As our government begins to take a partial victory lap and we begin to concentrate on the vaccine-hesitant we would do well to take a global view – after all, when we speak of herd immunity the herd is global.
Other Science News
Sharing data is a cornerstone in the push for scientific transparency. It is also a significant speed bump that impedes achieving that goal. Why is that?
The tyranny of those who speak up, what contact lenses can tell us about monopolies, Snap! Crackle! Pop! - the science behind the sound, and what anthropology and DNA can tell us about COVID-19
Japan is planning to release tons of water from the Fukushima nuclear site into the Pacific Ocean – water contaminated with tritium, a radioactive form of hydrogen. This has led to protests by China, South Korea, Russia, and other nations; an outcry from a variety of environmental groups … not to mention seafood lovers concerned about the safety of their sushi. Given these concerns, it seems reasonable to dig into the subject a tad to see how serious a concern this is.
Fast or slow furniture? Asymptomatic infections are not confined to COVID-19. Plants can social distance? Tap water hesitancy
Perhaps you remember the snail darter, a tiny endangered fish that delayed the final construction and opening of the Tellico Dam in Tennessee. It was also the proximate reason that the Supreme Court upheld the Endangered Species Act. How has our understanding of the science of ecologic habitats shifted in the past forty-eight years?
Everything today comes with ratings, from 5-star hospitals to hotels, films, and screwdrivers. Like grade inflation, the problem is that nearly everyone is “best.” For marketing, it may be that the truth lies not in our stars … but in our accompanying words.
Google Maps and privacy, mRNA vaccines - an overnight + 40 years sensation, can plants solve our CO2 problem, the cost of subscription services.
Conflicted interests in Boston healthcare, gene sequences powering a change in medicine, inheriting more than genes from our parents, and the cancel culture comes to medicine.
The pandemic is not a monolithic event; it is a dance of the virus and our behavior. What we have learned about pandemics from the mistakes in our models. What about “long” COVID? Why does “if it bleeds, it leads” make sense?
Much of the literature in the softer sciences, and here we need to include studies of public health issues, like nutrition, exercise, or even COVID-19, seem irreproducible. One group's work does not seem to be easily reproduced by another, giving rise to concerns about bias and veracity. As always, there is far more to the story.
So which is it? And what gives this versatile adhesive its name? Odds are you, and most of those you know, have no idea. But luckily we have Dr. Joe Schwarcz to explain its origins. So if you have a few minutes, the Director of McGill University's Office for Science and Society, and ACSH friend, will reward you with some interesting insights.