The Dose: Deep Sea Fireworks
Updated boosters, a mother's sacred role, deep sea fireworks
Welcome to The Dose! If you haven’t already, subscribe to receive the latest pandemic updates and some exciting, beautiful science twice a month right in your inbox.
The Serious Stuff
In this section, we share the most important pandemic and science updates.
💉 Breaking: updated boosters. The Biden Administration has announced that the second COVID-19 boosters for adults under 50 years will be put on hold. This is to make way for updated boosters to be offered in September. Newer vaccine formulations tested by Pfizer and Moderna are designed to be more effective against Omicron subvariants, though current vaccines remain highly effective against severe disease and death. This decision comes amidst considerations about vaccine safety and the aim to improve vaccine uptake throughout the population. Read more
🌍 A global health emergency. The usual and rapid transmission of monkeypox worldwide has sounded the alarm- and the WHO has declared monkeypox a global health emergency. Monkeypox is transmitted through close physical contact with lesions, rashes, body fluids, or respiratory secretions during prolonged face-to-face or intimate physical contact. Fortunately, mortality is very rare, affecting only about 1% of cases. It may take 1-3 weeks before symptoms show, and they include flu-like symptoms as well as lesions on the tongue and other parts of the body. If you think you have been exposed to monkeypox, you are recommended to get a smallpox vaccine within four days of exposure and no later than two weeks to reduce symptoms. Read more
💊 Teen drug use during COVID-19. The pandemic has seen the insidious rise of drug-related deaths among teens. This increase is occurring amidst a decline in substance use- so where is the problem coming from? 77% of overdose deaths among adolescents have involved fentanyl- a highly addictive synthetic opioid. It turns out that a rise in third-party and black market drugs have been making their way into the hands of our youths. Beyond this worrying trend, the social and environmental climate in recent years has spilled over into worsened mental health among young adults, which has contributed to drug abuse and misuse. Fortunately, resources and help are available for parents or loved ones in need of guidance on the best ways to reach out to their teens on matters of drugs and substance use. Read more
The Beautiful Stuff
In this section, we share pieces at the intersection of science and art that have us obsessed.
🎨 Re-imagine scale with Macrofying. It can be hard to imagine how fine the bristles of a toothbrush are, or what lies at the tip of a surgical needle. Well, Macrofying does that for all of us, and more. A macro photographer from Germany, he satisfies his intrigue in the ordinary by zooming into the depths of everyday objects. And aren’t we lucky to be served the beauty of the mundane, served on an exquisite platter?
👁 These new worlds oftentimes boast of breathtakingly exquisite detail. This clip below opened us to a whole new world of what individual grains of sand from an untouched beach in Spain looked like- and the colours, textures, shapes and sizes are simply beautiful- made possible by the account’s dedication to their craft- experimenting with different stepper motors to capture these grains of sand in all their glory. View on Instagram and scroll all the way to the last clip for our favorite, near-perfect assemble in hues of pink and gold. Absolutely lovely.
🥰 His obsession has gifted us a feast for the eyes. Imagine what the tip of a matchstick looks like when struck against the side of a matchbox, the friction dragging it across the rough surface to spark a flame? It looks just like the image below. We also recommend you catch the contraption he built to keep the matchstick still while the box is moving, to capture this immaculate shot .
💐 A mother’s sacred role. We found the most beautiful and tender tribute to one of the most fundamental gifts that women’s bodies are capable of giving. This series commemorates World Breastfeeding Week and we loved this with all our hearts. Here’s our recommendation: savor each image with its accompanying mini-story, with all the time in the world. Our favorite is this very first image: “I am abundant. Free flowing. All nourishing. Even when I don’t feel like magic, I am! Breastfeeding has shown me that.” – Chaneen
🌲 Crown shyness. Recorded in forests across the globe, the meticulous gaps of empty space between the canopies of trees have enraptured scientists for a long time. Cheekily termed ‘social distancing’ by some writers, the distance between trees can improve their access to resources such as light, and also avoid the spread of diseases and pests that sometimes jump from tree to tree. This intriguing behavior is as mystifying as it is enchanting, where an invisible force appears to cut neat, interlocking paths from tree to tree, Here are 27 gorgeous pictures of crown shyness in the wild.
🎆 Deep sea fireworks. Feast your eyes on the incredibly rare Halitrephes Jelly, caught 1225m beneath the ocean, where the temperature hovers around a chilling 4ºC. Its bell reflects the Hercules, the venerable remote underwater vehicle that captured this shot, sparking off illuminating flashes of yellow and pink. If the Hercules was absent, this beauty moves unseen. We recommend that you watch the full video here
That’s it for this issue!
If you’re new here, we’d love to have you as a subscriber.
If you enjoyed this piece, feel free to smash the heart button below! What was your favorite feature this week? Comment or hit reply to let us know!
👇