, 3 min read
Science and Technology links (November 28th 2020)
- Homework favours kids with wealthier and better educated parents. My own kids have access to two parents with a college education, including a father who is publishing mathematically-intensive research papers. Do you think for a minute that it is fair to expect kids who have poorly educated parents to compete on homework assignments? (Not that I help my kids all that much…)
- Though researchers have reported that animal populations are falling worldwide (presumably because of human beings), this trend is entirely driven by 3% of the animals that are strongly declining while most animals (vertebrates) are not in decline.
- The expansion of parental leave and child care subsidies has not affected gender inequalities in the workplace. (That is not an argument for abolishing parental leave and child care subsidies.)
- An hallucinogenic tea can help you grow new brain cells.
- It appears that aging is partially caused by aging factors found in our blood. In mice, researchers achieved rejuvenation (improved cognition and reduced inflammation) by diluting blood plasma. It confirms earlier work on the topic but shows rejuvenation in the brain. It does not mean that we know how to rejuvenate human beings, but it gives you a new angle of attack that is safe and inexpensive.
- A paper claims that hyperbaric oxygen therapy brings about rejuvenation in human beings. In effect, it shows a lengthening of the telomeres, this component of our DNA that grows shorter with each division. The lengthening is in some cells only. They also show a reduction of the number of senescent cells: these zombie cells that we tend to accumulate with age. The reduction in senescent cells is only for part of the body and it might be caused by the oxygen (that may kill the senescent cells). It is unclear how this expensive therapy compares with a good exercise regimen. We have reliable markers of biological age based on methylation and they were not used as part of this study.
- Countries that adopt a flat tax system (as opposed to the more common progressive system) grow richer exponentially faster. That is, though it may seem intuitive that richer people should pay higher percentage of their income in taxes, it may come at a substantial cost with respect to overall wealth.
- Diabetes is related to a disfunction of the pancreas. Thankfully we can create insuline producing cells, and we can even insert these cells in one’s pancreas. Sadly, they are soon attacked by the immune system and destroyed. It appears that progress is being made, and that viable cells have survived transplantation in the pancreas through a new technique that protects them from the immune system. It works in mice.
- Cochrane, a credible source when it comes to medical research, published a review of the evidence regarding masks and hand washing with respect to respiratory viral infections:
There is uncertainty about the effects of face masks. The low‐moderate certainty of the evidence means our confidence in the effect estimate is limited, and that the true effect may be different from the observed estimate of the effect. The pooled results of randomised trials did not show a clear reduction in respiratory viral infection with the use of medical/surgical masks during seasonal influenza. There were no clear differences between the use of medical/surgical masks compared with N95/P2 respirators in healthcare workers when used in routine care to reduce respiratory viral infection. Hand hygiene is likely to modestly reduce the burden of respiratory illness. Harms associated with physical interventions were under‐investigated.
It does not follow that you should not wear masks or that you should avoid washing your hands. I do and I recommend you do too. However, you should be critical of any statement to the effect that science is telling us that masks and hand washing stop airborne viruses, especially when such statements are made in a political context.