Science Goes Viral

Joe Schwarcz

Description

Science has gone viral! In more ways than one. Bestselling popular science author Dr. Joe Schwarcz breaks down the science of essential oils, placenta creams, intermittent fasting, and of course the spread of COVID-19 misinformation, in this new collection from the master of demarcating non-science from science. Since we first heard rumblings about a novel type of pneumonia in Wuhan, China, terms like pandemic, spike protein, viral particles, variants, mRNA vaccines, antibodies, hydroxychloroquine, social distancing, immune response, convalescent plasma, aerosol transmission, and of course, face coverings, have entered our everyday vocabulary. The scientific literature has exploded with studies exploring every facet of COVID-19, but unfortunately the 'viral' spread of misinformation about the pandemic has also reached epic proportions.

Informations

• Publié par: Ecw Press
• Date de parution: 25 novembre 2021
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781773058092
• Langue: English

Extrait

Science Goes Viral Captivating Accounts of Science in Everyday Life
Dr. Joe Schwarcz






Contents Praise Also by Dr. Joe Schwarcz Introduction Part I: The Virus Strikes Down the Toilet Charlie Chaplin, Dr. Tuttle, and the Spanish Flu Pangs about the Pangolin The Science of Epidemiology Singing Happy Birthday Is No Longer Only for Birthdays Oh My, Miasma Boosting Immunity From Variolation to Vaccination A Vaccination Triumph COVID Vaccines, Here We Come! Here Is the Message about Messenger RNA Musing about Mutation Sharks and Vaccines The Dry Ice Story Is Anything but Dry The Bitter Saga of Quinine Throwing Light on Ultraviolet Light Hyperbaric Chambers and COVID Corona Aerosols The Fascinating History of Dexamethasone Brazilian Pit Vipers, Blood Pressure, and COVID-19 Zapping COVID with Copper? Nonsense Was Quick to Emerge as Virus Gripped the World Seinfeld and the Coronavirus Part II: There Is Science Beyond COVID Chemistry — The Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Science Good Science Is No Laughing Matter A Musical Memory of Plexiglas There Is More to the Placenta Than the Mother-Embryo Connection Science Fiction, Science Fact The Legend of Johnny Appleseed Treading Gingerly on Ginger Gorilla Glue Makes for a Bad Hair Day Brushing Up on Hair Dyes Jean Harlow’s Hair Oh, the Dread of Red M&Ms Mysteries, Magic, and Thyroid Disease Lice, Typhus, and Napoleon Navalny and Novichok Natural or Synthetic? Time to Smell the Roses Lego Chemistry Cheers to the Discoverer of Wine Disease Dirty Bombs and Prussian Blue A Shocking Catastrophe in Beirut The Story of Vodka Graduating to Bioplastics Spirits of Salt Unearthing a Giant Hoax Bisphenol A and My Socks Turning Up the Heat on Thermal Paper Receipts Shining a Light on the Importance of Darkness A Biblical Dye Intermittent Fasting Recycling Polystyrene Superabsorbent Polymers Really Suck It Up Arsenic, the King of Poisons, Poison of Kings Arsenic in Fact and Fiction Wig Power Plants and Hospitals Chalk It Up Omega-3 Questions The Spy Who Went Out into the Cold Elderberry Plusses and Minuses Tarantulas and the Dancing Plague Powering Your Cell Phone Lincoln’s Magician Slowing Down the Clock King Tut’s Tomb Up in Smoke Kambo Mustard Gas and Chemotherapy Want a Date? Fluoride and IQ The Science and Pseudoscience of Essential Oils Bug Juice The Crazy Story of Locoweed Toxicity of Nicotine Is Nothing to Sneeze At Trehalose and C. Difficile Seaweed and Its Surprising Subplots The Power of Lycopodium Burgers from Plants Can Fluorinated Compounds Shrink Penises? From Dry Cleaning to Saran Wrap Chlorinated Chicken Quack Quack Alpha Spin Makes Your Head Spin False Claims and Conspiracy Theories Turning the Tables on the Table Turners Finale: Always Wear Underwear Index About the Author Copyright


Praise
Praise for A Grain of Salt
“Schwarcz’s light touches of humor make the scientific information feel accessible and ensure that it’s entertaining. With enough facts to soothe anxious, health-conscious individuals as well as some good tidbits to share, this enlightening collection offers every reader something new to learn and marvel over.”
— Booklist
Praise for A Feast of Science
“Huzzah! Dr. Joe does it again! Another masterwork of demarcating non-science from science and more generally nonsense from sense. The world needs his discernment.”
— Dr. Brian Alters, Professor, Chapman University
Praise for The Fly in the Ointment
“Joe Schwarcz has done it again. In fact, he has outdone it. This book is every bit as entertaining, informative, and authoritative as his previous celebrated collections, but contains enriched social fiber and 10 percent more attitude per chapter. Whether he’s assessing the legacy of Rachel Carson, coping with penile underachievement in alligators, or revealing the curdling secrets of cheese, Schwarcz never fails to fascinate.”
— Curt Supplee, former science editor, Washington Post
Praise for Dr. Joe and What You Didn’t Know
“Any science writer can come up with the answers. But only Dr. Joe can turn the world’s most fascinating questions into a compelling journey through the great scientific mysteries of everyday life. Dr. Joe and What You Didn’t Know proves yet again that all great science springs from the curiosity of asking the simple question . . . and that Dr. Joe is one of the great science storytellers with both all the questions and answers.”
— Paul Lewis, president and general manager, Discovery Channel
Praise for That’s the Way the Cookie Crumbles
“Schwarcz explains science in such a calm, compelling manner, you can’t help but heed his words. How else to explain why I’m now stir-frying cabbage for dinner and seeing its cruciferous cousins — broccoli, cauliflower, and brussels sprouts — in a delicious new light?”
— Cynthia David, Toronto Star
Praise for Radar, Hula Hoops, and Playful Pigs
“It is hard to believe that anyone could be drawn to such a dull and smelly subject as chemistry — until, that is, one picks up Joe Schwarcz’s book and is reminded that with every breath and feeling one is experiencing chemistry. Falling in love, we all know, is a matter of the right chemistry. Schwarcz gets his chemistry right, and hooks his readers.”
— John C. Polanyi, Nobel Laureate


Also by Dr. Joe Schwarcz A Grain of Salt: The Science and Pseudoscience of What We Eat A Feast of Science: Intriguing Morsels from the Science of Everyday Life Monkeys, Myths, and Molecules: Separating Fact from Fiction, and the Science of Everyday Life Is That a Fact?: Frauds, Quacks, and the Real Science of Everyday Life The Right Chemistry: 108 Enlightening, Nutritious, Health-Conscious and Occasionally Bizarre Inquiries into the Science of Everyday Life Dr. Joe’s Health Lab: 164 Amazing Insights into the Science of Medicine, Nutrition and Well-Being Dr. Joe’s Brain Sparks: 179 Inspiring and Enlightening Inquiries into the Science of Everyday Life Dr. Joe’s Science, Sense and Nonsense: 61 Nourishing, Healthy, Bunk-Free Commentaries on the Chemistry That Affects Us All Brain Fuel: 199 Mind-Expanding Inquiries into the Science of Everyday Life An Apple a Day: The Myths, Misconceptions and Truths About the Foods We Eat Let Them Eat Flax: 70 All-New Commentaries on the Science of Everyday Food & Life The Fly in the Ointment: 70 Fascinating Commentaries on the Science of Everyday Life Dr. Joe and What You Didn’t Know: 177 Fascinating Questions and Answers About the Chemistry of Everyday Life That’s the Way the Cookie Crumbles: 62 All-New Commentaries on the Fascinating Chemistry of Everyday Life The Genie in the Bottle: 64 All-New Commentaries on the Fascinating Chemistry of Everyday Life Radar, Hula Hoops, and Playful Pigs: 67 Digestible Commentaries on the Fascinating Chemistry of Everyday Life


Introduction
These are turbulent times. During the past year, terms like pandemic, spike protein, viral particles, variants, mRNA vaccines, viral vectors, antibodies, hydroxychloroquine, social distancing, immune response, convalescent plasma, aerosol transmission, viral load, and of course, face coverings, have become part of “normal” conversation. The truth is that our life these days is anything but normal. I now lecture online, our staff meetings are via Zoom, restaurant meals are a distant memory of the past, my gym is closed, sports are played without fans, theaters sit empty, curfews are in place, travel is out of the question, and I can only see my daughters and grandchildren on FaceTime. Thank goodness for that and for Netflix!
Ask someone to describe what the world has gone through since January 2020 when we first heard about some strange cases of pneumonia in Wuhan, China, and we are likely to hear “surreal,” “unbelievable,” “mind-boggling,” “unthinkable,” or “unimaginable.” As we were cruising through our more or less contented lives, who could have imagined that such a curse would befall the world, upsetting every proverbial apple cart in existence? Actually, there were scientists who not only imagined it but were certain that such a global scourge was inevitable. After all, there had been plenty of plagues, epidemics, and pandemics in the past, and there was no reason to think that the world had become immune to such calamities. Indeed, the film Contagion , produced in 2012 with consultants from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), portrays a fictional pandemic that eerily resembles our current reality.
When I first started thinking about what to include in this book, I had never heard of Wuhan. I thought I would feature my usual array of diverse and sometimes esoteric topics like intermittent fasting, placenta creams, biblical dyes, essential oils, Jean Harlow’s hair, Lincoln’s magician, bioplastics, along with assorted examples of quackery. Then the cursed plague hit. A giant elephant in the room! It could not be ignored. I had to address it, and I have. With difficulty. That’s because the situation is dynamic, and what was true yesterday is not true today, and what seems to be true today may not be true tomorrow. That calls for an apology in advance for sometim