Summer Assignment 7.27

Taking a break from SARS-CoV2 news this week to highlight some other interesting/weird science things I came across.

• How the zebrafish got its stripes.
• Do we dream to keep our visual cortex from atrophying while we sleep?
• Once I saw this headline, I knew I had to include it. 

Summer Assignment 7.20

This week I have something a bit different for you. Instead of reading a few articles, I have a podcast interview for you to listen to. The podcast is This Week in Virology (TWiV), hosted by Vincent Racaniello, a virology professor and researcher at Columbia University. The interview is with Dr Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID). Dr Fauci began his scientific career investigating HIV and continues to be on the forefront of infectious disease outbreaks. The link below has both the audio only version and the video of the interview.

https://www.microbe.tv/twiv/twiv-641/

I highly recommend this podcast as a great source of information about SARS-CoV2/COVID-19. They are releasing 2-3 episodes per week right now, going over the latest research and clinical aspects of the current pandemic. As I mentioned in the first post 2 weeks ago, it is very important to find reliable sources among all the misinformation spreading currently.

Summer Assignment 7.13

There are a few comments from last week sitting in my moderation queue with no name associated with them. Please take a minute to scan the comments and check that yours was posted. If it was not, the most likely cause is that your name is not showing up. You will need to go into your Google settings and allow your name to be displayed on the site. Comments with no name associated will not be posted and no credit will be given.

This week I wanted to take a break from all the SARS-CoV2 research and look at a few other interesting new studies.

• Scientists Make Precise Edits to Mitochondrial DNA for the First Time
• Researchers Uncover a Critical Early Step of the Visual Process

Summer Assignment 7.6

Sorry to pull you all away from your Hamilton marathons (you are watching, right???), but it is time for the first official post of the 2020 Summer Assignment. The rules are simple:

1. Look at the list of links provided.
2. Pick a few (or all) to read.
3. Make an intelligent comment here that shows you read and thought about at least one.
4. Gain points. Comments that are made within the week receive maximum points. 

Comments are moderated, so they will not show up immediately. If it has been a few days and you don't see yours, there is probably an issue. The most common issue is your username not displaying. Please check your Google settings so that your username shows up in the comment section. If your post comes up as "unknown" or "anonymous" it will not be posted and you will not receive credit. 

I highly recommend you keep a record of your comments, in case any get lost. 

Please remember to complete the form to let us know about any extended vacation plans.

The links:

I promise I will do my best to not have every week filled with SARS-CoV2/COVID-19 news, but that is the most important scientific/social topic right now. Besides The Hamilton Movie. Seriously, if you haven't watched yet, go watch now, then come back and read science stuff. Even if you have watched 10 times already, go watch again then come back.

I am starting off this week with a couple of general articles about SARS2-CoV2/COVID-19. In the coming weeks, I will highlight some of the new research on this, and also try to remind everyone that other areas of scientific research has continued.

• How You Should Read Coronavirus Studies, Or Any Science Paper by Carl Zimmer (Published June 1 2020)
• Why the Coronavirus is So Confusing by Ed Yong (Published April 29, 2020)
• One of the most important things you can do during the pandemic is stay informed. There is an overwhelming amount of misinformation about SARS-CoV2/COVID-19 being put forth as fact. Remember to always check your sources and apply a bit of critical thinking about what you are reading. Of course that applies to anything you read during this assignment. Don't blindly trust anything you read. Above I have linked two articles from authors I trust, Carl Zimmer and Ed Yong. I have been reading these two authors for years now, and I feel that they do a great job presenting accurate scientific information in an accessible, entertaining manner. I included the publication dates on these since information is accumulating and changing so fast, information can be out of date very quickly.