This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sciencejournalforkids.substack.com

Read this article at: https://www.sciencejournalforkids.org/articles/how-much-do-viruses-change-over-time/ or watch at: https://youtu.be/qsMt1xldK64

Summary:Scientists compared ancient bacteriophages in human poop samples dating back 5,300 years to modern ones.

Abstract: Bacteriophages, or just phages, are tiny viruses that infect bacteria. Some phages help us by killing harmful bacteria and keeping our gut healthy. Although phages have existed for millions of years, we don’t know much about the ones from ancient times. To find out, we analyzed super old human poop samples. Using a new technique called de novo assembly, we pieced together the DNA of ancient viruses from these samples. 

We discovered nearly 300 types of bacteriophages that we had never seen before. But there was also one 1,300-year-old phage that was almost exactly the same as a modern day species. This was extremely surprising! Our research provides a useful method to rebuild ancient phage DNA sequences and learn more about the history of viruses.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sciencejournalforkids.substack.com

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sciencejournalforkids.substack.com

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sciencejournalforkids.substack.com

Read this article at:   or watch at: https://youtu.be/5bR2GVvQvYw

Summary: Researchers found that bonobos and chimpanzees have a long-term social memory very similar to humans.

Abstract: There are cute stories of zoo-living apes that seem to recognize their former caregivers. They also seem to recognize familiar apes and tell them apart from strangers. But we don’t know how detailed their memory is. We also don’t know how long their memory lasts. Humans have good social memories, and other great apes are our closest living relatives. We wanted to know if long-lasting social memory is a trait we share with other great apes.

We tested the ability of apes to recognize familiar individuals after spending years apart. We used an eye-tracker to see how long apes looked at two side-by-side images of other apes. We found that apes looked longer at previous groupmates than at strangers. They also looked longer at groupmates with whom they had positive interactions. This helps us understand the evolutionary history of social memory in great apes.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sciencejournalforkids.substack.com

Read this article at:   or watch at: https://youtu.be/0hTsKN9snwU

Summary: Researchers reviewed studies to summarize the effects of e-cigarette vaping on the body’s cells.

Abstract: Did you know that most people who vape are teens? E-cigarette (e-cig) companies market vaping as a safe alternative to traditional smoking. Well, vaping is safer than traditional smoking, but it is still dangerous to human health. We wanted to summarize the effects that vaping has on the body’s cells. We reviewed scientific studies about vaping and the human body. We found that vaping causes inflammation of the mouth and lungs. It also damages DNA. Long-term inflammation and high levels of DNA damage can cause cancer. Some e-cig users have reported mouth cancer, but not many yet. That is because cancer formation takes a long time. We will need more studies to know the long-term effects of vaping. But current studies show that using e-cigarettes is not safe.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sciencejournalforkids.substack.com

Read this article at:   or watch at: https://youtu.be/dVoB7IS1k9g 

Summary: Researchers investigated the impact of the accuracy of COVID-19 beliefs and metacognition on public health compliance and vaccine willingness.

Abstract: During the COVID-19 pandemic, public health experts asked people to take steps to help stop the spread of the virus. These included wearing face masks, limiting contact with other people, and getting vaccinated. We wondered why some people followed recommendations while others did not. We thought what people believed about COVID-19 mattered. We also thought the way they think about their beliefs may be important.

We asked people about their COVID-19 beliefs. Some beliefs were true, and some were not. Then we asked these people how confident they were that their beliefs were correct.

We found that people who evaluated their beliefs more correctly were more likely to follow public health advice. Our results show that it’s important to be right, but it’s also important to know you might be wrong.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sciencejournalforkids.substack.com

Read this article at: https://www.sciencejournalforkids.org/articles/how-does-the-brain-adapt-to-blindness/  or watch at: https://youtu.be/SvF3TX1iO2Q 

Summary: Scientists tested how blind and sighted people used sound in tracking motion to learn more about how the brain works.

Abstract: You hear footsteps behind you. They’re getting louder! You turn around quickly. Your friend was trying to sneak up on you. How did you know they were there? Your brain was hard at work! It took clues from your senses and turned those clues into information. But not everybody’s senses work the same way. When someone is blind or deaf, their brains learn to use the other senses differently. We were interested in knowing how blind people use sounds to learn about moving objects. We found that people who became blind during early childhood were better at following sounds than sighted people. Both blind and sighted people tracked moving sounds in a similar way. But blind people were much better at ignoring background noise.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sciencejournalforkids.substack.com

Read this article at: https://www.sciencejournalforkids.org/articles/how-can-air-travel-produce-fewer-greenhouse-gas-emissions/  or watch at: https://youtu.be/d8mS4bH_G2E 

Summary: Researchers compare nine different possible scenarios to determine how the aviation industry could reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Abstract: When you think about the causes of climate change, what comes to mind? Do you think of gasoline-powered cars? Or do you think about coal and natural gas power plants? It turns out that a big source of greenhouse gas emissions is flying. To prevent Earth from becoming too warm, many countries have set net-zero emission goals. So, the aviation industry needs to make changes. We analyzed the amount of greenhouse gas emissions produced in nine different scenarios in the years up to 2050. Each scenario included a change in the demand for flying, a change in the efficiency of the airplanes, and a change in the type of fuel used. We found making changes to these factors can reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, the aviation industry will also need to invest in carbon dioxide removal from the atmosphere. With these changes, it is possible for the aviation industry to reach net-zero emissions by 2050!

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sciencejournalforkids.substack.com

Read this article at:   or watch at: https://youtu.be/QsLFuo8TvhI 

Summary: Researchers explore what causes online political discussions to get so mean.

Abstract: Online discussions about politics can be very nasty. But why is that? Researchers have proposed two theories. One talks about the disagreement over ideas. And the second theory is that people see others as rivals. But there is a third theory called the "troll hypothesis". It suggests that mean people are mean, regardless of the topic. To see if this is right, we analyzed comments on Reddit. We found that people who often argue and are rude in political discussions are also mean when they talk about other things. Plus, those who make comments on communities of both political sides turn out to be the meanest! So, online discussions get mean largely because of these people rather than the topic.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sciencejournalforkids.substack.com