The Dose: The Majestic World of Diatoms
Omicron BA.2, if atoms were human-sized, and the majestic world of diatoms
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The Serious Stuff
In this section, we share the most important pandemic and science updates.
Omicron BA.2 variant update. Omicron BA.1 was the variant that caused a huge spike in infections all over the globe in the previous months. The BA.2 subtype is similar to BA.1 in terms of its ability to evade vaccines and its lower potential for causing severe disease compared to other variants. However, BA.2 has eight additional mutations in its spike proteins and appears to be more transmissible than BA.1. BA.2 has also overtaken BA.1 as the dominant strain circulating in the US, forming more than 70% of all cases in the Northeastern states. These developments can be confusing in light of newly-lifted restrictions. To stay safe, you can still opt to wear a mask in crowded indoor spaces, as well as use rapid tests before engaging in high-risk social events to make sure you are not spreading or exposing to others. Read more
A second booster authorized. The FDA has just authorized a second booster shot of either the Pfizer-BioNTech or the Moderna COVID-19 vaccines. Those eligible include people 50 and above and immunocompromised individuals. Pfizer’s fourth shot has been found to be safe based on surveillance data from the Ministry of Health of Israel, while Moderna has been found to be safe based on an independent study conducted. Studies have also found that the booster increased neutralizing antibody levels against the virus, including the Delta and Omicron variants and protects against severe illness and death. Read more
March 24 marks World Tuberculosis (TB) Day, a day to understand one of the world’s most deadly infectious diseases. Spread primarily through respiratory droplets, TB can affect the lungs, the brain and spinal cord. TB is known as a latent disease, which means that of the entire population that is infected with TB, only 5-15% of them will fall sick and develop symptoms of active TB. Symptoms of TB include cough, chest pain, fatigue, fever, and can even be fatal. Those with latent TB are still carrying the bacteria in the body, but are unable to transmit TB and do not experience the illness. They should still receive treatment because TB can become active. TB causes more than 4,000 deaths around the world daily, with about 10 million individuals developing active TB. While there is a vaccine for TB, it does not completely prevent individuals from infection. The increase in multi-drug resistant TB is also making treatment enormously difficult. Despite having a vaccine available, TB continues to be an important global health problem. Read more
The Beautiful Stuff
In this section, we share pieces at the intersection of science and art that have us obsessed.
🎨 Anatomy professor, biology enthusiast and the incredible person behind Anatomika, Helen Kairo’s art and science explainers are one to look forward to. Every one of her posts are a treat. Her storytelling is lighthearted and her passion contagious- we just can’t stop swiping left. She posts about whatever piques her interest- and my, are her interests vast and wide. You must check out her explainer on how to differentiate between male and female octopi- with the key difference lying in the male’s considerate tucking of all his sperm inside a spermatophore, or what she playfully refers to as a sausage casing.
Her love for all things on the intricacies of life has her mastering the art of preparing specimens of all life forms. Check out her post on the unsolved mystery of a snake that lost her ability to produce haemoglobin (an oxygen-carrying molecule). Her effortless wit, natural inquisitiveness, and thorough work ethics have earned her a devoted following- all it takes is to check out the intriguing hypotheses thrown back and forth among her audience in the comments.Â
It’s hard to not get pulled in her endless curiosity. In one of her more popular posts, she brings you along to peek inside a sea turtle’s mouth. Those little spikes you see? Those are anti-barfing spikes that help sea turtles expel water while keeping the food they ingest in their stomachs. And herein lies the answer to why unlike other sea animals, they are at higher risk of dying from ingesting plastic bags. Check our her excellent breakdown here- with a mix of her own doodles thrown in.Â
What do relationship codependency and teeth have in common? According to Kairo, there’s a lot! We recommend that you read all the slides in the following post. In a most creative coupling of two seemingly disparate topics, Kairo brought us on yet another adventure, which taught us a few things about healthy relationships, our teeth and why we need tooth replacements sooner rather than later.Â
✨ The majestic world of diatoms. These beauties are microscopic, single-cell algae housed within glass shells. The delicate presentation of these delights is called diatom arrangement, an art form that sprung up in the early 1800s. The beauty found within the craft’s implicit symmetry and order reveals a Victorian desire to display nature in a rational way. An arrangement containing 100 forms would fit just inside this comma right here, which means the craft was practiced by a niche group of people- among them professional microscopists.Â
🎬 But this art form is not lost- yet. A short documentary follows Klaus Kemp, who might be last practitioner of diatom arrangement. Found in any body of water, rivers, lakes- even puddles, the world is your oyster when it comes to discovering piecing together variations of these delicate creatures. Check out the film to explore the world of diatoms and a get a glimpse into Kemp’s technique in making these stunning, complex arrangements. Watch here
🧠The Cognitive Bias Codex. How many cognitive biases can you name? Check out Wikipedia’s very own interactive map of all the cognitive biases that exist, categorized into four main chunks. The map is fully explorable. Simply hover over any form of bias to be redirected to its very own Wikipedia page.Â
🦠If atoms were human-sized. How small (or large) would atoms, molecules, viruses and other microbes be if they were scaled up? We’re not sure what we love more- the fascinating folds of the poliovirus when placed beside a full-sized apartment complex, or the red blood cell that’s 7km in diameter. We’ve never come across a more effective way that visualizes the size differences between the minute substances that make up our daily lives than what was done in this film. Be ready for the differences too, between a grain of salt, a cloud droplet, a typical raindrop and a dust mite. The size differences are immense. Watch here
💉 What’s the difference between COVID-19 vaccines and antiviral pills? Simply put, one enhances the immune system and prepares it to fight a future infection, while another interferes with the virus’s ability to replicate.  Here’s the science broken down beautifully in one chart for you. Can you spot the differences between the two antivirals explicated in this chart?
That’s it for this issue!
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Micro world on a human scale was amazing! Great find. Never heard of Anatomika/Helen Kairo-will check her out. Thanks for sharing!