Disease, Invisibility, Social Smoking, Aspirin Misuse
Top of Mind with Julie Rose - Season 1, Episode 56
- May 5, 2015 6:00 am
- 1:44:57 mins
Global Health (1:11) Guest: Michael Gerson, the President's Malaria Initiative (PMI). Gerson serves as senior adviser at One, a bipartisan organization dedicated to the fight against extreme poverty and preventable diseases Disaster relief groups working in Nepal say funding and supplies are needed to prevent an outbreak of cholera or dysentery in the earthquake-stricken nation. While disease outbreaks are always a risk when housing, sanitation and water supplies are disrupted, the word "outbreak" feels a little more ominous thanks to Ebola. The largest outbreak of Ebola in history gripped West Africa for much of last year, killing more than 10,000 people. In the next few days, one of the hardest-hit countries -- Liberia -- will be officially Ebola-free, though Guinea and Sierra Leone are not. During a recent visit to BYU as a guest of the Kennedy Center, global-health expert Michael Gerson called the Ebola outbreak a "wake up call" for the international community. Invisibility Stickers (26:38) Guest: Alon Gorodetsky, professor of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science at the University of California, Irvine and co-researcher in the study that was published in the Journal of Materials Chemistry C and presented at 2015 American Chemical Society national meeting Humans have long taken a page from Mother Nature's survival strategy handbook in the form of camouflage. Insects, reptiles and fish are particularly adept at changing their appearance to blend in with the background and avoid detection. Soldiers and hunters mimic the technique with all kinds of elaborate camouflage gear. But when the light changes or the enemy puts on infrared goggles, the mottled green and brown field uniform of a soldier is of no help. Researchers at the University of California-Irvine have been studying the incredible skin of squid -- a master of disguise -- for inspiration to create what they're calling "invisibility stickers" that could help ground troops avoid infrared detection. Apple Seed (43:50) Guest: Sam Payne, Host o