Podcasts about nsikan akpan

In part four: host Manoush Zomorodi explores the connection between our posture and our mood. A lot of us associate our neck and back pain with spending hours hunched over our phones and laptops. But what if that hunched posture is also making us feel tired, stressed, and anxious? Neuroscientist Peter Strick discusses his groundbreaking research on why exercising our core muscles lowers our stress.Also in this episode: how a faulty, incorrect study went viral — claiming smartphones were causing people to grow horns on their backs. Science journalist Nsikan Akpan sets the record straight. Later, writer Paul Ingraham shares his daily strategy for doing movement snacks and strength building while balancing deadlines.Click here to find out more about the project: npr.org/bodyelectricWe'd love to hear from you. Send us a voice memo at bodyelectric@npr.org. Talk to us on Instagram @ManoushZ, and on Facebook @tedradiohour.

In part four: host Manoush Zomorodi explores the connection between our posture and our mood. A lot of us associate our neck and back pain with spending hours hunched over our phones and laptops. But what if that hunched posture is also making us feel tired, stressed, and anxious? Neuroscientist Peter Strick discusses his groundbreaking research on why exercising our core muscles lowers our stress.Also in this episode: how a faulty, incorrect study went viral — claiming smartphones were causing people to grow horns on their backs. Science journalist Nsikan Akpan sets the record straight. Later, writer Paul Ingraham shares his daily strategy for doing movement snacks and strength building while balancing deadlines.Click here to find out more about the project: npr.org/bodyelectricAre you signed up for Columbia's study, or following along with the series? We want to hear from you! Send us a voice memo at bodyelectric@npr.org. Talk to us on Instagram @ManoushZ, and on Facebook @tedradiohour.

WNYC's health and science editor Nsikan Akpan brings the latest on the area's air quality as smoke from Canadian wildfires continues to blanket the Northeast and beyond. Plus, Elizabeth Kim, reporter for Gothamist and WNYC discusses how the mayor and other City Hall officials have handled the air quality situation.

Science Was Big On The Ballot This Week. Here's What Went Down Another chaotic election week has come and gone. Across the U.S., science was on the ballot, and people cast their votes on issues like healthcare, climate change infrastructure, conservation, and abortion policy. Nsikan Akpan, health and science editor at WNYC in New York City, joins Ira to talk about how the science ballot initiatives panned out this week. They discuss the outcomes of the abortion initiatives, California's move to ban flavored tobacco, and what this election could mean for the future of the U.S.' climate goals. Plus, they discuss the mess that is COP 27 climate conference, why this hurricane season is so strange, how an in utero procedure successfully treated a rare genetic disorder, and new footage of octopuses hurling objects at each other.   As Anthony Fauci Steps Down, A Look Back At His Storied Career In recent years, Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health, has become a prominent public figure and one of the public faces of the U.S. government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, Science Friday has been talking to Dr. Fauci for decades, beginning in 1994, about topics ranging from HIV/AIDS to Ebola, interviewing him about everything from the Zika virus to advances in allergy research. Fauci has been in his current role at NIAID for 38 years, and has served as an advisor to seven presidents. He is the recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He spoke with Ira about his career in medical research, the things he's most proud of achieving in his time with the NIH, and the challenges the nation still faces in dealing with the pandemic, and other disease outbreaks yet to come.   New Documentary Is Endearing Tribute To NASA's Rover Program In 2003, the world became captivated by two rovers launched by NASA on a mission to Mars, known as Spirit and Opportunity. The rovers were sent to the Red Planet to discover what was on the surface. The rovers were only expected to last 90 days. Instead, Opportunity led a 15-year life of discovery, including the bombshell that Mars may once have been suitable to sustain microbial life. The story of these twin rovers is the subject of a new documentary out this month: “Good Night Oppy,” evoking the nickname of the Opportunity rover. The film features footage taken over nearly two decades, from the building of the rovers to recent interviews with scientists involved in the mission. Ira speaks with “Good Night Oppy” director Ryan White, as well as featured scientist Doug Ellison, engineering camera payload uplink lead at NASA, based in Alhambra, California.   Transcripts for each segment will be available the week after the show airs on sciencefriday.com.

Now that the federal mask mandate has ended, Nsikan Akpan, WNYC's health and science editor, and Gwynne Hogan, reporter for WNYC and Gothamist, join to discuss how the rules have, or haven't, changed in New York and New Jersey and the latest science on the effectiveness of masking for those who want to continue wearing them.

FDA Approves First Breathalyzer COVID Test The FDA approved a new COVID breathalyzer test, which gives results in just three minutes. It's the first test that identifies chemical compounds of coronavirus in breath. The testing unit is about the size of a piece of carry-on luggage and is intended to be used in medical offices and mobile testing sites. Nsikan Akpan, health and science editor at WNYC Radio based in New York City, talks with Ira about this new COVID test and other science news of the week, including new research on ocean warming and storm frequency, the story behind moon dust that sold for $500,000, and President Biden's decision to allow higher-ethanol gasoline sales this summer, which is usually banned from June to September.   Major Undercount In COVID Cases Makes Our Tracking Data Less Useful For many, it's become routine to pull up a chart of COVID-19 case counts by state or county. Though imperfect, it's been a pretty good way to assess risk levels: Follow the data. But recently, that data has become even more imperfect, and less useful at determining individual risk. Thanks to a variety of factors, case counts are now so inaccurate that a COVID surge could be missed entirely. “We are really flying blind,” said epidemiologist Katelyn Jetelina, assistant professor at the University of Texas School of Public Health and the author of the newsletter, Your Local Epidemiologist. Currently, for every 100 COVID-19 cases in the United States, only seven are being officially recorded, according to projections from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. As a point of comparison, during the Delta wave 43 out of 100 cases were recorded, and during the Omicron wave the figure was 26 out of 100 cases. The reasons behind the current undercount are due in part to the unintended consequences of good public health policies, like increased vaccinations and the availability of at-home tests, both of which lead to fewer cases being included in official CDC data. Mild cases are more common now, thanks to vaccines and changing variants. “People may just not get tested because they just have the sniffles,” said Jetelina.  Others may forgo testing altogether. The virus can spread asymptomatically from there. “We just haven't done the groundwork as a nation to systematically capture these cases,” said Jetelina. Read the rest at sciencefriday.com.   How Would You Spend A Trillion Dollars? Imagining what you might do if you won the lottery or received a huge inheritance from a long-lost relative is a classic daydream. But in a new book, journalist Rowan Hooper imagines spending a trillion dollars—not on fancy dinners, sparkly jewels or mega yachts, but on tackling ten global challenges. While a trillion dollars can't solve every problem, he estimates it would go a long way towards tackling disease, combating global warming, protecting biodiversity, or even establishing a moon base. Hooper joins Ira to talk about his book, How to Save the World for Just a Trillion Dollars: The Ten Biggest Problems We Can Actually Fix, and to daydream about where and how an infusion of cash might do the most to accelerate solutions to some of the planet's problems.     Transcripts for each segment will be available the week after the show airs on sciencefriday.com.

Nsikan Akpan, WNYC's health and science editor, joins for a roundup of the latest COVID-related news, including the latest science on masks, and why New York City isn't recording many at-home COVID tests.  

In recent weeks, a growing number of Democratic governors have started rolling back mask mandates, out pacing  and other Covid-19 related restrictions. WNYC health and science editor Nsikan Akpan recently explored the breadth of research that shows how effective masks are at slowing the spread of Covid-19 for kids and adults, and he joined The Takeaway to give listeners a better understanding of what public health experts are advising at the moment.

In recent weeks, a growing number of Democratic governors have started rolling back mask mandates, out pacing  and other Covid-19 related restrictions. WNYC health and science editor Nsikan Akpan recently explored the breadth of research that shows how effective masks are at slowing the spread of Covid-19 for kids and adults, and he joined The Takeaway to give listeners a better understanding of what public health experts are advising at the moment.

An Abrupt Departure For Biden's Science Adviser This week, Eric Lander, the Presidential science advisor and head of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, resigned following an investigation into bullying behavior towards his subordinates. In an apology, Lander acknowledged being “disrespectful and demeaning” towards staff. Lander, a mathematician and genomics researcher, was previously the head of the Broad Institute at Harvard and MIT. Nsikan Akpan, health and science editor for WNYC Radio in New York, joins Ira to discuss the resignation and what it might mean for the president's science policy initiatives. They also talk about other stories from the week in science, including an advance in fusion research in Europe, concerns over the increasing saltiness of Lake Michigan, and the question of whether sequestering urine from the sewage stream might have environmental advantages.   New COVID-19 Antiviral Pills: How Do They Work? Late last year, two new drugs joined the lineup of options for high-risk patients who may need extra help fighting COVID-19: Merck's pill molnupiravir, and Pfizer's pill Paxlovid. The two pills join remdesivir, an infusion-only drug, as antiviral compounds that attack the SARS-CoV2 virus in different ways. But how exactly do they work, how well do they work, and what makes them complicated to use in real life? Ira talks to virologists Ran Swanstrom and Adam Lauring about the fundamentals of antiviral drugs, concerns about molnupiravir's method of mutating the virus to death, and the long drug interaction list for Paxlovid. Plus, why timing is a critical issue for getting drugs to patients.   Meet The Drag Artists Who Are Making Science More Accessible Each generation has had science communicators who brought a sometimes stuffy, siloed subject into homes, inspiring minds young and old. Scientists like Don Herbert, Carl Sagan, and Bill Nye are classic examples. But our modern age of social media has brought more diverse communicators into the forefront of science communication, including the wild, wonderful world of STEM drag stars. These are queer folk who mix the flashy fashions of the drag world with science education. Some, like Kyne, use TikTok as a medium to teach concepts like math. Others, like Pattie Gonia, use drag to attract more people to the great outdoors. The accessibility of the internet has made these personalities available to a wide audience. Kyne and Pattie Gonia join Ira to talk about the magic drag can bring to science education, and why they think the future of SciComm looks more diverse than the past.    

Omicron Today: This Year in Pandemic Policy Nsikan Akpan, health and science editor for the WNYC newsroom, joined with the latest updates and responses on the Omicronn variant while looking back on some of the policy choices that led to this moment.  Other segments from today's episode include: What is With the Cult of Resilience? The Toll of Fibroids on Black Women Study Finds Women Denied Abortion Access Fare Worse in Life For transcripts, see individual segment pages.      

Omicron Today: This Year in Pandemic Policy Nsikan Akpan, health and science editor for the WNYC newsroom, joined with the latest updates and responses on the Omicronn variant while looking back on some of the policy choices that led to this moment.  Other segments from today's episode include: What is With the Cult of Resilience? The Toll of Fibroids on Black Women Study Finds Women Denied Abortion Access Fare Worse in Life For transcripts, see individual segment pages.      

Omicron's on the Move in the U.S. We put the current pandemic moment in perspective with WNYC science and health editor Nsikan Akpan who broke down what's going on with this current Covid surge. The Shady Business Behind Tree Equity We spoke with Vivek Shandas, Professor of Climate Adaptation at Portland State University, about tree equity and how we might get closer to achieving tree equity with funding earmarked in the Build Back Better bill. What's Causing the Rise of Deaths in Jail? We asked Nafeesah Goldsmith and Samantha Melamed to discuss how this is happening. The Facility: A Look Inside ICE Detention During The Pandemic The new documentary The Facility shows the inside of the Irwin County Detention Center in Georgia as the coronavirus pandemic first hit the United States.  For transcripts, see individual segment pages.  

Omicron's on the Move in the U.S. We put the current pandemic moment in perspective with WNYC science and health editor Nsikan Akpan who broke down what's going on with this current Covid surge. The Shady Business Behind Tree Equity We spoke with Vivek Shandas, Professor of Climate Adaptation at Portland State University, about tree equity and how we might get closer to achieving tree equity with funding earmarked in the Build Back Better bill. What's Causing the Rise of Deaths in Jail? We asked Nafeesah Goldsmith and Samantha Melamed to discuss how this is happening. The Facility: A Look Inside ICE Detention During The Pandemic The new documentary The Facility shows the inside of the Irwin County Detention Center in Georgia as the coronavirus pandemic first hit the United States.  For transcripts, see individual segment pages.  

Here's How Biden's Infrastructure Bill Addresses Science President Joe Biden signed a massive bipartisan infrastructure bill into law this Monday. The measure focuses on a range of sectors. It would funnel billions into cleaning up pollution in the air and water with efforts that include eliminating lead service lines and cleaning up old, polluted manufacturing sites. The bill will also invest $7.5 billion to create a large-scale network of electric vehicle chargers across the country. In other big news this week, a new study confirms that masks are highly effective in combating COVID-19, reducing incidence of the disease by as much as 53% on its own. Researchers say this finding is significant and add that when masks are used in addition to other protective measures, like vaccines and hand washing, people can feel confident in their safety. Joining guest host Roxanne Khamsi to talk through these and other big science stories of the week is Nsikan Akpan, health and science editor for WNYC Public Radio in New York City. Happy (Holiday) Testing Season! The holiday season has snuck up once again, leaving many people to figure out familiar logistics: If travel will be involved, who to see, and what will be for dinner. But of course, we're still in a pandemic, so questions of safety remain. At the end of the day, we want to keep our families, friends, and loved ones healthy. COVID-19 tests are becoming a popular tool, helping many people make social situations safer. Quickly swabbing your nose or spitting in a tube can indicate if someone has been infected with the coronavirus. But with so many options available, and a big season of holiday get-togethers up ahead, many are wondering what kind of test is best—and when is the best time to get tested? Joining guest host Roxanne Khamsi to talk through COVID-19 testing questions are Dr. Céline Gounder, epidemiologist and professor at New York University's Grossman School of Medicine in New York, and Dr. Alex Greninger, assistant director at the clinical virology laboratories at the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle. The Big Bang Theory Of Cancer Despite tremendous scientific advances, there's still so much scientists don't understand about cancer. One of the biggest remaining questions is how do tumors form in the first place? Researchers are getting closer to an answer. For years, the prevailing theory of tumor growth was that cancer cells gradually acquire a series of mutations that enable them to outcompete healthy cells and run amok. But improved genetic sequencing of cancers is revealing a more complicated picture. New technology has enabled a new theory of tumor development, called the big bang theory. It turns out that some types of cancer contain a whole hodge-podge of mutations right from the very beginning, even before the tumors are detectable on a scan. Researchers initially observed this pattern in colon cancer, and then replicated the findings in pancreatic, liver, and stomach cancers, too. Guest host Roxanne Khamsi talks to Christina Curtis, associate professor of medicine and genetics at Stanford University's School of Medicine about her research into tumor development, and how to improve cancer diagnosis and treatment.

Nsikan Akpan, WNYC's health and science editor, joins for a roundup of the latest science-related news, including a closer look at the Merck pill, which could become the first oral antiviral COVID treatment ...and William Shatner's trip to space.

If sports are a metaphor for life, what are they telling us about our society right now? Dave Zirin, sports editor for The Nation, and author of ten books on the politics of sports, joins Kai to talk about the “Pandemic Games,” the peril of chasing perfection, and just how much has changed since the 2020 summer of activism in big league sports. Plus, the hard conversation so many of us are avoiding: Executive producer Veralyn Williams gets advice from WNYC's health and science editor Nsikan Akpan on how to talk with loved ones who refuse the Covid vaccine. Companion listening for this episode: Serving Up Social Justice (09/14/2020)Despite empty stands, athletes are making waves across the sports industry speaking out against anti-black violence. Many Americans support, but not everyone is a fan.What Covid Revealed A curation of our episodes on the hard lessons of this pandemic -- and on the opportunities it offers for transforming our lives and our society. “The United States of Anxiety” airs live on Sunday evenings at 6pm ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts. To catch all the action, tune into the show on Sunday nights via the stream on WNYC.org/anxiety or tell your smart speakers to play WNYC. We want to hear from you! Connect with us on Twitter @WNYC using the hashtag #USofAnxiety or email us at anxiety@wnyc.org.

Amid rising cases of the delta variant, New York City is re-instating some COVID precautions that it had previously rolled back. What does the science have to say about the policy? On Today's Show:Nsikan Akpan, WNYC's health and science editor, breaks down the science behind breakthrough infections, local pols' decisions not to mandate indoor masking and more COVID news.

Nsikan Akpan, WNYC's health and science editor, breaks down the science behind breakthrough infections, local pols' decisions not to mandate indoor masking and more COVID news.

Nsikan Akpan, WNYC's health and science editor, discusses what risk the Delta variant poses to unvaccinated -- and even vaccinated -- Americans.

The pace of life in the 21st Century has created “infostorms” that overwhelm our senses. Is believing in some of the sensationalist things we see actually quite a rational response? It's commonplace to say that we're all deluged by more information than we can possibly handle. Less commonplace is the acknowledgement that human judgements also rely upon secondary information that doesn't come from any external source – and that offers one of the most powerful tools we possess for dealing with the deluge itself. This source is social information. Or, in other words: what we think other people are thinking. From BBC News: Why We Believe in Fake News by Tom Chatfield, September 8 2019 From PBS News: The Very Real Consequences of Fake News Stories and Why Your Brains Can't Ignore Them by Nsikan Akpan, Dec. 5, 2016 Music "Memories" by The Midnight "Honking Means I Love You" by Tyler Lyle Episode Text Transcript --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/justin-r-cary/message

Episode 26 explores the Wuhan "lab leak" theory and the recent FOIA emails obtained by The Washington Post and Buzzfeed News and whether they show any culpability, criminality, or nothing at all.Twitter: https://twitter.com/fucking_podcast Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/fucking_podcastSHOW NOTES:Tweet thread by Nsikan Akpan, PhD on the "lab leak" hypothesis: https://twitter.com/MoNscience/status/1396240581651742724?s=20'How I Learned to Stop Worrying And Love the Lab-Leak Theory' by David G. McNeil Jr.: https://donaldgmcneiljr1954.medium.com/how-i-learned-to-stop-worrying-and-love-the-lab-leak-theory-f4f88446b04d Belgium's Van Ranst: Covid Scientist Targeted by Far-Right Sniper: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-57358492

Last week, the CDC suddenly reversed its guidance on vaccinated people wearing masks indoors, taking many, including some at the White House, by surprise. So what's the politics behind the new guidance, and what are the public health considerations? On Today's Show:Nsikan Akpan, WNYC's health and science editor, and Annie Linskey, Washington Post national reporter covering the White House, talk about the CDC's change to its indoor mask guidance, including the political forces at play, and what it means for people's health. NOTE: In the interview, Akpan misidentified a statistic about breakthrough cases. As of the best available data at the time of the interview, there were 1,300 severe COVID cases -- those which result in hospitalization or death -- out of 115 million fully vaccinated people, or about 1 severe case for every 100,000 vaccinated people. The best available data on total breakthrough cases, mild or severe, indicated 9,245 infections out of 95 million fully vaccinated, or about 1 in 10,000 breakthrough infections.  

Nsikan Akpan, WNYC's health and science editor, and Annie Linskey, Washington Post national reporter covering the White House, talk about the CDC's change to its indoor mask guidance, including the political forces at play, and what it means for people's health.