All right, fair enough—I’m sure you aren’t as jubilant about science as I am or Channing Tatum in "21 Jump Street." When the word science comes up, you probably have flashbacks of falling sleep in high school chemistry or Bill Nye the Science Guy (Bill Bill Bill Bill Bill). Your most recent lesson on anything science-related probably came from "Breaking Bad." I’m sorry, but despite an in-depth look into the P2P method for cooking meth, the show never gave the full procedure. They left out the purification method through the recrystallization of the methylamine by-product (which I definitely don’t know how to do, DEA!) Anyway, science probably isn’t that exciting for you. I’m going attempt to change that. Here’s what we’ve learned this week in science.
Discoveries for July 13-20th
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“Charon today just blew our socks off!” – Cathy Olkin, deputy project scientist for the New Horizons Team. Apparently Charon’s youthful look was more impressive than Pluto’s broken heart. NASA is working on another satellite to deliver a box of chocolates and a “sorry we called you a dwarf” card.
FEELING HOT HOT HOT
NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) and American Meteorological Society released their annual state of the climate report for last year. TL;DR—it’s bad news. To quote the climate monitoring chief: the seas in 2014 “were just ridiculous.” The warmest ocean surface temperatures in 135 years and sea levels at the highest ever in modern times. Great for your beach trip, not so much for aquatic life. So how is this bad for you? Warmer seas means more fuel for tropical cyclones and hurricanes. Jersey and New York remember Hurricane Sandy all too well. Also means melting glaciers, meaning higher sea levels. Not great news for anyone in coastal towns. Or anywhere. Where are scientists pointing fingers? Fossil fuels. How? Law of Conservation of Energy: energy cannot be created or destroyed. All that heat from the tail pipe has to go somewhere.
BLESSING THE AIR DOWN IN AFRICA
An experimental aerosol Ebola vaccine has successfully neutralized the virus in rhesus macaques, a type of monkey. The medical branch at the University of Texas has been whipping up Ebola vaccines for the past several decades, only a few have shown promising results, though. The vaccine will now move into human trials. Just because it passes primate testing doesn’t mean it will work with humans. While the Ebola epidemic in Western Africa may be over, it will be a few years before this vaccine could potentially reach the public. CDC testing is very rigorous and there can’t be any severe long-term effects. AKA we don’t want to start the zombie apocalypse.
QUESTION OF THE WEEK: WHAT IS HIV?
This is one of the least understood diseases in the world today, mostly because it is one of the most politically charged issues in science. The world didn’t learn about Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) until 1984 when they came to realize it was the cause of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS). Real quick summary time.
What Does HIV Do To Me Exactly?
HIV cells attack Helper T-cells. Helper T-cells are what tells your immune system to destroy diseases. With no one to tell the immune system what to destroy, your body is defenseless. Enter AIDS stage left. AIDs is not a single disease. It’s a lot of diseases, and not specifically certain ones. AIDS refers to a body that has contracted several different diseases. Your immune system can’t stop these diseases, as it can’t recognize foreign cells.
Where Did HIV Come From?
Primates in Western-Africa. Primates have a disease called SIV. How did it become a human disease? Two theories: poachers selling “bush meat” and/or polio testing. Wait—what? Yeah, that one is a shocker and possibly one of the biggest screw-ups in human history. I linked it in the last section.
So, How Do You Get HIV?
It’s an STD. Meaning don’t share blood, semen, breast milk, rectal, and/or vaginal fluids. Ew.
How Are We Coming With a Cure?
Our go-to guy is David Ho. This man is a genius, and he has the funding to get the job done thanks to Bill and Melinda Gates. Ho has two potential medical treatments: One is a vaccine and the other is to stop the progression of HIV in an individual. His drug is called Ibalizumab. The drug binds to Helper T cells and blocks HIV cells from destroying them. The Helper T cells can then go to work on marking HIV cells for destruction.
Can You Give Me More Detail?
I wrote a paper on the origin of HIV, how it affects the body, and progress towards a cure. I’ve shortened it down to three pages for you to read. Enjoy. This is also where I talk how Polio vaccine testing potentially led to the HIV epidemic.
WHAT SOCIOLOGISTS ARE READING
Wait, isn’t he a comedian? Yes, and shocker, the book is hilarious. But, surprisingly, very informative, too. Aziz partnered with sociologist Eric Klinenberg and conducted worldwide research to find exactly what the dating scene is like in current times and how much it’s changed in the past 60 years. He even made diagrams. So professional. Aziz tackles issues like how technology has impacted the dating scene, the changing definition of love thanks to the Internet, and the move from companionate to passionate relationships. Educational literature that may even help improve your Tinder game.
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