Science Vs

Latest Episodes:

Coronavirus: Is It Airborne? Apr 03, 2020

Show notes

We’re hearing conflicting things about how the coronavirus spreads — is it through coughs and sneezes only? Or could it be floating in the air, infecting us as we walk down the street or go grocery shopping? We ask Dr. Rachael Jones, an industrial hygienist, and Dr. Zhi Ning, an environmental engineer.

Here’s a link to our transcript: https://bit.ly/3aI1kAE

This episode was produced by Rose Rimler, Wendy Zukerman, Michelle Dang, Meryl Horn, Sinduja Srinivasan, Laura Morris, and Meg Driscoll. We’re edited by Blythe Terrell and Caitlin Kenney. Fact checking by Michelle Harris. Mix and sound design by Peter Leonard. Music written by Peter Leonard, Emma Munger, and Bobby Lord. A big thanks to all the researchers that we got in touch with for this episode, including Prof. Natasha Crowcroft, Prof. Linsey Marr, Dr. Stephanie King, and Noah Miller. And special thanks to the Zukerman family and Joseph Lavelle Wilson.

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Coronavirus: Are Young People Safe? Mar 31, 2020

Show notes

From the early days of this coronavirus outbreak, it’s looked like the disease is way worse for older people. But now we’re hearing more stories of younger folks getting really sick. What’s going on? Is this virus scarier for younger people than we thought? We hear from a Gen-Xer who landed in the hospital with Covid-19, and we talk to immunologist Professor Vincent Racaniello. Also: THE HIGHEST MOUSE!

We’ve set up a voicemail to collect all of your questions about coronavirus. Or if you’re a healthcare worker with a personal story you want to share, please call ‪(774) 481-1238‬ and leave us a message.

Here’s a link to our transcript: https://bit.ly/3dILR5i

And you can check out the video of the mouse that breaks the record for high-altitude living: https://go.unl.edu/f8tx.

This episode was produced by Michelle Dang, Wendy Zukerman, Rose Rimler, Meryl Horn, Laura Morris, Meg Driscoll and Sinduja Srinivasan. We’re edited by Blythe Terrell and Caitlin Kenney. Fact checking by Lexi Krupp. Mix and sound design by Haley Shaw. Music written by Peter Leonard, Emma Munger, and Bobby Lord. A big thanks to all the researchers that we got in touch with for this episode, including Dr. Helen Petousis-Harris. Thanks also to Anna and Daniel Schuchman, Lauren Dulay, Maggie Kaltwasser, Adria Mallett, Holly Ryan, and Ash Tilbury. And special thanks to the Zukerman family and Joseph Lavelle Wilson.

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Coronavirus: Will Chloroquine Save Us? Mar 27, 2020

Show notes

President Trump says an anti-malarial drug could be a “gift from god” for treating Covid-19. Does it really work? And is it dangerous? We talk to toxicologist Professor Daniel Brooks, infectious disease specialist Dr. Matthew Pullen, and microbiologist Professor Karla Satchell. Also: VAMPIRE BATS!

We’ve set up a voicemail to collect all of your questions about Coronavirus. Or if you’re a healthcare worker with a personal story you want to share, please call ‪(774) 481-1238‬ and leave us a message.

Here’s a link to our transcript: https://bit.ly/2xu4ER8

This episode was produced by Meryl Horn, Wendy Zukerman, Rose Rimler, Michelle Dang, Laura Morris, Meg Driscoll and Sinduja Srinivasan. We’re edited by Blythe Terrell and Caitlin Kenney. Fact checking by Eva Dasher. Mix and sound design by Peter Leonard. Music written by Peter Leonard, Emma Munger, and Bobby Lord. Thanks to the NBC News Archives. A big thanks to all the researchers that we got in touch with for this episode, including Professor Thomas Doerner, Dr Hue, Professor David Boulware, Dr. Anne Melzer. And special thanks to the Zukerman family and Joseph Lavelle Wilson.

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Coronavirus: Unmasking the Facts and Ibuprofen Scares Mar 24, 2020

Show notes

Healthcare workers across the U.S. are saying they don’t have enough protective gear to keep them safe against the coronavirus. They’re having to reuse masks, and they’re worried that they may have to resort to homemade cloth masks. Is all this safe? Plus, reports are saying that ibuprofen, the stuff in Advil, is making people with coronavirus sicker. But what does the science say? To find out we spoke to infectious disease expert Professor Raina MacIntyre, industrial hygienist Dr. Rachael Jones, public health researcher Professor Carlos Del Rio, and cardiologist Dr. Yogendra Kanthi.

UPDATE 4/23/20: An earlier version of this episode said that health care workers using N95 masks had roughly half the infection rate of workers using classic surgical masks. We’ve updated the episode to clarify that the study only compared the infection rates to a control group, not each other.

Here’s a link to our transcript: https://bit.ly/3agVF4i

Selected References

The best study we could find on cloth masks: https://bit.ly/3bmRHaI
Study showing that N95 masks are best for healthcare workers: https://bit.ly/2xfvKLT
The Lancet letter theorizing about why ibuprofen might be risky: https://bit.ly/2QEDFt6

This episode was produced by Meryl Horn, Wendy Zukerman, Rose Rimler, Michelle Dang, Laura Morris and Sinduja Srinivasan. We’re edited by Blythe Terrell and Caitlin Kenney. Fact checking by Lexi Krupp. Mix and sound design by Catherine Anderson. Music written by Peter Leonard, Emma Munger, and Bobby Lord. A big thanks to all the researchers and healthcare workers that we got in touch with for this episode, including Professor Paul Little, Dr Kirsty Short, Siyab Panhwar, and Ayman Saeyeldin. And special thanks to Meg Driscoll, the Zukerman family and Joseph Lavelle Wilson.

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Coronavirus: A Story From the Front Lines Mar 19, 2020

Show notes

As Covid-19 cases rise in the U.S., healthcare workers are already struggling to keep up. In a different kind of episode, we bring you an interview with Dr. Antoinette Ward, who is leading Covid-19 testing at a major hospital in Atlanta — and finding ways to treat the rapidly increasing number of patients. This interview comes from iHeartRadio’s The Women. For more stories from those on the front lines, listen here: http://bit.ly/TheWomenPodcast

Here’s a link to the transcript: https://bit.ly/3bczJHW

This episode was mixed by Adriene Lilly and Peter Leonard. Special thanks to Sonya Green, Gail Reid, and Jen Shipon. Fact checking by Lexi Krupp.

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Coronavirus: What Should You Do Now? Mar 16, 2020

Show notes

The coronavirus pandemic is here, and in the U.S., this is starting to get very real. We talk to people in South Korea and Italy to see what life has been like for them. And we find out what the problem was with America’s tests — are they fixed now? And now that social distancing is on everyone’s mind, do we have evidence that it will really “flatten the curve”? We speak to public health expert Prof. Josh Sharfstein, virologist Prof. Vincent Racaniello, and epidemiologist Prof. Elizabeth Radin.

UPDATE 3/17/20: An earlier version of this episode said that Hong Kong had zero deaths, but according to figures on Friday from WHO 4 people died. We've updated the episode.

Here’s a link to our transcript: https://bit.ly/2QmpJUf

Selected references:

A look at what’s happening in Italy: https://bit.ly/3d56AA4
Josh’s paper on the testing debacle: https://bit.ly/2x3oT84
How different cities reacted to the 1918 flu pandemic: https://bit.ly/2waLYWk

This episode was produced by Wendy Zukerman, Michelle Dang, Meryl Horn, Sinduja Srinivasan, and Rose Rimler. We’re edited by Blythe Terrell and Caitlin Kenney. Fact checking by Lexi Krupp. Mix and sound design by Sam Bair. Music written by Peter Leonard, Emma Munger, and Bobby Lord. A big thanks to all the researchers we got in touch with for this episode, including Dr Neeltje van Doremalen, Prof. Nigel McMillan, Prof. Jeffrey Shaman, and Prof. Stephen Morse.

And special thanks to Salvatore Incontro, Gabriella Doob, the Zukerman family and Joseph Lavelle Wilson.

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More Science Vs Coming Right Up Mar 12, 2020

Show notes

Science Vs is back March 19th. Fact you next week.

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Coronavirus: Fears and Facts Mar 04, 2020

Show notes

The new coronavirus continues to spread around the world, and it’s already killed several people in the U.S. People are starting to worry that this will turn into a full-blown pandemic. So how many of us could ultimately get infected — and is it time to prepare for the worst? To find out, we talk to epidemiologists Dr. Cécile Viboud and Prof. Marc Lipsitch.

Here’s a link to our transcript: https://bit.ly/2IjUqW0 and our Hand Washing Song: https://player.gimletmedia.com/7osxva

Selected references:

CDC’s FAQ Page: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/faq.html
NEJM Editorial: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMe2002387
Big report from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention: https://bit.ly/32S4e2H

This episode was produced by Michelle Dang, Wendy Zukerman, Meryl Horn, and Rose Rimler. We’re edited by Blythe Terrell, with editing help from Caitlin Kenney. Fact checking help from Michelle Harris. Mix and sound design by Peter Leonard. Music written by Peter Leonard, Emma Munger, and Bobby Lord. Translation by Lisa Wang. A big thanks to all the researchers we got in touch with for this episode, including Dr. Catharine Paules, Dr. Miriam Haviland, Professor Matthew R. McKay, Dr. Jason McLellan, Daniel Wrapp, Professor William Arthur Petri, Professor Li Min, Professor Xiaokun Li, and Professor Raina MacIntyre. And special thanks to the Zukerman family and Joseph Lavelle Wilson.

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Coronavirus Outbreak: How Scared Should You Be? Jan 31, 2020

Show notes

A new virus showed up in China late last year, and it’s making its way to other countries too. So what do scientists know about the virus so far? And how worried should we be? To find out we talk to infectious disease researchers Dr. Kristian Andersen and Dr. Catharine Paules, physician Dr. Hui, and director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Dr. Anthony Fauci.

We did an episode on a *fictional* pandemic, which you can find here: https://gimletmedia.com/shows/science-vs/49hok3/pandemic

Check out the full transcript here: https://bit.ly/2S7JwXN

Selected references:

The WHO and the CDC are maintaining information centers that update regularly: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019 and https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/index.html
Scientific journals The Lancet and the New England Journal of Medicine have taken down the paywall for papers related to the outbreak: https://www.thelancet.com/coronavirus and https://www.nejm.org/coronavirus

This episode was produced by Wendy Zukerman, Meryl Horn, Rose Rimler and Michelle Dang. We’re edited by Blythe Terrell and Caitlin Kenney. Fact checking by Lexi Krupp. Mix and sound design by Sam Bair. Music written by Peter Leonard, Emma Munger, and Bobby Lord. A big thanks to Dr. Paul Delamater, Dr. Vittoria Colizza, and Shan Li. Recording assistance from Margot Wohl and Randy Scott Carroll. Translation by Yuan Xue, John Deng, and Chiung H Chuang. And special thanks to Bobby Lord, the Zukerman family and Joseph Lavelle Wilson.

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How to Stop A Killer Asteroid Dec 20, 2019

Show notes

This week — asteroids. Could a space rock really slam into us and destroy the world? And if we did spot one heading straight for us, is there anything we could do to stop it? We speak with asteroid researcher Dr. Alan Harris, astrophysicist Dr. Sergey Zamozdra, computational physicist Dr. Cathy Plesko, and physicist Dr. Andy Cheng.

Check out the full transcript here: http://bit.ly/2MrW1vp

Selected references:

Overview of Chelyabinsk impact and risk from asteroids: http://bit.ly/2ECSRQQ
How many asteroids are out there? http://bit.ly/34EhyHl
DART mission overview: http://bit.ly/2SkBBZ1
Ways to stop asteroids: https://bit.ly/2sJqGgv

Credits:

This episode was produced by Wendy Zukerman along with Lexi Krupp with help from Michelle Dang, Meryl Horn and Rose Rimler. We’re edited by Caitlin Kenney. Fact checking by Michelle Harris. Mix and sound design by Peter Leonard. Music written by Peter Leonard, Bobby Lord and Emma Munger. Recording assistance from Verónica Zaragovia, Sofi LaLonde, Lawrence Lanahan, and Kevin Caners. Translation help from Andrew Urodov and Dmitriy Tuchin. Thanks to all the scientists we spoke to: Dr. Carrie Nugent, Dr. Mark Boslough, Dr. David Kring, Dr. Daniel Durda, Dr. Kelly Fast and the other Dr. Alan Harris. A big thanks to Carl Smith at The Australian Broadcasting Corporation for suggesting this topic - Carl did a podcast series on a bunch of the Apocalypse scenarios! You can find it at the podcast Science Frictionand search for the Apocalypse series. And thanks to the Zukerman Family and Joseph Lavelle Wilson.

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