Learn about whether being too clean makes kids sick; an ancient coronavirus epidemic; and a black hole-neutron star merger.

Is being too hygienic making kids sick? These researchers say the public has it all wrong by Grant Currin

• Being clean and hygienic need not impair childhood immunity. (2021). EurekAlert! https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-07/ucl-bca070221.php
• Rook, G. A. W., & Bloomfield, S. F. (2021). Microbial exposures that establish immunoregulation are compatible with targeted hygiene. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 148(1), 33–39. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaci.2021.05.008
• Cara, E. (2021, July 6). Being Clean Doesn’t Have to Be Bad for Our Immune System, Scientists Say. Gizmodo; Gizmodo. https://gizmodo.com/being-clean-doesnt-have-to-be-bad-for-our-immune-system-1847238686

Genome study reveals East Asian coronavirus epidemic 20,000 years ago by Cameron Duke

• Souilmi, Y., Lauterbur, M. E., Tobler, R., Huber, C. D., Johar, A. S., Moradi, S. V., Johnston, W. A., Krogan, N. J., Alexandrov, K., & Enard, D. (2021). An ancient viral epidemic involving host coronavirus interacting genes more than 20,000 years ago in East Asia. Current Biology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2021.05.067
• Queensland University of Technology (2021, June 24). Genome study reveals East Asian coronavirus epidemic 20,000 years ago. Phys.org. https://phys.org/news/2021-06-genome-reveals-east-asian-coronavirus.html

We got the first ever detection of a black hole gobbling up a neutron star by Briana Brownell

• Black holes swallow neutron stars like “Pac Man.” (2021). EurekAlert! https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-06/anu-bh062521.php
• Astrophysicists detect first black hole-neutron star mergers. (2021). EurekAlert! https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-06/nu-adf062821.php
• Abbott, R., Abbott, T. D., Abraham, S., Acernese, F., Ackley, K., Adams, A., ... & Boudart, V. (2021). Observation of gravitational waves from two neutron star–black hole coalescences. The Astrophysical Journal Letters, 915(1), L5. https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2041-8213/ac082e/pdf
• Betz, E. (2020). How Big Are Neutron Stars? Discover Magazine; Discover Magazine. https://www.discovermagazine.com/the-sciences/how-big-is-a-neutron-star
• By Pallab Ghosh. (2021, June 29). Rare black hole and neutron star collisions sighted twice in 10 days. BBC News; BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-57639520
• What Is a Black Hole? (2015). NASA. https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/k-4/stories/nasa-knows/what-is-a-black-hole-k4.html

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Find episode transcript here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/hygiene-hypothesis-ancient-coronavirus-black-hole-eats-neutron-star

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