Today

How Did Mastodons Defend the Legitimacy of America?

In the 1700s, fossil finds along the Ohio and Hudson Rivers indicated that North America was home to mysterious beasts. Learn how mastodon bones proved both that extinction is real and that America isn't full of degenerates in this episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: ht ... Show More

13m 34s

Jul 18

BrainStuff Classics: Why Do Some People Eat Dirt?

The craving for and practice of eating earth is more widespread than you might think. Learn why researchers think people engage in this form of pica (i.e., geophagy) in today's classic episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://people.howstuffworks.com/culture-traditio ... Show More

7m 25s

Jul 17

What Advice About Lightning Is Wrong?

A lot of sayings and ideas about how to avoid getting struck by lightning are misguided. Learn how to stay storm safe in a building, a vehicle, or outside in today's episode of BrainStuff, based on these articles: https://science.howstuffworks.com/nature/climate-weather/storms/do ... Show More

9m 54s

Apr 2021

What can we learn from wastewater?

<p>Most of us don’t like to dwell on our toilet habits, but this week Crowdscience has gone down the drain to discover what wastewater can tell us about our health.</p><p>It’s been more than a year since scientists across the globe started to track the spread of Covid-19, with he ... Show More

37m 42s

Jul 2022

Coronapod: detecting COVID variants in sewage

Since early in the pandemic, scientists have searched for signals of SARS-CoV-2 transmission by sampling wastewater. This surveillance method has provided vital information to inform public health responses. But the approach has never been particularly specific - pointing to broa ... Show More

11m 27s

Mar 2022

Covid in the sewers

Analysis of wastewater from sewage systems has provided an early warning system for the presence of Covid19 in communities – showing up in the water samples before people test positive. It’s also possible to identify the variants and even specific genetic mutations. Davida Smyth ... Show More

58m 48s

Nov 2020

Flushing Out the Virus

Universities, nursing homes, and even entire cities are turning to an unlikely tool to monitor the spread of the coronavirus: sewage water. CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta talks to infectious disease physician Dr. Amy Mathers about how sewage testing is playing ... Show More

14m 33s

Jan 2024

The vital data you flush down the toilet | Newsha Ghaeli

"Everybody pees and poops — and we know that urine and stool contain a rich source of information on our health," says data detective Newsha Ghaeli. Exploring the growing field of wastewater epidemiology, she shows how studying sewage can (anonymously) reveal a lot about the coll ... Show More

9m 13s

Jun 2024

The vital data you flush down the toilet | Newsha Ghaeli

"Everybody pees and poops — and we know that urine and stool contain a rich source of information on our health," says data detective Newsha Ghaeli. Exploring the growing field of wastewater epidemiology, she shows how studying sewage can (anonymously) reveal a lot about the coll ... Show More

10m 38s

Apr 2020

Hunting For the Virus in Sewage

Scientists are desperate for a way to detect the novel coronavirus in communities as early as possible. So far, those efforts have focused on widespread testing of people. But a group of Dutch researchers may have discovered a way to tell where the virus is spreading, right benea ... Show More

10m 44s

How Can Wastewater Help Us Track Coronav...