The Dose: The Lies of Lyme
Lyme misconceptions, animal cams, & glowing sharks
Welcome to The Dose! We’re delivering bi-weekly health and science updates right to your inbox, and we’re including some humor, art, and fun along the way.
Want to watch bears in Alaska try to catch their dinner? Or see African wildlife at a watering hole? What about sloths on a playground? You can see all this and more, via the explore.org Live Cams. Kids and adults alike will enjoy toggling between the different cameras and getting an eagle-eyed view (pun intended) of animals in their natural habitats, rescue/rehab centers, and zoos.
Lyme disease is making the rounds again, thanks to Bella Hadid’s admission that she sought extensive treatment for her Lyme diagnosis. No shade to Bella, but she wasted a lot of money during her 100 days of treatment. The lab report she posted as proof of her diagnosis is full of red flags, including urine sample results which cannot diagnose Lyme, and attributing co-infections from FOUR different arthropods to Lyme. Read more about the other red flags and why you should avoid “Lyme doctors” here.
While we have your attention, let’s also discuss chronic Lyme. There is no credible evidence that chronic Lyme exists, that Lyme infection can persist, or that it can lie dormant in the body. Antibiotics are a highly effective treatment and eliminator of Lyme disease.
If the animal cams weren’t enough, how about watching a baby Swell Shark glow under UV light? Swell sharks are often called “glow sharks” because they reflect light in a fluorescent manner. You can watch and read more about them here.
Hard to believe, but scientists are still discovering new species. A recent paper on free flowing crinoids (marine animals related to starfish and sea urchins), outlined four new-to-science discoveries. Among them, the Antarctic Strawberry Feather Star, which looks otherworldly.
Image courtesy of Gregory Rouse
Season FOUR of the podcast is right around the corner, and we have some of our best guests and topics to date! If you’re not yet caught up on season three, you can find the episodes and show notes here.
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