Science Goes Viral: Captivating Accounts of Science in Everyday Life - Softcover

Schwarcz, Dr. Joe

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1770416501 ISBN 13: 9781770416505

Publisher: ECW Press, 2021

Synopsis

Bestselling popular science author Dr. Joe Schwarcz breaks down the science of essential oils, placenta creams, intermittent fasting, and of course the spread of COVID-19 misinformation in this new collection from the master of demarcating non-science from science

Science has gone viral! In more ways than one.

Since we first heard rumblings about a novel type of pneumonia in Wuhan, China, terms like pandemic, spike protein, viral particles, variants, mRNA vaccines, antibodies, hydroxychloroquine, social distancing, immune response, convalescent plasma, aerosol transmission, and of course, face coverings, have entered our everyday vocabulary. The scientific literature has exploded with studies exploring every facet of COVID-19, but unfortunately the “viral” spread of misinformation about the pandemic has also reached epic proportions.

Science Goes Viral provides a framework for coming to grips with the onslaught of COVID-19 information and misinformation in this ever-changing pandemic. Here, you’ll learn about the first antibodies ever identified, the connection between tonic water and coronavirus, and whether we can zap COVID with copper. And although our thoughts and daily activities have been hijacked by the pandemic, life does go on, as does the pursuit of science. Dr. Joe features his usual array of diverse topics, including biblical dyes, essential oils, Jean Harlow’s hair, Lincoln’s magician, and bioplastics, along with assorted examples of quackery.

Delving into the many fascinating facets of science can serve as a welcome distraction from the COVID curse. In fact, enchantment with science can also be contagious. Will you be infected?

About this title

About the Author

Dr. Joe Schwarcz is director of McGill University’s Office for Science and Society, dedicated to demystifying science and separating sense from nonsense. He is a popular lecturer, both to students and to the larger public. He hosts The Dr. Joe Show on Montreal radio and is the author of 17 bestselling titles. Dr. Joe lives in Montreal, Quebec.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

It was once characterized as “The Strangling Angel of Children.” Diphtheria is a bacterial infection transmitted via respiratory secretions spread through the air. The bacteria produce a toxin that causes a thick film to develop in the throat, making breathing difficult, and in the worst case, strangling the patient. The name of the disease derives from the Greek for “leather,” an apt description of the distinctive coating seen in the victim’s throat.

In 1878, Britain was shocked by the diphtheria deaths of Alice, Queen Victoria’s thirty-five-year-old daughter, and Alice’s youngest child. Apparently, the disease could be spread by the innocent kiss between a mother and child, the “kiss of death.” The tragic case invigorated research and within a few years, the bacterium responsible for diphtheria was isolated, and the toxin it produced identified as a specific protein. Although the concept of immunization had been introduced in 1796 by Edward Jenner’s prevention of smallpox through inoculation with cowpox extract, a similar regimen was not possible for diphtheria. Attempts at immunization with small doses of the bacterium ended up causing disease. Another approach was needed and was found by German researchers who injected the toxin into a horse. This did not harm the animal but provoked the production of white blood cells from which an “antitoxin” was isolated. That “antitoxin” turned out to be the first “antibody” ever identified. While it saved the lives of many diphtheria victims, it did not prevent the disease, nor did it stop it from spreading.

Then in 1923, Gaston Ramon made a landmark discovery at the Pasteur Institute in Paris. Exposing diphtheria toxin to minute amounts of formaldehyde resulted in the loss of its toxicity but the ability to stimulate antibody production was retained. This opened the door to the possibility of formulating a vaccine with the altered diphtheria toxin, now renamed as a “toxoid.” Indeed, by the end of the 1920s, carefully controlled trials in some 36,000 Canadian children had shown that toxoid injections reduced diphtheria incidence by at least 90%. The first modern vaccine was born!

Edition details

• Publisher: ECW Press
• Publication date: 2021
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1770416501
• ISBN 13: 9781770416505
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 264