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Science
Do I Still Need to Wear a Mask if I Had the Covid-19 Vaccine?
If you’ve already had the Covid-19 vaccine or if you’ve already had the virus, do you still need to mask up in public or with people outside of your social bubble? The answer is yes, and there are both scientific and ethical reasons for you to continue to wear your mask for the near future. Just so we’re clear, wearing…
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Anti-Science
If You Only Care About the Covid-19 Death Rate, You Are Missing the Big Picture
Frequently, when I’m browsing Facebook, I see friends post stories about the devastation of Covid-19. And then I see others posting comments like, “only 1% of people die from it” or “most of the people died from something else.” In addition to these anti-science statements being utterly heartless, they’re also missing the point. If you say something like, “most people…
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Activism
Andy Mills, Audio Producer and Noted Harasser of Women, Keeps Failing Upwards
I listen to a lot of podcasts and radio shows, and yet I had never heard of Andy Mills until women in radio started speaking out against him. If you have ever listened to Radiolab (on WNYC) or the shows Caliphate and The Daily (from the New York Times), then you’ve heard his work. He’s audio producer with a reputation…
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Science
Covid-19 Questions: Why Exactly is the Virus More Contagious in Colder Weather?
For months, scientists have predicted that Covid-19 cases would rise as the weather got colder. This wasn’t just speculation; rather was based on what we already know about the structure of common viruses and how exactly colder weather can make them more contagious. Interestingly enough, if you have a stick of butter in your fridge, you already know something about…
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Science
Covid-19 Vaccine Questions: Are mRNA Vaccines Safe? Will They Alter my DNA? How Do They Work?
There has been so much excitement in the news recently about the recently-approved mRNA-based vaccines. But there are also a lot of questions, like how do we know it’s safe? How exactly is mRNA different than a normal vaccine? Do you trust it enough to take it yourself? I can answer a lot of these questions as a scientist who…
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Science
The COVID-19 Vaccine is 95% Effective. What Does That Mean? And Why is Herd Immunity via the Vaccine Better than Just Getting the Virus?
Great news has been released in the past two weeks. There are multiple vaccines that are emerging and preliminary results (from Phase III clinical trials) show that at least two are 95% effective. But what exactly does that mean? And why is it better to get the vaccine instead of just getting COVID-19 out in the wild, besides the obvious…
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Parenting
How To Get Fired From Your Quarantine Home Schooling Job In 10 Easy Steps
Like most parents I know, I started our family’s mandatory hiatus from school due to the COVID-19 outbreak with the best-laid plans. By which I mean the best plans I could come up with in two days – a pretty color-coded homeschooling schedule that I downloaded from a Facebook parenting group. I was going to do everything I could to…
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Featured
Science Experiments At Home: A Variation on the Carnation Food Dye Test
Whether you’re stuck at home with the kids or not, this is a pretty neat experiment to try out–and a great opportunity to have your kids experience the scientific process. Science is not just about knowing how electricity works or what happens when you combine vinegar and baking soda–it’s a process by which we ask questions and figure out how…
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