from nowhere.
Sometimes, a good book,
a walk in a park,
a nice long shower…
Sometimes, it’s getting the sleep you need
it’s drawing outside the lines,
or staying inside a box.
Sometimes, it’s a bunch of cells
struck by electricity
in a muddy cocoon.
Or, ingredients stirred in a pot
at just the right temperature
Or, it could be
This Week in Science,
Coming up next…

Let’s get a leg up with some quick science news!

Webb Wins
The JWST has unfurled its mirror & solar shades, and arrived at its orbit around L2. Calibrations & testing will take place for the next 5 months until it is officially ready for SCIENCE. Also, a SpaceX rocket booster is going to impact the far-side of the moon on March 4th. No observations are planned at this time.

We know what month the dinosaurs died
Yes, fossil dating has gotten this good.

Ichthyosaurs went backwards
Evolutionarily speaking, of course.

Growing Frog Legs
Is a newly reported method going to set us on the path of limb regeneration? How hard will it be to grow a leg in the future? How long will it take to regenerate a limb? There are so many questions still needing answers.

How Deep Is Life
1200 meters below the seafloor researchers found microbes not just existing, but running on high metabolisms. What is going on underground?

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Want a COVID Update?

New Variant
An omicron lineage variant that is taking over rapidly in other countries has made it to the US. The WHO President says we need to be ready for more variants.

Pfizer Trials
Pfizer has started human clinical trials of its new vaccine based on the COVID-19 omicron variant.

COVID mice
Mice can catch COVID now. Good news for labs?

What Next?
Animal reservoirs might lead to the next pandemic variant allowing for antibody AND T-cell escape, but right now we just don’t know. However, omicron & vaccine immunity is promising for now.

Do you have COVID-19 related questions? Let us know!

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It’s time for Blair’s Animal Corner!

How to speak hippo
Don’t ask me, but hippos know a friend from a stranger.

Female Feline Flirts
But not for a fun reason, sorry.

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Let’s finish strong with, sweet sweet science from Dr. Kiki!

Artificial Sweet Sensors
Researchers are using biological design to create robotic taste receptors.

Sensing Artificial Sweeteners
How does the brain know what you have eaten? A new study highlights the different signalling pathways for sugar versus sucralose from the gut to the brain via the vagus nerve.

This Week in Science Questions!

Do you have questions that you want us to answer (like, how to regenerate a leg?)? Send us your questions! We will do our best to have answers!

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What were we discussing at this time last year? This time last year we learned all about mosquitoes with Dr. Yvonne Linton. We also discussed the affordability of carbon zero, dung beetles, bird poo, and so much more. Listen to the show!

This week 10 years ago Blair brought us bower birds & bonobo evolution in her “Update from Zooland”. We also discussed tricky neutrinos, trojan viruses, mitochondrial DNA relations, and so much more. Take a blast to the past with TWIS!

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