Why COVID-19 poses a special risk during pregnancy, and how hair can split steel

Science Magazine Podcast

Science Podcast

News, News Commentary, Science

4.3 • 842 Ratings

🗓️ 6 August 2020

⏱️ 30 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Staff Writer Meredith Wadman joins host Sarah Crespi to discuss the risk of the novel coronavirus infection to pregnant women. Early data suggest expectant women are more likely to get severe forms of the infection and require hospitalization. Meredith describes how the biology of pregnancy—such as changes to the maternal immune system and added stress on the heart and lungs—might explain the harsher effects of the virus. Also this week, Sarah talks with Gianluca Roscioli about his experiments with commercial razor blades and real human hair. By using a scanning electron microscope, he was able to show how something relatively soft like hair is able to damage something 50 times harder like stainless steel. This week’s episode was produced with help from Podigy. Listen to previous podcasts. About the Science Podcast Download a transcript (PDF). [Image: G. Roscioli et al., Science 2020; Music: Jeffrey Cook] Authors: Sarah Crespi; Meredith Wadman Episode page: https://www.sciencemag.org/podcast/why-covid-19-poses-special-risk-during-pregnancy-and-how-hair-can-split-steel Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	This podcast is supported by the Icon School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, one of America's leading research medical schools.
0:07.8	Icon Mount Sinai is the academic arm of the eight hospital Mount Sinai health system in New York City.
0:13.9	It's consistently among the top recipients of NIH funding.
0:18.0	Researchers at Icon Mount Sinai have made breakthrough discoveries in many fields vital to
0:23.0	advancing the health of patients, including cancer, COVID and long COVID, cardiology, neuroscience, and
0:30.4	artificial intelligence. The Icon School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, we find a way.
0:42.5	Thank you. medicine at Mount Sinai. We find a way. Welcome to the science podcast for August 7th, 2020. I'm Sarah Crespi. First up this week,
0:48.7	staff writer Meredith Gladman talks about why COVID-19 poses a special risk during pregnancy.
0:55.9	Next, Jean-Luca Rocholi describes the microscopic mechanism for how body hair damages razor blades.
1:06.9	First up this week, we have staff writer Meredith Wadman.
1:10.5	She wrote about coronavirus and pregnancy.
1:14.0	Hi, Meredith.
1:14.8	Hi, Sarah.
1:16.0	Okay, as it seems kind of to be always the case these days,
1:19.5	there are a lot of open questions about coronavirus and something else.
1:24.3	And in this case, it's pregnant women.
1:26.2	Like, are these women at greater risk
1:28.7	for more severe infections? Can the virus infect a fetus? How likely is transmission at birth from an
1:35.2	infected mother? Meredith. I know you don't have answers to all these questions. But let's
1:41.2	start with what are some solid trends at this point.
1:44.9	For example, are pregnant women more at risk if they're infected?
1:49.0	It seems to be the case that they are, although the data is very incomplete.
	...

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