Loh Down on Science: Special Pandemic Edition

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Immunity Issue Apr 26, 2020

Show notes

“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

Pandemic Dreams Apr 25, 2020

Show notes

Have you been having weird dreams lately? If so, you’re not alone. Stressful, memorable, and intense dreams are on the rise! The stress of the pandemic might be to blame. This isn’t the first time a stressful event has changed the way that we dream.

Written and reported by Emily Sarah Sumner, Ph.D.

References:

Weinstein, Netta, Rachel Campbell, and Maarten Vansteenkiste. "Linking psychological need experiences to daily and recurring dreams." Motivation and emotion 42, no. 1 (2018): 50-63.

Hartmann, Ernest, and Tyler Brezler. "A systematic change in dreams after 9/11/01." Sleep 31, no. 2 (2008): 213-218.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/dreaming-in-the-digital-age/202004/common-themes-in-dreams-about-the-pandemic

Breath of Fresh Air Apr 23, 2020

Show notes

The coronavirus pandemic has forced many people to work remotely. For human beings this time has been rather stressful, but what’s it like from Mother Earth’s perspective? With reduced human activity, skies have cleared up and pollution has gone down. Things seem to be going smoothly for the planet! But will this last? Well, we have seen something similar during the 2007 Great Recession of the United States. Carbon emissions plummeted because people weren’t consuming as much goods. However, when the economy started growing, there was a peak in carbon emissions. History has a tendency to repeat itself. Today, we can expect to see a similar trend when the economy reopens and people return to their jobs. Armed with this knowledge, we can make conscientious, sustainable decisions for our collective futures.
Written and reported by Bahareh Sorouri.

References:

1. Crist, Megan. What the coronavirus means for climate change. New York Times. March 27, 2020.
2. Siegal, Ethan. The simplest explanation of global warming ever. Forbes. January 2, 2019.
3. Feng, K., Davis, S., Sun, L. et al. Drivers of the US CO2 emissions 1997–2013. Nat Commun 6, 7714 (2015).
4. Starry skies emerge amid life under coronavirus lockdown. CBS News. April 11, 2020.

What's in a Name? Apr 21, 2020

Show notes

What’s in a name? For humans, our identity. Same for viruses. Throughout history, viruses have cycled through names that have tried to identify them. Although labelling them by their location or origin seems like a good idea, hindsight has revealed negative side effects of this decision. Recently, the World Health Organization has recommended not including places, animals, and people when choosing a new virus name. This has led to clunkers like “SARS-Cov-2,” but will hopefully safeguard against racism and xenophobia down the line.

Written and reported by Brenna Biggs.
References:

Kaur, H. Yes, we long have referred to disease outbreaks by geographic places. Here's why we shouldn't anymore. CNN (2020).
Doering, C. USDA may help ailing pork industry hit by H1N1. Reuters (2009).
2009 H1N1 Pandemic (H1N1pdm09 virus). Center for Disease Control (2019).

Fur-onavirus Apr 21, 2020

Show notes

The coronavirus pandemic was caused by a virus that originated in other animals. If this virus can jump species, what’s to stop it from attacking our pets? Science from previous coronavirus outbreaks like SARS suggest that cats are susceptible! Now, a full grown tiger at the Bronx zoo has gotten sick with the new coronavirus. Luckily, science is on the case. Coronavirus can infect cats but doesn’t seem to affect dogs. Luckily, cats don’t show symptoms and there’s no evidence for widespread infections or cat-to-human transmission. We can all sleep soundly tonight - if Max would just move over, already!

Written and reported by Sumner L. Norman, Ph.D.

SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) by the numbers.
Cyranoski, D. Mystery deepens over animal source of coronavirus. Nature 579, 18–19 (2020).
Chen, H. Susceptibility of ferrets, cats, dogs, and different domestic animals to SARS-coronavirus-2. bioRxiv (2020).
Goldstein, Joseph. Bronx Zoo Tiger Is Sick With the Coronavirus. New York Times (2020).

Mighty Metals Apr 21, 2020

Show notes

Copper’s self-disinfecting properties are well known and well studied. Bacteria, viruses, doesn’t matter - they won’t survive long on a copper surface. In fact, research suggests that coating commonly touched surfaces with copper is an excellent method to prevent the spread of disease!

Written and reported by Kellen Kartub, Ph.D.

References:

https://jcm.asm.org/content/50/7/2217

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/xgqkyw/copper-destroys-viruses-and-bacteria-why-isnt-it-everywhere

Panicked Purchases Apr 21, 2020

Show notes

During times of uncertainty, reasonable decision-making flies right out the window. Consumers worldwide hoard items -- enough to last years! Even our ancestors had similar survival tactics. Survivors of England’s bubonic plague in the 1600s may not have built 2-ply fortresses. But, they did stockpile what they could find (hello, beer!). But WHY?

Psychologists believe it has something to do with our evolution. We’ve survived millenia by cooperating as a group. Our social skills have gotten us this far. If we see our “tribe” hoarding, we want to hoard too! Although we could fend off large predators with this impressive collaboration, our stores also run out of T-P!
Written and reported by Brenna Biggs.

Defoe, D. A Journal of the Plague Year. E. Nutt (1722).
Norberg, M.; Rucker, D. Psychology can explain why coronavirus drives us to panic buy. It also provides tips on how to stop. The Conversation (2020).
Taylor, C. Here’s why people are panic buying and stockpiling toilet paper to cope with coronavirus fears. CNBC (2020).
Croston, G. The Thing We Fear More Than Death. Psychology Today (2012).
Woods, G. Did Carson Cause the Toilet Paper Shortage of 1973? KGAB (2020).

Protecting the Herd Apr 21, 2020

Show notes

Viruses are insidious agents that invade human tissue, injecting their genetic instructions into our cells. Their goal? To make more viruses! Luckily, our body launches a full scale counter-attack. The foot-soldiers in this micro-war are antibodies. Our immune system creates new antibodies designed to bind to the shell of the virus, neutralizing it. When the battle comes to an end, we keep the antibodies around, and are thus immune to the virus. Science provides a pacifist's solution in the form of a vaccine. Vaccines can teach our bodies to defend themselves, but without all the fever and coughing. New viruses like SARS-CoV-2 have the element of surprise; we, the antibody-less herd, can do little to defend ourselves. However, as more of us become immune, the virus has a harder and harder time finding the vulnerable amongst the herd. How will we reach herd immunity - recovery, or vaccine? That depends on how long we keep our herd at home!
Written and reported by Sumner L. Norman, Ph.D.

Mask Apr 21, 2020

Show notes

Masks: Spiderman, Jim Carrey, and the Phantom of the Opera all donned one. Our beloved face masks began as humble handkerchiefs as early as the 1600s. These evolved into surgical masks and -- eventually -- the heavily sought-after N-95 respirator!
Masks are not just for villains and superheroes. We have long depended on them for protection. How did improving technoloy create the masks we know today? How can they protect against disease?
Written and reported by Brenna Biggs.
References:

Kannadan, A. History of the Miasma Theory of Disease. ESSAI: Vol. 16 , Article 18 (2018).
Wilson, M. The untold origin story of the N95 mask. Fast Company (2020).
Gabrielle, V. What you need to know about surgical masks, N95 respirators and coronavirus. Knox News (2020).
Leung, N.; et al. Respiratory virus shedding in exhaled breath and efficacy of face masks. Nature Medicine (2020).

Gaming for a Cause Apr 21, 2020

Show notes

Gamers unite! You can join forces with some of the best minds in research as they try to find a cure to the new coronavirus. Folding@home lets researchers borrow the processing power of your computer, allowing them to run simulations to figure out the structure of proteins within coronavirus. Their goal? A “cryptic binding site” that will hopefully be the key to shutthing this virus down.
For more information, click here.

Folding@home can be downloaded here.

And follow the team on Twitter: @foldingathome and @drGregBowman
Written and reported by Kellen Kartub, Ph.D. based on an interview with Professor Greg Bowman.

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