Loh Down on Science: Special Pandemic Edition
65 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 3 years ago - ★ - 1 ratingThe Loh Down on Science: Special Pandemic Edition explores the science and history of pandemics (appropriate for middle school and up). Each week, fascinating new three-minute modules are reported by science writers from the Loh Down on Science "Hive." Subjects include: global crises' unexpected "silver linings" (i.e. technological innovations), what Isaac Newton did during HIS 1600's college quarantine, the science of soap, COVID-19's surprising impacts on climate change, and Folding@home, a cool new project seeking to model a coronavirus cure with the help of our home computers (it worked for Ebola!).
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Episodes
World of Corona
December 22, 2020 03:08 - 3 minutes - 2.33 MBQuarantining at home? Playing video games to get away from the pandemic? How about pandemics IN your video games? Find out about the obscure programming bug that ended thousands and thousands of virtual lives! Written and reported by Ted Yoo. References: Lofgren, Eric T., and Nina H. Fefferman. "The untapped potential of virtual game worlds to shed light on real world epidemics." The Lancet infectious diseases 7.9 (2007): 625-629.
Súper Olfato
November 15, 2020 05:02 - 3 minutes - 2.31 MBLa mayoría de nosotros no vio venir la pandemia, pero nuestros perros pudieron ¡¿olérselo?! ¿Sabíais que las enfermedades pueden “olerse”? Las narices caninas tienen 100 mil veces más sensibilidad que las nuestras. Ya hay perros entrenados para detectar ciertos tipos de cáncer ¡e incluso la malaria! Entonces, ¿los perros también podrían oler el coronavirus? Traducido y grabado por Claudia López Cámara. Original escrito por Sumner Norman, Ph.D. Producción asesorada por Anny Celsi. ...
El extenso positivo
November 15, 2020 05:02 - 3 minutes - 2.09 MBEl tráfico en Los Ángeles está condenado a vivir en la infamia. ¿Hay algún beneficio? Con el brote de coronavirus, queda claro (nuevamente) que algunas ciudades tienen brotes más grandes. En general, las ciudades más grandes equivalen a brotes más grandes. ¿Lo curioso? ¡Las ciudades con los sistemas de transporte público más eficientes son las peores en contagiar! La buena noticia es que podemos usar esta información para atacar a los virus que van a dedo. Traducido e informado por Karen Ar...
Dentro y Fuera
November 15, 2020 05:02 - 3 minutes - 2.28 MBCon tantos productos de limpieza disponibles puede resultar difícil elegir cuales son los mejores - incluso si no hubiese una pandemia. Afortunadamente, muchas de las opciones son efectivas eliminando virus. La mayor diferencia está en cómo utilizar cada producto para limpiar las superficies. Y no, ¡estos productos NO se deben meter dentro de nuestro cuerpo! Traducido y grabado por Claudia López Cámara.Original escrito por Kellen Kartub, Ph.D. Producción asesorada por Anny Celsi. Para...
Coro al amanecer
November 08, 2020 05:02 - 3 minutes - 2.07 MBEl alba. Un tiempo para amaneceres, café y pájaros extremamente ruidosos. ¿Se han vuelto más ruidosos, o se ha calmado el mundo? Muchas teorías pueden explicar por qué nuestros amigos emplumados cantan. Y aunque parece que su coro del amanecer subió el volumen, los ornitólogos dicen que ese no es el caso. A medida que nuestro mundo se calma a un susurro, las aves tienen menos competencia. En realidad han atenuado su coro; nosotros hemos mejorado en escuchar. Traducido y grabado por Karen A...
Videojuegos por una causa
November 08, 2020 05:01 - 3 minutes - 2.24 MBHa llegado el momento de que los “gamers” (jugadores de videojuegos) unan sus fuerzas con las mejores mentes científicas para encontrar una cura contra el nuevo coronavirus. Folding@home permite que investigadores utilicen tú ordenador para hacer simulaciones y poder determinar la estructura de las proteínas del nuevo coronavirus. ¿Su objetivo? Encontrar el punto débil del coronavirus para poderlo desactivar. Para más información, click aqui. Folding@home puede ser descargado aqui. Sigue a...
¿Adiós a la barba?
November 01, 2020 04:00 - 3 minutes - 2.22 MBEl Movember, o noviembre con barba, parece haberse adelantado este año ¿Pero son las barbas un nido de coronavirus? Antes que cojáis la cuchilla, ¡pongámoslo en contexto! Traducido y grabado por Claudia López-Cámara. Original escrito por Emily Sarah Sumner, Ph.D. Producción asesorada por Anny Celsi.
Dulce cuarentena
November 01, 2020 04:00 - 3 minutes - 2.28 MB¿Atrapado en una casa llena de snacks y opciones limitadas para hacer ejercicio? ¿Estás tentado de recurrir a Ben & Jerry en busca de un dulce, dulce consuelo? Los expertos dicen que esto es normal ... ¡pero no saludable! Durante tiempos de estrés y duelo, incluso los insectos consumen más dulces para tranquilizarse. Para frenar nuestros antojos, los expertos sugieren mejorar nuestra salud mental. ¡Haz ejercicio, pinta o exprésate! El gran pintor Pablo Picasso utilizó el arte en tiem...
Sueños pandémicos
November 01, 2020 04:00 - 3 minutes - 2.21 MB¿Has tenido sueños extraños últimamente? Si es así, no estás solo. ¡Los sueños estresantes están aumentando! El estrés de la pandemia podría ser el culpable. Esta no es la primera vez que un evento estresante cambia la forma en que soñamos. Traducido y grabado por Heidi Waite. Original escrito por Emily Sarah Sumner, Ph.D. Producción asesorada por Anny Celsi. Referencias: Weinstein, Netta, Rachel Campbell, and Maarten Vansteenkiste. "Linking psychological need experiences to daily ...
Información zombi
October 25, 2020 07:22 - 3 minutes - 2.25 MBTwitter, Facebook, TikTok. ¡Estamos inundados de diferentes redes sociales! Es imposible escapar de las noticias. Nos siguen A TODAS PARTES. Están en nuestros teléfonos, televisores y todo el mundo quiere hablar de ello. Traducido y grabado por Heidi Waite. Original escrito por Emily Sarah Sumner. Producción asesorada por Anny Celsi.
Compras del pánico
October 25, 2020 07:20 - 3 minutes - 2.28 MBDurante tiempos inciertos, la toma de decisiones razonables parece haberse esfumado. Consumidores alrededor del mundo se abastecen para tener suficiente en su despensa...¡y que les dure años! Incluso nuestros ancestros tenían tácticas de supervivencia similares. Es posible que los sobrevivientes de la peste bubónica de Inglaterra en el siglo XVII no construyeran grandes fortalezas. Pero, acumularon lo que pudieron encontrar (¡hola, cerveza!). ¿Pero por qué? Los psicólogos lo achacan a ...
Hasta la última gota
October 25, 2020 05:00 - 3 minutes - 1.99 MB¿Intentando destruir el coronavirus? ¡La Organización Mundial de la Salud dice que se lave las manos! Veinte segundos en el lavamanos es suficiente. ¿Si no tienes jabón ... o agua limpia? A medida que las ciudades se han desarrollado, las fuentes de agua y las corrientes de desechos se desarrollan con ellas. Incluso París comenzó como un pozo negro de tifus y otras enfermedades. Para áreas aún en desarrollo, esto crea un verdadero reto en tiempos de lavado adicional de manos. ¿Qué ...
No más Zoom
October 18, 2020 05:01 - 3 minutes - 2.19 MBLas descargas de aplicaciones de videollamadas se han disparado por la pandemia. Poco después, muchos estaban cansados de ellas. Resulta que algunas de las comunicaciones más importantes no son verbales. ¿Cómo recuperamos los detalles perdidos en el video pixelado?
Mascota virus
October 18, 2020 05:00 - 3 minutes - 2.18 MBLa pandemia del nuevo coronavirus ha sido causada por un virus originado en animales. Si este virus puede saltar de una especie animal a otra, ¿qué evitará que ataque a nuestras mascotas? Estudios científicos sobre previas pandemias de coronavirus sugieren que los gatos ¡pueden contagiarse! Pero los científicos tampoco están muy preocupados. Aunque los coronavirus pueden infectar a gatos, no hay evidencias de que los gatos puedan pasar el virus a los humanos. Podemos dormir tranquilos - ¡si ...
Metales poderosos
October 15, 2020 21:11 - 3 minutes - 2.19 MBLas propiedades auto-desinfectantes del cobre son conocidas y están bien estudiadas. Las bacterias y los virus no sobreviven mucho tiempo en una superficie de cobre. De hecho, hay investigaciones que muestran que recubrir con cobre las superficies que se tocan comúnmente es un método excelente para prevenir la propagación de enfermedades.
Desinfectante alcohólico
October 11, 2020 04:01 - 3 minutes - 2.21 MBEl alcohol es simplemente un tipo de molécula. Aunque esté presente en nuestras cervezas y cócteles, en cantidades suficientemente grandes el alcohol mata virus como el coronavirus. ¡Escuche y aprenda cómo el alcohol mata los virus! Y recuerde verificar que los desinfectantes para manos contengan un 60% de alcohol como mínimo.
Pero Luna me necesita
October 11, 2020 04:01 - 3 minutes - 2.08 MBA medida que la sociedad se reabra, ¿qué será de nuestros amigos de cuatro patas? Se pasaron todos esos meses dentro de casa, distrayéndonos y acompañándonos en la oficina e incluso durante llamadas de Zoom. ¿Tendrán problemas de apego? Los expertos en animales avisan de que los perros necesitan tiempo para ajustarse a sus nuevas rutinas…¡cómo nosotros! Dale a Luna tiempo, espacio y sobretodo, ¡paciencia!
Un respiro de aire fresco
October 11, 2020 04:00 - 3 minutes - 2.22 MBLa pandemia del coronavirus ha obligado a muchos al teletrabajo. Para los humanos, este tiempo ha sido muy estresante. Pero ¿cuál es la perspectiva de la Madre Tierra? Con la actividad humana reducida, los cielos se han despejado y la contaminación ha disminuido. ¡Parece que le está yendo bien al planeta! ¿Pero esto cuánto durará? Vivimos algo similar durante la Gran Recesión de los Estados Unidos en el 2008. Las emisiones de carbono bajaron porque la gente consumía menos productos. Sin emba...
Mascotas pandémicas
October 04, 2020 04:06 - 3 minutes - 2.22 MBA medida que las personas están atrapadas en la cuarentena por el coronavirus, muchas personas han comenzado a notar un cambio en el comportamiento de sus mascotas. ¿Por qué este cambio? ¡No necesitan preocuparse por pagar recibos! Bueno, quizás tenemos la culpa. La ciencia ha descubierto que los gatos que son ansiosos, agresivos y temerosos reflejan los rasgos de personalidad de los dueños neuróticos. Los perros también se ven afectados por el comportamiento de sus dueños. A medida que apr...
Surfactantes jabonosos
October 04, 2020 04:03 - 3 minutes - 2.03 MBLavarse las manos con agua y jabón durante 20 segundos se cita como la mejor práctica para protegernos del coronavirus. Por imposible que parezca, algo tan mundano como el jabón realmente es nuestra mejor defensa contra el nuevo coronavirus. De hecho, el jabón tiene una larga historia de mantenernos seguros. Esto ocurre por la composición química única del jabón, que está perfectamente equipada para destruir los virus. Traducido y grabado por Karen Arcos.Original escrito por Kellen Kartub, ...
Mascarillas
October 04, 2020 04:01 - 3 minutes - 2.24 MBSpiderman, Jim Carrey, y el Fantasma de la Ópera, ¿qué tienen en común? Que llevan máscaras! Nuestras queridas mascarillas tienen su origen en los pañuelos que utilizaban para cubrirse el rostro en los 1600s. Estos se convirtieron en las mascarillas quirúrgicas y, eventualmente, en las mascarillas-respirador N-95! ¡Las mascarillas no son sólo para villanos y superhéroes! Durante siglos, los mortales las hemos utilizado para protegernos. Empezando por los pañuelos y acabando por las ...
But Fluffy Needs Me
September 10, 2020 22:10 - 3 minutes - 1.72 MBAs society reopens, what will become of our four-legged friends? They spent all those months indoors as our officemates, distractions, and Zoom call buddies. Did anyone order some attachment issues?! Animal experts advise that dogs need time to adjust to their new, new normals... just like us! Give them time, space, and patience. Written and reported by Brenna Biggs. References: Puente, M. Adoptions, fosters empty shelter cages during COVID-19 crisis, but there will always be homeless pet...
High Score
June 03, 2020 04:00 - 3 minutes - 1.83 MBExtra quaran-screen time has revived a generations-old question: do video games really rot your brain? Experts say… not exactly! Too much of a good thing is, of course, bad. Playing games nonstop can lead to anxiety, depression, and headaches. But, in moderation, video games help our brains level up! They can help us form memories, learn strategy, and even be nicer to our families. A definite plus while everyone is stuck together! Written and reported by Brenna Biggs. References: Granic...
Super Sniffers
June 03, 2020 04:00 - 3 minutes - 6.87 MBLong Description Most of us didn’t see the pandemic coming, but could our puppy pals smell it?! Did you know that illnesses can have a “smell”? Canine noses are up to 100 thousand times more sensitive than ours. We’ve already trained dogs to sniff out certain types of cancer and even malaria! Could our canin counterparts sniff out coronavirus, too? written and reported by Sumner L. Norman, PhD References 1. UPenn launches COVID 19 canine scent detection study 2. Sniffer Dogs in the Me...
Dawn Chorus
June 03, 2020 04:00 - 3 minutes - 1.77 MBDawn. The time for sunrises, coffee, and extremely loud birds. Have they gotten noisier, or has the world quieted down? Many theories can explain why our feathered friends sing. And although their “dawn chorus” seems like it got cranked to an eleven, ornithologists say that’s not the case. As our world quiets down to a whisper, birds have less competition. They’ve actually toned it down; we’ve just gotten better at listening. Written and reported by Brenna Biggs. References: Pickett, P. ...
Phage Wars
June 03, 2020 03:39 - 3 minutes - 6.87 MBNot all viruses are as bad as coronavirus - some could be our friends! Bacteria cause illness as well, and sometimes gain resistance to our antibiotics! Fortunately, some scientists are working on a treatment using bacteriophage, a virus that specifically targets bacteria! For more information, read up on bacteriophage here. Written and reported by Kellen Kartub, Ph.D. with production consultant Anny Celsi. Reference: Lin, D. M., Koskella, B., Lin, H. C. “Phage therapy: An alternative...
Risky Business
June 03, 2020 03:39 - 3 minutes - 6.87 MBSummertime sadness is taking on a new form due to quarantine. But there are steps we can take to lower our risk of exposure to coronavirus while still enjoying the outdoors! Take care to continue social distance and mask wearing, limit your time near others, and continue to wash those hands! To learn more, Vox has an excellent article on social distancing in the summer which can be found here, as well as a general article on coronavirus transmission here. If you prefer your coronavirus n...
Shotgun Vaccine
May 27, 2020 05:04 - 6.85 MBVaccines take a lot of work and time. A turn around time of several years is considered fast! That is too slow to help with a pandemic that is here right now. But next generation vaccines promise something much quicker. How? With guns. Lots of guns. And by stealing the virus’s own tool to use against it!
'Rona Ramadan
May 27, 2020 02:13 - 6.87 MBEvery year, many Muslims fast during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. Meaning they don’t eat or drink anything from roughly before sunrise until after sunset. Ramadan of 2020 falls during the coronavirus outbreak and people are curious about the health implications. Research has shown that Ramadan fasting lowers levels of cholesterol and chemicals causing inflammation. Inflammation is normally a good thing, it’s part of our body’s natural immune response to an infection. However, too much ...
Viral Mania
May 27, 2020 01:23 - 6.85 MBViruses are everywhere, but most of them are rather harmless. An excellent example is the herpesvirus! As virologist Kennen Hutchison explains, almost all of us have a form of herpes. Chickenpox, cold sores, and shingles are all a type of herpes. Even the chickenpox vaccine means you have herpes! And once you have it, they stick around forever! But don’t freak out, because most cases of herpes don’t hurt us. For more from Kennen Hutchison, you can follow him on Instagram and Twitter as wel...
My Mask is Your Mask
May 27, 2020 01:22 - 6.86 MBYou’re wearing a mask on a walk, minding your own business, and then AHHHHHH, somebody pops up behind you, on a bicycle without a mask! No! This is Emily Sarah Sumner with the Loh Down on Science: Special Pandemic Edition. When you think of a mask, what do you think of? Before COVID, masks were not very commonly worn in the US. In western countries, many associated masks with robbers, masquerade balls, and surgeons. In Eastern countries are different. For example,...
Deus Ex Vaccina
May 24, 2020 04:00 - 6.88 MBThe world waits for a coronavirus vaccine. But this isn’t the first time it’s taken a little longer than ideal. For nearly forty years, scientists have searched for a vaccine for HIV, the virus behind the AIDS epidemic. Although they’re still searching, drugs, treatment and technology have made an HIV diagnosis a little better. The good news is that coronavirus shares more in common with other viruses than a devious trickster like HIV... and it all comes down to copying skills. Written a...
Zoomed Out
May 17, 2020 17:03 - 6.84 MBGlobal pandemic have skyrocketed downloads of video conferencing apps. Soon after, many found themselves zoomed out. It turns out that some of the most important communication is in nonverbal. How do we recapture the details lost to pixelated video? References The video apps we're downloading amid the coronavirus pandemic, World Economic Forum Dimberg, Ulf, Monika Thunberg, and Kurt Elmehed. "Unconscious facial reactions to emotional facial expressions." Psychological science 11.1 (2000)...
Inside Out
May 17, 2020 04:00 - 6.89 MBWith so many options, it can be difficult to know which cleaning products are best - even when there isn’t a pandemic going on. Fortunately, there are many options that are effective against killing viruses. The main difference is in how you use them to clean a surface. And no, you cannot use them inside the body. For more information, you can access an article by C&EN here, or this helpful graphic and description by Compound Chem here. Written and reported by Kellen Kartub, Ph.D. with prod...
Quarantine 15
May 17, 2020 04:00 - 6.87 MBStuck in a house packed with snacks and limited ways to exercise? Tempted to turn to Ben and Jerry for sweet, sweet solace? Experts say this is normal...but not healthy! During times of stress or grief, even insects turn to sugary sweets to feel more calm. To curb our cravings, experts suggest improving our mental health. Exercise, paint, or express yourself! The great painter Pablo Picasso turned to art during tough times… should we do the same? Written and recorded by Brenna Biggs. Refer...
Every Last Drop
May 17, 2020 04:00 - 6.87 MBTrying to destroy coronavirus? The World Health Organization says get to scrubbing! Twenty seconds at the sink should do it. But what if you don’t have soap… or clean water? As cities have developed, water sources and waste streams develop with them. Even Paris began as a cesspool of typhoid and other diseases. For areas still developing, this poses a real challenge in times of extra handwashing. What can we learn from history, and how can that help our future? Written and reported by Br...
Pandemic Buzz
May 17, 2020 04:00 - 6.87 MBPandemic: quite a BUZZ word these days. We stay home, wear masks, and wash hands like crazy. But what would bees do? Hint: dance party! For over a century, bees have faced their own pandemic, V. destructor mites. Western honey bees are not as well-equipped to deal with them as their Eastern counterparts. Eastern honey bees throw mite-cleaning shindigs and even turn to more desperate measures, but Western honey bees might need a little help from their human friends. Written and reported b...
Anty-Who?
May 11, 2020 05:02 - 6.87 MBAs weird as their name sounds, antibodies are actually quite friendly! They help our bodies fight off infection. And their presence indicates if we have had a disease and if we are immune. That’s why researchers in the Weiss and Penner labs are hard at work developing a test to count the amount of antibodies in our blood! For more information on the Weiss and Penner labs, you can read about their detector here and their research here! Based off an interview with Kristin Gabriel, written and...
Bye-Bye Beards?
May 11, 2020 04:00 - 6.88 MBQuarantine is taking no-shave November to a whole new level. But can beards be hotspots for the coronavirus? Before you grab your clippers, let’s grow through history! Written and reported by Emily Sarah Sumner, PhD References https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2020/3/30/21195447/beard-pandemic-coronavirus-masks-1918-spanish-flu-tuberculosis Barbeito, Manuel S., Charles T. Mathews, and Larry A. Taylor. "Microbiological laboratory hazard of bearded men." Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 15, n...
The Sprawling Upside
May 10, 2020 04:00 - 6.88 MBThe traffic in Los Angeles is doomed to live in infamy. Is there any benefit? With the outbreak of coronavirus, it’s become clear (again) that some cities have bigger outbreaks. Generally, bigger cities equal bigger outbreaks. The twist? Cities with the most efficient public transportation systems are the worst off! The good news is we may be able to use this information to target hitchhiking viruses. Written and reported by Sumner L. Norman, Ph.D. References Dalziel, Benjamin D., Babak P...
Labs in Translation
May 10, 2020 04:00 - 6.87 MBMistranslation? Awkward. Surprisingly, it was a classic mistranslation after the Franco-Prussion War that prompted the acceptance of biosafety. Now, we keep dangerous pathogens locked up tight! And their identities might surprise you… Depending on the biosafety level, lab techs might wear special ventilation suits or even decontaminate their clothes. But these extreme measures are only used against the world’s most dangerous viruses and bacteria. Shockingly, protocols for the infamous new ...
Pandemic Pets
May 10, 2020 04:00 - 6.87 MBCat got your quarantine? As people are stuck in the coronavirus induced self-quarantine, many pet owners have started noticing a shift in their pet’s behavior. Why are they being weird? They don’t need to worry about paying the bills! Well, we may be the culprits of their peculiarities. Research has found that anxious, aggressive, and fearful cats reflect the personality traits of neurotic owners. Dogs are also more responsive to their owners that are stressed than those that are calm. As we...
Sanitation Lamentation
May 05, 2020 01:16 - 6.87 MBHumans have made remarkable progress in eliminating diseases. Diseases that were once very common are no longer common today. For example, fecal-oral route diseases once plagued nearly every society in history. These diseases only go away when people practice good hygiene. But the necessary technologies need to be available, and practices need to be taught. A shift in how society thinks is necessary. In this episode we talk about historian Dr. Alex Bay who studies the history of public healt...
Free Play
May 04, 2020 20:19 - 6.85 MBModern childhood in America is different. Children spend most of their time in structured activities: School, sports, and mountains of homework. No time for biking around the neighborhood. Until now. School is out. What will children do with all of that time? Bounce a ball? Take a walk around the block? Are there any benefits for children that spend time in these unstructured activities? Written and reported by Emily Sarah Sumner, PhD REFERENCES Barker, Jane E., Andrei D. Semenov, La...
Double Corona
May 04, 2020 04:00 - 6.89 MBRecovered from the new coronavirus? Congratulations! It’s safe for you to go out again! Or is it? This is Stella Moon with the Loh Down on Science: Special Pandemic Edition. In mid-April, South Korea reported some surprising results. Within a month of recovery, around two percent of those infected tested positive for the virus for the second time! These disappointed survivors had to return to quarantine. And their families were monitored for fourteen days. Then. . . another SURPRISE! No...
Easy as CDC
May 03, 2020 04:00 - 6.87 MBMosquitoes… they do more than ruin a nice day by the river. These winged brutes cause dozens of diseases from West Nile virus to malaria. During WWII, President Roosevelt had enough. He formed a special task force to rid the nation of this infectious threat… the CDC. Armed with insecticide sprayers, they sprayed hundreds of military bases—and later, millions of households!—throughout the southeastern United States. The CDC has expanded (and of course, iterated through many name changes) to...
Spiked Sanitizers
May 03, 2020 04:00 - 1.72 MBAlcohol just refers to a type of molecule. And though it means an array of different cocktails for us, in large enough amounts it spells death to viruses like the coronavirus. Learn some of the chemistry behind why alcohol kills viruses and remember to check that hand sanitizers are at least 60% alcohol! For more details, please reference the CDC. The following links here and here offer a deeper insight into the chemistry of hand sanitizers. And finally, Parade is keeping a running list of ...
Of Scientists and Sundews
April 26, 2020 04:00 - 1.72 MBWhen not in a pandemic, Professor Rachel Martin studies the interesting enzymes in carnivorous plants. When she realized that coronavirus relies on the same type of enzyme, she got to thinking about how she could use her expertise to help the world. Fast forward a few weeks, and this project has expanded to a campus-wide collaboration including professors Carter Butts, Doug Tobias, Andy Borovik, Vy Dong, Liz Jarvo, James Nowick, and Jenn Prescher. The team hopes to design a drug that will st...
Immunity Issue
April 26, 2020 04:00 - 1.72 MB“Immunity Passports” are being touted as one way to reopen the economy. These passports would be administered to people who test positive for having had the coronavirus. Scientists worldwide have developed dozens of these tests, hoping to distribute them throughout the world. However, even highly accurate tests will run into a problem. References SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) by the numbers. Large-Scale Antibody Test Suggests As Many As 80,000 Santa Clara County Residents Have Already Had COVID-...
The Tale of Lady Montagu
April 26, 2020 04:00 - 6.87 MBSmallpox… the word sounds harmless enough, but this “speckled monster” was the scourge of Western Europe throughout the 1700s. Why did it disappear? The credit belongs to a fiery 18th-century feminist. Lady Mary Wortley Montagu rebelled against everything—her father, societal norms, and smallpox. After catching—and recovering from—the disease, she vowed to protect her children from living the same horror. But she had to face intercontinental travel, a pus-based economy, and a stubborn kingd...