Category Archives: News
Political News: “Shields & Brooks” On Joe Biden, Reopening The Economy
Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks join Judy Woodruff to discuss the week’s news, including former Vice President Joe Biden’s new public denial of a sexual assault allegation against him, congressional action in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and where the country stands on lifting business restrictions and stay-at-home orders.
Health: The Benefits Of “Intermittent Fasting” For People In High-Stress Jobs
From Oxford University Press – OUP (May 1, 2020):
…ultra-processed foods are generally the foods available to nurses working nightshifts, firefighters returning to their department after a call, police officers 
patrolling neighborhoods, or military soldiers during field-exercises. Thus, time-restricted eating removes the added stress of what to eat, and serves as a practical intervention conducive to the schedules of many people.
Time-restricted eating has been shown to lower circulating insulin, blood pressure, body fat and overall body weight, inflammation, and oxidative stress.
Time-restricted eating is a nutrition intervention which alternates between a period of fasting (12 – 16 hours) followed by a period of eating (8 – 12 hours). Unlike other diets, which focus on the caloric content of a meal or which foods you should eat, time-restricted eating focuses exclusively on when you eat by compressing and standardizing the feeding window each day. In turn, people following this type of eating pattern naturally enter a state of caloric deficit.
Top New Science Podcasts: Blood Tests For Multiple Cancers, Our Quiet Sun
Staff Writer Jocelyn Kaiser joins Sarah to talk about a recent Science paper describing the results of a large study on a blood test for multiple types of cancer. The trial’s results suggest such a blood test combined with follow-up scans may help detect cancers early, but there is a danger of too many false positives.
And postdoctoral researcher Timo Reinhold of the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research joins Sarah to talk about his paper on how the Sun is a lot less variable in its magnetic activity compared with similar stars—what does it mean that our Sun is a little bit boring?
TOP JOURNALS: RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS FROM SCIENCE MAGAZINE (MAY 1, 2020)
Covid-19: “Who’s Really Immune?” (Prognosis)
As states grapple with the question of when it will be safe to reopen businesses and relax social distancing, there’s increasing urgency to better understand who’s immune to Covid-19. Does having the virus and recovering mean you can’t get it again, or at least that you can’t be reinfected for some time?
No one yet has good answers to these questions. Kristen V. Brown looked into what we do, and don’t, know about the science of coronavirus immunity.
Top New Science Podcasts: ‘Sniff-Response’, Carbon Dioxide And Vaccinations Replacing Antibiotics
This week, how the ‘sniff-response’ can help clinicians determine a patient’s state of consciousness, and how vaccines could help drive down antibiotic use.
In this episode:
00:45 Sniffing out consciousness
Researchers have found that the sniff reflex can indicate whether a patient is in a vegetative state, and even the likelihood that they will recover consciousness. Research Article: Arzi et al.
08:37 Research Highlights
The stupefying effect of carbon dioxide, and a chameleon gemstone that tricks your eyes. Research Highlight: Rising carbon dioxide levels will make us stupider; Research Highlight: How a chameleon gemstone changes from red to green
11:12 Vaccination and antibiotic usage
Looking at data from low- and middle-income countries, researchers have determined that vaccination could prevent millions of infections currently treated by antibiotics. Research Article: Lewnard et al.
16:49 Pick of the Briefing
We pick our highlights from the Nature Briefing, including the forgotten mother of climate change science, and a new global study on insect declines. Chemistry World: Eunice Foote: the mother of climate change; Science: Meta-analysis reveals declines in terrestrial but increases in freshwater insect abundances
Politics Monday: Amy Walter And Tamara Keith On Coronavirus Task Force, 2020 Election (PBS)
NPR’s Tamara Keith and Amy Walter of the Cook Political Report join Judy Woodruff to discuss the latest political news, including the evolution of the White House Coronavirus Task Force briefing, President Trump’s shifting approval ratings and possible electoral implications for Senate races this fall.
Global News: Covid-19’s Legacy, Power Grabs And Netflix (The Economist)
A selection of three essential articles read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. This week, how will governments cope with the expensive legacy of covid-19? (11:05), unscrupulous autocrats in the pandemic of power grabs (17:52), and, why Netflix’s success will continue. Zanny Minton Beddoes hosts.
Intellicurious 