50 Ways to Say Science

We were so ready for vacation that we were late with this episode. And just in time for ::checks notes:: late summer, it's the horror special! First Joseph and Fintan discuss the mysterious Le Blob, which Le Monde reports is heading to space to either star in a new horror flick or begin a reality show featuring its 750 sexes, or to show how zero-G affects a multicellular organism that acts unlike any other type of creature on Earth. Then Joseph turns us to the historical regions of Silesia and Lusatia, and he gives a rundown of the incredible growing coal mine called Turów, which is creeping towards the Czech border from Poland, and which has caused a diplomatic and cross-border dust-up that still isn't really resolved. In the midst of all of this, the continent appears to be burning from all sides because of the very fossil fuels that coal mines produce. It's a doozy. We'll see you in a few weeks' time after we get some relaxation in!

Follow us on Twitter!
50 Ways to Say Science: @50waysscipod
Joseph Piergrossi: @JWPiergrossi
Fintan Burke: @SciFintan

Sources:
Le Blob: https://www.lemonde.fr/sciences/article/2021/08/10/le-blob-creature-a-nulle-autre-pareille-s-apprete-a-embarquer-a-bord-de-l-iss_6091075_1650684.html
Barbara Oksińska's article in Rzeczpospolita: https://www.rp.pl/Wegiel/307199945-Kopalnia-Turow-rozpoczela-walke--o-przetrwanie.html
https://www.money.pl/gospodarka/kopalnia-turow-czechy-przedstawiaja-projekt-umowy-6650661350767520a.html
https://www.rmf24.pl/raporty/raport-kopalnia-turow/news-spor-o-kopalnie-w-turowie-zaplanowano-kolejna-ture-rozmow,nId,5418221#crp_state=1
https://www.odbory-sho.cz/clanky/aktuality-ve-zkratce.html
https://www.lidovky.cz/domov/cilem-ohledne-dolu-turow-je-dohoda-ne-soudni-cesta-shodli-se-polsky-i-cesky-ministr.A210617_115821_ln_zahranici_lijk
https://ct24.ceskatelevize.cz/regiony/2962778-preshranicni-spoluprace-cechu-a-polaku-chce-zjistit-jak-skodliva-muze-byt-dulni-voda
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780081005521000014

Fintan takes us to the Netherlands, where a new method of measuring the performance of academics is about to be trialled. Will it deflate the impact factor rating system? Also: Joseph describes an investigative news story about drug companies finding loopholes in EU regulations to charge exorbitant fees to consumers, with patients of rare diseases being the most affected. Also, our hosts breathe a collective sigh of relief that today's Olympians don't have to deal with sports medicine from the Games of Antiquity.

Follow us on Twitter!
50 Ways to Say Science: @50waysscipod
Joseph Piergrossi: @JWPiergrossi
Fintan Burke: @SciFintan

Fintan's article on German research strategy: https://sciencebusiness.net/news/german-researchers-draw-demands-incoming-science-minister
Charlie Haynes' and Flora Carmichael's feature on the Fazze YouTuber scam case: https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-57928647

Sources:
Investigative reporting by Michele Catanzaro and Astrid Viciano: https://www.elperiodico.com/es/cuaderno/20210723/enfermedades-raras-negocio-farmaceuticas-precios-afectados-testimonios-11933040
https://www.acm.nl/en/publications/acm-imposes-fine-drug-manufacturer-leadiant-cdcas-excessive-price
Hedwig Fossen on "Erkennen en waarderen": https://www.volkskrant.nl/wetenschap/academici-soebatten-over-de-vraag-hoe-je-meet-dat-een-wetenschapper-goed-scoort-publicaties-of-iets-anders~bce65cfe/
Opposition to "Erkennen en waarderen": https://www.scienceguide.nl/2021/07/nieuwe-erkennen-en-waarderen-schaadt-nederlandse-wetenschap/
https://twitter.com/SciTransitYoung/status/1418497730893201409?s=20
Signatories of Hanneke Hulke's counter-petition against the opposition: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jbRnVUZogKjk_mItTriQtotv775ucCX1LrrQ3_1JuKg/edit
https://www.germanjournalsportsmedicine.com/fileadmin/content/archiv2012/Heft_1/online/Geschichte_Arndt.pdf

The biggest science story in Europe right now is without a doubt the tragic, extensive flooding that has struck the Rhineland, Limburg, the Meuse Valley, Luxembourg, and Switzerland. Climate change is striking the world hard in 2021, and we talk about the physical and meteorological phenomena it has affected to cause the devastating rains that have claimed hundreds of lives. But also a huge story in Germany is the controversial "luca" app, a privately developed contact tracer that has come to challenge the government-developed contact tracing app Corona-Warn while also bringing along a boatload of controversy. When the hackers are mad, you'd better watch out.

Follow us on Twitter!
50 Ways to Say Science: @50waysscipod
Joseph Piergrossi: @JWPiergrossi
Fintan Burke: @SciFintan

Sources:
https://www.dw.com/de/400-millionen-euro-f%C3%BCr-die-hochwasser-opfer/a-58572105
https://www.dw.com/de/schuldzuweisungen-und-hoffnung-auf-hilfe/a-58321963
https://www.dw.com/de/vorher-nachher-bilder-der-flutkatastrophe/a-58296828
https://www.dw.com/de/zwischen-bangen-hoffen-und-aufr%C3%A4umen/a-58311422
https://www.deutschlandfunk.de/klimawandel-oder-nur-wetter-was-die-wissenschaft-dazu-sagt.1939.de.html?drn:news_id=1281103
https://www.online-handelsregister.de/handelsregisterauszug/be/Charlottenburg-Berlin/HRB/220081B/culture4life-GmbH
https://www.luca-app.de/
https://praxistipps.chip.de/luca-app-kritik-datenschutz-so-sicher-ist-die-luca-app_131927
https://www.zeit.de/digital/2021-05/luca-app-gesundheitsaemter-hackerangriff-risiko-kontaktverfolgung-coronavirus
https://twitter.com/evawolfangel/status/1371035535066730500?lang=en
https://www.tagesschau.de/multimedia/audio/audio-104877.html
https://www.deutschlandfunk.de/corona-app-luca-smudo-konzerte-sind-der-grosse-endgegner.807.de.html?dram:article_id=493362
Marcus Feilner's open letter to the Regensburg city administration: https://www.regensburg-digital.de/warnen-sie-ihre-buergerinnen-und-buerger-vor-der-luca-app/12052021/
The open letter from the 77 computer scientists: https://digikoletter.github.io/
https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/976/cpsprodpb/1394D/production/_119250208_optimised_covid_asmr-nc.png
https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/976/cpsprodpb/6A45/production/_119250272_optimised_map_child_mortality_1851-nc.png

Fitting that an episode with a Venetian setting just has water running all through it. Fintan describes how Antarctic architecture became a feature of this year's Venice Biennale, including a description of a soundscape that frankly sounds terrifying. Meanwhile, Joseph describes political shenanigans in newly populist Slovenia concerning water policy and tells the story of the dynamic Frisian coastline and its Google Doodle.

Follow us on Twitter!
50 Ways to Say Science: @50waysscipod
Joseph Piergrossi: @JWPiergrossi
Fintan Burke: @SciFintan

Sources:
https://www.fgg.uni-lj.si/stalisce-fakultete-za-gradbenistvo-in-geodezijo-v-zvezi-z-novelo-zakona-o-vodah/
https://www.delo.si/novice/slovenija/novela-zakona-o-vodah-za-svet-za-varovanje-okolja-pri-sazu-nesprejemljiva/
https://www.rtvslo.si/okolje/referendum-2021/zagovorniki-in-nasprotniki-novele-zakona-o-vodah-tudi-pri-predsedniku-trdno-na-svojih-bregovih/585992
https://siol.net/novice/slovenija/aljosa-petek-sprememb-tako-pomembnega-zakona-se-je-treba-lotiti-preudarno-in-s-pravocasno-vkljucitvijo-stroke-556045
Text of the 2002 Water Act: http://pisrs.si/Pis.web/pregledPredpisa?id=ZAKO1244
https://www.slovenec.org/2021/04/21/37-clen-zakona-o-vodah-razdvaja-drzavljane/
The river Fintan refers to as the "Amazon of Europe" is the Mura. http://www.amazon-of-europe.com/en/mura-news/
https://www.labiennale.org/en/architecture/2021
https://www.corriere.it/cronache/21_giugno_20/per-prima-volta-l-antartide-biennale-venezia-mente-progetto-italiana-d5010852-d18d-11eb-8606-3988c0360a13.shtml
https://www.labiennale.org/en/architecture/2021/across-borders/giulia-foscari-and-unless
Giulia Foscari's book Antarctic Resolution: https://www.lars-mueller-publishers.com/antarctic-resolution
https://www.google.com/doodles/celebrating-the-wadden-sea
Map of the Frisian coast in 1240 (with the modern coastline in red): https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Nordfriesland_um_1240.jpg/1024px-Nordfriesland_um_1240.jpg

The potential pandemic threats special! Just what Fintan wants to hear after a year and a half of COVID. Plus we report on a Twitter protest among young researchers in Germany and an odd incentive for vaccinations in the Netherlands. In his enthusiasm, Joseph forgets that maybe vegetarians and vegans wouldn't be too keen on said incentive. (Sorry 'bout that.) Bonus banter: the IKEA "crunch", herding swans, and Fintan learns he'd never make it in the Deep South's heat.

Correction: link to the vaccine incentives article was in The Guardian, not the BBC. The original Dutch article is posted below. Sorry for the error!

Follow us on Twitter!
50 Ways to Say Science: @50waysscipod
Joseph Piergrossi: @JWPiergrossi
Fintan Burke: @SciFintan

Sources:
https://www.deutschlandfunk.de/twitter-aktion-ichbinhanna-protest-gegen-zeitvertragsgesetz.676.de.html?dram:article_id=498792
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fvets.2020.00215/full
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgZevYGOKXU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhfRtz-FRxg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EoSDCpgzKnc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSINe4rLbiE
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-germany-swinefever-idUSKBN2BE1EX
https://apnews.com/article/germany-europe-denmark-6e193cf238a2a84789d66c5fa31c0221
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-04-19/germany-tops-1-000-swine-fever-cases-as-disease-fight-drags-on
https://www.ndr.de/ratgeber/verbraucher/Huehnerhaltung-Ist-bio-wirklich-besser,tierhaltung138.html
https://www.faz.net/aktuell/gesellschaft/gesundheit/fipronil-im-huehnerstall-spur-im-eier-skandal-fuehrt-nach-rumaenien-15136646.html
https://www.wetgiw.gov.pl/main/komunikaty/Komunikat-Glownego-Lekarza-Weterynarii-dotyczacy-stwierdzenia-336.-w-2021-r.-ogniska-wysoce-zjadliwej-grypy-ptakow-HPAI-u-drobiu/idn:1744
http://www.portalhodowcy.pl/images/Mapki/HD_mapka_PG.pdf
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jun/16/is-polands-chicken-boom-behind-its-devastating-bird-flu-outbreak
https://m.haarlemsdagblad.nl/cnt/DMF20210616_99365160?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic

Fintan describes a protest among scientists regarding English as the lingua franca for research publishing. Also discussed: the climactic Shell decision in the Netherlands and an attempt to spread misinformation in the EU about COVID vaccines that appears to have fallen flat while causing a minor international incident. Oops.

Follow us on Twitter!
50 Ways to Say Science: @50waysscipod
Joseph Piergrossi: @JWPiergrossi
Fintan Burke: @SciFintan

COVID-19 Forecast Hub: https://covid19forecasthub.eu/visualisation.html

Sources:
https://www.volkskrant.nl/nieuws-achtergrond/historische-uitspraak-in-klimaatzaak-shell-moet-co2-uitstoot-drastisch-verminderen~b27cd4be/
https://www.dw.com/en/covid-disinformation-campaign-targeted-biontech-pfizer/a-57702440
https://www.lemonde.fr/pixels/article/2021/05/24/des-youtubeurs-francais-incites-a-denigrer-le-vaccin-contre-le-covid-19-de-pfizer-biontech_6081312_4408996.html
https://adawis.de/start/
https://www.academia.edu/46449232/Open_letter_to_De_Gruyter_concerning_English_only_language_policy_for_Trends_in_Classics_Book_Prize_for_early_career_researcher
https://www.jmwiarda.de/2021/05/25/das-ist-inakzeptabel/

(CW: some gruesome talk about very unfortunate minks.) This week we delve into the topic that everyone loves to hate: COVID-19, of course. But we do it by way of minks and Russia’s flagship vaccine programme. Plus Fintan has a story related to why we made this podcast in the first place: science and language. 

Follow us on Twitter!
50 Ways to Say Science: @50waysscipod
Joseph Piergrossi: @JWPiergrossi 
Fintan Burke: @SciFintan

Sources:

https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-denmark-mink-factbox-idUSKBN27L1KH
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-54818615
https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/seneste/nu-laver-raadne-mink-stroem-til-danskerne-det-lugter-af-husholdningsaffald-som-det
https://www.rfi.fr/en/europe/20210322-putin-hits-back-at-strange-eu-criticism-of-sputnik-v-vaccine-thierry-breton
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)31866-3/fulltext
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)00234-8/fulltext
https://www.bmj.com/content/373/bmj.n1108
https://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2021/05/06/vasiliy-vlassov-sputnik-v-and-russias-covid-19-vaccine-race/
https://www.bmj.com/content/372/bmj.n743
https://cattiviscienziati.com/2020/09/07/note-of-concern/
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)00899-0/fulltext
https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/news/ema-starts-rolling-review-sputnik-v-covid-19-vaccine
https://www.tagesschau.de/ausland/europa/slowakei-sputnik-101.html
https://www.politico.eu/article/russia-sputnik-coronavirus-covid-19-vaccine-hot-steak/
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/11/russia-s-claim-successful-covid-19-vaccine-doesn-t-pass-smell-test-critics-say
https://theconversation.com/russian-covid-vaccine-why-more-and-more-countries-are-turning-to-sputnik-v-159158
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/mar/10/russias-sputnik-v-covid-vaccine-gaining-acceptance-in-europe
https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2021/05/14/oerknal-dat-is-pas-klare-taal-a4043596

50 Ways to Say Science is a podcast about science news across the European continent. Join science writers Fintan Burke and Joseph Piergrossi as they explore the science happening on the world’s crossroads that is Europe, focusing on stories that might not have made it to English-language media. Episodes are posted every other week!

On this second pilot for 50 Ways to Say Science, Joseph gives a rundown of Russia’s proposed exit from the International Space Station. Fintan talks about butterflies that are running into problems with climate change in the Austrian Alps. (Recorded: 5 May 2021)

Follow us on Twitter!
Joseph Piergrossi: @JWPiergrossi 
Fintan Burke: @SciFintan

Sources:

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/apr/22/russia-well-leave-international-space-station-and-build-our-own

https://www.decanter.com/wine-news/fears-of-frost-damage-in-french-vineyards-456120/

https://twitter.com/EmmanuelMacron/status/1380891759652265986

https://www.derstandard.at/consent/tcf/story/2000126195586/ein-drittel-der-schmetterlinge-ist-in-den-letzten-40-jahren

https://www.euronews.com/2021/05/01/world-s-first-pregnant-mummy-discovered-in-poland

In the first pilot episode of 50 Ways to Say Science, Fintan explains how and why a crate of expensive French wine took a round trip to the International Space Station. Joseph shows how Europe, much like the Americas, has to deal with the infamous polar vortex. Joseph sounds like he’s in a tin can thanks to sound problems on the podcast’s maiden voyage. C’est la vie…. (Recorded: 8 April 2021)

Follow us on Twitter!
Joseph Piergrossi: @JWPiergrossi 
Fintan Burke: @SciFintan

Sources:

https://www.euronews.com/2021/03/24/chateau-petrus-does-a-case-of-top-notch-bordeaux-really-taste-different-after-being-in-spa

https://www.varsom.no/nytt/snorapporter-fra-nve/snoforhold-i-pasken-2021/

https://www.severe-weather.eu/europe-weather/historic-cold-blast-europe-snow-easter-sunday-mk/

https://journals.ametsoc.org/view/journals/clim/29/7/jcli-d-15-0499.1.xml

https://www.euronews.com/2021/04/02/how-melting-arctic-ice-is-driving-more-snow-over-europe

https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2020JD033881

https://www.spektrum.de/news/zusammenbruch-des-polarwirbels-bringt-eisigen-winter-nach-europa/1818383

https://www.dw.com/en/cold-winter-global-warming-polar-vortex/a-56534450

https://www.thelocal.de/20210406/wacky-weather-snow-and-freezing-temperatures-come-to-germany-after-easter/